Battle of Selma

Other Names: None

Location: Dallas County

Campaign: Wilson’s Raid in Alabama and Georgia (1865)

Date(s): April 2, 1865

Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson [US]; Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest [CS]

Forces Engaged: Two cavalry divisions [US]; troops in city (approx. 5,000 men) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 3,019 total (US 319; CS 2,700)

Description: Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, commanding three divisions of Union cavalry, about 13,500 men, led his men south from Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865. Opposed by Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, Wilson skillfully continued his march and eventually defeated him in a running battle at Ebenezer Church, on April 1. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson split his command into three columns. Although Selma was well-defended, the Union columns broke through the defenses at separate points forcing the Confederates to surrender the city, although many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, escaped. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, whom some had considered invincible, could not stop the unrelenting Union movements deep into the Southern Heartland.

Result(s): Union victory

CWSAC Reference #: AL007

Preservation Priority: IV.2 (Class B)

The Battle of Selma, a battle during the American Civil War, was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. The U.S. Army forces under Major General James H. Wilson defeated a Confederate Army force under Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Wilson, commanding three divisions of Union cavalry, consisting of 13,500 men, led them south from Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865. Opposed by Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, Wilson skillfully continued his march and eventually defeated him in a running battle at Ebenezer Church, on April 1, 1865. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson split his command into three columns. Although Selma was well-defended, the Union columns broke through the defenses at separate points forcing the Confederates to surrender the city, although many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, escaped. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, whom some had considered invincible, could not stop the unrelenting Union movements deep into the Southern Heartland.

Battle details

On March 30, 1865, General Wilson detached Brig. Gen. John T. Croxton's brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After capturing a Confederate courier who carried dispatches from Forrest describing the strengths and dispositions of his scattered forces, Wilson also sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville. This action effectively cut off most of Forrest's reinforcements. This began a running fight that did not end until after the fall of Selma.

On the afternoon of April 1, after skirmishing all morning, Wilson's advanced guard ran into Forrest's line of battle at Ebenezer Church, where the Randolph Road intersected the main Selma road. Here Forrest had hoped to bring his entire force to bear on Wilson. However delays caused by flooding plus earlier contact with the enemy enabled Forrest to muster less than 2,000 men, a large number of whom were not veterans b...