Battle for Selma
The Battle of Selma on April 2, 1865 was a battle in the western theater of war at the end of the Civil War .
Starting position
The city of Selma , Alabama, was a major industrial center for the Confederate arms industry . Being isolated from the main theaters of war, Selma's industry was still undamaged and at the time of the battle it was one of the last centers of the armaments industry in the southern states .
In order to protect the city and its industry, Selma had already started months before with fortifications. The outer defense lines consisted of trenches and artillery positions. The inner fortifications, however, had not been completed.
On March 22, 1865, troops under the command of James H. Wilson began an offensive to take Alabama with the aim of Selma. This attack, carried out mainly with cavalry , became known as Wilson's Raid . Wilson began his operation with 13,480 men, the Confederate soldiers in Alabama at that time had only about 5,000 soldiers in Alabama under the command of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest , who were scattered across the state.
After a skirmish at Ebenezer Church , the troops of the southern states avoided the fortifications of Selma. On April 1st the Union troops reached the suburbs of Selma. The northern states had intercepted a courier at this point and therefore knew the troop strength of Forrest's units. In addition, the engineer who designed the Selma fortifications had defected.
course
Forrest had only about 4,000 men to defend the city. This was insufficient as the defenses had been created for a defense with 20,000 soldiers. While the units of the Northern states with Spencer - repeating rifles were equipped, the defenders were partly with muskets armed and there were a significant part of older men and young inexperienced recruits. Given the situation, Lieutenant General Forrest ordered the evacuation. The Southern General Richard Taylor could still leave the city.
Wilson had divided his troops into three units. On the afternoon of April 2, southern troops carried out a raid on the supply units of one of the units. The aim was to hinder the advance of the Union troops. Instead, the unit launched a frontal attack on the fortifications. This triggered the general attack prematurely. After about half an hour of close combat, the outer fortifications were broken. Nathan Bedford Forrest was able to gather dispersed Confederate troops and withdraw into the inner ring of defense. This line of defense was soon breached by cavalry attacks by the Union.
Forrest had ordered a camp containing 25,000 bales of cotton to be set on fire. Under cover of the resulting smoke, he and numerous Confederates fled the city, many southerners tried to escape by swimming through the Alabama River . 2,700 soldiers of the southern states were taken prisoner, about 30 field guns were captured by the northern states. Exact numbers of the Confederate casualties are not known, as the Confederate administration was now imprecise. The Union recorded 359 deaths.
After taking the city, General Wilson began to destroy all of Selma's industry and armaments stores. Occasional looting took place, but this was soon stopped. Eventually the city was set on fire. Selma remained in the hands of the Union until the end of the war.