Battle of Selma

The Battle of Selma was a military engagement near the end of the American Civil War. It was fought in Selma, Alabama, on April 2, 1865. Union Army forces under Major General James H. Wilson defeated a smaller Confederate Army force under Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

On March 22, 1865, Wilson led three divisions of Union cavalry, totalling 13,500 men, on a raid from Gravelly Springs, deep into largely untouched southern Alabama. He was opposed by Confederate General Forrest, whose soldiers numbered only 2,000, and half of these were old men and boys. Wilson met and defeated Forrest in a running battle on April 1, 1865, at Ebenezer Church. Continuing towards Selma, Wilson divided his command into three columns. Although Selma's defenses were strong, there were not enough Confederates to man them effectively. Wilson's columns broke through the defenses at separate points, forcing the Confederates to surrender the city. Many of the officers and men, including Forrest and Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, escaped before the surrender. Selma demonstrated that even Forrest, who had been considered almost invincible, could not stop the overpowering unrelenting Union moves into what still remained of the Confederacy.