We make on next page extracts from Gen. Wilson's report of his raid through the South, including the capture of Columbus. Only two or three statements call for notice here, either because of their incorrectness, or because they serve to explain some incidents about which there was doubt. Gen. Wilson admits a loss of twenty-five men killed and wounded in the attack on the Confederate position on the Alabama side of the river. He states that his advance, which dashed through Girard about two o'clock p. m. on the 16th, would have captured the lower bridge had the Confederates not fired it. This seems to settle the disputed question as to the propriety of firing the bridge at that time, because Gen. Wilson's assertion shows that Gen. Upton's advance had orders to make an attack on the bridge, whether they would then have captured it or not. The report does injustice to the Confederates in not stating that their line of defense around the upper bridge, &c., was a single one and long drawn out, and that the four or five hundred Federal troops, for whom he claims the honor of breaking through the Confederate lines, did not really encounter one-half their own force. It also con firms the statement that the Federal forces had, in some man ner not yet clearly explained, obtained possession of the in the rear of the Confederates before the line of the latter was broken through.

Gen. Wilson's statement of the work of destruction by his orders at Columbus is evidently only approximately correct. In some respects it exaggerates, and in others falls short of the extent of the vandalism. The general estimate of the amount of cotton destroyed puts it at but little over one-half of his statement. He burnt two printing offices (those of the Sun and Times) and some private buildings, of which he makes no mention. It was claimed that the private buildings were unavoidably burnt because of their contiguity to establishments operated in aid of the Confederacy. There was only one paper mill (the Rock Island) in this section, and therefore only one could have been destroyed.

Capture of Montgomery

In the march from Selma, LaGrange's Brigade of McCook's Division was given the advance. This recent rains had rendered the rids quite muddy, and a small body of Rebel cavalry, in falling back before LaGrange, destroyed several bridges, so that our progress was necessarily slow.

At seven a. m., April twelfth, the advanced guard reached Montgomery, and received the surrender of the city from the Mayor and Council. Gen. Adams, with a small force, after falling back before us to the city, burned ninety thousand bales of cotton stored there, and continued his retreat to Mount Meigs, on the Columbus road. Five guns and large quantities of small arms, stores, etc., were left in our hands and destroyed.

Gen. McCook assigned Col. Cooper, Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, to the command of the city, and immediately began the destruction of the public stores. Major Weston, of the Fourth Kentucky, with a small detachment of his regiment, made a rapid march to Wetumpka, swam the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, and captured five steamboats and their cargoes, which were taken to Montgomery and destroyed. Early on the fourteenth the march was resumed. I instructed Brevet Major General Tipton to move with his own division directly upon Columbus, and to order LaGrange, with his brigade, to make a rapid movement upon West Point, destroying th3 railroad bridges along the line of march. I hoped to secure a crossing of the Chattahoochee at one or the other of these points.

Minty followed Upton by the way of Tuskegee. McCook, with a part of his division, remained a few hours at Montgomery to complete the destruction of public stores. Shortly after leaving his camp, near Montgomery, La-Grange struck a force of rebels under Buford and Clareton, but drove them in confusion, capturing about one hundred and fifty prisoners.

About two p. m. of the sixteenth, General Upton's advance, a part of Alexander's brigade struck the enemy's pickets on the road and drove them rap idly through Girard to the lower bridge over the Chattahoochee at Columbus. The rebels hastily set fire to it and thereby prevented its capture. After securing a position on the lower Montgomery road, Gen. Upton detached a force to push around to the bridge of the factory, three miles above the city. He then made a reconnaissance in person and found the enemy strongly posted in a line of works covering all the bridges, with a large number Of guns in position on both sides of the river. He had already determined to move Winslow's Brigade to the Opelika or Summerville road and assault the works on that side without waiting for the arrival of the Second Division.

I reached the head of Window's Brigade of the Fourth Division at four o'clock, and found the troops marching to the position assigned them by General Upton. Through an accident, General Winslow did not arrive at his position till after dark, but General Upton prepared to make the assault in the night, and coinciding with him in judgment, I ordered the attack.

Three hundred men of the Third Iowa Cavalry, Col. Noble commanding, were dismounted, and, after a slight skirmish, moved forward and formed across the road under a heavy fire of artillery. The Fourth Iowa and Tenth Missouri were held in readiness to support the assaulting party. At eight and a half o'clock, p. m., just as the troops were ready, the enemy at a short distance, opened a heavy fire of musketry, and with a four gun battery, began throwing canister and grape. Generals Upton and Window in person, directed the movement; the troops dashed forward, opened a withering fire from their Spencers, pushed through a slashing abatis, pressed the Rebel line back to their outworks, supposed at first to be their main line. During all this time the Rebel guns threw out a perfect storm of canister and grape, but without avail.

Gen. Upton sent two companies of the Tenth Missouri, Capt. Glassen commanding, to follow up the success of the dismounted men and get possession of the bridge. They passed through the inner line of works, and, under cover of darkness, before the Rebels knew it, had reached the bridge lead ing into Columbus.

As soon as everything could be got up to the position occupied by the dismounted men, Gen. Upton pressed forward again, and swept away all opposition, took possession of the foot and railroad bridges, and stationed guards throughout the city.

Twelve hundred prisoners, fifty-two field guns in position for use against us, large quantities of arms and stores fell into our hands. Our loss was only twenty-five killed and wounded. Col. C. A. L. Lamar, of Gen. Cobb's staff, formerly owner of the "Wanderer," (slave trader) was killed.

The Rebel force was over three thousand men. They could not believe they had been dislodged from their strong fortifications by an attack of three hundred men.

When it is remembered that these operations gave to us the city of Columbus--the key to Georgia, four hundred miles from our starting point, and that it was conducted by cavalry, without the inspiration from the great events which had transpired in Virginia it will not be considered insignificant, although shorn of its importance.

Gen. Winslow was assigned to the command of the city.

Capture of West Point

After much sharp skirmishing and hard marching, which resulted in the capture of fourteen wagons and a number of prisoners, LaGrange's advance reached the vicinity of West Point at ten A. M., April 16th, with Beck's Eighteenth Indiana Battery and the Second and Fourth Indiana Cavalry. The enemy were kept occupied till the arrival of the balance of the Brigade. Having thoroughly reconnoitered the ground, detachments of the First Wisconsin, Second Indiana, and Seventh Kentucky Cavalry dismounted and prepared to assault Fort Tyler, covering the bridge. Col. LaGrange describes it as a remarkably strong bastioned earthwork, thirty-five yards square, sur rounded by a ditch twelve feet wide and ten feet deep, situated on a commanding eminence, protected by an imperfect abattis and mounting two thirty-two pounders and two field guns.

At one p. m. the charge was sounded and the brave detachment on the three sides of the work rushed forward to the assault, drove the Rebel skirmishers into the fort, and followed under a withering fire of musketry and grape to the edge of the ditch. This was found impassable; but without falling back, Col. LaGrange posted sharp-shooters to keep down the enemy and organized parties to gather material for the bridges. As soon as this had been done he sounded the charge again; the detachment sprang forward again, laid the bridges and rushed forward over the parapet into the work; capturing the entire garrison, in all, two hundred and sixty-five men. Gen. Tyler, its commanding officer, with eighteen men and officers killed, and twenty-eight severely wounded. Simultaneously with the advance upon the fort the Fourth Indiana dashed through the town, secured both bridges over the Chattahoochee, scattering a superior force of cavalry which had just arrived, and burned five engines and trains. Col. LaGrange highly com mends the accuracy and steadiness of Capt. Beck in the use of his artillery. Col. LaGrange destroyed at this-place two bridges, nineteen locomotives, and two hundred and forty-five cars loaded with quartermaster, commissary and ordnance stores. Before leaving he established a hospital for the wounded of both sides, and left with the Mayor an ample supply of stores to provide for all their wants.

Early on the morning of the seventeenth he resumed his march toward Macon, passing through LaGrange, Griffin and Forsyth, and breaking the railroads at those places. He would have reached his destination by noon of the twentieth, but for delay caused by an order to wait for the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, which had gone through Columbus.

Departure from Columbus

The afternoon of the seventeenth I directed Col. Minty to resume his march with his Division on the Thomaston road toward Macon, and to send a detachment forward that night to seize the Double bridges over Flint River. Capt. Van Antwerp, of my staff, accompanied this party. By seven o'clock A. M. the next day he had reached the bridges, fifty miles from Columbus, scattered the party defending them, and took forty prisoners.

Before leaving Columbus, Gen. Winslow destroyed the rebel ram Jackson, nearly ready for sea, mounting six seven-inch guns, burned fifteen locomotives, two hundred and fifty cars, the railroad bridge and foot bridges, one hundred and fifteen thousand bales of cotton, four cotton factories, the navy yard, foundry, armory, sword and pistol factory, accoutrement shops, three paper mills, over a hundred thousand rounds of artillery ammunition, besides immense stores, of which no account could be taken. The rebels abandoned and burned the gun-boat Chattahoochee, twelve miles below Columbus.

Source: Columbus, Georgia from its Selection as a Trading town in 1827 to its Partial Destruction by Wilson's Raid in 1865, compiled by John H. Martin, Published by Thos. Gilbert, Book Printer and Binder, Columbus, GA, 1874

Transcribed by Judy White 2014©