Battle of Newton (Alabama)

Battle of Newton, Alabama

Date	14 March 1865 (1865-03-14)
Location	Newton, Alabama
Result	Confederate Home Guard victory

Belligerents

United States (Union)

CSA (Confederacy)

Commanders and leaders

2LT Joseph G. Sanders

CPT Joseph Breare

Strength

~40

Casualties and losses

3 killed, 5 wounded

No casualties

The Battle of Newton was a minor skirmish that took place in the small town of Newton, Alabama, on 14 March 1865, during the final days of the U.S. Civil War. It was fought between local Home Guard troops and elements of the 1st Florida Cavalry (US), who had invaded the Wiregrass region of Alabama in violation of a directive given by Brigadier General Alexander Asboth, commanding Union forces in Pensacola, Florida.

Led by Second Lieutenant Joseph Sanders, a former captain in the Confederate Army who had switched sides and joined with the Federals, the Floridians intended to burn the courthouse of Dale County—which was then located in Newton—as had been done in other nearby counties during this same period of time. However, their movement toward the town was detected by local citizens, and they were ambushed and routed on the town square by Newton's home guard before they could do any damage. Sanders reported three dead and five wounded, while no casualties were reported among the home guard troops.

An area of relatively low population and economic importance in Antebellum Alabama, Dale County had been relegated to the status of a backwater during the Civil War era, largely neglected by the state government in Montgomery. Mostly covered by pine forest and with few big farms or plantations, the area proved an attractive gathering location for deserters from the Confederate Army, as well as Southern Unionists who had been harassed or worse by their "Secessh" neighbors. These "bushwackers", as they were called, hid out in the forests of Dale and adjacent counties, seeking aid and supplies from Federal forces in Pensacola—or, more often than not, simply seizing them from the largely-defenseless locals.

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