After Averasborough and Hardee’s forced en masse withdrawal to save his Confederates, William Tecumseh Sherman apparently did not expect significant numbers of Confederates to attack him at Bentonville, North Carolina, on Sunday, March 19, 1865. However, he was attacked, and initially the Union left was routed. Even though Union reinforcements eventually stemmed the Confederate advance, the battle of Bentonville lasted until after nightfall. After having three assaults fail, Confederate forces eventually pulled back to their original lines, and both sides spent the night preparing defensive positions for the following day. Wheeler’s Confederate cavalry, which opposed Sherman’s right flank, was instructed to leave whatever force minimally necessary to guard against a Union advance and to bring the rest of their force to Bentonville as reinforcements for the following day.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.