When is the battle of aiken

Hume's Division consisting of Dibrell's, Ashby's, and Harrison's brigades. The men, most of whom had fought 4 years far away from home, were from Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia. As Kilpatrick's men moved towards Aiken, residents of the county realized that their worst fears were coming true.

James Courtney determinedly extinguished 3 fires that Union Cavalry had started to destroy his home. Each time Courtney extinguished the fire, the cavalry would restart it. After the third time, the cavalry shot him in the leg to prevent him from saving his house.

Courtney sent a request for a Union surgeon to come stop the flow of blood, but the surgeon refused to come. James Courtney slowly bled to death while his home burned in front of him. Courtney, possibly, was the first casualty in Aiken County. Ransey and Kelly Toole, brothers at home because they were too young to fight, had ropes placed around their necks and were threatened with hanging if they didn't reveal where their horses were hidden in the swamps.

Their mother was forced to prepare dinner for the officers, only to see her dishes thrown against a tree when they were through. Even after this, a fire was started under the Toole house as they left, although Mrs. Toole was able to extinguish the blaze.

As refuges fled through Aiken and into Augusta, panic ensued. Wheeler carefully planned to trap Kilpatrick. On the approach of Kilpatrick, the line would fall back towards the west. Although civilians had warned Kilpatrick that Wheeler and Cheatham were in Aiken, the cocksure officer leisurely marched towards the town.

Wheeler's advanced picket line on Williamsburg Street fell back as planned towards York Street. Here the plan fell apart when an Alabama trooper fired his gun prematurely, thus springing the trap too soon.

Wheeler realizing that he must act quickly or lose the initiative, ordered all units to attack. The key engagement occurred on Richland Avenue in front of the Baptist Church. Amidst Rebel yells and shouted commands the two sides entangled in a hand to hand battle.

Scattered fights occurred in other parts of the town including a desperate fight around the Williams' house off South Boundary. To add to the confusion, a Federal battery of the 10th Wisconsin lobbed 59 shells into the town. A turn of the century account of the battle reports that a Confederate cavalryman rode up to the General and snapped his pistol at his chest, but the gun did not go off.

The General then fled, losing his hat in the rout. In addition to battle reenactments, there are authentic 19th-century military encampments, living history presentations, reproductions of medical facilities, an engineer and signal service, and civilian portrayals. Come out and join us. There is no charge for Friday School Day. There is a charge for Saturday and Sunday attendance. Saturday A. Gates open A. Period Wedding A. Dance Demonstration A. Shoot Out P. Funeral Procession P.

Clogger Demonstration P. Period Ball. Sunday A. It officially brought an end to slavery in the South, but the fighting continued for two years. Just two months before the end of the war, Aiken residents lived in terror. South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens had sanctioned the start of conflict, and the people of South Carolina and her sister state Georgia suffered for that action.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops burned and destroyed houses, farms and factories on his "March to the Sea" from Atlanta to Savannah. While resting his troops in Savannah, Sherman reportedly declared, "When I go through South Carolina, it will be one of the most horrible things in the history of the world. The devil himself could not restrain my men in that state. Columbia would pay the debt he believed the South owed the Union.

Sherman sent a detachment of the Fifth U. Sherman also ordered them to destroy a powderworks plant in Augusta that made crucial gunpowder for the Confederate army. Kilpatrick entered the village of Aiken on February 11, , expecting no obstacles. To his surprise, he was greeted by the Confederate detachment led by General Joseph Wheeler.