The Confederates demanded surrender from Commander of the Union garrison Col. John T. Wilder, who was escorted under a flag of truce.

[3] On September 17, the entire Union force surrendered and was immediately paroled and sent towards General Buell's Army of the Ohio.

[1][5] On December 24, 1863, the 89th Indiana was part of the expedition to attempt to cut off Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest's retreat.

The overall Union strength was ten thousand strong, marching an average of twenty miles a day.

[1][8] On July 5, 1864, the 89th Indiana advanced south from Tennessee on Smith's Expedition to Tupelo to protect Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s supply line for his campaign against Atlanta.

The expedition was a success with the defeat of Stephen D. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest and the fulfilled mission of insuring William T. Sherman’s supply lines.

On the 22nd, the Union force reached Oxford and burned both the brick blocks fronting on the public square and the Court-House in one conflagration.

The houses of some prominent official rebels were also burned, such as that of Jacob Thompson, Confederate Secretary of the Interior.

When word was received of Confederates reaching DeSoto, Missouri, Major Gen. Andrew J. Smith led some of his troops out, with the 89th Indiana being one of these regiments.

On September 20, 1864, they marched to DeSoto, Missouri, to meet the Confederate force of Major General Sterling Price.

On the opening day of the Battle of Nashville on December 15, 1864, the 1st Brigade under Colonel David Moore defended the main assault of the Confederates.

By the end of the next day, December 16, 1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee was no longer an effective fighting force.