Battle of Sulpher Creek Trestle | |||||||
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Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States (Union) | CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Wallace Campbell Jonas Elliott W. H. Lathrop George Spalding | Nathan Bedford Forrest | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
110th USCT 102nd Ohio Infantry 18th Michigan Infantry 111th USCT 4th Cavalry Division | Cavalry Corps, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2,350 [1] [2] | 4,500 [3] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2,350 [1] | 139 [4] |
The Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle, also known as the Battle of Athens, was fought near Athens, Alabama (Limestone County, Alabama), from September 23 to 25, 1864 as part of the American Civil War. [5]
In September 1864, General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his force into northern Alabama and middle Tennessee to disrupt the supply of William Tecumseh Sherman's army in Georgia.
The battle's site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. [6]
On the afternoon of 23 September, Union forces engaged Confederate forces five miles south of Athens, near Tanner, where they were destroying a railroad trestle. Forrest's Confederate forces moved towards Athens. That evening the Confederate forces gained control of the town, and the Union forces had retreated within Fort Henderson.
The Confederate forces began an artillery barrage on the morning of the 24th. In a personal meeting, Forrest convinced the Union commander, Colonel Wallace Campbell, that the Confederate forces numbered 8,000-10,000. Campbell surrendered the fort and its garrison around noon.
Shortly after the garrison had surrendered, reinforcements consisting of about 350 men from the 18th Michigan and 102nd Ohio, commanded by Jonas Elliott, arrived by train from Decatur. After suffering casualties of one-third their total personnel, these forces surrendered.
After defeating the Union forces in Athens, Forrest moved north along the railroad with the intent to destroy a strategic trestle at Sulphur Creek, six miles north of Athens. A fortification, two blockhouses, and a force of 1,000 Union soldiers defended the trestle.
On the morning of the 25th, the Confederate forces began an artillery bombardment of the fort. The fortification had been built below the summits of adjacent hills, and thus provided little defense against the bombardment. 200 Union soldiers were killed, including the commander, Colonel William Hopkins Lathrop. By noon, George Spalding had surrendered the remaining 800 soldiers. [7] There were no reported Confederate losses. [4]
The Union prisoners were transferred to Confederate prisons. Many of these prisoners died on April 27, 1865, when the steamboat Sultana sank while transporting them home.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Fort Pillow State Historic Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance. In 1861, the Confederate army built extensive fortifications and named the site for General Gideon Johnson Pillow of Maury County. It was attacked and held by the Union Army for most of the American Civil War period except immediately after the Battle of Fort Pillow, when it was retaken by the Confederate Army. The battle ended with a massacre of African-American Union troops and their white officers attempting to surrender, by soldiers under the command of Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
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Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. U.S. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his U.S. Cavalry Corps to destroy Confederate manufacturing facilities and was opposed unsuccessfully by a much smaller force under Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Battle of Athens may refer to:
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The 1st Kentucky Artillery was an artillery battery that was a member of the Orphan Brigade in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought in several engagements throughout the Western Theater, including the battles of Shiloh, Baton Rouge, Siege of Jackson, Sulphur Trestle, Resaca, Murfreesboro, Jonesborough, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Johnsonville. Following the end of the Atlanta Campaign, Cobb's Battery was detached from the Orphan Brigade and reassigned to defend Mobile, Alabama.
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The Richard Martin Trail or the Richard Martin Rails-to-Trail is a multi-use rail trail open to hikers, walkers, runners, and bicycle and horseback riders in Limestone County, Alabama built on an abandoned rail corridor as part of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. The 10.2-mile trail winds through wetlands, the Civil War site Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle and downtown Elkmont, Alabama. It was named in honor of Richard Martin, local citizen and trail supporter, who led the effort to build the trail for 25 years.
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The Sulphur Trestle Fort Site is a historic Civil War battle site near Elkmont, Alabama. The fort was the site of the Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle on September 25, 1864. After defeating Union Army forces and recapturing Athens, Alabama, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest moved north to attempt to destroy a key railroad trestle. The trestle was defended by a fortification manned by 1000 Union soldiers. Forrest's troops easily defeated the Union forces and burned the trestle. Today, about 400 yards of trenches dug around the outside of the fort's parapet remain. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.