Union Troops Charge - Selma, AL
Posted by: 
hoteltwo
N 32° 25.850 W 087° 01.944
16S E 496954 N 3588192
Notes the major actions at nearby fortifications in Selma during the Battle of Selma at the end of the Civil War. Marker is at the intersection of Summerfield Road and Highland Avenue.
Waymark Code: WMNMA2
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2015
Views: 3
Marker Text:
Front:
The Lightening Brigade of the 2nd Division would spearhead the attack between Redoubts No. 13 - No. 16. Artillery covered all the approaches. At 5 p.m. General Long ordered the Second Division forward. "As Long's Second Division charged forward, bands of freed slaves who had joined the Federals during the march rushed ahead of the soldiers with axes and ignoring the hail of enemy bullets, chopped holes through the abutis and the palisade wall. Slowly the dismounted line of about fifteen hundred officers and men crested the ridge and moved at a walk toward the Confederate works six hundred yards away. As they closed with the rebels, Long's men broke into a run, cheered wildly, and fired their Spencer repeaters. These "repeaters" allowed Long's troops 7 times the fire power as their opponents. Confederate riflemen took their toll as the attackers were hindered by swampy ground and by the palisade. When the attackers reached the parapet, smoke enshrouded both sides and suddenly the defenders ceased fire., saving their fusillade for those who swung onto the wall. A brief moment of eerie silence hung over the battlefield, then bluecoats crossed the parapet and fire blazed again. Corporal John Booth of the 4th Ohio Cavalry, first to reach the works, was killed instantly. Soon after Sergeant John Morgan of the 123rd Illinois Infantry planted the stars and stripes on the Confederate works. Edward G. Longacre."
- Grant's Cavalryman
Rear:
Map of the City of Selma, showing battle lines.
Marker Name: Union Troops Charge - The Main Assault of the Outer Works
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
Erected by the April 1865 Society.
Video about marker: http://marker.battleofselma.com/marker6a.html
Date Dedicated / Placed: 2015
Marker Number: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Alabama history please include that in your log.