Tannehill Ironworks
A massive facility, these
ironworks were targeted by
Wilson and his men.
Home of a "Nancy Hart"
This home in LaGrange,
Georgia, was the residence of
a member of the Nancy Harts.
Wilson's Raid through Alabama and Georgia
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Wilson's Raid through Alabama and Georgia
ExploreSouthernHistory.com - Wilson's Raid through Alabama and Georgia
Fort Tyler at West Point
One of the key battles of the campaign took place in
West Point, Georgia, when a wing of Wilson's
command attacked Fort Tyler.
Last Campaign of the Civil War
Although it began while other campaigns
were still underway, by the time General
James H. Wilson's raid through Alabama
and Georgia came to an end, the Civil War
had ended and Wilson's men had fought its
last major battle.

Launched to destroy the remaining Southern
industrial complex, Wilson's massive raid
through Alabama and Georgia has been
called a 'Yankee Blitzkrieg" by one writer.
Leaving the Tennessee River Valley in
northern Alabama, he drove south in a brutal
campaign that devastated the economy of a
massive section of the Deep South.

The initial target of the campaign was Selma,
Alabama, and Wilson struck so hard, so fast
and with so many men that not even General
Nathan Bedford Forrest was able to hold him
back. Forrest skirmished and fought with
Wilson as he pushed down through the
Alabama iron country to Selma, but was
unable to assemble enough men to halt the
Union advance.

As he moved forward, Wilson destroyed
many of the iron furnaces of Alabama. These
industrial complexes had supplied the
Confederacy with thousands of tons of iron
for use in manufacturing cannon, artillery
projectiles, cookware and more. Ironworks
destroyed during the raid can be seen at
Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park and
Brierfield Ironworks Historical State Park.

Forrest turned on Wilson at what is now
Stanton, 24 miles north of Selma, to fight his
last battle on ground of his own choosing.
The Battle of Ebenezer Church ended in a
Union victory, but not before Forrest had
killed the last of at least 33 men who fell
before the general's pistols and saber during
the Civil War.

Following the Battle of Selma and the
destruction of the industrial complex in that
city, Wilson turned east and captured the
capital city of Montgomery virtually without
firing a shot.

From Montgomery, Wilson continued east for
Georgia. One column of his force captured
Fort Tyler at West Point, Georgia, while the
other fought the last major battle of the war
at Columbus, Georgia.
The Last Major Battle
The last major battle of the
Civil War was fought when
Wilson attacked Confederate
forces at Columbus, Georgia.
The massive industrial facilities and C.S.
Navy installations at Columbus were
destroyed along with the ironclad C.S.S.
Jackson. The raid ended a few days later at
Macon, Georgia.

To learn more about sites associated with
Wilson's Raid through Alabama and Georgia,
please follow the links below:
Battle of Ebenezer Church
A monument placed by the
United Daughters of the
Confederacy honors the 12
Union soldiers killed at
Ebenezer Church.
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Copyright 2011 by Dale Cox
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