Battle of Selma - Selma, Alabama

On April 2, 1865, Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest fought his last major battle when Union troops stormed the defenses of Selma, Alabama.

The Battle of Selma was one of the events that marked the final collapse of the Confederacy and even with Forrest's military genius, the outnumbered Southern troops could not prevent the capture of the vital Alabama city and its massive military industrial complex.

Forrest knew that he could not hope to hold the extensive Selma fortifications with the troops at his disposal and had tried to prevent the Federal army of Major General James H. Wilson from reaching Selma at the Battle of Ebenezer Church the previous day. When the separated Confederate forces proved unable to converge on Ebenezer Church as Forrest had hoped, Wilson prevailed in that battle and in less than 24 hours was outside the fortifications of Selma.

The Confederates took up positions behind the Selma earthworks, but the line was so extensive that there was only a man every 10 to 15 feet. Many of these were not seasoned soldiers, but were workers and citizens of the city who took up arms in a last ditch effort to defend Selma. Wilson complicated the situation by attacking via two roads leading into the city. While one force demonstrated along the main road, a second stormed the works defending the Summerfield Road.

Once the Confederate lines were pierced, Forrest pulled back to a still incomplete inner line and briefly stalled the Union advance. In the end, though, the Federals took the city and Wilson's soldiers spent days destroying the military factories, arsenal and storehouses there. Forrest managed to cut his way out at the end of the fighting.

The Battle of Selma marked the last time that Nathan Bedford Forrest would lead troops in action in a major battle and also opened the door for the Union capture of Montgomery, the original capital of the Confederacy.  To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/selmabattle.

Wilson's Raid through Alabama and Georgia

The last major campaign to conclude during the Civil War was a dramatic sweep through Alabama and Georgia carried out by thousands of Union soldiers under the command of General James H. Wilson.

Leaving the Tennessee River Valley, Wilson pushed south from North Alabama through the heartland of the state. Striking hard at the fledgling iron industry at the state, Wilson's men destroyed ironworks around today's Birmingham area including the furnaces at what is now Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park.

Leaving Tannehill and other ironworks in the area, Wilson drove on Montevallo and from there to Selma, battling the forces of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest as he advanced. Forrest did all he could to stop the Federals, but he was unable to assemble enough men in time. The climactic battle of the Alabama phase of the campaign took place at Selma, where Wilson overran Confederate defenses forcing Forrest to withdraw his outnumbered men. The massive industrial complex at Selma was destroyed.

From Selma, Wilson turned east to Montgomery, the state capital, which fell virtually without the firing of a shot. Then, dividing his force into two columns, he struck the Georgia cities of West Point (Fort Tyler) and Columbus, fighting the last major battle of the Civil War on April 16, 1865. Robert E. Lee had surrendered one week earlier and while fighting would still take place at Palmitto Ranch in Texas and still later at Hobdy's Bridge in Alabama, the taking of Columbus represented the last major battle of a planned campaign.

The northern column of Wilson's command pushed on to LaGrange, Georgia, where Colonel O.H. LaGrange encountered unexpected resistance from the Nancy Harts, Georgia's famed all female militia company.

The two columns met again at Macon, where news was received of the formal end of the Civil War. The damage inflicted on the remaining industrial might of the South had been severe and the campaign witnessed the fall of Selma, Montgomery, Columbus and Macon, four of the few remaining untouched cities in the Confederacy.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/wilsonsraid.