Carolinas campaign

Further information: .

Engagements

The following actions were fought in the Carolinas campaign.

Rivers' Bridge (February 3, 1865)

Sherman's

Army crossing the Edisto during the Carolinas campaign from 1872 children's textbook

The Confederate division of Maj. Gen.

Aiken (February 11)

This battle took place entirely in South Carolina. During the Battle Hugh Judson Kilpatrick attacked the city of Aiken. Cavalry corps and the Aiken Home Guard, which were under the command of Joseph Wheeler fought Kilpatrick's cavalry corps. Wheeler formed his troopers into a "V" formation, and deployed skirmishers in front of his cavalry. He planned for Kilpatrick to attack the skirmishers, who would then retreat to the center of the "V." His cavalry would then charge and surround Kilpatrick's force. When the battle started, a Confederate soldier shot his gun prematurely. This resulted in Wheeler ordering all his soldiers to attack the Union army. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Kilpatrick was defeated and forced back to Montmorenci.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

Columbia (February 17)

On February 17, Sherman

. Many soldiers took advantage of ample supplies of liquor in the city and began to drink. Fires began in the city, and high winds spread the flames across a wide area. Most of the central city was destroyed, and the city's fire companies found it difficult to operate in conjunction with the invading Union army, many of whom were also trying to put out the fire. The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since, with some claiming the fires were accidental, others stating they were a deliberate act of vengeance as in Atlanta, and others claiming that the fires were set by retreating Confederate soldiers who lit bales of cotton on their way out of town. Sherman's forces then destroyed virtually anything of military value in Columbia, including railroad depots, warehouses, arsenals, and machine shops.

On the evening of February 17, the Fort Sumter garrison and all remaining Confederate forces in the Charleston area evacuated north to avoid being cut off by Sherman's advancing army.^[20]

More than a month after seizing Fort Fisher, on February 22 Union troops captured the important port of Wilmington, North Carolina, after a small battle.^[21]

Wyse Fork (March 7–10)

Schofield planned to advance inland from

Monroe's Cross Roads (March 10)

Further information:

Battle of Monroe's Cross Roads

As Sherman's army advanced into North Carolina, Maj. Gen.

Averasboro (March 16)

Further information:

Battle of Averasboro

On the afternoon of March 15, Kilpatrick's cavalry came up against Hardee's corps deployed across the Raleigh Road near Smithville. After feeling out the Confederate defenses, Kilpatrick withdrew and called for infantry support. During the night, four divisions of the XX Corps arrived to confront the Confederates. At dawn, March 16, the Federals advanced on a division front, driving back skirmishers, but they were stopped by the main Confederate line and a counterattack. Mid-morning, the Federals renewed their advance with strong reinforcements and drove the Confederates from two lines of works, but they were repulsed at a third line. Late afternoon, the Union XIV Corps began to arrive on the field but was unable to deploy before dark because of the swampy ground. Hardee retreated during the night of March 16, after holding up the Union advance for nearly two days.[24]

Bentonville (March 19–21)

While Slocum's advance was stalled at Averasborough by Hardee's troops, the right wing of Sherman's army under Howard marched toward Goldsboro. On March 19, Slocum encountered the entrenched Confederates of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston who had concentrated to meet his advance at Bentonville. Johnston had increased his forces to about 21,000 men by absorbing the troops under Bragg, who had abandoned Wilmington. Late afternoon, Johnston attacked, crushing the line of the XIV Corps. Only strong counterattacks and desperate fighting south of the Goldsborough Road blunted the Confederate offensive. Elements of the XX Corps were thrown into the action as they arrived on the field. Five Confederate attacks failed to dislodge the Federal defenders, and darkness ended the first day's fighting. During the night, Johnston contracted his line into a "V" to protect his flanks, with Mill Creek to his rear. On March 20, Slocum was heavily reinforced, but fighting was sporadic. Sherman was inclined to let Johnston retreat. On March 21, however, Johnston remained in position while he removed his wounded. Skirmishing heated up along the entire front. In the afternoon, Maj. Gen.

Aftermath

Sherman's Carolina campaign, in which his troops marched 425 miles (684 km) in 50 days, was similar to his march to the sea through Georgia, although physically more demanding. However, the Confederate forces opposing him were much smaller and more dispirited. When Joseph E. Johnston met with Jefferson Davis in Greensboro on April 12–13, he told the Confederate president:

Our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power and resources were never greater and may be increased to any extent desired. ... My small force is melting away like snow before the sun.

On April 18, three days after the

region, into the summer.

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Barrett, John Gilchrist (1956). Sherman's march through the Carolinas (1 ed.). Chapel Hill.
  OCLC 864900203.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
  )
• Lucas, Marion Brunson (1976). Sherman and the burning of Columbia (1 ed.). College Station: Texas A & M University Press.
  OCLC 2331311
  .

Further reading

External links

Government

• Official website of the Bennett Place State Historic Site

General information

• Campaign of the Carolinas from the American Battlefield Trust
• Sherman's March to the Sea New Georgia Encyclopedia entry
• Works by or about Campaign of the Carolinas at Internet Archive