The Fight For Flowers' Crossroads

The Fight For Flowers' Crossroads. . "The enemy's infantry and artillery is advancing rapidly... our cavalry is too weak to accomplish much." Brig. Gen. E.M. Law to Col. Archer Anderson (Johnston's aid), March 20, 9:50 a.m., By noon on March 20, the battle's second day, fewer than 2,000 Confederates defended Flowers' Crossroads (in front of you). They were facing Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman's 26,000-man Right Wing, commanded by Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, which was advancing from your east (your left) on the Goldsboro Road. Howard's approach threatened Gen. J.F. Johnston's army from behind as it faced Sherman 's Left Wing further to the west., Initially Johnston could only spare Brig. Gen. E.M. Law's 1,000 cavalryman to slow Howard. After fighting, retreating, and then fighting again over six miles, Law's troopers regrouped here. Two pleasant sights greeted Law at the crossroads: nearly 1,000 reinforcements, and Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, who took command. The defenders were still drastically outnumbered, but the weight of command was now off Law's shoulders., "The Rebels would wait until we got to the top of a hill, give us a volley and run until they got over the next hill." -Capt. John Alexander, 97th Indiana, Throughout the morning, Col. R.F. Catterson's brigade, armed with repeating rifles, made short work of Law's resistance. Not sensing any threat from the thus far retreating Confederates, Howard, XV Corps commander Maj. Gen. John Logan, and First Division commander Bvt. Maj. Gcn. Charles Woods kept up with the hard-charging brigade. The generals were followed by Catterson's mule teams who also suspected little danger., Unaware of the stand at the crossroads, the generals rode into the field across the road in front of you, prompting a cavalry charge in their direction. The mule train was caught in between. The mules stampeded in terror, causing one officer to later describe the "air for a while... to be as full of frying pans, coffee pots, tin plates, and cups, as bullets." This chaos covered the generals' escape., The charge proved to be the last gasp for the Southerners at the crossroads. An early afternoon attack by the 46th Ohio sent them retreating to a new line a half mile north (to your right). The road was clear of Confederates, but Howard had been held up long enough to save Johnston's army., (captions) , Bentonville was the third battle where Brig Gen. Evander Law took temporary division command for his incapacitated commander. (Library of Congress), Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler led the Confederate defense of Flowers' Crossroads. (Library of Congress), Col. Robert Catterson's brigade was the lead unit of XV Corps. (Library of Congress), (Map by Mark Anderson Moore, The Old North State at War: The North Carolina Civil War Atlas, North Carolina Historical Publications, 2015)