Battle of Columbus (1865)

The Battle of Columbus, Georgia (April 16, 1865), also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama (now Phenix City, Alabama) is widely regarded to be the last battle of the American Civil War. The Georgia state government officially declared this battle the "last battle of the war between the states."

The Battle of Palmito Ranch in Texas occurred after the Battle of Columbus, but the engagement at Palmito Ranch occurred after Johnston's surrender to Sherman (April 26, 1865) and after the Confederacy dissolved on May 5. In the Official Records, the Battle of Columbus is referred to as the "closing conflict of the war."

This battle was also the last conflict as part of a campaign through Alabama and Georgia, called Wilson's Raid.

Events leading to the battle
After the Union victory in the Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864), Union General George H. Thomas gave orders to General James H. Wilson to march into the heart of the Deep South to bring the Confederacy to its knees by destroying all of their supply centers such as Selma, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia.

Wilson left Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865, aiming for Selma, a major manufacturing and supply center for the Confederacy. The Battle of Selma took place on April 2, 1865, against the highly skilled leadership of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. This engagement occurred the same day that the Confederate capital of Richmond fell into the hands of General Ulysses S. Grant. Despite significant casualties to Wilson's raiders, Selma fell to Wilson by 7 p.m. on April 2.

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, but Confederate General Johnston's army had not yet conceded defeat. Additionally, as a result of the disruption of the telegraph lines and all other modes of expeditious communication, General Wilson's raiders were not aware of the surrender of Lee. They continued their raid as if the Confederacy was still intact.

On April 12, 1865, Wilson's men marched into Montgomery, Alabama, without major resistance from the Confederates.

Wilson's next principal target was the manufacturing city of Columbus, Georgia. Columbus stood as the largest-surviving supply city in the South. It had been second only to Richmond, Virginia, as providing the industrial support for the war effort, and Richmond was no longer a factor. Columbus was also situated on the Chattahoochee River, where a major naval construction facility was located. The new ironclad CSS Muscogee was constructed in Columbus, and it was docked there waiting to be launched into service.

Although it was unknown to Wilson and his men, the President of the United States was shot in Washington on Good Friday, April 14, and died the next morning.

Columbus alerted to the attack
Confederates in Columbus were preparing for the fact that Wilson's 13,000 men were heading their direction in the days leading up to the battle. Confederate Major General Howell Cobb was in charge of the forces located in Columbus, and he began to prepare to defend the city of Columbus "to the last ditch."

Cobb commanded a force of about 3,500 men, a few of whom were battle-worn, but most of whom were Georgia and Alabama Reserve units and civilians. On April 16, 1865, the local newspapers warned the citizens of Columbus that they should evacuate the town as an attack was imminent. The public is hereby notified of the rapid approach of the enemy, but assured that the city of Columbus will be defended to the last. Judging from experience it is believed that the city will be shelled. Notice is, therefore, given to all non-combatants to move away immediately.

General Howell Cobb's defense strategy


Cobb decided to defend the city on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee, in the town of Girard, Alabama. There the Confederates utilized trenches, breastworks and earthen forts that had partially existed since earlier in the war; now their completion became imperative.

The main objective was to defend the two covered bridges that connected Girard to Columbus. Cobb had the advantage of knowing that Wilson would have to concentrate on these two narrow locations in order to capture Columbus. Cobb also wanted to keep the high ground in Girard out of Wilson's clutch, lest he have a convenient perch to bombard Columbus.

In addition to preparing strong fortified positions on the high ground in Girard on the west side of the Chattahoochee River, Cobb ordered the base of the bridges to be wrapped in cotton and doused with turpentine in the event that the Confederates were unable to fend off Wilson's raiders from the bridges. This would allow the Confederates, as a last resort, to burn the bridges to prevent Wilson's troops from easy access to Columbus.

The bridges that were the focus of Cobb's defense were designed by Horace King, a former slave from South Carolina. King was considered the most respected bridge builder in the region.

The battle
Between 1:30 and 2 p.m. on Easter, April 16, 1865, Wilson's raiders arrived at Girard, Alabama, and the fighting began. Wilson also sent a detachment north of Columbus to West Point, Georgia, to cross the Chattahoochee River there. West Point was defended by the garrison at Fort Tyler. The Battle of West Point and the Battle of Columbus took place on the same day.

At about 2 p.m. Union General Emory Upton's division launched an attack on the lower (southern) bridge. Meeting very little resistance, it appeared as if Alexander's brigade would cross the bridge and take Columbus almost as easily as they took Montgomery, Alabama. But this was a trap. Confederates removed the planks on the east side of the bridge that would halt the Federals and allow the Confederates to burn the bridge filled with soldiers. Recognizing the peril, Upton was forced to retreat, and for a short time it appeared as if the Confederates might enjoy some degree of success in defending Columbus.

Wilson was compelled to turn his attention to the upper bridge. He planned an assault on the bridge at 8 p.m., after nightfall, and to have General Winslow's brigade of the 3rd and 4th Iowa Cavalry Regiments lead the attack. Colonel Frederick Benteen, who later served under Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, was ordered to lead the charge on the bridge.

A tremendous clash occurred near the entrance of the upper bridge. It was here that Confederate John Pemberton was slashed by a sabre which would lead him, after the war, to become preoccupied with formulas for pain killers and remedies, ultimately leading him to develop the recipe for Coca-Cola. Around 10 p.m. the Confederate defenses in Girard had collapsed, and they frantically attempted a retreat back across the Chattahoochee River into Georgia. At the same time, Winslow's brigade was also eager to get across the upper bridge before it too might be set afire by the Confederates. Side by side, both Union and Confederate soldiers raced across the bridge to Columbus. It was too dark, however, for either to see who was who. Though attempts were made at burning the bridge, circumstances prevented it. The upper bridge was not burned.

General Robert Toombs, the successful defender of Burnside's Bridge at the Battle of Antietam, commanded two cannon on the Georgia side of the upper bridge. These cannon were loaded with canister and prepared to slaughter anyone who tried to make their way through the covered bridge. Knowing that the soldiers running across the bridge were a mix of Union and Confederates, Toombs did not fire the cannon.

At 11 p.m. Wilson made his way across the bridge. As he crossed, his horse was shot and later died. On the Columbus side of the bridge Wilson took up headquarters in the house nearest to the bridge: the Mott House. There on "Mott's Green" Colonel C.A.L. Lamar, one of the last of the international slave traders, led a cavalry charge. Lamar was killed after refusing to surrender to a dismounted Union cavalryman. Lamar was identified by General William Tecumseh Sherman, probably in error, as the last Confederate to die in the Civil War.

The day after
On the morning of April 17, 1865, General Wilson ordered the destruction of all resources in Columbus that could aid the Confederate war effort. Most significantly, the ironclad CSS Muscogee (also known as the CSS Jackson) was burned and sunk. A large number of Confederate prisoners were captured. The CSS Chattahoochee was scuttled to prevent it from falling into Union hands.

The number of casualties in the battle is unknown, but there were a minimum of 145. The local Linwood cemetery has a significant section dedicated to the graves of Confederate soldiers. By the end of the day on April 17, 1865, much of the city of Columbus had been reduced to ashes.

On to Macon and the capture of America's most wanted men
Immediately after the victory at Columbus, Wilson led his raiders east to Macon, Georgia and occupied that city without resistance. Ten days after the Battle of Columbus, the last great army of the Confederacy under General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered at Bennett Place, North Carolina. The American Civil War had come to an end, and the last major engagement had occurred on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus. In early May, in central Georgia, Wilson's men apprehended the two most wanted men in America: Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy; and Captain Henry Wirz, commandant of the Confederate prison at Andersonville.

The last battle of the Civil War
Insofar as the bulk of Confederates surrendered on April 26, 1865, at Bennett Place, North Carolina, marking the effective end of the war, the Battle at Columbus was the last battle of the Civil War. The Battle of Palmito Ranch took place on May 13, long after the Confederate government was entirely vanquished, its president (Jefferson Davis) in prison, and its organized military extinct. The Battle of Palmito Ranch was a "post-war" military action.

That the Battle of Columbus was the last battle of the war was confirmed by two of the U.S. generals who led the battle. In 1913 General Wilson wrote that there were "no grounds left for doubting that 'Columbus was the last battle of the war.'" General Edward F. Winslow wrote, "I have always considered that engagement, by the number present and the results achieved, to be the final battle of the war." Other officers echoed these assertions as well. A movement to preserve the battlefield as a national park ensued from the 1890s through the 1930s. The director of the National Park Service, Arno B. Cammerer, rejected the proposal in 1934. In response, in 1935 the Georgia state legislature passed a resolution identifying the battle as the last one of the Civil War and calling once again for the establishment of a national park there. A renewed effort to commemorate the battlefield as a park has been revived. Representatives of Auburn University have recently posted an appeal to help preserve Ft. Gilmer, one of the earthenwork redoubts on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River.