The Battle of Johnsonville took place on November 4-5, 1864.
By 1863, Nashville had become the main supply base in the south for the Union Army.
Supplies were being sent from St. Louis down the Mississippi River, to the Ohio River and then down the Cumberland River to the depot at Nashville, but the rivers were not always a good transportation route.
Confederate Guerrillas from Dickson County would meet up in the county seat of Charlotte and plan attacks on Union Supply ships heading to Nashville on the Cumberland River.
Also, during the summer there was a drought and the water level on the Cumberland became very low exposing dangerous rocks (shoals).
Eventually the river got so low that supply boats couldn't travel on the Cumberland for 2 weeks.
Governor Johnson had to find another way to get supplies to Nashville.
The plan was to build a railroad to connect Nashville with the Tennessee River.
In August 1863, Governor Johnson assigned military engineers to plan and design a railroad from Nashville to the Tennessee River.
He wanted the Railroad to be operational by spring 1864.
Engineers estimated it would take one year to complete, even if working around the clock.
An August 1863 Nashville newspaper mention that 5,000 blacks had been impressed to work on the railroad.
On September 7, 1863, after three years of inactivity, construction resumes on the Nashville & Northwestern Railroad.
78 miles from Nashville to the Tennessee River. There were 50 miles left to be constructed from Kingston Springs to the Tennessee River.
A depot was constructed where the railroad met the river. The purpose of the depot was to store supplies that would be transported on the new railroad to Nashville.
The depot was completed on May 19, 1864.
The railroad was completed on September 1, 1864.