Battle of Columbus (1865)

Battle of Columbus
Part of the American Civil War
Date April 16, 1865 Location Girard, Alabama / Columbus, Georgia Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
James H. Wilson	Howell Cobb
Strength
Two cavalry divisions (13,500 cavalry)	3,500
Casualties and losses
60	80

Coordinates: 32°28′01″N 84°59′49″W / 32.467°N 84.997°W / 32.467; -84.997

The Battle of Columbus, Georgia (April 16, 1865), also known as the Battle of Girard, Alabama (now Phenix City, Alabama) was the last conflict in the campaign through Alabama and Georgia known as Wilson's Raid. Several sources have held that this was the last battle of the war. The Georgia state government officially declared this battle the "last battle of the war between the states."

After the Union victory in the Battle of Nashville (December 15–16, 1864), Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas ordered Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson to march into the heart of the Deep South and bring the Confederacy to its knees by destroying their supply centers at Selma, Alabama, and Columbus, Georgia.

Wilson left Gravelly Springs, Alabama, on March 22, 1865, heading for Selma, a major Confederate manufacturing and supply center. The Battle of Selma was fought on April 2, 1865, against the highly skilled leadership of Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, whose men by now were hopelessly outnumbered by the invaders. The battle took place on the same day the Confederate capital of Richmond fell to the Army of the Potomac. Forrest managed to inflict heavy casualties on the attackers, but Wilson's raiders finally managed to break through the defenses and captured Selma by 7 p.m. that evening. Wilson's men then destroyed all the military supplies and looted the city before moving on.

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