Grave of General William J. Hardee - Selma, Alabama

Known affectionately as "Old Reliable," Lieutenant General William J. Hardee was a brave and intelligent military officer who served in both the U.S. and Confederate armies.

Born in Camden County, Georgia, in 1815, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838. Commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Dragoons, Hardee served in Florida during the Second Seminole War until he became seriously ill.

Unlike many who were incapacitated by sickness during that terrible war, he recovered and went on to serve under both Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott during the Mexican War. He won two field promotions for bravery, suffered a battlefield wound and was taken prisoner and exhanged during that conflict.

After the war, Hardee published his famed Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics, which became one of the most consulted military books for commanders both North and South during the Civil War.

Resigning his commission in January of 1861 following the secession of his home state of Georgia, Hardee eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant General in the Confederate army. He commanded troops at Shiloh, Perryville and Chattanooga, as well as during the Atlanta Campaign. Left with few men, he bravely tried to stop Sherman's March to the Sea and then achieved the remarkable evacuation of his small army from Savannah under the very eyes of Sherman's much larger command.

After the war, Hardee settled on his wife's plantation in Alabama. After living there briefly, the couple moved into Selma where he engaged in various business pursuits and was president of a railroad. He died while on vacation in West Virginia in 1873, but was returned to his home in Selma for burial. His peaceful grave can now be seen at the city's Old Live Oak Cemetery.

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

Gun from the C.S.S. Tennessee - Selma, Alabama

One of the most interesting naval artifacts in the South can be found not by the ocean, but far inland on the city hall lawn in Selma, Alabama.

Displayed there, through the courtesty of the Naval Historical Center, is one of the original 7-inch Brooke Rifles from the famed Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Tennessee. The gun weighs 15,300 pounds and had an effective range of 4 1/2 miles. It was one of the most powerful and advanced weapons of its day.

The gun on display in Selma was the stern pivot gun of the Tennessee. It was a critical part of the ironclad's armament during the Battle of Mobile Bay and it was at this gun that Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan was wounded.

The Tennessee was actually built in Selma, which was also the place where its guns were manufactured. Launched in February of 1863, it was commissioned one year later. On August 5, 1864, with only a few small wooden gunboats to help, the ironclad tackled the entire Union fleet that was storming its way into Mobile Bay. By the end of the battle, the Tennessee's steering chains had been shot away and the ironclad was surrounded by the ships of the Union fleet as they pounded it over and over with cannonballs. Unable to maneuver it surrendered after one of the most heroic fights ever waged by the Confederate navy.

Although the Tennessee was scrapped after the war, several of its cannon still survive. The one on display in Selma was returned to the city where it was cast in 1981. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/csstennessee.

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.

Battle of Ebenezer Creek - Stanton, Alabama

On April 1, 1865, Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest fought one last time on ground of his own choosing in a last ditch effort to stop the Union army then advancing on the vital manufacturing center of Selma, Alabama.

The Battle of Ebenezer Church is often remembered today as a preliminary to the Battle of Selma, which was fought one day later. In reality, though, the April 1st encounter decided the fight for Selma before it ever took place.

Knowing that he could not hope to defend the vast fortifications surrounding Selma with the limited number of troops at his disposal, Forrest searched for good defensive ground north of the city where he could spring a trap on the army of Major General James H. Wilson. The Union general was then driving south through Alabama, destroying ironworks and farms as he advanced, and there was no doubt that his target was Selma and its militiary manufacturing facilities.

Forrest selected a site at Ebenezer Church, in today's community of Stanton about 24 miles north of downtown Selma. There he was able to place three brigades of troops into a line of battle stretching from a high hill on the left to Mulberry Creek on the right. The Confederate general hoped that with reinforcements coming up under Brigadier General James R. Chalmers he would be able to hold this line until 3,000 additional Southern troops came in behind Wilson and struck the rear of his army.

The battle did not unfold as Forrest hoped. Chalmers was unable to reach the field in time and only a portion of his brigade took part in the fighting at Ebenezer Church. The other 3,000 men that he planned to hurl against Wilson's rear were prevented from crossing the Cahaba River and did not reach the field.

Even without these men and despite the fact that he was outnumbered more than 2 to 1, Forrest waged a fierce fight at the Battle of Ebenezer Church. He was wounded by a saber blow during the fighting and also killed a Union officer who is thought to have been his 33rd combat victim.

To learn more about battle, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ebenezerchurch.