Wilmington
Fort Anderson, Town Creek
Civil War North Carolina

American Civil War
February 12-22, 1865

With the fall of Fort Fisher to Major General Alfred Terry's and Rear Admiral David Porter's combined operation on January 15, Wilmington's days were numbered.

About 6,600 Confederate troops under Major General Robert Hoke held Fort Anderson and a line of works that prevented the Federals from advancing up the Cape Fear River.

Early February, the XXIII Corps arrived at Fort Fisher, and Major General John Schofield took command of the Union forces. Schofield now began a series of maneuvers to force the Confederates to abandon their defenses.

On February 16, Jacob Cox's division ferried across the river to confront Fort Anderson, while Porter's gunboats bombarded the fort.

On February 17-18, Ames's division conducted a wide flanking march to get in the fort's rear. Seeing the trap ready to close, the Confederates evacuated Fort Anderson during the night of the 18th-19th, withdrawing to Town Creek to form a new defensive line.

The next day, this line collapsed to increasing Federal pressures.

During the night of February 21-22, General Braxton Bragg ordered the evacuation of Wilmington, burning cotton, tobacco, and government stores.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: New Hanover County

Campaign: Operations against Fort Fisher and Wilmington (January-February 1865) previous battle in campaign Campaigns

Date(s): February 12-22, 1865

Principal Commanders: Major General John Schofield [US]; General Braxton Bragg [CS]

Forces Engaged: Cox's, Ames's, and Paine's Divisions (12,000) [US]; Hoke's Division, Hagood's Brigade (6,600) [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 1,150 total


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Civil War History Book Club Selected Reading Titles

This book contains an examination of the army that General William Tecumseh Sherman led through Georgia and the Carolinas, in late 1864 and early 1865. Instead of being just another narrative of the March to the Sea and Carolina campaigns, however, Glatthaar's book is a look at the individuals that composed the army. In it, he examines the social and ideological backgrounds of the men in Sherman's army, and evaluates how they felt about various factors of the war--slavery, the union, and, most significantly, the campaign in which they were participating. The result is a fascinating look at Sherman's campaigns through the eyes of the everyday soldier. Glatthaar makes the army come alive, and shows the men not as heartless animals who delighted in wanton destruction, not as mechanized marching machines who could perform the most difficult marches without even flinching, but instead as real human beings, complete with sore feet, empty stomachs, and minds engaged in contemplation over the ethical ramifications of what they were doing to the people of the South.
Hess studies the use of fortifications by tracing the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia from April 1861 to April 1864. He considers the role of field fortifications in the defense of cities, river crossings, and railroads and in numerous battles. Blending technical aspects of construction with operational history, Hess demonstrates the crucial role these earthworks played in the success or failure of field armies. He also argues that the development of trench warfare in 1864 resulted from the shock of battle and the continued presence of the enemy within striking distance, not simply from the use of the rifle-musket, as historians have previously asserted.

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.