Failed Confederate Ambush at the Battle of Bentonville

By William E. Welsh The weary Union foot soldiers tramped north toward Goldsboro the morning of March 19, 1865. Foragers who had gone out at sunup reported the heavy presence of Confederate cavalry on the route of march. The muddy road slowed their progress, and the front of the column kept a sharp eye out for a Rebel ambush in the woods near the road. The men belonged to Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum’s Army of Georgia, which constituted the left wing of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s army, whose