Donelson's Brigade at Murfreesboro

Daniel Smith Donelson grew up at the Hermitage. After his father died, he and his two brothers were adopted by their aunt Rachel Donelson Jackson and her husband, Andrew Jackson. He served in the Tennessee House, became Speaker in 1859, and as a militia general had Fort Donelson named for him before the Confederacy gave him a brigade. Stones River was among his last battles. The Confederacy promoted him to major general that spring, but he died of illness at Montvale Springs near Knoxville on April 17, 1863, before the Senate confirmed it.

What the plaque says

Donelson's Brigade at Murfreesboro General Daniel P. Donelson's Tennessee Brigade (CSA) advanced across these fields on December 31, 1862, around 11 a.m. in support of Chalmers' Brigade. Donelson's lines were broken by Chalmers' retreat and by the Cowan ruins. The brigade split in two, with part advancing west into the cedar woods where Colonel William Moore of the 8th Tennessee was killed. They pushed back General Charles Cruft's Brigade (USA) and captured over 1000 prisoners and seven cannons. The other part of the brigade advanced toward Round Forest which was defended by Colonel William B. Hazen's Brigade (USA). There the Confederates under the command of Colonel John H. Savage of the 16th Tennessee were halted in a field of corn stalks, where they held until relieved at 1 p.m. by additional attacks ordered by General Braxton Bragg. At day's end, Bragg had thrown four unsuccessful attacks against the Round Forest position.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Stones River National Battlefield — 0.3 mi
  The Murfreesboro battlefield of December 1862, with a national cemetery built by Black soldiers, a Trail of Tears route and the story of the freedmen's settlement called Cemetery.
• Carnton — 24 mi
  The McGavock farm in Franklin, worked by 44 enslaved people in 1860, that became the largest field hospital of the Battle of Franklin.
• Henry Horton State Park — 25 mi
  A Duck River park on Governor Henry Horton's former farm in Marshall County, with a mill ruin from 1845, kayak floats and the grave of a governor the House declined to impeach.
• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage — 26 mi
  Andrew Jackson's cotton plantation east of Nashville, where visitors can walk to the quarters, Alfred's Cabin and the Enslaved Cemetery as well as the mansion.

More markers nearby

• Chalmers' Brigade at Murfreesboro — steps away
• Murfreesboro/Rutherford County — 0.2 mi
• Battle of Murfreesboro, January 2, 1863 — 0.6 mi
• Army of the Cumberland, June 24, 1863 — 0.9 mi