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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, a town of about ten thousand inhabitants.〔Samuel Sullivan Cox, ''Three Decades of Federal Legislation, 1855 to 1885'', Mills 1885, p. 402 (Based on testimony of Alabama's Provisional Governor, Lewis E. Parsons). 〕 Union Army forces under Major General James H. Wilson defeated a Confederate Army force under Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. On March 22, 1865, Wilson led three divisions of Union cavalry, totaling 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 2,000, and many of these were old men and boys. Wilson met and defeated Forrest in a running battle on April 1, 1865, at the Battle of Ebenezer Church, and Forrest retreated into Selma, adding his troops to the other defenders there. 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. ==Background to battle== On March 30, 1865, General Wilson detached Brig. Gen. John T. Croxton's brigade to destroy all Confederate property at Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After capturing a Confederate courier who carried dispatches from Forrest describing the strength and disposition of his scattered forces, Wilson sent a brigade to destroy the bridge across the Cahaba River at Centreville. This effectively cut off Forrest from reinforcement. It also began a running fight that did not end until after the fall of Selma. Forrest scattered his command through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, in an effort to refit his command following the Middle Tennessee Campaign, and Forrest spent several days in late March struggling to consolidate his force before Wilson's cavalry could advance south.〔Trudeau, pp. 11–12, 154.〕 On the afternoon of April 1, following skirmishing in the morning, Wilson's advance guard ran into Forrest's line of battle at Ebenezer Church, where the Randolph Road intersected the main Selma road. Forrest had hoped to bring his entire force to bear on Wilson. However, because of delays caused by flooding, plus earlier contacts with the enemy, Forrest could only muster less than 2,000 men, many of whom were not veterans but poorly trained militia consisting of old men and young boys.〔Trudeau, pp. 154–156.〕 The outnumbered Confederates fought bravely for over an hour, as Wilson deployed more Union cavalry and artillery on the field. Forrest himself was wounded by a saber-wielding Union captain, whom he killed with his revolver. Finally, a Union cavalry charge broke the Confederate militia, causing Forrest to be flanked on his right. He was forced to retreat under severe pressure. The battle failed to significantly delay or damage Wilson's force.〔Trudeau, pp. 156–158; Wills, p. 309.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Selma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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