Wilson's 1865 Raid stages at Gravely Springs.

Wilson's 1865 Raid stages at Gravely Springs.

Union General James H. Wilson, Civil War, Raid

Gravely Springs near Oakland in Lauderdale County was the site of Union General James H. Wilson’s headquarters and camp in the winter of 1865. The final Union raid into Alabama was staged in this camp in the early spring of 1865. In January of 1865, General Wilson began assembling his 22,000 man cavalry. Advanced forces began preparatory raids at the end of February. On March 22, 1865, General Wilson’s main forces set out on the largest cavalry raid of the Civil War. The raid destroyed the remaining productive industrial capacity of Alabama at Birmingham and Selma. The raid also burned the University of Alabama and captured Montgomery.

Michael Williams, University of North Alabama

McDonald, William Lindsey. 2003. Civil War tales of the Tennessee Valley. n.p.: Killen, Ala. : Heart of Dixie Pub. (1812 CR 111, Killen, Ala., 35645), [2003], 2003. UNA Library Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed April 30, 2015).
Hubbs, G. Ward. 2008. "Civil War in Alabama." Encyclopedia of Alabama. January 10. Accessed April 15, 2015. http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1429.

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

Spring 1865

Photo from following websites:
http://www.sonstoglory.com/newsletters/pictures/GravellySpringsHistoricMarker.jpg
Photo from following websites:
http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=Special%20Topics&item=Civil%20War/CivilWarWilson.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl
Photo from following websites:
https://battleoffranklin.wordpress.com/category/james-h-wilson/

Photo of General Wilson, Historic Marker for Wilson's Raid, and Map of Wilson's Raid