Battle of Columbus ( 1865 ) The Battle of Columbus , Georgia ( April 16 , 1865 ) , also known as the Battle of Girard , Alabama ( now Phenix City , Alabama ) is widely regarded to be the last battle of the American Civil War . The Georgia state government officially declared this battle the " last battle of the war between the states . " The Battle of Palmito Ranch in Texas occurred after the Battle of Columbus , but the engagement at Palmito Ranch occurred after Johnston ' s surrender to Sherman ( April 26 , 1865 ) and after the Confederacy dissolved on May 5 . In the " Official Records " , the Battle of Columbus is referred to as the " closing conflict of the war . " This battle was also the last conflict as part of a campaign through Alabama and Georgia , called Wilson ' s Raid . Events leading to the battle . After the Union victory in the Battle of Nashville ( December 15 – 16 , 1864 ) , Union General George H . Thomas gave orders to General James H . Wilson to march into the heart of the Deep South to bring the Confederacy to its knees by destroying all of their supply centers such as Selma , Alabama , and Columbus , Georgia . Wilson left Gravelly Springs , Alabama , on March 22 , 1865 , aiming for Selma , a major manufacturing and supply center for the Confederacy . The Battle of Selma took place on April 2 , 1865 , against the highly skilled leadership of General Nathan Bedford Forrest . This engagement occurred the same day that the Confederate capital of Richmond fell into the hands of General Ulysses S . Grant . Despite significant casualties to Wilson ' s raiders , Selma fell to Wilson by 7 p . m . on April 2 . On April 9 , 1865 , General Robert E . Lee surrendered to U . S . Grant at Appomattox Court House , but Confederate General Johnston ' s army had not yet conceded defeat . Additionally , as a result of the disruption of the telegraph lines and all other modes of expeditious communication , General Wilson ' s raiders were not aware of the surrender of Lee . They continued their raid as if the Confederacy was still intact . On April 12 , 1865 , Wilson ' s men marched into Montgomery , Alabama , without major resistance from the Confederates . Wilson ' s next principal target was the manufacturing city of Columbus , Georgia . Columbus stood as the largest - surviving supply city in the South . It had been second only to Richmond , Virginia , as providing the industrial support for the war effort , and Richmond was no longer a factor . Columbus was also situated on the Chattahoochee River , where a major naval construction facility was located . The new ironclad CSS " Muscogee " was constructed in Columbus , and it was docked there waiting to be launched into service . Although it was unknown to Wilson and his men , the President of the United States was shot in Washington on Good Friday , April 14 , and died the next morning . Columbus alerted to the attack . Confederates in Columbus were preparing for the fact that Wilson ' s 13 , 000 men were heading their direction in the days leading up to the battle . Confederate Major General Howell Cobb was in charge of the forces located in Columbus , and he began to prepare to defend the city of Columbus " to the last ditch . " Cobb commanded a force of about 3 , 500 men , a few of whom were battle - worn , but most of whom were Georgia and Alabama Reserve units and civilians . On April 16 , 1865 , the local newspapers warned the citizens of Columbus that they should evacuate the town as an attack was imminent . The public is hereby notified of the rapid approach of the enemy , but assured that the city of Columbus will be defended to the last . Judging from experience it is believed that the city will be shelled . Notice is , therefore , given to all non - combatants to move away immediately . General Howell Cobb ' s defense strategy . Cobb decided to defend the city on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee , in the town of Girard , Alabama . There the Confederates utilized trench es , breastworks and earthen forts that had partially existed since earlier in the war ; now their completion became imperative . The main objective was to defend the two covered bridge s that connected Girard to Columbus . Cobb had the advantage of knowing that Wilson would have to concentrate on these two narrow locations in order to capture Columbus . Cobb also wanted to keep the high ground in Girard out of Wilson ' s clutch , lest he have a convenient perch to bombard Columbus . In addition to preparing strong fortified positions on the high ground in Girard on the west side of the Chattahoochee River , Cobb ordered the base of the bridges to be wrapped in cotton and doused with turpentine in the event that the Confederates were unable to fend off Wilson ' s raiders from the bridges . This would allow the Confederates , as a last resort , to burn the bridges to prevent Wilson ' s troops from easy access to Columbus . The bridges that were the focus of Cobb ' s defense were designed by Horace King , a former slave from South Carolina . King was considered the most respected bridge builder in the region . The battle . Between 1 : 30 and 2 p . m . on Easter , April 16 , 1865 , Wilson ' s raiders arrived at Girard , Alabama , and the fighting began . Wilson also sent a detachment north of Columbus to West Point , Georgia , to cross the Chattahoochee River there . West Point was defended by the garrison at Fort Tyler . The Battle of West Point and the Battle of Columbus took place on the same day . At about 2 p . m . Union General Emory Upton ' s division launched an attack on the lower ( southern ) bridge . Meeting very little resistance , it appeared as if Alexander ' s brigade would cross the bridge and take Columbus almost as easily as they took Montgomery , Alabama . But this was a trap . Confederates removed the planks on the east side of the bridge that would halt the Federals and allow the Confederates to burn the bridge filled with soldiers . Recognizing the peril , Upton was forced to retreat , and for a short time it appeared as if the Confederates might enjoy some degree of success in defending Columbus . Wilson was compelled to turn his attention to the upper bridge . He planned an assault on the bridge at 8 p . m . , after nightfall , and to have General Winslow ' s brigade of the 3rd and 4th Iowa Cavalry Regiments lead the attack . Colonel Frederick Benteen , who later served under Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn , was ordered to lead the charge on the bridge . A tremendous clash occurred near the entrance of the upper bridge . It was here that Confederate John Pemberton was slashed by a sabre which would lead him , after the war , to become preoccupied with formulas for pain killers and remedies , ultimately leading him to develop the recipe for Coca - Cola . Around 10 p . m . the Confederate defenses in Girard had collapsed , and they frantically attempted a retreat back across the Chattahoochee River into Georgia . At the same time , Winslow ' s brigade was also eager to get across the upper bridge before it too might be set afire by the Confederates . Side by side , both Union and Confederate soldiers raced across the bridge to Columbus . It was too dark , however , for either to see who was who . Though attempts were made at burning the bridge , circumstances prevented it . The upper bridge was not burned . General Robert Toombs , the successful defender of Burnside ' s Bridge at the Battle of Antietam , commanded two cannon on the Georgia side of the upper bridge . These cannon were loaded with canister and prepared to slaughter anyone who tried to make their way through the covered bridge . Knowing that the soldiers running across the bridge were a mix of Union and Confederates , Toombs did not fire the cannon . At 11 p . m . Wilson made his way across the bridge . As he crossed , his horse was shot and later died . On the Columbus side of the bridge Wilson took up headquarters in the house nearest to the bridge : the Mott House . There on " Mott ' s Green " Colonel C . A . L . Lamar , one of the last of the international slave traders , led a cavalry charge . Lamar was killed after refusing to surrender to a dismounted Union cavalryman . Lamar was identified by General William Tecumseh Sherman , probably in error , as the last Confederate to die in the Civil War . The day after . On the morning of April 17 , 1865 , General Wilson ordered the destruction of all resources in Columbus that could aid the Confederate war effort . Most significantly , the ironclad CSS " Muscogee " ( also known as the CSS " Jackson " ) was burned and sunk . A large number of Confederate prisoners were captured . The CSS " Chattahoochee " was scuttled to prevent it from falling into Union hands . The number of casualties in the battle is unknown , but there were a minimum of 145 . The local Linwood cemetery has a significant section dedicated to the graves of Confederate soldiers . By the end of the day on April 17 , 1865 , much of the city of Columbus had been reduced to ashes . On to Macon and the capture of America ' s most wanted men . Immediately after the victory at Columbus , Wilson led his raiders east to Macon , Georgia and occupied that city without resistance . Ten days after the Battle of Columbus , the last great army of the Confederacy under General Joseph E . Johnston surrendered at Bennett Place , North Carolina . The American Civil War had come to an end , and the last major engagement had occurred on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus . In early May , in central Georgia , Wilson ' s men apprehended the two most wanted men in America : Jefferson Davis , president of the Confederacy ; and Captain Henry Wirz , commandant of the Confederate prison at Andersonville . The last battle of the Civil War . Insofar as the bulk of Confederates surrendered on April 26 , 1865 , at Bennett Place , North Carolina , marking the effective end of the war , the Battle at Columbus was the last battle of the Civil War . The Battle of Palmito Ranch took place on May 13 , long after the Confederate government was entirely vanquished , its president ( Jefferson Davis ) in prison , and its organized military extinct . The Battle of Palmito Ranch was a " post - war " military action . That the Battle of Columbus was the last battle of the war was confirmed by two of the U . S . generals who led the battle . In 1913 General Wilson wrote that there were " no grounds left for doubting that ' Columbus was the last battle of the war . ' " General Edward F . Winslow wrote , " I have always considered that engagement , by the number present and the results achieved , to be the final battle of the war . " Other officers echoed these assertions as well . A movement to preserve the battlefield as a national park ensued from the 1890s through the 1930s . The director of the National Park Service , Arno B . Cammerer , rejected the proposal in 1934 . In response , in 1935 the Georgia state legislature passed a resolution identifying the battle as the last one of the Civil War and calling once again for the establishment of a national park there . A renewed effort to commemorate the battlefield as a park has been revived . Representatives of Auburn University have recently posted an appeal to help preserve Ft . Gilmer , one of the earthenwork redoubts on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River .