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Brentwood
March 25, 1863
Williamson County, TN
Campaign:
Middle Tennessee Operations (1863)
Lt. Col. Edward Bloodgood, USA
Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, CSA
The Union garrison was mainly infantry but had a small cavalry element;
Forrest had a full division.
Forrest lost six men, but inflicted over 300 casualties.
Union Lt. Col. Edward Bloodgood held Brentwood, a station on the Nashville
& Decatur Railroad, with 400 men on the morning of March 25, 1863, when
Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, with a powerful column, approached the
town. The day before, Forrest had ordered Col. J.W. Starnes, commanding the 2nd
Brigade, to go to Brentwood, cut the telegraph, tear up railroad track, attack
the stockade, and cut off any retreat. Forrest and the other cavalry brigade
joined Bloodgood about 7:00 am on the 25th. A messenger from the stockade
informed Bloodgood that Forrest�s men were about to attack and had destroyed
railroad track. Bloodgood sought to notify his superiors and discovered that the
telegraph lines were cut. Forrest sent in a demand for a surrender under a flag
of truce but Bloodgood refused. Within a half hour, though, Forrest had
artillery in place to shell Bloodgood�s position and had surrounded the Federals
with a large force. Bloodgood decided to surrender. Forrest and his men caused a
lot of damage in the area during this expedition, and Brentwood, on the
railroad, was a significant loss to the Federals.
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