April 21, 1863

It was a daring idea: Send Union troops in a raid through Alabama with the goal of cutting the Western Atlantic Railroad – a key supply route for the South between Chattanooga and Atlanta during the Civil War.

But bad planning and other mishaps doomed the effort that launched from Nashville, under the command of Col. Abel Streight.

With no formal military training, Streight chose mules instead of horses, which were in short supply. He thought they would perform better in the rough terrain, but the mules were stubborn and in poor condition, and before the raid even began, Streight’s men spent two days rounding them up after a surprise assault by Confederate cavalry triggered a stampede.

As they plunged deeper into enemy territory in northern Alabama, Streight’s ill-supplied men were chased and hounded by Confederate cavalry led by Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Streight ultimately surrendered his 1,700 exhausted soldiers at Cedar Bluff, after Forrest had some of his 500 men ride in circles in the distance during a meeting between the two commanders. The ruse fooled Streight into believing Forrest had a much larger force. After learning better, Streight reportedly demanded the return of his forces for a proper fight. Forrest politely declined.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Abel Streight (1828-1892) was a Union colonel during the Civil War who led a failed raid through Alabama in 1863 to disrupt Confederate supply lines. Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest eventually captured Streight in northern Alabama in May 1863, with the help of teenager Emma Sansom. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Library of Congress)

Route of Streight’s Raid (1863) through Northern Alabama, which started at Nashville and was eventually headed for Rome, Georgia. (Brian0918, Wikipedia)

Gen. Nathan B. Forrest. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

Map of the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. (Wilbur G. Kurtz, Dave Joswick, Wikipedia)

Rebel lines northwest of Atlanta, between the Western & Atlantic Railroad and Peach Tree Street, November 1864. (Photograph by George N. Barnard, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.