Bypassing a strong Federal garrison at Resaca, Hood turned southwest and headed into Alabama, toward George Thomas' army headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. For the first time in the war the 33rd would be operating inside its native state, if only briefly. Sherman had turned back toward Atlanta, from whence he would begin his famed March to the Sea, after sending additional troops to help Thomas in Tennessee. Hood's plan was to drive north into Tennessee, defeat Thomas there, then move into Kentucky and thence east into Virginia, where Robert E. Lee was under siege at Petersburg. Seeking to link up with reinforcements under famed cavalry General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Hood moved west through northern Alabama to Florence, then north into Tennessee.