Stoneman’s Raid Part 3- The Battle of Salisbury

After crossing the Yadkin River at Halle Ford Stoneman’s men continued toward the Salisbury. The main road they were traveling on was a direct route to Salisbury. The Old Mocksville Road was a more circuitous route into town. Both crossed Grant’s Creek about a half mile apart where Rebel opposition to their crossing was expected. A battalion of the 12th Kentucky was sent down the old road while the remainder of the column traveled down the main road (modern-day West Innes Street). Union Lieutenant James M. Reagan placed his guns on the “main road” near the North Hills Christian School at 2970 West Innes Street. Colonel John Miller’s brigade supported by part of Colonel Simeon Brown’s brigade would attack down the main road.

**Image taken at the Christian School- Stoneman’s men would have been coming toward the camera**

**View looking down the road toward Grant’s Creek**

After pushing back some Rebel pickets at dawn the main column crested a hill overlooking Grant’s Creek only to see Confederates strongly entrenched on the opposite side of the Creek (see the map below).

**Map of the Battle of Grant’s Creek from Blue and Gray Magazine**

Stoneman had hoped to rescue Union POWs in the prison at Salisbury but what he did not know was that they had been evacuated the month before (about 3000 men). Despite this Salisbury was still an important rail junction for the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Railroads and a very large supply depot. When Stoneman had moved into Virginia early in the raid the Confederacy had relocated many of Salisbury’s defenders to other locations. Salisbury’s defenses were commanded by Brigadier General William M. Gardner and Lieutenant Colonel John C. Pemberton, the man who had surrendered Vicksburg. Their rag-tag force of a few thousand men consisted of government employees, home guards, prison guards, volunteers, junior reserves and some regulars. They were divided between two locations. The larger force was guarding the Yadkin River railroad bridge and about a thousand men were at Grant’s Creek. Grant’s Creek had steep banks, was deep and protected the western and northern parts of the city. The photo below shows the bridge on West Innes Street where it crosses Grant’s Creek at 35.6958994, -80.481384.

The image below was taken from the north bank of the creek. On the south side there is a car at the end of the bridge. To its right is the welcome to Salisbury sign. The steepness of the bank can be appreciated by the distance between the sign and the water in the creek near the center of the image.

**This part of Grant’s Creek is west of the bridge**

**The south shore of Grant’s Creek on the eastern side of the bridge**. **There are apparently earthworks on the ridge here on private property that are not visible on LiDAR imaging.**

The Confederates did have a veteran artillery battalion under Major John Johnston that had arrived the day before in addition to several other batteries. The road in front of Stoneman sloped down to the creek and was crossed by a small bridge from which the flooring was removed. Stoneman moved up the Second and Third brigades in preparation for a charge down the road but first sent three separate small detachments on flanking moves that included: 100 men from Major Frederick Slater’s 11th KY; another 100 from the 13th TN commanded by Major Robert Donnelly; and 20 men under Major Israel Smith. Union artillery proved largely ineffective. In the meantime, the 12th KY had been moving down the Old Mocksville Road on the Confederate right which gave way quickly. The Confederate left had better artillery support. The target of the 11th KY was the railroad bridge, shown below, that passed over Grant’s Creek. A walking path passes under the bridge at 35.6808515, -80.4960329. The bridge has several arches and the one to the left of path mostly blocked from view by the large tree is the arch that the creek passes under.

The 11th KY under Captain Myles Keogh stopped a passenger train trying to leave town. On it were the widow and daughters of Confederate Lieutenant General Leonidas Polk who had been visiting family in town. They robbed Mrs. Polk of her valuables, Polk’s sword, uniform and papers. After setting the train on fire the flanking Federal detachments found a ford near the Old Wilkesboro Road and got behind the Confederate left which gave way. Stoneman then ordered a general charge all along the line and the retreat soon became a rout. The Rebel cannons and gunners were captured. By 9:00 AM the fight at Grant’s Creek was over. By noon the town was under Union control, the arsenal occupied and the printing press of the local newspaper, The Carolina Watchman, destroyed.

Stoneman’s forces burned vast quantities of military stores, including 10,000 weapons, a million rounds of ammunition, 17,000 uniforms, 250,000 blankets and more than 200 tons of food and other supplies. Light from the giant bonfires reportedly was seen 30 miles away. The stores had been sent to Salisbury to prevent them from falling into General William T. Sherman’s hands as he marched north from Georgia. Although Stoneman’s raiders burned military supplies and facilities in town, the courthouse escaped destruction.