Stoneman's 1865 raid

Stoneman's raid in 1865 was a military campaign in the American Civil War by Union cavalry troops led by General George Stoneman which began on March 23, 1865, in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Union soldiers were tasked with orders to "dismantle the country". They headed east into North Carolina destroying towns and plundering along the way, then headed north into Virginia on April 2 where they destroyed 150 miles of railroad track belonging to the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad. They re-entered North Carolina on April 9 and traveled south to the twin towns of Winston and Salem, now Winston-Salem, and then onward to High Point.

Stoneman's 1865 raid
Part of the American Civil War

Historical marker in Blowing Rock, North Carolina marking location where Gen. Alvan Cullem Gillem led the cavalry during Stoneman's raid
DateMarch 23, 1865 (1865-03-23) – April 26, 1865 (1865-04-27)
Location
Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia
Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George Stoneman
Alvan Gillem		 Unknown
Strength
4,000:
2nd and 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry
8th, 9th and 13th Tennessee Infantry
11th and 12th Kentucky Infantry		 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

On April 12 they entered Salisbury, a major railroad hub, military depot, and home to Salisbury Prison, the only Confederate prison for captured Union troops in North Carolina. The prison which was originally meant to hold up to 2,000 prisoners but eventually held 10,000, was evacuated prior to their arrival, but the Union troops set fire to the prison which resulted in a conflagration seen for miles.[1]

They then traveled west plundering Statesville, Lincolnton, Taylorsville, and Asheville, North Carolina before re-entering Tennessee on April 26, the same day Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to General Sherman at Bennett Place, in Durham, North Carolina, the site of the largest surrender of Confederate soldiers, which ended the war. Stoneman's 1865 raid covered over 600 miles in total length through three states.[2]

References
  1. W. Buck Yearns, John Gilchrist Barrett (2001). North Carolina Civil War Documentary. The University of North Carolina Press, pp. 118–126 ISBN 0-8078-5358-5
  2. Shannon Hurst Lane (2010). Insiders' Guide to Civil War Sites in the South, 4th edition. Insiders' Guide. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-7627-5522-6.
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