The Battle of Averasborough or the Battle of Averasboro, fought March 16, 1865, in Harnett and Cumberland counties,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, as part of the

Carolinas Campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January ...

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 ...

, was a prelude to the climactic

Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj ...

, which began three days later.

Opposing forces

Union

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

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 ...

was moving his army north towards Goldsboro in two columns. The right column (

Army of the Tennessee An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

) was under the command of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard and the left column (

Army of Georgia The Army of Georgia was a Union army that constituted the Left Wing of Major General William T. Sherman's Army Group during the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. History During Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in 1864, his Army Group wa ...

) was under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum.

Confederate

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Gen.

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American career army officer, serving with distinction in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia secede ...

sent Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee's corps to attack Slocum's left wing while it was separated from the rest of Sherman's forces.

Battle

Slocum's troops had crossed the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

at Fayetteville and were marching up the

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

plank road. Near Averasborough, they encountered Hardee's corps. On the morning of March 16, troops of the Union XX Corps under Maj. Gen.

Alpheus S. Williams Alpheus Starkey Williams (September 20, 1810 – December 21, 1878) was a lawyer, judge, journalist, U.S. Congressman, and a Union Army, Union general in the American Civil War. Early life Williams was born in Deep River, Connecticut. He gradua ...

were driven back by a Confederate assault. When reinforcements arrived, the Union forces counterattacked and drove back two lines of Confederates, but were stopped by a third line. By this time, units from Maj. Gen.

Jefferson C. Davis Jefferson Columbus Davis (March 2, 1828 – November 30, 1879) was a regular officer of the United States Army during the American Civil War, known for the similarity of his name to that of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and for his kil ...

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

began to arrive on the field. Outnumbered and in danger of being flanked, Hardee's troops withdrew.

Battlefield

The Battle of Averasborough was fought on the grounds of Oak Grove, near

Erwin, North Carolina Erwin, formerly named Duke, is a town that is located in the eastern part of Harnett County, North Carolina, United States, located approximately from Dunn and approximately from Fayetteville. The city is a part of the Dunn, NC Micropolitan St ...

. Lebanon was used as a hospital. Prior to the battle, Union soldiers raided the Ellerslie Plantation for supplies and quartered troops in the plantation's main house. The

Averasboro Battlefield Historic District Averasboro Battlefield Historic District is a national historic district located near Erwin, Harnett County, North Carolina, United States. It encompasses four contributing buildings, three contributing sites, three contributing structures, and ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2001. The

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...

and its partners have acquired and preserved of the Averasborough battlefield.

"Saved Land" webpage. Accessed November 23, 2021.

Casualties

The Confederates had not held up the Union Army as long as they had hoped. Each side suffered about 700 casualties; however, these were losses the Federals could afford while the Confederates could not.

References

External links

Civil War Trust battle map

CWSAC Report Update