History has relegated the Battle of Wise’s (Wyse) Forks, March 7–11, to little more than an insignificant skirmish during the final days of the Civil War. Indeed, most histories mention it not at all. Mark A. Smith’s and Wade Sokolosky’s “To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming”: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865 erases this misconception and elevates this battle and its related operations to the historical status it deserves. By March 1865, the Confederacy was on its last legs. Its armies were depleted, food and resources were scarce, and morale was low. Gen. Robert E. Lee was barely holding on to his extended lines around Richmond and Petersburg, and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman was operating with nearly complete freedom in North Carolina on his way north to form a junction with Union forces in Virginia. As the authors demonstrate, the fighting that is the subject of this book came about when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant initiated a broad military operation to assist Sherman. The responsibility for ensuring a functioning railroad from New Bern to Goldsboro rested with Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox. On March 2, 1865, Cox ordered his hastily assembled Provisional Corps to march toward Goldsboro. In response to Cox’s movement, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston executed a bold but risky plan to divert troops away from Sherman by turning back Cox’s advance. Under the command of the aggressive but controversial Gen. Braxton Bragg, the Confederates stood for four days and successfully halted Cox at Wise’s Forks. This delay provided Johnston with the precious time he needed to concentrate his forces and fight the large and important Battle of Bentonville. “To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming” is the result of years of careful research in a wide variety of archival sources, and relies upon official reports, diaries, newspapers, and letter collections, all tied to a keen understanding of the terrain. Sokolosky and Smith, both career army officers, have used their expertise in military affairs to produce what is not only a valuable book on Wise’s Forks, but what surely must be the definitive study of one of the Civil War’s overlooked yet significant battles. Outstanding original maps by George Skoch coupled with period photographs reinforce the quality of this account and the authors’ commitment to excellence.

“To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming”: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865

History

Smith, Mark A.

Sokolosky, Wade

Americas

Savas Beatie

The final days of the Confederacy saw a kaleidoscope of action in the east, with most Civil War historians focusing on the imminent demise of the Army of Northern Virginia. However, to both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, it was the inexorable advance of the Union’s western army up through the Carolinas in the spring of 1865 that dictated their final moves. William Tecumseh Sherman’s Carolinas campaign has long been overshadowed by the events in Virginia, even as the Confederates themselves recognized it as the crucial, war-winning blow, and pitted a luminous array of their best generals—Johnston, Hardee, Hampton, A.P. Stewart, D.H. Hill, and others—against it. In this work, career military officers Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky rectify the oversight with “No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar”, a careful and impartial examination of Sherman’s advance up the seaboard. After his largely unopposed “March to the Sea,” in March 1865 Sherman struck off again north, aiming to unite with Grant and crush Lee between them. But the Confederacy in the Carolinas was not finished yet, and while Sherman rampaged through South Carolina they gathered forces to resist him in its northern neighbor. In North Carolina the Rebels conceded their vast arsenal at Fayetteville, which the Federals destroyed, but under William J. Hardee prepared to receive Sherman’s host in the narrow corridor between the Black and Cape Fear rivers at Averasboro. With a number of untried units (former coastal battalions) plus a scattering of veterans in Lafayette McLaws’ division, and Joe Wheeler’s cavalry, Hardee created a defense-in-depth, reminiscent of four-score years earlier at the battle of Cowpens. At Averasboro, Sherman’s spearhead was stopped cold in a two-day battle, which in these pages is described in intimate detail. Arraying his disparate forces into three lines, Hardee forced a full two Union corps to struggle against each one, while saving his true strength for the last. Even then, it was only the fortuitous appearance of Wheeler’s cavalry that retrieved the second day, when Sherman launched a flank attack. Strategically, along with Braxton Bragg’s command fighting off a Union thrust from the coast, the battle of Averasboro provided time for Joe Johnston to assemble all of his forces in the Carolinas, and then contest the advance of Sherman once and for all, at Bentonville. This work uncovers a long-overlooked clash in the Civil War, which had consequences beyond the gallant sacrifices of the men, who by then on both sides knew that the war for the Union was approaching its culmination.

"No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar": Sherman's Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, March 1865

"No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar": Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, March 1865

Review\nWade Sokolosky, one of the leading historians of the Civil War in the Old North State, has turned his keen research skills on exploring the Confederate health care system. In North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals 1861-1863 Volume 1, he examines the organization and administration of care facilities on both the home front and the battlefront. Sokolosky's study is a constructive reference work and a captivating narrative of an overlooked but important aspect of North Carolina at war.Chris E. Fonvielle Jr., Professor Emeritus, Dept. of History, UNC Wilmington and author of The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope\nBattle studies and biographies have long been the meat and potatoes of Civil War monographs, but there are so many other areas that deserve study. What it took to care for the war's sick and wounded is one important topic that has not received enough attention. In North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, author Wade Sokolosky presents a well-written, superbly researched study of this little-known aspect of the war in one of the Confederacy's most important states. It's a worthy, engaging, and refreshing contribution to Civil War literature.Chris Hartley - Author of Stoneman's Raid, 1865\nIn North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals 1861-1863, Volume 1, Wade Sokolosky successfully tackles an untapped subject of North Carolina Civil War history, exploring the makeup of the Confederate Hospitals during the Civil War. Hospitals were established throughout North Carolina to take care of the soldiers wounded on the battlefields defending North Carolina. His research is impeccable and thorough, while creating a highly readable document. His attention to detail provides a window to the hospitals of the Civil War, their makeup and functions. The book leaves the reader eagerly awaiting the publication of volume two. Congratulations to Wade on the publication of another excellent book on the Civil War.James E. White, III - Author of The Civil War in New Bern\nThe role of North Carolina's Confederate hospitals has received scant attention from the pens of historians. Wade Sokolosky has created an unparalleled volume examining the creation of these hospitals and the important role they played across the state. 
Michael C. Hardy - Civil War author and historian\nThis book is an organizational examination of North Carolina’s Confederate hospitals and why they existed. The first two chapters provide the reader with a general understanding of the Confederate Medical Department and the military and civilians that were essential in the day-to-day operations of a hospital. The remaining chapters are arranged chronologically and discuss the key military operations and events that occurred in the state or in Virginia that drove hospital requirements.

North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863: Volume I

Fox Run Publishing

This book is an organizational examination of North Carolina's Confederate hospitals and why they existed. The first two chapters provide the reader with a general understanding of the Confederate Medical Department and the military and civilians that were essential in the day-to-day operations of a hospital. The remaining chapters are arranged chronologically and discuss the key military operations and events that occurred in the state or in Virginia that drove hospital requirements.

North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863, Volume I

Fox Run Publishing, LLC

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Books by Sokolosky, Wade

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sokolosky, Wade. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

“To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming”: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865

"No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar": Sherman's Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, March 1865

"No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar": Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro, March 1865

“To Prepare for Sherman’s Coming”: The Battle of Wise’s Forks, March 1865

North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863: Volume I

North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863, Volume I