The American Civil War - Chronologically

March  16, 1865 Averasboro (AKA  Averasborough) Harnett County and Cumberland County, NC   Major General William T. Sherman:  Brig. Gen. Hugh Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry kicks things off; left-wing of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum; two divisions of Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams’s XX Corps; finally  two divisions from Maj. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis’s Union XIV Corps   vs. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston: Lt. Gen. William Hardee’s corps (two infantry divisions commanded by Brig. Gens. William B. Taliaferro and Lafayette McLaws, and a division of cavalry under Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler) * After a hearty penultimate battle in NC, the Confederates retreat, leaving their campfires burning. On to Bentonville ...  * This entry will be the final one from the Driving Home While Very Sick tour of NC - Feb. 2026. Ironically, I covered more ground on this second (sick) day, going from Beaufort to Averasboro then home, then I did the first (well) day when I ...

March 7 - 10, 1865 Wyse Fork (AKA Wise Fork, or Second Kinston ) Southwest Creek just east of Kinston, Lenoir County, NC Gen. John M. Schofield: Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox's XXIII Corps > Col. Charles L. Upham’s brigade, including the 15th Connecticut and 27th Massachusetts vs. Gen. Braxton Bragg; Gen. Robert F. Hoke's Division (mainly) plus D.H. Hill and others   * Schofield sends troops out from New Bern towards Goldsboro , but they encounter (initially) stiff resistance here. Union reinforcements on the second day reverse the Confederate gains; Bragg gives up the initiative and withdraws.    * Like the sign says, this was the "last mass capture of Union Troops"  * OMG this is only a month  before  Appomattox - and just a little more than a month away from Johnston's surrender to Sherman. (On a personal note, I've been doing this blog for awhile now and encountering mostly Firsts; This may be my first Last. While I have no business explorin...