Merging of the Armies

Merging of the Armies. Sherman’s Right Wing Arrives. (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 Marcy 21, and Sherman's army marched to Goldsboro., (Main Text):You are standing near the position held by the North Carolina Junior Reserve on March 19, 1865, looking east down Old Goldsboro Road. Behind you and to your right, elements of Confederate Gen. Robert F. Hoke’s division engaged Union Gen. James D. Morgan’s division. The last grand charge of the Army of Tennessee, against Union positions on the Cole Plantation north of the road, took place in the open field directly behind you., On March 20, when Gen. William T. Sherman appeared from the east with the Union Right Wing (directly in front of you), The Confederates changed position to meet the new threat. The Junior Reserves fell back to your left and formed a new line parallel to Old Goldsboro Road on Sam Howell Branch. The remainder of Hoke’s division occupied ground to the left of the Junior Reserves, who skirmished with the 14th Michigan and 16th Illinois Infantry. While the Confederate lines were shifting, an action ensued near the Green Flowers House crossroads one-half mile east, with the near capture of Union generals Oliver O. Howard, John A. Logan, and Charles R. Woods thwarted by the arrival of the 100th Indiana Infantry. During the next two days, the Confederate dug in and held firm against constant pressure from Union forces.