The Battle of Averasboro - Defiance in the face of Defeat

February 1st and Day 2 of my travel north started in Savannah Georgia.  I've come to rely on my GPS, Lucy, to navigate for me. Normally it gives me navigation instructions every 20 to 30 miles.  When I got onto the I-95 it said "drive 445 miles turn right onto I-295" (I-295 being the Petersburg bypass and close to my final destination for the day.  So much for any conversations from Lucy. The I-95 from Savannah is VERY straight and I was not planning on any civil war detours (it was going to be a very long day driving) but when I stopped off at the North Carolina Tourist Bureau they mentioned a small battle site near the I-4 called the Battle of Averasboro which they said was worth a short visit.

The battle took place between March 15 and 17 1865, about a month before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse on Apr 9th and Lincoln's assassination on April 14th. After Sherman's march to the sea and the occupation of Savannah in December 1864, he was order by Grant to proceed north through the the Carolina's and into Virgina with the purpose of catching and destroying Lee's and Johnston's forces between them.  After rampaging through South Carolina (The North saw South Carolina as the root of all rebel evil being the first state to secede in 1860) with little opposition they enter North Carolina meeting little opposition until here.

At Averasboro the Confederates under General Hardee set up three defensive lines. The picture to the left shows what's left of  the first line. The car is on the confederate side of the defensive position

Battle field as seen from the first confederate defensive line

The picture to the left was taken looking south across the ground the Union troops would have to cross in the face of enemy fire.  To the left of the picture is more open ground that was also crossed by the Union.  It took all morning for the Union to breech this and the second line.

Of interest in the pictures is the "white" house in the background on the left. It served as a field hospital for the union however it was not located there at the time.  It was actually located to the right where you now see a brick bungalow.  The owner moved and rebuilt the building closer to the road. When I talked to the volunteers it was a source of contention with them. I suspect the owner of the building is going to try and turn it into a  tourist stop.

After breaching the first two lines, the union made it as far as the third line of defense where they were finally held.  On the night of the 17th the Confederates pulled out. The line is now gone and I couldn't find any markers.   The purpose of the Confederate defenses were to delay the unions long enough for General Joe Johnston to gather his forces and launch an offensive against the Sherman. Hardee's men bought him the time and on March 19th, Joe Johnson was able to launch an offensive against Sherman at a place called Bentonville. It was the last offensive ever mounted by the Confederacy.

There is a very nice small museum run mainly by volunteers. It certainly deserves a visit. They don't allow pictures to be taken inside so I have none

The battle involved 25,000 Union soliders, 8000 Confederates. the Union had 650 killed while the Confederates lost 800. The casualty numbers are unusual for the civil war in that the higher causality rate was usually with the side that was on the offensive.
 
I didn't have time to stop at Bentonville as it was further off the I-95 than I had time for. Next time