Battle of Rivers' Bridge

Battle of the American Civil War
33°3′10″N 81°5′59″W / 33.05278°N 81.09972°W / 33.05278; -81.09972Result Union victoryBelligerents United States United States (Union)  Confederate StatesCommanders and leaders Francis Preston Blair, Jr.
John A. Logan Lafayette McLawsUnits involved XVII Corps
XV Corps Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and FloridaStrength 5,000 1,200Casualties and losses 124
(18 killed,
106 wounded)[1] 97
(8 killed,
44 wounded,
45 captured/missing)[1]
  • v
  • t
  • e
Campaign of the Carolinas

The Battle of Rivers' Bridge (also known as the Action at Rivers' Bridge) took place during the American Civil War on February 3, 1865.

Order of battle

Confederate

Commander: Major General Lafayette McLaws

Union

Work in progress

Engagement

Map of Rivers' Bridge Battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program.

While Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union armies marched north across South Carolina, about 1,200 Confederates under Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws were posted at the crossing on the Salkehatchie River. Union soldiers began to build bridges to bypass McLaws on February 2. The next day two brigades under Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair waded through the swamp and flanked the Confederates. McLaws withdrew toward Branchville after stalling Sherman's advance for only one day and Sherman's forces continued moving north towards the state capital Columbia.

Mass grave

In 1876 men from nearby communities reburied the Confederate dead from Rivers Bridge in a mass grave about a mile from the battlefield and began a tradition of annually commemorating the battle. The Rivers Bridge Memorial Association eventually obtained the battlefield and in 1945 turned the site over to South Carolina for a state park.[2] The site is commemorated by the Rivers Bridge State Historic Site.[3]

Battlefield condition

Earthworks used by the Confederate defenders are preserved at the historic site. A portion of the bluff overlooking the river (upon which several Confederate earthworks were located) was significantly altered by the operations of a logging railroad that paralleled the Salkehatchie River during the late 19th century.[4]

Notes

  1. ^ a b The Battle of Rivers Bridge-Reading 2
  2. ^ Bell, Daniel. "Rivers Bridge, Battle of". South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Rivers Bridge State Historic Site". South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  4. ^ "Rivers' Bridge Battlefield Profile" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 3 February 2017.

References

  • National Park Service battle description
  • The Battle for the Salkehatchie
  • These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
  • CWSAC Report Update
  • v
  • t
  • e
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
Units
Places
  • Category
  • Commons