Carolinas Campaign The Carolinas Campaign was the final campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War . In January 1865 , Union Maj . Gen . William Tecumseh Sherman advanced north from Savannah , Georgia , through the Carolinas , with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia . The defeat of Confederate Gen . Joseph E . Johnston ' s army at the Battle of Bentonville in March , and its surrender in April , represented the loss of the final major army of the Confederacy . Background and opposing forces . After Sherman captured Savannah , the culmination of his march to the sea , he was ordered by Union Army general - in - chief Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant to embark his army on ships to reinforce the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James in Virginia , where Grant was bogged down in the Siege of Petersburg against Confederate General Robert E . Lee . Sherman had bigger things in mind . He predicted on January 5 , 1865 : " I do think that in the several grand epochs of this war , my name will have a prominent part . " He persuaded Grant that he should march north through the Carolinas instead , destroying everything of military value along the way , similar to his march to the sea through Georgia . Sherman was particularly interested in targeting South Carolina , the first state to secede from the Union , for the effect it would have on Southern morale . Sherman ' s army commenced toward Columbia , South Carolina , in late January 1865 . His 60 , 079 men were divided into three wings : the Army of the Tennessee , under Maj . Gen . Oliver O . Howard , the Army of the Ohio under Maj . Gen . John M . Schofield , and two corps , the XIV and XX , under Maj . Gen . Henry W . Slocum , which was later formally designated the Army of Georgia . Reinforcements arrived regularly during his march north , and by April 1 he commanded 88 , 948 men . Sherman ' s opponents on the Confederate side had considerably fewer men . The primary force in the Carolinas was the battered Army of Tennessee , again under the command of General Joseph E . Johnston ( who had been relieved of duty by Confederate President Jefferson Davis during the Atlanta Campaign against Sherman ) . His strength was recorded in mid - March at 9 , 513 and 15 , 188 by mid - April . The army was organized into three corps , commanded by Lt . Gen . William J . Hardee , Lt . Gen . Alexander P . Stewart , and Lt . Gen . Stephen D . Lee . Also in the Carolinas were cavalry forces from the division of Maj . Gen . Wade Hampton and a small number in Wilmington under Gen . Braxton Bragg . Sherman ' s plan was to bypass the minor Confederate troop concentrations at Augusta , Georgia , and Charleston , South Carolina , and reach Goldsboro , North Carolina , by March 15 . As with his Georgia operations , Sherman marched his armies in multiple directions simultaneously , confusing the scattered Confederate defenders as to his first true objective , which was the state capital of Columbia . Battles . The following battles were fought in the Carolinas Campaign . Rivers ' Bridge ( February 3 , 1865 ) . The Confederate division of Maj . Gen . Lafayette McLaws attempted to prevent the crossing of the Salkehatchie River by the right wing of Sherman ' s army . The Union division under Maj . Gen . Francis P . Blair ( Howard ' s army ) crossed the river and assaulted McLaws ' s flank . McLaws withdrew to Branchville , causing only one day ' s delay in the Union advance . On February 17 , Columbia surrendered to Sherman , and Hampton ' s cavalry retreated from the city . Union forces were overwhelmed by throngs of liberated Federal prisoners and emancipated African Americans . Many soldiers took advantage of ample supplies of liquor in the city and began to drink . Fires began in the city , and high winds spread the flames across a wide area . Most of the central city was destroyed , and the city ' s fire companies found it difficult to operate in conjunction with the invading Union army , many of whom were also trying to put out the fire . The burning of Columbia has engendered controversy ever since , with some claiming the fires were accidental , others stating they were a deliberate act of vengeance , and others claiming that the fires were set by retreating Confederate soldiers who lit bales of cotton on their way out of town . On that same day , the Confederates evacuated Charleston . On February 18 , Sherman ' s forces destroyed virtually anything of military value in Columbia , including railroad depots , warehouses , arsenals , and machine shops . On February 22 , Wilmington surrendered . Aiken ( February 11 ) . This battle took place in South Carolina . Wyse Fork ( March 7 – 10 ) . Schofield planned to advance inland from Wilmington in February . At the same time , he assigned Maj . Gen . Jacob D . Cox to direct Union forces from New Bern toward Goldsboro . On March 7 , Cox ' s advance was stopped by divisions under Gen . Braxton Bragg ' s command at Southwest Creek south of Kinston , North Carolina . On March 8 , the Confederates attempted to seize the initiative by attacking the Union flanks . After initial success , their attacks stalled because of faulty communications . On March 9 , the Union forces were reinforced and beat back Bragg ' s renewed attacks on March 10 after heavy fighting . Bragg withdrew across the Neuse River and was unable to prevent the fall of Kinston on March 14 . Monroe ' s Cross Roads ( March 10 ) . As Sherman ' s army advanced into North Carolina , Maj . Gen . Judson Kilpatrick ' s Cavalry Division screened its left flank . On the evening of March 9 , two of Kilpatrick ' s brigades encamped near the Charles Monroe House in Cumberland ( now Hoke ) County . Early on March 10 , Hampton ' s Confederate cavalry surprised the Federals in their camps , driving them back in confusion and capturing wagons and artillery . The Federals regrouped and counterattacked , regaining their artillery and camps after a desperate fight . With Union reinforcements on the way , the Confederates withdrew . Averasborough ( March 16 ) . On the afternoon of March 15 , Kilpatrick ' s cavalry came up against Hardee ' s corps deployed across the Raleigh Road near Smithville . After feeling out the Confederate defenses , Kilpatrick withdrew and called for infantry support . During the night , four divisions of the XX Corps arrived to confront the Confederates . At dawn , March 16 , the Federals advanced on a division front , driving back skirmishers , but they were stopped by the main Confederate line and a counterattack . Mid - morning , the Federals renewed their advance with strong reinforcements and drove the Confederates from two lines of works , but they were repulsed at a third line . Late afternoon , the Union XIV Corps began to arrive on the field but was unable to deploy before dark because of the swampy ground . Hardee retreated during the night after holding up the Union advance for nearly two days . Bentonville ( March 19 – 21 ) . While Slocum ' s advance was stalled at Averasborough by Hardee ' s troops , the right wing of Sherman ' s army under Howard marched toward Goldsboro . On March 19 , Slocum encountered the entrenched Confederates of Gen . Joseph E . Johnston who had concentrated to meet his advance at Bentonville . Johnston had increased his forces to about 21 , 000 men by absorbing the troops under Bragg , who had abandoned Wilmington . Late afternoon , Johnston attacked , crushing the line of the XIV Corps . Only strong counterattacks and desperate fighting south of the Goldsborough Road blunted the Confederate offensive . Elements of the XX Corps were thrown into the action as they arrived on the field . Five Confederate attacks failed to dislodge the Federal defenders , and darkness ended the first day ' s fighting . During the night , Johnston contracted his line into a " V " to protect his flanks , with Mill Creek to his rear . On March 20 , Slocum was heavily reinforced , but fighting was sporadic . Sherman was inclined to let Johnston retreat . On March 21 , however , Johnston remained in position while he removed his wounded . Skirmishing heated up along the entire front . In the afternoon , Maj . Gen . Joseph Mower led his Union division along a narrow trace that carried it across Mill Creek into Johnston ' s rear . Confederate counterattacks stopped Mower ' s advance , saving the army ' s only line of communication and retreat . Mower withdrew , ending fighting for the day . During the night , Johnston retreated across the bridge at Bentonville . Union forces pursued at first light , driving back Wheeler ' s rearguard and saving the bridge . Federal pursuit was halted at Hannah ' s Creek after a severe skirmish . Sherman , after regrouping at Goldsboro , pursued Johnston toward Raleigh . Aftermath . Sherman ' s Carolina Campaign , in which his troops marched in 50 days , had been similar to his march to the sea through Georgia , although physically more demanding . However , the Confederate forces opposing him were much smaller and more dispirited . When Joseph E . Johnston met with Jefferson Davis in Greensboro in mid - April , he told the Confederate president : On April 18 , three days after the death of President Abraham Lincoln , Johnston signed an armistice with Sherman at Bennett Place , a farmhouse near Durham Station . Sherman got himself into political hot water by offering terms of surrender to Johnston that encompassed political issues as well as military , without authorization from General Grant or the United States government . The confusion on this issue lasted until April 26 , when Johnston agreed to purely military terms and formally surrendered his army and all Confederate forces in the Carolinas , Georgia , and Florida . It was the second significant surrender that month . On April 9 , Robert E . Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House . It was the virtual end for the Confederacy , although some smaller forces held out , particularly in the Trans - Mississippi region , into the summer .