The Battle of Rivers' Bridge (also known as the Action at Rivers' Bridge) was a battle 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 ...

fought on February 3, 1865.

Order of battle

Confederate

Commander: Major General

Lafayette McLaws Lafayette McLaws ( ; January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights, ...

* Harrison's Brigade: Colonel George Harrison, Jr. ** 1st Georgia Regulars, Colonel Richard Wayne ** 5th Georgia Infantry, Colonel Charles Daniel ** 5th Georgia Reserves, Major Charles McGregor ** 32nd Georgia Infantry, Lieutenant Colonel E. H. Bacon, Jr. ** 47th Georgia Infantry * Kirkland's Brigade: Brigadier General

William Whedbee Kirkland William Whedbee Kirkland (February 13, 1833 – May 12, 1915) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the only former US Marine to serve as a Confederate general. Early life Kirkland was ...

** 17th North Carolina Infantry, Captain Stuart L. Johnston ** 42nd North Carolina Infantry, Colonel John E. Brown ** 50th North Carolina Infantry, Colonel George Wortham **66th North Carolina/10th North Carolina Battalion, Colonel John H. Nethercutt * Logan's Brigade: Brigadier General

Thomas M. Logan Thomas Muldrup Logan (November 3, 1840 – August 11, 1914) was an American soldier and businessman. He served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and afterward was greatly involved in railroad development in the Southern ...

** 1st South Carolina Cavalry: Lieutenant James A. Ratchford ** 2nd South Carolina Cavalry ** 3rd South Carolina Cavalry: Colonel Charles J. Colcock ** Earle's (South Carolina) Battery: Captain William Earle *

3rd Arkansas Cavalry The 3d Arkansas Cavalry Regiment (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army Cavalry regiment during the American Civil War. At the outbreak of hostilities between the north and south, Arkansas began raising troops to serve in the Confederate Army. The ...

: Major William Blackwell

Union

* XVII Corps: Major General

Francis Preston Blair, Jr. Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, ...

* 1st Division: Major General

Joseph A. Mower Joseph Anthony Mower (August 22, 1827 – January 6, 1870) was a Union general during the American Civil War. He was a competent officer and well respected by his troops and fellow officers to whom he was known as "Fighting Joe". Major General Wil ...

**1st Brigade: Brigadier General John W. Fuller *** 64th Illinois Infantry *** 18th Missouri Infantry *** 27th Ohio Infantry ***

39th Ohio Infantry The 39th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 39th Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Colerain and Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Ohio July 31 through August 13, 1 ...

**2nd Brigade: Brigadier General

John W. Sprague John Wilson Sprague (April 4, 1817 – December 27, 1893) was an American soldier and railroad executive. He served as a general in the Union Army in the Western Theater of operations during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of ...

*** 35th New Jersey Infantry ***

43rd Ohio Infantry The 43rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 43rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized in Mount Vernon, Ohio September 28, 1861, through February 1, 1862, and mustered in f ...

***

63rd Ohio Infantry The 63rd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the Union forces in the Western Theater of operations. Organization The original 63rd Ohio Infantry Regiment w ...

*** 25th Wisconsin Infantry **3rd Brigade: Colonel Charles H. DeGroat *** 10th Illinois Infantry *** 25th Indiana Infantry *** 32nd Wisconsin Infantry * 4th Division: Brevet Major General

Giles Alexander Smith Giles Alexander Smith (September 29, 1829 – November 8, 1876), was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Smith was born in Jefferson County, New York. When he was 18, he moved to southwestern Ohio, and for a d ...

** 1st Brigade: Brigadier General

Benjamin F. Potts Benjamin Franklin Potts (January 29, 1836 – June 17, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Ohio who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a reconstruction era gover ...

*** 14/15th Illinois Infantry *** 53rd Illinois Infantry *** 23rd Indiana Infantry *** 53rd Indiana Infantry ***

32nd Ohio Infantry The 32nd Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 32nd Ohio Infantry Regiment was organized at Mansfield, Ohio August 20-September 7, 1861, and mustered in for three years se ...

Work in progress

Engagement

While

Maj. Gen. 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 ...

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

's Union armies marched north across

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, about 1,200 Confederates under Maj. Gen.

were posted at the crossing on the

Salkehatchie River The Salkehatchie River originates near the City of Barnwell, South Carolina and accepts drainage from Turkey Creek and Whippy Swamp before merging with the Little Salkehatchie River to form the Combahee River Basin, which empties into Saint Helena ...

. Union soldiers began to build bridges to bypass McLaws on February 2. The next day two brigades under Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair waded through the swamp and flanked the Confederates. McLaws withdrew toward Branchville after stalling Sherman's advance for only one day and Sherman's forces continued moving north towards the state capital Columbia.

Mass grave

In 1876 men from nearby communities reburied the Confederate dead from Rivers Bridge in a mass grave about a mile from the battlefield and began a tradition of annually commemorating the battle. The Rivers Bridge Memorial Association eventually obtained the battlefield and in 1945 turned the site over to South Carolina for a state park. The site is commemorated by the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site.

Battlefield condition

Earthworks used by the Confederate defenders are preserved at the historic site. A portion of the bluff overlooking the river (upon which several Confederate earthworks were located) was significantly altered by the operations of a logging railroad that paralleled the Salkehatchie River during the late 19th century.

Notes

References

National Park Service battle description

* ttp://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/CWSII/SouthCarolinaBattlefieldProfiles/SouthCarolinaBattlefieldProfiles.pdf CWSAC Report Update {{authority control 1865 in the American Civil War Bamberg County, South Carolina River's Bridge Rivers' Bridge Rivers' Bridge February 1865 events Rivers' Bridge