Spring Hill Battlefield

The Spring Hill Battlefield in Spring Hill, Tennessee, occupies a pivotal, though largely overlooked, place in Civil War history. Fought on November 29, 1864, this engagement was part of General John Bell Hood’s Franklin–Nashville Campaign. Hood's Army of Tennessee marched to intercept Union forces under Major General John M. Schofield as they withdrew north from Columbia. Although Confederate troops converged on the town and launched several fragmented infantry attacks, Union forces successfully held the critical crossroads and later slipped away under cover of darkness toward Franklin. Historians describe the clash as “one of the most controversial non‑fighting events of the entire war” given its dramatic yet bloodless outcome.

Today, the battlefield is preserved through an interpretive walking trail southeast of Spring Hill along Kedron Road and Reserve Boulevard. Though much of the original terrain has been claimed by development, visitors can still follow marked routes across oak‑and‑field landscapes where Union and Confederate lines once converged. Nearby stands Rippavilla Plantation (also spelled “Rippa Villa”), which served as Hood’s headquarters the night of the battle and remains open for guided tours through the Battle of Franklin Trust.