04/29/2015
Last Saturday was the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Selma during the Civil War. In light of this historic event, I thought it only fitting to share with y'all Maplesville, Stanton and Plantersville's own part in this historic event. Here's an excerpt from the revised history book (which, you may recall, I am in the process of writing) with accompanying pictures:
"Late March 1865: The Yankee forces, under General James H. Wilson, were on their way south to Selma fresh from destroying the ironworks at Tannehill, Brierfield and Tuscaloosa; their intention was to destroy the Confederate arsenal at Selma as well. Wilson reached Montevallo on March 31 and for the next 48 hours he and a battalion of men under General Nathan Bedford Forrest had a running battle.
April 1, 1865: Wilsonâs Raiders followed the railroad south destroying any public works they came acrossâthis included the Maplesville train depotâand skirmishing with Forrestâs men. The following is an excerpt from a report made by Col. John W. Noble, 3rd Iowa Calvary: âApril 1st, the regiment left camp at daylight, and moving at the head of our brigade, passed through Randolph at 8 a.m., going south on the left of the railroad, while the second division [Gen. Long] advanced on the right of the railroad. Soon after leaving Randolph, Captain Brown with the company [L] was sent to Old Maplesville to rejoin the regiment at Maplesville Station [New Maplesville]. Captain Brown found Maplesville occupied by a battalion of the enemy, who resisted his progress. He charged their line and occupied the place, burning some public property, and on retiring captured the officer commanding the picket beyond. He also captured two enlisted men in town. The result of the attack on this force was to prevent it from venturing to attack our rear when we soon became engaged at Ebenezer Church.â
Gen. Forrest led the Confederate Army, assisted by the local Home Guardâmen and boys too old or young to go to war--, and chose to head off Wilson and his Union soldiers about 25 miles north of Selma in Stanton to give reinforcements time to reach and help defend Selma. Near Dixie Station on the Alabama-Tennessee Railroad and close by the old Ebenezer Baptist Church, Forrest made his stand. Running into one of Wilsonâs columns, he cut it in two, then had a 300-yd. hand-to-hand skirmish with a young Indiana officer, Capt. James D. Taylor, who wounded Forrest with his saber but was shot by Forrest and mortally wounded himself. Despite his determination, however, Forrest did not have enough manpower to defeat Wilsonâs troops, and the Home Guard assisting his men, finding themselves shot at for the first time in their lives, simply threw their weapons down in terror and ran for cover. Swollen streams and intercepted orders blocked outside aid for Forrest and, unable to fend off Wilsonâs troops, he was forced to retreat to Selma in the hopes of defending the city there. The church did not escape unscathed, bearing bullet holes that were visible for many years. (The present-day church on Hwy. 22 is the second Ebenezer Church.) Before leaving the area, Wilson had his men clean up the area of any weapons left by the Confederates; they bent all of the rifles by softening them in a fire and whacking them on trees, and sabotaged any cannons they found so that they were unusable, then threw all of the weapons in Bogleâs Creek.
April 2, 1865: Gen. Wilsonâs delay to dismantle the Confederate weapons left behind only just gave Gen. Forrest the time he needed to ride on to Selma with his men, warn the commander of Confederate troops there, and join his men to the few troops already there in defending the city. But the added manpower wasnât enough. Forrest had at best 4,000 men, less than half of which were trained militia men, while Wilson had 9,000 well-armed and well-trained soldiers to throw into the mix. Wilsonâs Raiders overwhelmed the city, quickly capturing it, and then spent the next week destroying the Arsenal, the foundries, the ammunitions warehouses and anything that had to do with the railroad. They also opened the door of the local jail which housed a collection of captured Union soldiers, Confederate deserters and runaway slaves. No one knows exactly how it started, but suddenly Selma caught fire, and before the day was over a good part of the town had burned. Locals blamed Gen. Wilsonâs forces for the blaze and subsequent looting of the townspeople, but such actions were out of character for the general, who kept a tight leash on his men. A more likely explanation is that some of those freed prisoners decided to have some âfunâ at the expense of the people of Selma."
