Aot - 1865

[larry_cockerham]

April 2, 1865

On this morning Jefferson Davis attended services at St. Paul’s Church in Richmond when he received a message from Gen. Robert E. Lee that it was no longer possible to hold the defensive line at Richmond - Petersburg. He was aboard the train for Danville, VA that afternoon.

[larry_cockerham]

Battle of Selma, Alabama

(Wilson defeated Forrest)

Located 70 miles east along the railroad from *******n, this city was the main source of manufactured armament for the confederacy and was protected mostly by its southern location during the war. That lasted until General James Harrison Wilson and his 14,000 thousand man cavalry decided to eliminate this activity in March of 1865. A few weeks earlier the Army of Tennessee had passed through on their way to find William Tecumseh Sherman’s army in South Carolina. Only one building remains today, as a museum, which witnessed this event. The Selma city web page includes: “During the War Between the States, when Selma was the arsenal of the Confederacy, the building was converted into a hospital for wounded and ill Confederates. The need for this humanitarian service may have influenced Federal General J.H. Wilson to spare the building when his troops ravished Selma in early April, 1865.” This is a reference to the Smitherman building in Selma which was a Presbyterian Church at the time of the war.

Records from 2 Apr 1865, the day of the battle, indicate the presence of the 7th Ohio and 4th Iowa Cavalry as part of Wilson’s command.

The little city of Selma, Alabama was the center of manufacture of almost every war material needed by the Confederacy, including cartridges, saltpetre, powder and shell, rifles, cannons and steam rams.
About 10,000 folks were employed in this activity and the city was a major distribution point for Confederate arms. The ironclad Tennessee’s hull was laid in Selma. The city was located far enough south to avoid early attempts to reach its borders. Both Sherman and Grierson failed to reach the city in the early part of the war.

[larry_cockerham]

Jerry Keenan, in his Wilson’s Cavalry Corps, described Selma:

“Next to Richmond, perhaps no other city in the Confederacy had stockpiled as much war materiel as Selma. After the battle, Winslow’s men destroyed more than 50 buildings from the huge Selma arsenal and ironworks, naval foundry, niter works, powder mill, and magazine. The latter was filled with artillery pieces, caissons, and siege guns, together with more than 60,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and 1 million rounds of small arms ammunition. The men were astonished at the size of the arsenal.”

[larry_cockerham]

The following has been posted on the internet by Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia:


Battle of Selma
Main article: Battle of Selma

On March 30, Wilson detached Gen. John T. Croxton's Brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After capturing a Confederate courier who carried dispatches from Forrest describing the strengths and dispositions of his scattered forces, Wilson also sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville. This action effectively cut off most of Forrest's reinforcements. Then began a running fight that did not end until after the fall of Selma.

On the afternoon of April 1, after skirmishing all morning, Wilson's advanced guard ran into Forrest's line of battle at Ebenezer Church, where the Randolph Road intersected the main Selma road. Here Forrest had hoped to bring his entire force to bear on Wilson. However delays caused by flooding plus earlier contact with the enemy enabled Forrest to muster less than 2,000 men, a large number of whom were not veterans but militia consisting of old men and young boys.

The outnumbered and outgunned Confederates fought bravely for more than an hour as more Union Cavalry and Artillery deployed on the field. Forrest himself was wounded in a charge by a saber-swinging Yankee Captain who he killed with his revolver. Finally, a mounted Federal charge with carbines blazing broke the Confederate militia causing Forrest to be flanked on his right. He was forced to retreat under severe pressure.

Early the next morning Forrest arrived at Selma, "horse and rider covered in blood." He advised Gen. Richard Taylor, departmental commander, to leave the city. Taylor did so after giving Forrest command of the defense.


Nathan B. Forrest

Selma was protected by three miles of fortifications which ran in a semi-circle around the city. They were anchored on the north and south by the Alabama River. The works had been built two years earlier, and while neglected for the most part since, were still formidable. They were 8 to 12 feet high, 15 feet thick at the base, with a ditch 4 feet wide and 5 feet deep along the front. In front of this was a picket fence of heavy posts planted in the ground, 5 feet high, and sharpened at the top. At prominent positions, earthen forts were built with artillery in position to cover the ground over which an assault would have to be made.

Forrest's defenders consisted of his Tennessee Escort company, McCullough's Missouri Regiment, Crossland's Kentucky Brigade, Roddey's Alabama Brigade, Armstrong's Mississippi Brigade, Gen. Dan Adam's state reserves, and the citizens of Selma who were "volunteered" to man the works. Altogether this force numbered less than 4,000, only half of who were dependable. The Selma fortifications were built to be defended by 20,000 men. Forrest's soldiers had to stand 10 to 12 feet apart in the works.
Wilson's force arrived in front of the Selma fortifications at 2 pm. He had placed Gen. Eli Long's Division across the Summerfield Road with the Chicago Board of Trade Battery in support. He had Gen. Emory Upton's Division placed across the Range Line Road with Battery I, 4th US Artillery in support. Altogether Wilson had 9,000 troops available for the assault.
The Federal commander's plan was for Upton to send in a 300 man detachment after dark to cross the swamp on the Confederate right; enter the works, and begin a flanking movement toward the center moving along the line of fortifications. Then a single gun from Upton's artillery would signal the attack by the entire Federal Corps.

At 5 pm, however, Gen. Long's ammunition train in the rear was attacked by advance elements of Forrest's scattered forces coming toward Selma. Both Long and Upton had positioned significant numbers of troops in their rear for just such an event. However, Long decided to commence his assault against the Selma fortifications to neutralize the enemy attack in his rear.
Long's troops attacked in a single rank in three main lines, dismounted with Spencers carbines blazing, supported by their own artillery fire. The Confederates replied with heavy small arms and artillery fire of their own. The Southern artillery, in one of the many ironies of the Civil War, only had solid shot on hand, while just a short distance away was and arsenal which produced tons of canister, a highly effective anti-personnel ammunition.
The Federals suffered many casualties (including General Long himself) but not enough to break up the attack. Once the Yankees reached the works, there was vicious hand-to-hand fighting. Many soldiers were struck down with clubbed muskets. But the Yankees kept pouring into the works. In less than 30 minutes, Long's men had captured the works protecting the Summerfield Road.

Meanwhile, General Upton, observing Long's success, ordered his division forward. The story was much the same for his men as on Long's front. Soon, US flags could be seen waving over the works from Range Line Road to Summerfield Road.

After the outer works fell, General Wilson himself led the 4th US Cavalry Regiment in a mounted charge down the Range Line Road toward the unfinished inner line of works. The retreating Confederate forces, upon reaching the inner works, all allied and poured a devastating fire into the charging Yankee column. This broke up the charge and sent General Wilson sprawling to the ground when his favorite horse was wounded. He quickly remounted his stricken mount and ordered a dismounted assault by several regiments. (two points for Forrest!)

Mixed units of Confederate troops had also occupied the Selma railroad depot and the adjoining banks of the railroad bed to make a stand next to the Plantersville Road (present day Broad Street). The fighting there was heavy, but by 7 pm the superior numbers of Union troops had managed to flank the Southern positions causing them to abandon the depot as well as the inner line of works.

In the darkness, the Yankees rounded up hundreds of prisoners, but hundreds more escaped down the Burnsville Road, including Generals Forrest, Armstrong, and Roddey. To the west, many Confederate soldiers fought the pursuing Yankees all the way down to the eastern side of Valley Creek. They escaped in the darkness by swimming across the Alabama River near the mouth of Valley Creek (where the present day Battle of Selma Reenactment is held.)

The Yankees looted the city that night while many businesses and private residences were burned. They spent the next week destroying the arsenal and naval foundry. Then they left Selma heading to Montgomery and then Columbus and Macon, Georgia, and the end of the war.

[larry_cockerham]

This little city was to gain fame from the civil rights marches begun there in the 1960s when African Americans continued their struggle for recognition and equality, something the Civil War had started, but never really completed. Barnhill's Buffet in nearby *******n in 2004, while filled nearly to capacity with the Tuskegee football team, was also about thirty per cent occupied by white customers, myself included. That would not have been the case before 1960. Driving through south Mississippi and Alabama today, one can see folks of all races in both public and private situations with no animosity, going about their respective business. If the Civil War contributed to that, it may have been worth the trouble.

Well, the little censor finally accepted the n in M E R I D I A N. Progress on all accounts.

[larry_cockerham]

April 7, 1865

Gen. Wilson left Selma, but was forced to return because of rain-swollen nearby streams.

[larry_cockerham]

April 8, 1865

On this day Wilson was able to reach the town of Cahawba where he met with Nathan Bedford Forrest at the home of Col. Matthews a wealthy planter and Unionist. Wilson described Forrest: “I found him loosely put together, and he appeared rather under than over six feet. His frame was large and his body full and I guessed his weight at one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His countenance was serious, his conduct diffident, but self-possessed, and his bearing from military affectations. It took but a glance to discover that life and duties were all-important to him, and that whatever engaged his attention would receive most careful consideration.” After dinner Forrest denied the authority for a prisoner exchange, but offered Wilson information on Croxton’s location.

On the 8th Gen. Stewart received orders to consolidate the depleted regiments.

[larry_cockerham]

Some of the following is from a transcription of the diary of William Taylor Mumford Company B First Louisiana Heavy Artillery Regiment (April 1865)

April 9, 1865

Appamattox Court House, Virginia.

Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant.
Much depleted after the Bentonville fight, Palmer's Brigade was reorganized. On April 9, 1865 the 63rd Virginia was consolidated with the 54th Virginia. ( Between the two regiments, they could barely muster 100 men).The new organization was designated the 54th Battalion of Virginia Infantry under the command of Lt. Col. Connelly H. Lynch. Brig. Gen. Palmer was placed in command of a brigade of 43 consolidated Tennessee regiments in Gen. Bates' Division. The 58th and 60th North Carolina Regiments were consolidated and transferred to Brantley's Brigade in D.H. Hill's Division which was under the command of Col. J. G. Coltart.


Pettus’ Brigade

19th Alabama Infantry Regt.
20th Alabama Infantry Regt.
23rd Alabama Infantry Regt.
31st Alabama Infantry Regt.
54th Virginia Infantry Bn.

After the reorganization of the units, the 54th Va. Inf. Bn. ( 63rd Va. and 54th Va. consolidated) with Pettus' Brigade was sent back to the Yadkin River as a rear guard to secure the bridges. The 63rd was here when news of Lee's surrender in Virginia reached them. While the 63rd was guarding the Yadkin River Bridge, President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet crossed the bridge and headed to Salisbury. Johnston surrendered his Army of Tennessee shortly after this. Some soldiers, upon hearing of Lee's surrender just went home.

Private Whitfield Monroe Parker, in his 20th year at this time, may well have accompanied the 63rd Virginia Infantry to Salisbury before catching a train north into Virginia and then making his way by rail back to Wallace's Swith just west of Bristol, where he needed assistance on the trek back to his nearby residence. His pension application stated he 'served until war's end'. Sinah Mariah Holt was there to greet him. New and greater things than this horrible war were on the horizon for this young couple; John Henry Parker for one thing, my great grandfather.

[larry_cockerham]

April 10, 1865

Jefferson Davis and his party left Danville on the way to Greensboro, North Carolina.

The situation was becoming a mite uncomfortable for the President of the Confederacy. He was guarding the treasury and his butt, both to the best of his ability, as he moved south toward more nearly friendly territory. Like many a young man to follow him in life, the U.S. Army wanted him and was soon on his trail.

[larry_cockerham]

April 11, 1865

Cheatham’s Corps, the remainder of the once proud Army of Tennessee was in Raleigh, North Carolina


General James Harrison Wilson’s 4th US Cavalry was between Church Hill and Lowndesborough, Alabama.