December 29, 1863---The Battle of Mossy Creek, Tennessee

DECEMBER 29, 1863:        

The Battle of Mossy Creek, Tennessee. In this frozen winter of enforced inactivity, almost any action that involved shooting could be called a “battle,” though these “battles” that sparked and died intermittently all across the lines throughout the winter were little more than desultory firefights. Skirmishes developed primarily over supplies of food, clothes and weapons---the Confederacy had none and wanted the Union’s. At Mossy Creek, the Rebels were unsuccessful in capturing a Union supply train, and the front lapsed back into somnolence after the screams stilled on the icy air. Elsewhere, Confederates might or might not seize supplies in raids. It was never enough for the starving soldiers in Gray, and the Union merely resupplied its men in Blue from a seemingly inexhaustible supply house.