Battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville ( March 19 – 21 , 1865 ) was fought in Bentonville , North Carolina , near the town of Four Oaks , as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War . It was the last battle between the armies of Union Maj . Gen . William T . Sherman and Confederate Gen . Joseph E . Johnston . As the right wing of Sherman ' s army under command of Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard marched toward Goldsborough , the left wing under command of Maj . Gen . H . W . Slocum encountered the entrenched men of Johnston ' s army . On the first day of the battle , the Confederates attacked the XIV Corps and routed two divisions , but the rest of Sherman ' s army defended its positions successfully . The next day , as Sherman sent reinforcements to the battlefield and expected Johnston to withdraw , only minor sporadic fighting occurred . On the third day , as skirmishing continued , the division of Maj . Gen . Joseph A . Mower followed a path into the Confederate rear and attacked . The Confederates were able to repulse the attack as Sherman ordered Mower back to connect with his own corps . Johnston elected to withdraw from the battlefield that night . As a result of the overwhelming enemy strength and the heavy casualties his army suffered in the battle , Johnston surrendered to Sherman little more than a month later at Bennett Place , near Durham Station . Coupled with Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s surrender earlier in April , Johnston ' s surrender represented the effective end of the war . Background . Following his March to the Sea , Major General William T . Sherman , commanding the Military Division of the Mississippi , turned his army northward through the Carolinas . The Union general in chief , Lieutenant General Ulysses S . Grant had ordered Sherman to bring his troops north to Virginia in order to battle the Army of Northern Virginia . However , Sherman argued that it would take too long to transport his troops there , and that his army could destroy Confederate supply lines to Petersburg and defeat Confederate forces by marching through the Carolinas . During the late winter and early spring of 1865 , Sherman ' s army cut a swath of destruction through South Carolina . On March 8 , Union soldiers crossed into North Carolina as Confederate units attempted to concentrate their forces to defeat the enemy during the march . Sherman divided his command into two parts , a Left Wing ( the Army of Georgia ) commanded by Maj . Gen . Henry W . Slocum and a Right Wing ( the Army of the Tennessee ) commanded by Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard . The two wings marched separately toward Goldsboro beginning on March 13 , with no one in the Union command expecting major resistance from Johnston . On February 23 , Confederate general - in - chief Robert E . Lee ordered Johnston to take command of the Army of Tennessee and other Confederate units in the Carolinas , Georgia , and Florida , and to " concentrate all available forces and drive back Sherman . " Johnston managed to concentrate in North Carolina the Army of Tennessee commanded by Lt . Gen . Alexander P . Stewart , Maj . Gen . Robert Hoke ' s division from the Army of Northern Virginia , troops from the Department of South Carolina , Georgia , and Florida commanded by Lt . Gen . William J . Hardee , and cavalry under the command of Lt . Gen . Wade Hampton , calling the united force the Army of the South . Confederate maps erroneously showed that the two Union wings were twelve miles ( 19 km ) apart , which meant each would take a day to reach the other . Johnston planned to concentrate his entire army to defeat Slocum ' s wing and to destroy its trains before it reunited with the rest of the Union column ; the attack was planned for " as soon after dawn tomorrow [ March 19 ] as possible " . Battle . The Confederate attack commenced on March 19 , as Slocum ' s men marched on the Goldsboro Road , one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) south of Bentonville . Hoke ' s division under Bragg ' s command deployed on the Confederate right facing west , while Stewart ' s army deployed on the Confederate left facing south . Slocum was convinced he faced only enemy cavalry and artillery , not an entire army . In addition , Sherman did not believe that Johnston would fight with the Neuse River to his rear . Therefore , Slocum initially notified Sherman that he was facing only cursory resistance near Bentonville and did not require aid . Believing he faced only cavalry , Slocum attempted to brush aside the Confederates by attacking with the 1st Division of Brig . Gen . William P . Carlin with support from the 3rd Division of Brig . Gen . Absalom Baird , both from the XIV Corps but this attack was driven back . Slocum then deployed his divisions in a defensive line , with Carlin ' s division on the left , Baird ' s division in the center , Brig . Gen . James D . Morgan ' s 2nd Division on the right , and a XX Corps division in support , in order to delay the Confederates long enough to allow the rest of his wing to arrive . None of the divisions , except for Morgan ' s , constructed strong breastworks , which were further compromised by a gap in the center of the Union line . Lafayette McLaws ' division from Hardee ' s command was approaching the Confederate positions at the time of the Union attacks ; due to Bragg ' s concern about a flanking attack on Hoke ' s left , McLaws was ordered to deploy on the Confederate left flank . About noon , Hardee arrived with the division of William B . Taliaferro , which was deployed behind the Army of Tennessee . Hardee was then placed in charge of the Confederate right wing . At 3 p . m . , Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion , nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital . Confederates under Maj . Gen . D . H . Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating Federals and began enfilading the Union troops remaining along the front . Morgan ' s division was nearly surrounded and was being attacked from three sides , but the Confederate attacks were uncoordinated and therefore unsuccessful in driving them from the position . Hardee , using Taliaferro ' s division and Bate ' s corps from the Army of Tennessee , attacked the Union positions near the Harper house but were repulsed after multiple assaults . McLaws arrived after Taliaferro and Bate were repulsed and attacked but was repulsed as well . After a heated engagement , Union reinforcements arrived and checked Hill ' s assault . Fighting continued after nightfall as the Confederates tried without success to drive back the Union line . About midnight , the Confederates withdrew to their original positions and started entrenching . Slocum had called for aid from Sherman during the afternoon attacks , and Howard ' s wing arrived on the field late on the afternoon of March 20 , deploying on Slocum ' s right flank and extending the Union line towards Mill Creek . Johnston responded to Howard ' s arrival by pulling back Hoke ' s division so it ran at a right angle to Stewart ' s left flank , and deploying one of Hardee ' s divisions on Hoke ' s left . Confederate cavalry protected the Confederate flank to Mill Creek in a weak skirmish line . Only light skirmishing occurred on this day . Johnston remained on the field , claiming that he stayed to remove his wounded , but perhaps also in hope of enticing Sherman to attack again , as had happened at Kennesaw Mountain . On March 21 , Union Maj . Gen . Joseph A . Mower , commanding the division on the Union right flank , requested permission from his corps commander to launch a " little reconnaissance " to his front , which was granted . Mower instead launched an attack with two brigades on the Confederate left flank , which was defending Mill Creek Bridge . Mower ' s men managed to come within one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) of the crossing before Sherman peremptorily ordered them to pull back . In his memoirs , Sherman admitted that this was a mistake and that he missed an opportunity to end the campaign then and there , perhaps capturing Johnston ' s army entirely . Among the Confederate casualties was Hardee ' s 16 - year - old son , Willie . Hardee had reluctantly allowed his son to attach himself to the 8th Texas Cavalry just hours before Mower ' s attack . Aftermath . During the battle , the Confederate lost a total of nearly 2 , 600 casualties : 239 killed , 1 , 694 wounded , and 673 missing . About half of the casualties were lost in the Army of Tennessee . The Union army lost 194 killed , 1 , 112 wounded , and 221 missing , for a total of 1 , 527 casualties . The wounded were treated at the house of John Harper , with several of the wounded who died being buried next to the Harper family cemetery . During the night of March 21 until the following dawn , Johnston withdrew his army across Mill Creek and burned the bridge behind him , leaving behind a cavalry detachment as a rearguard . The Union army failed to detect the Confederate retreat until it was over . Sherman did not pursue the Confederates , but continued his march to Goldsboro , where he joined the Union forces under Terry and Schofield . After resting and refitting his combined forces , Sherman planned to continue onward to Petersburg , Virginia . However , following Lee ' s surrender at Appomattox Court House , Johnston surrendered to Sherman at the Bennett Place , North Carolina on April 26 . Battlefield today . The site of the battle is preserved as the Bentonville Battleground State Historic Site , which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1996 . The park , founded in 1965 , includes of the battlefield and runs a visitor ' s center adjacent to the restored Harper House , which served as a hospital for Union soldiers during the battle . The Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association and the Civil War Preservation Trust also own portions of the battlefield not included in the state park , including by the CWPT alone .