Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle

Last updated
Battle of Sulpher Creek Trestle
Part of the American Civil War
DateSeptember 23, 1864 (1864-09-23) – September 25, 1864 (1864-09-25)
Location 34°54′34″N86°59′17″W / 34.90936°N 86.98814°W / 34.90936; -86.98814
Result Confederate victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1863-1865).svg United States (Union) Flag of the Confederate States of America (1863-1865).svg 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]
Map of Athens Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program. Athens Battlefield Alabama.jpg
Map of Athens Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

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]

Contents

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]

Athens (September 23–24)

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.

Sulphur Creek Trestle (September 25)

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]

Aftermath

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.

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-13. Retrieved 2013-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2013-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Athens-Limestone County Civil Wat Trail" (PDF). tourathens.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  4. 1 2 "The Official Records of the Civil War". eHistory at OSU.
  5. The National Park service considers the engagements at Battle of Athens, September 23–24, and the Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle, September 25 to be one battle Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields - State of Alabama.
  6. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  7. Sulphur Battle

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Pillow State Historic Park</span> Civil war battlefield in Tennessee, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Day's Gap</span> Battle of the American Civil War

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. Commanding the Union forces was Col. Abel Streight; Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest led the Confederate forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Fort Blakeley</span> 1865 siege during the American Civil War

The Battle of Fort Blakeley took place from April 2 to April 9, 1865, in Baldwin County, Alabama, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Spanish Fort, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the American Civil War. At the time, Blakeley, Alabama, had been the county seat of Baldwin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Selma</span> 1865 battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Selma was fought on April 2, 1865 in Dallas County, Alabama during the American Civil War. It was part of the Union campaign through Alabama and Georgia, known as Wilson's Raid, in the final full month of the Civil War.

The Battle of Dry Wood Creek, also known as the Battle of the Mules, was fought on September 2, 1861, in Vernon County, Missouri, during the American Civil War. After his victory at the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard moved further north into Missouri. A force of Union troops under James H. Lane moved from Fort Scott, Kansas to attempt an interception of Price's army, and set an ambush along Dry Wood Creek. Price's Missouri State Guard troops outnumbered Lane's Kansas troops, and after a two hour skirmish forced Lane to retreat to Fort Scott. In their retreat, Lane's troops abandoned their supplies and mules to the Missourians. Price followed up his victory by continuing his northward march, culminating in another victory at the siege of Lexington, September 13 to 20, before returning south shortly afterwards.

The Battle of West Point, Georgia, formed part of the Union campaign through Alabama and Georgia, known as Wilson's Raid, in the final full month of the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streight's Raid</span> Raid during the American Civil War

Streight's Raid took place in northern Alabama during the American Civil War (1861-1865). It was led by Union Army Col. Abel D. Streight (1828-1892) and opposed by the Confederate States Army of Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (1820-1877), Streight's goal was to destroy parts of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which was supplying the Confederate Army of Tennessee to the north. The raid was poorly supplied and planned, and ended with the defeat of Col. Streight and his 1,700 men at Cedar Bluff, Alabama, by Gen. Forrest who bluffed his opponent into surrendering to his 500 men in the town there. Streight was additionally hindered by Southern locals throughout his march, while pursued by Forrest, who had the advantage of knowing the home territory and the sympathy and aid of the local Alabama populace, most famously of Emma Sansom (1847-1900), who later had a statue erected for her in Gadsden, Alabama, which subsequently became controversial in 2020.

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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama in the American Civil War</span>

Alabama was central to the Civil War, with the secession convention at Montgomery, the birthplace of the Confederacy, inviting other slaveholding states to form a southern republic, during January–March 1861, and to develop new state constitutions. The 1861 Alabaman constitution granted citizenship to current U.S. residents, but prohibited import duties (tariffs) on foreign goods, limited a standing military, and as a final issue, opposed emancipation by any nation, but urged protection of African-American slaves with trials by jury, and reserved the power to regulate or prohibit the African slave trade. The secession convention invited all slaveholding states to secede, but only 7 Cotton States of the Lower South formed the Confederacy with Alabama, while the majority of slave states were in the Union at the time of the founding of the Confederacy. Congress had voted to protect the institution of slavery by passing the Corwin Amendment on March 4, 1861, but it was never ratified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb's Battery</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas in the American Civil War</span>

During the American Civil War, Arkansas was a Confederate state, though it had initially voted to remain in the Union. Following the capture of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Abraham Lincoln called for troops from every Union state to put down the rebellion, and Arkansas along with several other southern states seceded. For the rest of the civil war, Arkansas played a major role in controlling the Mississippi River, a major waterway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic Blakeley State Park</span> State park in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States

Historic Blakeley State Park is located on the site of the former town of Blakeley in Baldwin County, Alabama on the Tensaw River delta. The park encompasses an area once occupied by settlers in what was a thriving community on the river. Later, Confederate soldiers were garrisoned here and fought against Union forces in the last major battle of the U.S. Civil War.

The 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Brigade (American Civil War)</span> Infantry brigade of the Confederate States Army

Also known as Law’s Brigade, the Alabama Brigade was a military formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was created in 1863 and participated in major combat operations such as the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of the Wilderness and the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. It was considered one of the great fighting brigades of the Army of Northern Virginia.

89th Indiana Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

The Civil War Trust's Civil War Discovery Trail is a heritage tourism program that links more than 600 U.S. Civil War sites in more than 30 states. The program is one of the White House Millennium Council's sixteen flagship National Millennium Trails. Sites on the trail include battlefields, museums, historic sites, forts and cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulphur Trestle Fort Site</span> Historic archaeological site in Alabama, United States

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.

References