The Battle of Ebenezer Church was a battle that was fought in Stanton, Alabama near Plantersville, Alabama between

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

cavalry under

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of volunteers

James H. Wilson James Harrison Wilson (September 2, 1837 – February 23, 1925) was a United States Army topographic engineer and a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War. He served as an aide to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Maryland Cam ...

and

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

cavalry under

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

on April 1, 1865 during

Wilson's Raid Wilson's Raid was a cavalry operation through Alabama and Georgia in March–April 1865, late in the American Civil War. Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson led his Union Army Cavalry Corps to destroy Southern manufacturing facilities and was opposed ...

into Alabama in the final full month of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.Jones, James Pickett. ''Yankee Blitzkrieg: Wilson's Raid Through Alabama and Georgia''. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1987. Reprinted as a Brown Thrasher Book. Originally published Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1976. . pp. 67–74.Herbert, Keith S. ''Battle of Ebenezer Church'' i
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Retrieved July 26, 2015. Forrest had at least 1,500 and as many as 5,000 troops, but some were ill-trained Alabama State Troops. Wilson had at least 9,000 troopers of his original 13,480-man force available. Forrest had been unable to concentrate scattered Confederate forces to face Wilson's larger force, which was armed with 7-shot Spencer repeating carbines. After a brief but initially heavy engagement, the Alabama State Troops' line broke and Wilson's men drove the Confederates back toward the defenses of

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...

. Selma had an arsenal and industry that Wilson attacked and destroyed after his men again defeated the Confederate troopers at the

Battle of Selma The Battle of Selma, Alabama (April 2, 1865), 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. Union Army forces under Major General James H. Wilson, tot ...

the following day. After the battle at Ebenezer Church, the Union troops burned the railroad depot at Plantersville and a cotton warehouse. Confederate casualties were not reported but Wilson's force captured 300 of Forrest's men and 3 artillery pieces. Wilson's command had 12 killed and 40 wounded. Forrest received a slight saber wound, which he later said would have been fatal if the Union officer, Captain James D. Taylor, had been able to strike him with the point rather than the blade. Forrest killed Taylor, the last of 33 men he killed during the war, with a pistol shot. Battle of Ebenezer Church Union Dead Memorial

Battle of Ebenezer Church Union Dead Memorial

Notes

All Union soldiers killed in this battle were removed to Marietta National Cemetery after the war. Refer to the U.S. Burial Registers.

References

* Jones, James Pickett. ''Yankee Blitzkrieg: Wilson's Raid Through Alabama and Georgia''. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1987. Reprinted as a Brown Thrasher Book. Originally published Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1976. . * Herbert, Keith S. ''Battle of Ebenezer Church'' i
Encyclopedia of Alabama
Retrieved July 26, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ebenezer

Ebenezer Ebenezer may refer to: Bible * Eben-Ezer, a place mentioned in the Books of Samuel People * Ebenezer (given name), a male given name Places Australia * Ebenezer, New South Wales * Ebenezer, Queensland, a locality in the City of Ipswich * Ebene ...

1865 in the American Civil War 1865 in Alabama Nathan Bedford Forrest April 1865 events