Johnston Establishes His Headquarters

On the eve of the battle, Confederate General Joseph Johnston established his headquarters on John Benton's property at Bentonville after being recalled from retirement by Gen. Robert E. Lee a month earlier. Johnston commanded a makeshift force formed from the diminished Army of Tennessee and troops from the Departments of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina, but at Bentonville he had fewer than 20,000 soldiers. Once a leading Confederate commander in Virginia, Johnston had been wounded in May 1862, superseded by Lee, later served in the Western Theatre, and was dismissed by Pres. Jefferson Davis after retreating before Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to the gates of Atlanta in July 1864. Despite Davis's objections, Lee returned Johnston to command in February 1865 with orders to concentrate forces to drive back Sherman but not to fight without a reasonable prospect of success. After Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton proposed striking Sherman's isolated Left Wing near Bentonville before it could reach Goldsboro and reinforcements, Johnston moved to block the Goldsboro Road on March 18, surprised but failed to destroy the Federal Left Wing on March 19, and then fought Sherman's combined army for the next two days. On March 21, men of the 64th Illinois and other units overran Johnston's headquarters, forcing him and his staff to flee on foot toward Mill Creek Bridge while members of the 39th Ohio and 64th Illinois captured his personal belongings and the horses of his staff officers.

North Carolina · United States