Since the retreat from Nashville began in late February, it's easy to imagine conditions at that time of year. Hopkins and other Confederates in the column marching south that winter had only been in service a few weeks and were not used to extended periods of time exposed to the elements. Pneumonia prostrated many of them, and those who survived often died of secondary diseases. Many of the men in Breckinridge's column had to be left behind along the road south from Nashville to Decatur AL.