On February 15, 1865, as Gen. W.T. Sherman's Federal army advanced to Columbia, Gen. O.O. Howard's Army of the Tennessee was blocked at Congaree Creek by Confederates entrenched behind the creek and defending the Old State Rd. bridge. Gen. George G. Dibrell's dismounted cavalry brigade, supported by infantry and artillery, manned nearby earthworks, portions of which survive. Gen. Charles R. Woods' 1st Div. of Gen. John A. Logan's XV Corps pushed Federal skirmishers forward while one of Woods' brigades crossed upstream and turned the Confederate right flank. Dibrell's force withdrew from Congaree Creek and then from its earthworks, retreating to Columbia. Although the Confederates set fire to the bridge, the Federals saved it and camped nearby that night.
