Stoneman's 1865 Raid

Stoneman's raid in 1865, also called Stoneman's last raid, was a military campaign in the Upper South during the American Civil War, by Union cavalry troops led by General George Stoneman, in the region of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.

Background

In the later stages of the war from 1864 to 1865, Union forces concentrated on breaking Confederate strongholds. In 1864 General George Stoneman led forces in the Atlanta campaign, leading an expedition to liberate prisoners, but was captured by Confederate Home Guard at Clinton, Georgia. Released after a prisoner exchange in October 1864, he was made deputy to General John Schofield, commander of the Army of the Ohio. He proposed a raid in southwest Virginia to destroy the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and the saltworks in Saltville followed by an attack towards Salisbury, North Carolina. Schofield authorized the southwest Virginia attack in December but postponed the North Carolina foray. Stoneman successfully carried out his raid, boosting his reputation, while Schofield successfully reversed an order from the Secretary of War and General Ulysses Grant to remove Stoneman from any commands due to his failure in Georgia. With his reputation as an effective commander restored, in February 1865 Stoneman was appointed Commander of the District of East Tennessee. Grant wrote to General George Henry Thomas, Stoneman's superior, authorizing him to allow Stoneman to carry out a raid into Columbia, South Carolina to destroy railroads and supplies, and free prisoners in Salisbury. Thomas' subsequent instructions specified that Stoneman was "to destroy but not to fight battles".

Stoneman wrote to Brigadier Alvan Cullem Gillem to bring his Eighth, Ninth, and Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry Regiments into the operation and went to Louisville, Kentucky to prepare the Eleventh Kentucky, Twelfth Kentucky, and Eleventh Michigan Cavalry Regiments for his expedition. Stoneman's organization took longer than Grant expected, as he attempted to find sufficient horses to carry out the raid. In the meantime, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman had entered Columbia, rendering it no longer necessary for Stoneman to attack South Carolina. Thomas then revised his orders for Stoneman, ordering him to leave Tennessee through the New River valley towards Christiansburg, Virginia to sabotage the eastern portion of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad and thus cutoff escape routes for Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee, who were engaged with Grant's forces in Virginia at near Petersburg and Richmond. Impatient with the delay, Grant wired Thomas on March 19, writing "If Stoneman has not got off on his expedition, start him off at once with whatever force you can give him. He will not meet with opposition now that cannot be overcome with 1,500 men." On March 18 Brigadier Gillem took three brigades—comprising three regiments each—to carry out Stoneman's orders. One was commanded by Colonel William J. Palmer, another by Brevet Brigadier Simeon B. Brown, and the last by Colonel John K. Miller. The artillery battery was led by Lieutenant James M. Regan.

Raid

On March 23, 1865, the nine Union cavalry regiments entered Morristown, Tennessee, where they were received favorably by the locals. East of the town at Bull's Gap, the force split into two groups, with one marching directly east and the other going through Carter's Station and the Watauga River to avoid Confederate forces in Jonesboro. The Union soldiers were tasked with orders to "dismantle the country". They headed east into North Carolina, destroying towns and plundering along the way, then headed north into Virginia on April 2, where they destroyed 150 miles of railroad track belonging to the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. They also burned half of the town of Abingdon on their way North. On April 9, 1865, they re-entered North Carolina and traveled south to the twin towns of Winston and Salem, now Winston-Salem, and on to High Point.

On April 12, 1865, they entered Salisbury, a major railroad hub, military depot, and home to Salisbury Prison, the only Confederate prison in the state for captured Union troops. Originally built with a capacity for 2,000 prisoners, the prison eventually held 10,000, with resulting problems of malnutrition and disease. The Confederates evacuated the prison before Union troops arrived, but the latter set fire to the entire structure. The resulting conflagration could be seen for miles. A detachment of 1,000 troops under Colonel John K. Miller then proceeded towards the Yadkin River on the Rowan-Davidson County line in attempt to destroy the railway trestle there. The rail line was protected by 1,000–1,600 Confederate troops stationed in Fort York atop a bluff on the opposite side of the river. Stoneman dispatched artillery to Miller's troops but they were unable to cross the river and after 5.5 hours they withdrew towards Salisbury, dismantling the railway track on the Rowan side of the river but failing to destroy the bridge.

The Union troops traveled west in North Carolina, plundering Statesville, Lincolnton, Taylorsville, and Asheville, before re-entering Tennessee on April 26, 1865. Hundreds of freed slaves accompanied them as they left Asheville.

This was the same day that Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to General Sherman at Bennett Place, in Durham, North Carolina. It was the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers and it ended the war. Stoneman's 1865 raid covered over 600 miles in total length through three states.Shannon Hurst Lane (2010). ''Insiders' Guide to Civil War Sites in the South'', 4th edition. Insiders' Guide. p. 298. .

Legacy

The state of North Carolina later erected historical markers in each community where Stoneman's cavalry camped or fought during the raid, including west of Lewisville, in Blowing Rock, and in Dobson.

References

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Cavalry raids of the American Civil War
1865 in the American Civil War
1865 in Tennessee
1865 in North Carolina
1865 in Virginia
Military operations of the American Civil War in North Carolina
Military operations of the American Civil War in Virginia
Military operations of the American Civil War in Tennessee
March 1865 events
April 1865 events