Rousseau and Wilson's Raids
Lee County, AL; Civil War; Union Army; Rousseau, Major General Lovell Harrison; Sherman, General William T.; Decatur; Johnston, Major General Joseph; Atlanta; Confederate Army; Texas Hospital; Wilson, General James H.; Phenix City; Columbus, GA
On July 10, 1864, Major General William T. Sherman ordered Major General Lovell Harrison Rousseau to depart from Decatur, Alabama with approximately 2,500 men. Their goal was to sever the Montgomery and West Point railroads - a vital link for funneling supplies from central Alabama to Confederate Major General Joe Johnston's overwhelmed and outnumbered forces in Atlanta. Along the way, Rousseau's men were to destroy every scrap of government supplies or materials that could be used to aid the Confederate defense of Atlanta.
Local slaves in the Auburn/Opelika area funneled information to Rousseau and his men about the area's weak defenses. In Auburn, only a handful of patients at the Texas Hospital were able to offer even token resistance. As Rousseau and his cavalry rumbled through the streets of Auburn and then Opelika, they burned warehouses, burned train depots, the post office, and disabled the local rolling stocks. Union soldiers returned once again on April 15, 1865, this time under the command of Major General James H. Wilson. They swept through Auburn, Opelika, and Phenix City, before finally making their way across the 14th Street Bridge into their intended target, the massive industrial city of Columbus, Georgia.
Joshua Shiver
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
2014-12-5
Joshua Shiver
<a href="http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-3596" target="_blank">Encyclopedia of Alabama: Rousseau's Raid</a><br /><a href="http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1375" target="_blank">Encyclopedia of Alabama: Wilson's Raid</a><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1864/08/03/news/gen-rousseau-s-raid-highly-interesting-particulars-expedition-departure-decatur.html" target="_blank">New York Times July 27, 1864: Gen. Rousseau's Raid</a><br /><a href="http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/civilwar/unionroutes.html" target="_blank">Routes of Union Activity in Alabama (Maps)</a>
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2005.36.178: R. Buster (?) Young to Mother, 1856 August 29
Transcription; 1856; Savannah; Atlanta; Mrs. Hill; Dr. Thompson; Madir; Ida; Irish Cook; Sister Mantielle; Food
A short letter from R. Young letting his mother know he arrived in Atlanta. The cook was not there when they arrived and his porter had to find another cook. Also mentions others having breakfast and had some butter and brandy peaches. One handwritten page.
R. Buster (?) Young
P.M.B. Young Collection, Bartow History Museum
Bartow History Museum
Auburn University
1856 August 29
Danielle Funderburk
Auburn University
Bartow History Museum
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