The Great Bentonville Showdown!

Imagine two big teams, the Union (blue) and the Confederates (gray), playing a super serious game. The Union army, led by a general named Sherman, was marching through the South. The Confederate army, with General Johnston in charge, wanted to stop them!

They met near a small place called Bentonville in North Carolina. It was like a big puzzle piece in the end of a long, long game called the Civil War.

For three whole days, from March 19th to 21st in 1865, the soldiers were busy! On the first day, the Confederates surprised the Union soldiers, making them move back a bit. But the Union army held their ground, like building a strong fort.

The next day was quieter, with just some small fights. On the third day, some Union soldiers tried a sneaky move, but the Confederates stopped them. It was a very close contest!

The main stars of this battle were the generals! General William T. Sherman led the Union army, and General Joseph E.

Johnston was the leader of the Confederate army. There were also brave soldiers like Major General Oliver O. Howard and Major General Henry W.

Slocum who led parts of Sherman's army. And Major General Joseph A. Mower led a daring attack on the last day.

These leaders made important choices that affected the whole battle.

After these three days of fighting, the Confederates had lost a lot of soldiers. General Johnston knew it was time to stop. Just a little over a month later, he and General Sherman met again, and Johnston surrendered. This was a super important moment because it was almost the very end of the whole Civil War! It was like the final whistle blowing on a very long and difficult game.