Battle of Bentonville

Battle of Bentonville
Part of the Campaign of the Carolinas
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper April 22, 1865 issue, showing union troops routing the rebel left flank
Date March 19–21, 1865 Location Bentonville, North Carolina 35°18′23″N 78°19′26″W / 35.30639°N 78.32389°W / 35.30639; -78.32389 Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union)	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
William T. Sherman	Joseph E. Johnston Braxton Bragg
Units involved
Military Division of the Mississippi	Army of the South
Strength
60,000[1]	21,900[2]
Casualties and losses
1,527 total (194 killed, 1,112 wounded, 221 missing/captured)[3]	2,606 total (239 killed, 1,694 wounded, 673 missing/captured)[4]
Bentonville class=notpageimage| Location in North Carolina

The Battle of Bentonville (March 19–21, 1865) was fought in Johnston County, North Carolina, near the village of Bentonville, as part of the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was the last battle between the western field armies of William T. Sherman and Joseph E. Johnston.

As the right wing of Sherman's army under command of Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard marched toward Goldsboro, the left wing under command of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum encountered the entrenched men of Johnston's army. On the first day of the battle, the Confederates attacked the XIV Corps and routed two divisions, but the rest of Sherman's army defended its positions successfully. The next day, as Sherman sent reinforcements to the battlefield and expected Johnston to withdraw, only minor sporadic fighting occurred. On the third day, as skirmishing continued, the division of Maj. Gen. Joseph A. Mower followed a path into the Confederate rear and attacked. The Confederates were able to repulse the attack as Sherman ordered Mower back to connect with his own corps. Johnston elected to withdraw from the battlefield that night.

As a result of the overwhelming Union strength and the heavy casualties his army suffered in the battle, Johnston surrendered to Sherman little more than a month later at Bennett Place, near Durham Station. Coupled with Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9, Johnston's surrender represented the effective end of the war.