Qualla: Battle of Averasborough https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:15 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Averasborough https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough Battle of Averasborough: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. Three days before the largest Civil War battle ever fought in North Carolina, there was a rehearsal. On March 16, 1865, on the muddy grounds of a plantation called Oak Grove near present-day Erwin, Confederate Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee threw his corps against the left wing of William T. Sherman's army, trying to buy time for Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to assemble a force large enough to stop Sherman's relentless march north. It did not work. Each side lost about 700 men, Hardee's troops withdrew before nightfall, and three days later the two armies collided again at the Battle of Bentonville in one of the war's final major engagements. Averasborough was the opening act -- brief, bloody, and ultimately unable to change what was coming.

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Averasborough: Sherman's Two Columns https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. By March 1865, Sherman's army was deep into North Carolina, moving north toward Goldsboro in two widely separated columns. The right column, the Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, advanced along one route while the left column, the Army of Georgia under Maj. ...

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-shermans-two-columns.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Averasborough: The Plank Road Fight https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. Slocum's troops had crossed the Cape Fear River at Fayetteville and were marching north up the Raleigh plank road when they ran into Hardee's corps dug in near Averasborough. On the morning of March 16, troops from the Union XX Corps under Maj. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams pushed for...

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-the-plank-road-fight.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Averasborough: Oak Grove and the Plantation Ground https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. The battle unfolded across the grounds of Oak Grove, the plantation of the John Smith family, in a landscape of plowed fields, pine woods, and muddy farm roads. Nearby Lebanon plantation was pressed into service as a field hospital, its rooms filled with wounded from both sides. ...

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-oak-grove-and-the-plantation-ground.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Averasborough: Seven Hundred on Each Side https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. The casualty figures tell the story of a battle that achieved little for either side. Union forces suffered approximately 682 killed, wounded, and missing, while Confederate casualties were estimated between 400 and 500. Hardee had hoped to delay Sherman's advance long enough for...

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-seven-hundred-on-each-side.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Averasborough: Preserved Ground https://qualla.com/battle-of-averasborough/ Photo credit American Battlefield Protection Program, Public domain. For more than a century, the Averasborough battlefield was farmland, its significance marked only by local memory and a handful of monuments. In 2001, the Averasboro Battlefield Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing the site's role ...

Read more: Battle of Averasborough on Qualla

Image: American Battlefield Protection Program | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/q/2/0/battle-of-averasborough-wp/dq20-battle-of-averasborough-preserved-ground.mp3 0:06 6 full