Muscogee County GaArchives Photo Place.....City Of Columbus (Civil War) ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 May 5, 2007, 10:56 pm Source: Sesquicentennial Supplement III, Ledger-Enquirer Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/cityofco12716gph.jpg Image file size: 55.4 Kb Columbus Lost the Battle Right After the War. By Sandra Blackmon Enquirer Staff Writer If you are a history buff or have been stuck in a traffic jam at Fourth Avenue and 14th Street, you've probably read the historical marker on the corner. The metal plaque recalls the "last land-battle in the war of 1861-65" when the Civil War threw Columbus into a panic. The battle occurred 112 years ago when the enemy appeared on Hurts Bridge on the lower Crawford Road about 2 p.m. one Easter Sunday. The bridge was filled with U. S. Army soldiers. There were the sounds of orders being shouted and the clank of muskets. An outcry was heard above the noise, "Selma, Selma, take the bridge!" The federal troops drove into their opponents on the bridge and followed them to get within firing range. Columbus was finally in the thick of the Civil War, although it was officially over. Up until April 16, 1865, Columbus had been free from attack by the Yankees. Abraham Lincoln had been mortally wounded two nights before at Ford's Theater in Washington. This news, nor that of Robert E. Lee's surrendering a week "before," had not reached the city or its citizens. Earlier during that year there had been reports of federal troops invading parts of Alabama and heading for Columbus. These reports were said at the time to be "among the wildest of the wild rumors." But on the morning of the attack, a local newspaper, "The Daily Sun," carried a confirmed report that the Yankees were indeed headed, out of the West from Selma, toward Columbus. Capt. Thomas E. Blanchard hastily rode through the streets before noon - Paul Revere fashion, warning of the impending attack. The military forces in Columbus at the time consisted of two regiments of the Georgia State Line, Maj. James Waddell's battery of artillery some of the forces of Gens. Buford and Wofford and a smaller number of Georgia and Russell County, Ala. reserves. All other available forces were gathered. Most of the troops were inexperienced and untrained. Reports indicated 11-14-year-old boys and men so old they could scarcely hold guns were among the Confederate defenders. The federal troops were veterans of war and well equipped with weapons and manpower. They were organized and ready for battle. To their credit, the outmanned Rebels held back the Yankees in two attempts to rush two different bridges. In the first attempt, to capture the Dillingham Street Bridge, the federal troops were stopped, since the Confederates had removed the flooring of the bridge. The Yankees knelt and fired while trying to rebuild the bridge floor. But Confederate Capt. C. C. McGhee set fire to the bridge on the Columbus side thwarting an attempt to rush the bridge. The Confederates then began to fire on the U. S. troops and forced a retreat. Meanwhile, about 200 federal soldiers were sent to a second bridge at Clapps Factory but found that it had already been destroyed by the Confederates. Confederates fired on some of the Union troops who were on the hill overlooking the city and the Confederate defense line. The Confederates figured that the invaders were not firing back because they were waiting until dark to attack. . But some accounts say the bluecoats were just holding out. It seems that a local citizen had told the' soldiers about using earth construction for protection against enemy fire. The U. S. soldiers were hoping to make the Confederates run out of ammunition. They waited until 8 p.m. and charged the bridge but couldn't tell in the darkness if the main Confederate line had been assaulted. They ran to the rear of the Confederates and cut them off, trying to get control of the bridge. In the darkness and confusion the Union soldiers charged again and everyone, friend and foe, ran toward the Columbus side of the bridge. No shots were fired by the Confederates for fear of killing their own men. The defenders had lost the battle and a panic hit Columbus as "the Yankees are coming," filled the air. One observer wrote, "At one place the women and children were running through the streets like people deranged, and men with mules and wagons driving in every direction. "At that time the enemy was not within miles of that place," he added. There are no accurate figures of Confederate losses, eight were known killed. Union casualties were listed as 30 men wounded and five killed. The Sun and Times newspaper presses were burned by the federal troops but The Enquirer presses were not burned. However, the newspaper was not allowed to publish immediately after the seizure. Two days later, the Union troops and 1,200 prisoners from Columbus headed to Macon. A few days later Confederate General Joe Johnston surrendered to Sherman on substantially the same terms that Lee had earlier surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. On the 10th of May, Jefferson Davis was captured at Irwinville in Tift County. The life of the Confederacy was over. Special Sesquicentennial Supplement III Ledger-Enquirer, Sunday, April 30, 1978, S-24 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/cityofco12716gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.9 Kb