Battle Of Girard - Before The Battle - Phenix City, Alabama
N 32° 28.355 W 084° 59.987
16S E 687972 N 3594581
This two sided Marker stands on the grounds of the Russell County Courthouse on 14th Street in Phenix City Alabama
Waymark Code: WM4JH4
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2008
Views: 86
The Marker Reads As Follows:
SIDE ONE
Battle Of Girard
The decisive action in the last battle of the War Between the States occurred here at the center of the Confederate defensive line. At 8 p.m. on April 16, 1865 Union forces led by Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson charged in the darkness from the hills to the west. They broke through the defense and pushed on to the wooden covered bridge across the river. The Confederates, believing they had been cut off by the Federals, made a wild dash for the bridge also. There was utter chaos as both armies, in pitch darkness, jammed the narrow structure with men horses and wagons. In the dark, friend and foe were indistinguishable.
Erected By The Historic Chattahoochee Commission and Russell County Historical Commission
1990
SIDE TWO
Before The Battle
All day that Easter Sunday the Confederate forces commanded by Col. Leon von Zinken awaited the Union Army they knew was on the way from Tuskegee. Lacking the men needed to hold it, they were forced to leave the line they had prepared on the hills to the west and man an inner line from the mouth of Holland Creek northward through this position. Left undefended, the Dillingham Street bridge was packed with oil-soaked cotton waste and burned about 2 o’clock when the Federal vanguard attacked it. Failing in their effort the raiders withdrew behind the hills until they attacked again after dark.
Erected By The Historic Chattahoochee Commission and Russell County Historical Commission
1990
Marker Name: Battle Of Girard - Before The Battle
Marker Type: Urban
Addtional Information::
The Battle of Girard-Columbus is recalled on a series of markers starting up on Summerville Road in Phenix City and continuing with markers at the Russell County Court House and the Alabama ends of the 14th Street and Dillingham Street Bridges as well as a final marker located at the intersection of 14th Street and Veteran's Parkway in Columbus.
In 1865 Phenix City was named Girard.
Date Dedicated / Placed: 1990
Marker Number: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
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