Battle of Cherokee Station

Battle of Cherokee Station
Part of American Civil War
Date 21 October 1863 Location Near Cherokee Station, nine miles from Tuscumbia, Alabama 34°45′32.7″N 87°58′40.3″W / 34.759083°N 87.977861°W / 34.759083; -87.977861 Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
Francis Preston Blair Jr Peter J. Osterhaus Morgan Lewis Smith	S.D. Lee
Units involved
XV Corps	unknown
Strength
10,000 – 15,000 men "Several" 20-pound Parrott rifles	4,000 – 6,000 men
Casualties and losses
7 dead, 28 wounded[1]	300 dead, wounded, or captured[2]

The Battle of Cherokee Station took place during the American Civil War between the Union Army and the Confederate Army near the town of Cherokee Station Alabama on 21 October 1863.

General Sherman attempted to start rebuilding the Memphis and Charleston Railroad to give Union forces an easier time to arrive at Chattanooga from Mississippi.^{[citation needed]} Sherman initiated his reconstruction at Corinth, Mississippi and began to push into northern Alabama.

On 20 October, the Union captured Barton's Station and began their assault on Cherokee Station with a brief cavalry skirmish. XV Corps attacked Confederate forces near Cherokee Station and after an hour of trading musket fire, the Confederates retreated. First Division of XV Corps brought up several Parrott rifles and killed many of the retreating Confederates.

The Union continued its push with a decisive victory at Little Bear Creek on October 27 near Tuscumbia, forcing the Confederates to surrender Tuscumbia. The continued Confederate resistance, however, persuaded the Union to instead seek more northerly, safer routes to Chattanooga.