"Scattering them in every direction"
— Carolinas Campaign —
(preface)
The Carolina Campaign began on February 1, 1865, when Union Gen. William T. Sherman led his army north from Savannah, Georgia, after the March to the Sea. Sherman objective was to join Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee Army of the Northern Virginia. Scattered Confederate forces consolidated in North Carolina, the Confederacy logistical lifeline, where Sherman defeated Gen. Joseph E. Johnston last-ditch attack at Bentonville. After Sherman was reinforced at Goldsboro late in March, Johnston saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered at Bennett Place near Durham on April 26, ending the Civil War in the East.
(main text)
The Morrisville depot of the North Carolina Railroad stood three hundred yards in front of you. It became the focus of fighting here on April 13, 1865.
After the capture of Raleigh, Union Gen. H. Judson Kilpatrick skirmished with Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler cavalry as it retreated west. About 2 p.m. Wheeler galloped into Morrisville with the Federals close behind. Wheeler cavalrymen dismounted and erected barricades around the depot to protect a locomotive straining to pull cars loaded with supplies and wounded, including Arkansas Gen. Daniel H. Reynolds, up the long grade out of town. Reynolds had lost a let at Bentonville. His aides threatened to kill the conductor if the train fell into Union hands, inspiring him to build up a head of steam quickly. Kilpatrick halted on a hill just southeast of town across the distant creek in front of you and to your right and deployed Lt. Joseph Kittinger section of the 23rd New York Battery. The guns pounded Wheeler men, who were in buildings as well as behind the barricades. Union horseman charged to within 100 yards of the train before Confederate bullets halted them. Wheeler men uncoupled the supply cars, enabling the rest of the train to escape. Then they followed it west.
Kilpatrick occupied a Morrisville house as his headquarters. That evening, a message arrived for Gen. William T. Sherman from Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, requesting an armistice to discuss surrender terms. Kilpatrick sent it on to Sherman in Raleigh. The message signaled the end of the Carolinas Campaign.
"When we reached the brow of the hill overlooking this place, we saw a long heavy rebel column of cavalry passing through the town and up the opposite heights. My pieces were brought forward on a run and we sent the shell in quick succession right in the midst of the retreating Johnnies, scattering them in every direction." — Lt. Joseph Kittinger, 23rd New York Artillery
(captions)
(lower left) Lt. Joseph Kittinger
Courtesy Ross Rapoport
(lower right) Gen. Daniel B. Reynolds
Courtesy Arkansas History Commission
Comments 0 comments