Battle of Selma - Aftermath

Aftermath

Union troops rounded up hundreds of prisoners, but hundreds more escaped in the darkness down the Burnsville Road. These included Generals Forrest, Armstrong, and Roddey. To the west, many Confederate soldiers continued to fight the pursuing Union soldiers all the way to the eastern side of Valley Creek. They then escaped in the darkness by swimming the Alabama River near the mouth of Valley Creek (where the present day Battle of Selma Reenactment is held.) During his escape from the city, Forrest killed another Union trooper, the thirtieth he killed in personal combat in the war. Wilson lost 359 men in the battle, while Forrest lost over 2,700 casualties, mostly prisoners and 32 artillery pieces.

Jubilant Union troops looted the city that night, and many businesses and private residences were burned. Wilson's men spent the next week destroying the arsenal and naval foundry. Finally, they left Selma and moved on to Montgomery and fought the Battle of Columbus, Georgia on Easter Sunday, and finally marched to Macon, Georgia, when they learned of the war's end. On May 10, they captured Jefferson Davis in Irwinsville, Georgia.