Battle of Anderson
| Battle of Anderson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Civil War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States (Union) |
 CSA (Confederacy) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| South Carolina Battalion of State Cadets | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 | 0 | ||||||
The Battle of Anderson was a minor skirmish during the American Civil War, fought in Anderson County, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865.[1][2]The battle was one of the final conflicts of the war, taking place three weeks after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House.[2] The exact location of the battle is unknown, but it definitely took place in Some Historians believe the battle took place near the I-85 and the Shiloh Methodist Church in the Piedmont area.[2]
Battle
Prelude
In April 27 Union General George Stoneman ordered three brigades, totaling 3,700 men, to march from Ashville down the Saluda River to Belton or Anderson, and finally to head to Augusta in search of Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy.[3] After Stoneman gave those orders, he left to return to his headquarters in Knoxville.[3] He left behind some units under the command of Simeon Brown.[3]
Fighting
In May 1, the Union forces arrived in Anderson county. After the Union army arrived, they looted homes and businesses from Pendleton to Anderson.[3] While in Anderson the union soldiers killed a teenager named William McKenzie Parker after he pointed his gun at the soldiers.[3] The Union army also hung two men Henry Winthrop and A.P Carter.[3] Later a group of Confederate cadets cadets from the South Carolina Military Academy, attacked the Union forces.[3] The Confederates repulsed a small group of Union solders who were intending to burn down a railroad bridge on the Saluda River.[3] Meanwhile some Union Cavalry were attacked by a group of Confederate soldiers from Pendleton.[3] Due to the Confederates victory, a man named Daniel Brown, who was being executed by the Union army was rescued.[3]
Aftermath
On May 2, the Union army publicly tortured three men, hoping that they could reveal the location of rumored Confederate gold.[3] Also on May 2, another group of 2,050 Union soldiers arrived. However, the Union Army in Anderson was unable to capture Jefferson Davis. Davis had surrendered early, and was captured in Georgia on May 10.[3] The same unit who had begun the war on January 1, 1861 by opening fire at the USS Star of the West to prevent the ship from reinforcing and resupplying Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor considers this to be the final action east of the Mississippi River.[2]
References
- ^ Smith-Miles, Charmaine (29 March 2007). "Civil War brought to life on Anderson County field". The Anderson Independent-Mail. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d Journal. "Battle of Anderson reenactment April 15-17 | The Journal Online". Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Anderson's Main Street was violent spot 150 years ago". www.independentmail.com. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
External links
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