Near Four Oaks in Johnston County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Hannah’s Creek Bridge

Saving the Colors

— Carolinas Campaign —

Hannah’s Creek Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006

1. Hannah’s Creek Bridge Marker

Inscription.
(Preface): The Carolinas Campaign began on February 1, 1865, when Union Gen. William T. Sherman led his army north from Savannah, Georgia, after the “March to the Sea.” Sherman's objective was to join Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia to crush Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Scattered Confederate forces consolidated in North Carolina, the Confederacy's logistical lifeline, where Sherman defeated Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's last-ditch attack at Bentonville. After Sherman was reinforced at Goldsboro late in March, Johnston saw the futility of further resistance and surrendered on April 26, essentially ending the Civil War.
* * *Hoping to deflect Union Gen. William T. Sherman's army from Goldsboro, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston attacked Sherman's Left Wing here on March 19, 1865, after finding it separated from the Right Wing, located several miles southeast. As the fighting intensified, Sherman led the Right Wing here in support. Johnston's forces, vastly outnumbered, withdrew to Smithfield on March 21, and Sherman's army marched to Goldsboro.

You are looking toward the north side of Hannah’s Creek, where

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on the evening of March 21, 1865, members of Gen. Hiram B. Granbury’s Texas Brigade bivouacked and entrenched. They were the first to withdraw from the Bentonville battlefield during the night, and while they slept, the rest of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army marched by. The Texans did not awaken until a squadron of Gen. Joseph Wheeler’s cavalrymen came thundering up from the south toward the Hannah’s Creek bridge, which the troopers crossed and then set afire as elements of the 26th Illinois Infantry followed close behind. Skirmishing erupted and the Federals, led by color bearer Sgt. James Smith and the regimental color company, stormed the burning bridge. A Confederate battery on the opposite bank opened up with canister, killing Smith and wounding several others. The regiment’s commander, Lt. Col. Ira J. Bloomfield, had his horse killed beneath him. When the regimental colors fell into the creek, Lt. Arthur Webster and his command, Co. E, braved small arms and artillery fire to save the colors and then doused the flames on the bridge. Granbury’s men fled into the nearby swamp to the north. Soon afterward, the Federals

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, June 3, 2010

2. Hannah’s Creek Bridge Marker

received word to return to Bentonville and Mill Creek Bridge, having accomplished their mission of hastening the Confederate retreat.

“The new bridge over Mill Creek was not destroyed by the infantry and it would not burn …. General Wheeler threw off the flooring and did all he could to destroy it, but says it can easily be repaired and I suppose the infantry can cross. The infantry did not cross till sunrise, and the enemy pressed Wheeler up to the [Hannah’s Creek] bridge. I am preparing the bridge for burning.” - Gen. Wade Hampton, Hannah’s Creek, March 22, 7:25 a.m.

Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 21, 1865.

Location. 35° 22.212′ N, 78° 18.488′ W. Marker is near Four Oaks, North Carolina, in Johnston County. It is on Devils Racetrack Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located near the Rudolph Howell and Son Environmental Learning Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address:

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 3, 2010

3. Hannah’s Creek Bridge Marker

6607 Devils Racetrack Rd, Four Oaks NC 27524, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mill Creek (approx. 1.4 miles away); Confederate Works (approx. 1½ miles away); Bentonville (approx. 1.6 miles away); Village of Bentonville (approx. 1.6 miles away); Johnston Establishes His Headquarters (approx. 1.8 miles away); a different marker also named Village of Bentonville (approx. 1.8 miles away); Mower’s Charge Reaches Johnston’s Headquarters (approx. 1.8 miles away); Johnston’s Headquarters (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Four Oaks.

More about this marker.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 3, 2010

4. Hannah’s Creek Bridge Marker

The bottom left of the marker contains a photograph of Gen. Joseph Wheeler, courtesy of the Library of Congress. On the marker’s right is a picture of the 26th Illinois Infantry regimental colors that were saved at Hannah’s Creek Bridge, courtesy of Illinois State Military Museum. The far right of the marker features a map of the final action of the Battle of Bentonville.

Battle Map from Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 18, 2006

5. Battle Map from Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on May 10, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 26, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 3,056 times since then and 69 times this year. Last updated on May 9, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos: 1. submitted on December 26, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 3, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 5. submitted on December 26, 2008, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.