Despite Robert E. Lee's April 9 surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia following the Battle of Appomattox Court House, the Army of Tennessee under the command of Gen Joseph E. Johnston had not yet surrendered the Confederate forces in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Wilson's plan was to head east into Georgia to destroy the remaining arsenals and munitions, and to cause any remaining local forces to "disintegrate." Wilson's success in this plan would be accelerated if his forces could secure at least one of several key bridges over the Chattahoochee River. One such bridge led into the town of West Point. To avoid any delay in the raid, Wilson separated his force sending a 3,700-man detachment under Colonel Oscar Hugh La Grange to capture both the bridge and the town. Simultaneously, Wilson ordered Upton's division to rush toward another strategically important bridge at Columbus, Georgia.