Digital Alabama (/series/alabama-civil-war-sites)
Alabama was not the scene of any significant military operations during the Civil War, yet it contributed about 120,000 men to the Confederate service, practically all the white population capable of bearing arms. Most were recruited locally and served with men they knew, which built morale and strengthened ties to home.
Alabama was protected by Confederate troops against most major military operations, except the Battle of Mobile Bay (August 1864) and final conflicts of the War at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakeley (April 9, 1865), the last major battle of the Civil War.
Skirmishes at or near Bridgeport, Alabama between Union Army and Confederate States Army forces occurred on April 23, 27 and 29 (West Bridge), 1862 during the American Civil War.
The Skirmish at Paint Rock Bridge was an action fought between a Union Army detachment of 27 men guarding a bridge near Woodville, Alabama and a Confederate States Army cavalry detachment intent on destroying the railroad bridge on April 28, 1862 during the American Civil War.
On May 2, 1862, Athens was seized by Union forces under the command of Colonel John Basil Turchin.
According to Civil War journals, on May 4, 1862, Union General John Adams and his cavalry troops were at Lamb’s Ferry when they received orders to move down the Tennessee River to Bainbridge Ferry. From May 10 through the 14, 1862, skirmishes between the Union and Confederate troops occurred around Lamb’s Ferry; the area remained occupied by Union soldiers until May 14, 1862.
A trooper of the 1st Ohio Cav. attests that the rebel yell “would have raised the hair on a Comanche Indian.”
In March 1862 Samuel Tarrant raised the Jonesboro Guards that mustered at Shelby Springs as Company H of the 28th Alabama Infantry Regiment.
Checking the actual record on this revealed the following:
Barton, also known as Barton Station, Barton Depot, or Barton’s, is an unincorporated community located in western Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is about ten miles west of the county seat of Tuscumbia, and just south of Tennessee River. The community is about four miles southeast of Cherokee on US Route 72.
The actual capture of Streight’s forces was achieved by a clever ruse, when Forrest paraded his much smaller force back and forth in front of Streight, convincing him that he was opposed by a superior force. After surrendering and being informed of the deception Streight reputedly demanded his arms back for a proper fight, a request cheerfully declined by Forrest.
Confederate forces led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union forces led by General Abel Streight skirmished briefly in the town on May 1, 1863, and Major General Lovell H. Rousseau and his Union cavalry occupied the town in July 1864.
Grenville Mellen Dodge (April 12, 1831 – January 3, 1916) was a Union army officer on the frontier and pioneering figure in military intelligence during the Civil War, who served as Ulysses S. Grant’s intelligence Chief in the Western Theater. He served in several notable assignments, including command of the XVI Corps during the Atlanta Campaign.
One of the most memorable Civil War battles was between the Union forces of Colonel Abel D. Streight and the Confederate forces under General Bedford Forrest. This battle was in Cedar Bluff, Alabama.
After repulsing Forrests attack at Day’s Gap in the early morning hours Streight’s “Mule Brigade” continued south about 6 miles until reaching Crooked Creek.
The Battle of Day’s Gap, fought on April 30, 1863, was the first in a series of American Civil War skirmishes in Cullman County, Alabama, that lasted until May 2, known as Streight’s Raid.
The Battle of Day’s Gap, fought on April 30, 1863, was the first in a series of American Civil War skirmishes in Cullman County, Alabama, that lasted until a battle on May 2nd, known as Streight’s Raid.
American Civil War Skirmish of Buckhorn Tavern in Madison County Alabama.
On 21 October at 08:00, the XV Corps moved up towards the location of the Confederate troops, with its 1st Division leading. They encountered a large force of Confederate soldiers and opened fire. Musket fire was exchanged for an hour, with the Confederates sustaining heavy losses. After the loss of a significant amount of their men, the Confederates retreated.
the largest engagement in Northwest Alabama during the Civil War was fought at Little Bear Cree
Moving east from the Mississippi, General William Tecumseh Sherman arrives in Stevenson, Alabama with four divisions. Sherman then confers with Grant in Chattanooga.
The Battle of Athens resulted in, After a two-hour battle, the Confederates retreated. Union forces, although greatly outnumbered and without fortifications, repulsed the attackers.
Madison Alabama was the site of a battle in the American Civil War on May 17, 1864, when Col.
Josiah Patterson’s 5th Alabama Cavalry, supported by Col. James H. Stuart’s cavalry battalion and a section of horse artillery, drove Col. Adam G. Gorgas’s 13th Illinois Infantry Regiment from the city.
Gen. Roddey’s Alabama cavalry makes a pre-dawn attack on camps of Col. Long’s Ohio cavalry brigade.
Naval Battle in Mobile Bay
The Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle, also known as the Battle of Athens, was fought near Athens, Alabama, in Limestone County, Alabama, from September 23 to 25, 1864. I
The Battle of Decatur was a demonstration conducted from October 26 to October 29, 1864, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War.
Red Hill is an unincorporated community in Marshall County.
During the American Civil War, one of Nathan B. Forrest’s generals, Hylan B. Lyon, was staying in a private residence in Red Hill. He was captured by a detachment of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, but managed to escape. On February 24, 1894, William Jackson Palmer was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as colonel leading the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry at Red Hill, January 14, 1865 where “with less than 200 men, [he] attacked and defeated a superior force of the enemy, captured their fieldpiece and about 100 prisoners without losing a man.”
The 1st Florida Calvary of the Union Army got more than it bargained for when it rode into Newton, Alabama, during the closing days of the War Between the States or Civil War.
The Battle of Selma, Alabama (April 2, 1865), formed part of the Union campaign through Alabama and Georgia, known as Wilson’s Raid, in the final phase of the American Civil War.
April 2-9 1865
Battle of fort Blakely
The siege and capture of Fort Blakely was basically the last combined-force battle of the war.