ALABAMA
Athens
Other Names: None
Location: Limestone County
Campaign: Operations in North Alabama (1864)
Date(s): January 26, 1864
Principal Commanders: Capt. Emil Adams [US]; Lt. Col. Moses W. Hannon [CS]
Forces Engaged: 9th Illinois Mounted Infantry [US]; 1st Alabama Cavalry [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 50 total (US 20; CS 30)
Description: Confederate cavalry, numbering about 600 men, attacked Athens, held by about 100 Union troops, around 4:00 am on the morning of January 26, 1864. After a two-hour battle, the Confederates retreated. Union forces, although greatly outnumbered and without fortifications, repulsed the attackers.
Result(s): Union victory (The Confederate force failed in its attempt to take Athens.)
Fort Blakely
Other Names: None
Location: Baldwin County
Campaign: Mobile Campaign (1865)
Date(s): April 2-9, 1865
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby [US]; Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell [CS]
Forces Engaged: XIII and XVI Corps [US]; Fort Blakely Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: Total 4,475. April 9 only 3,529 (US 629; CS 2,900)
Description: E.R.S. Canbys forces, the XVI and XIII corps, moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. By April 1, Union forces had enveloped Spanish Fort, thereby releasing more troops to focus on Fort Blakely. Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell, with about 4,000 men, held out against the much larger Union force until Spanish Fort fell on April 8, allowing Canby to concentrate 16,000 men for the attack on April 9. Sheer numbers breached the Confederate earthworks compelling the Confederates to capitulate. The siege and capture of Fort Blakely was basically the last combined-force battle of the war. African-American forces played a major role in the successful Union assault.
Result(s): Union victory (Fort Blakely surrendered.)
Spanish Fort
Other Names: None
Location: Baldwin County
Campaign: Mobile Campaign (1865)
Date(s): March 27-April 8, 1865
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby [US]; Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson [CS]
Forces Engaged: XVI and XIII Corps [US]; Spanish Fort Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 1,401 (US 657; CS 744)
Description: Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canbys XIII and XVI corps moved along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay forcing the Confederates back into their defenses. Union forces then concentrated on Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. On March 27, 1865, Canbys forces rendezvoused at Danleys Ferry and immediately undertook a siege of Spanish Fort. The Union had enveloped the fort by April 1, and on April 8 captured it. Most of the Confederate forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Randall L. Gibson, escaped and fled to Mobile, but Spanish Fort was no longer a threat.
Result(s): Union victory
Selma
Other Names: None
Location: Dallas County
Campaign: Wilsons Raid in Alabama and Georgia (1865)
Date(s): April 2, 1865
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson [US]; Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest [CS]
Forces Engaged: Two cavalry divisions [US]; troops in city (approx. 5,000 men) [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 3,019 total (US 319; CS 2,700)
Description: Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, commanding three divisions of Union cavalry, about 13,500 men, led his men south from Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865. Opposed by Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, Wilson skillfully continued his march and eventually defeated him in a running battle at Ebenezer Church, on April 1. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson split his command into three columns. Although Selma was well-defended, the Union columns broke through the defenses at separate points forcing the Confederates to surrender the city, although many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, escaped. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, whom some had considered invincible, could not stop the unrelenting Union movements deep into the Southern Heartland.
Result(s): Union victory
Mobile Bay
Other Names: Passing of Forts Morgan and Gaines
Location: Mobile County and Baldwin County
Campaign: Operations in Mobile Bay (1864)
Date(s): August 2-23, 1864
Principal Commanders: Adm. David G. Farragut and Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger [US]; Adm. Franklin Buchanan and Brig. Gen. Richard L. Page [CS]
Forces Engaged: Farraguts Fleet (14 wooden ships and 4 monitors) and U.S. army forces near Mobile [US]; Buchanans Flotilla (3 gunboats and an ironclad), Fort Morgan Garrison, Fort Gaines Garrison, and Fort Powell Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 1,822 (US 322; CS 1,500)
Description: A combined Union force initiated operations to close Mobile Bay to blockade running. Some Union forces landed on Dauphin Island and laid siege to Fort Gaines. On August 5, Farraguts Union fleet of eighteen ships entered Mobile Bay and received a devastating fire from Forts Gaines and Morgan and other points. After passing the forts, Farragut forced the Confederate naval forces, under Adm. Franklin Buchanan, to surrender, which effectively closed Mobile Bay. By August 23, Fort Morgan, the last big holdout, fell, shutting down the port. The city, however, remained uncaptured.
Results(s): Union victory
Decatur
Other Names: None
Location: Morgan County and Limestone County
Campaign: Franklin-Nashville Campaign (1864)
Date(s): October 26-29, 1864
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. Robert S. Granger [US]; Gen. John B. Hood [CS]
Forces Engaged: Garrison and other troops sent there (approx. 5,000 men) [US]; Army of Tennessee [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 605 total (US 155; CS 450)
Description: As Gen. John B. Hood began the Franklin-Nashville Campaign during the fall of 1864, his Army of Tennessee demonstrated against Decatur, Alabama, October 26-29, in an attempt to cross the Tennessee River. Union forces, under the command of Brig. Gen. Robert S. Granger for most of the battle, numbered only about 5,000 men, but successfully prevented the much larger Confederate force from crossing the river.
Result(s): Union victory (Confederate forces could not cross the river.)
Days Gap
Other Names: Sand Mountain
Location: Cullman County, Alabama
Campaign: Streight's Raid in Alabama and Georgia (1863)
Date(s): April 30, 1863
Principal Commanders: Col. Abel Streight [US]; Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest [CS]
Forces Engaged: Men from 51st Indiana Infantry, 73rd Indiana Infantry, 3rd Ohio Infantry, 80th Illinois Infantry, and 1st Middle Tennessee Cavalry [US]; three regiments [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 88 total (US 23; CS 65)
Description: Union Col. Abel D. Streight led a provisional brigade on a raid to cut the Western & Atlantic Railroad that supplied Gen. Braxton Braggs Confederate army in Middle Tennessee. From Nashville, Tennessee, Streights command traveled to Eastport, Mississippi, and then proceeded east to Tuscumbia, Alabama, in conjunction with another Union force commanded by Brig. Gen. Grenville Dodge. On April 26, 1863, Streights men left Tuscumbia and marched southeast, their initial movements screened by Dodges troops.
On April 30, Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrests brigade caught up with Streights expedition and attacked its rearguard at Days Gap on Sand Mountain. The Federals repulsed this attack and continued their march to avoid further delay and envelopment. Thus began a running series of skirmishes and engagements at Crooked Creek (April 30), Hog Mountain (April 30), Blountsville (May 1), Black Creek/Gadsden (May 2), and Blounts Plantation (May 2). Forrest finally surrounded the exhausted Union soldiers near Rome, Georgia, where he forced their surrender on May 3.
Result(s): Union victory, although the raid ultimately failed.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas Post
Other Names: Fort Hindman
Location: Arkansas County
Campaign: Operations against Vicksburg (1862-1863)
Date(s): January 9-11, 1863
Principal Commanders: Rear Adm. David D. Porter and Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand [US]; Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Churchill [CS]
Forces Engaged: Army of the Mississippi [US]; Fort Hindman Garrison [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 6,547 total (US 1,047; CS 5,500)
Description: From Fort Hindman, at Arkansas Post, Confederates had been disrupting Union shipping on the Mississippi River. Maj. Gen. John McClernand, therefore, undertook a combined force movement on Arkansas Post to capture it. Union boats began landing troops near Arkansas Post in the evening of January 9, 1863. The troops started up river towards Fort Hindman. Maj. Gen. William T. Shermans corps overran Rebel trenches, and the enemy retreated to the protection of the fort and adjacent rifle-pits. Rear Adm. David Porter, on the 10th, moved his fleet towards Fort Hindman and bombarded it withdrawing at dusk. Union artillery fired on the fort from artillery positions across the river on the 11th, and the infantry moved into position for an attack. Union ironclads commenced shelling the fort and Porters fleet passed it to cutoff any retreat. As a result of this envelopment, and the attack by McClernands troops, the Confederate command surrendered in the afternoon. Although Union losses were high and the victory did not contribute to the capture of Vicksburg, it did eliminate one more impediment to Union shipping on the Mississippi.
Result(s): Union victory
Bayou Forche
Other Names: Little Rock
Location: Pulaski County
Campaign: Advance on Little Rock (1863)
Date(s): September 10, 1863
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. John W. Davidson [US]; Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke
Forces Engaged: Cavalry Division, Army of Arkansas, Arkansas Expedition [US]; District of Arkansas [CS]
Estimated Casualties: Total unknown (US 72; CS unknown)
Description: On September 10, 1863, Maj. Gen. Fred Steele, Army of Arkansas commander, sent Brig. Gen. John W. Davidsons cavalry division across the Arkansas River to move on Little Rock, while he took other troops to attack Confederates entrenched on the north side. In his thrust toward Little Rock, Davidson ran into Confederate troops at Bayou Fourche. Aided by Union artillery fire from the north side of the river, Davidson forced them out of their position and sent them fleeing back to Little Rock, which fell to Union troops that evening. Bayou Fourche sealed Little Rocks fate. The fall of Little Rock further helped to contain the Confederate Trans-Mississippi theater, isolating it from the rest of the South.
Result(s): Union victory
Cane Hill
Other Names: Canehill, Boston Mountains
Location: Washington County, Arkansas
Campaign: Prairie Grove Campaign (1862)
Date(s): November 28, 1862
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. James G. Blunt [US]; Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke [CS]
Forces Engaged: Department of Missouri [US]; two cavalry brigades [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 475 total (US 40; CS 435)
Description: In late November, Maj. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman detached Brig. Gen. John Marmadukes cavalry from Van Buren north to occupy the Cane Hill area. Hearing of this movement, Brig. Gen. James Blunt advanced to meet Marmadukes command and destroy it, if possible. The Union vanguard encountered Col. Joe Shelbys brigade, which fought a delaying action to protect their supply trains. Shelby gradually gave ground until establishing a strong defensive perimeter on Cove Creek where he repulsed a determined attack. The Federals withdrew to Cane Hill, while the Confederates returned to Van Buren. Although fighting well, Marmadukes withdrawal was a setback for Hindmans plans for recapturing northwest Arkansas. Victory at Prairie Grove a few weeks later, solidified Union control of the region.
Result(s): Confederate tactical victory
Chalk Bluff
Other Names: None
Location: Clay County
Campaign: Marmadukes Second Expedition into Missouri (1863)
Date(s): May 1-2, 1863
Principal Commanders: Brig. Gen. William Vandever [US]; Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke [CS]
Forces Engaged: 2nd Division, Army of the Frontier and force under command of Brig. Gen. John McNeil [US]; Marmadukes Cavalry Division [CS]
Estimated Casualties: Unknown
Description: Union Brig. Gen. William Vandever pursued Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke to Chalk Bluff, where the Confederates hoped to cross the St. Francis River. To ford the river, Marmaduke established a rearguard that received heavy punishment on May 1-2. Although most of Marmadukes raiders crossed the St. Francis River, they suffered heavy casualties and therefore ended the expedition.
Result(s): Confederate tactical victory (The results, however, forced Marmaduke to end his expedition, making this a Union strategic victory.)
Other Names: Backbone Mountain
Location: Sebastian County
Campaign: Operations to Control Indian Territory (1863)
Date(s): September 1, 1863
Principal Commanders: Col. William F. Cloud [US]; Brig. Gen. W.L. Cabell [CS]
Forces Engaged: 2nd Kansas Cavalry, 6th Missouri Cavalry, and two sections of Rabbs 2nd Indiana Battery [US]; Cabells Brigade [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 81 total (US 16; CS 65)
Description: Union Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt ordered Col. William Cloud to continue in pursuit of the Confederate forces that had withdrawn from Fort Smith and were chased to Old Jenny Lind. The Rebels turned on Cloud and skirmished with him at the base of Devils Backbone. Cabells forces ambushed approaching Union troops and momentarily halted their advance. Regrouping, the Union forces, with the help of artillery, advanced again and forced the Confederates to retire in disorder to Waldron.
Result(s): Union victory
