Find Hotels Near Battle of Asheville Asheville

The Battle of Asheville was a pivotal moment in the Civil War that took place in and around the city of Asheville, North Carolina. It was fought between Union forces under Major General William T. Sherman, and Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas Wade Foster. On April 6th, 1865, the Union army launched three separate attacks on Confederate positions near Asheville, eventually pushing them out of the city and surrounding countryside.

The battle began early in the morning when Sherman’s men marched toward Asheville from Knoxville, Tennessee. Upon arriving at their destination late in the day, they found that Foster had established a strong defensive line along a ridge outside of town. In an effort to break through this line, Sherman ordered his troops to penetrate it at multiple points throughout the night. Despite some initial successes, the Union army was unable to make much headway against Foster’s well-entrenched troops, who continued to hold their position until dawn.

At sunrise however, a fresh division of Union soldiers managed to outflank and push back many of Foster’s troops and capture several artillery pieces in the process. This success gave Sherman's force enough momentum to break through Foster’s lines completely by mid-morning and take control of Asheville itself shortly thereafter.

Despite this victory for the Union army however, Confederate forces still held significant territory outside of town which would remain contested for weeks afterwards. As part of these ongoing operations after the Battle of Asheville, both sides fortified their positions with earthworks and trenches all across western North Carolina as they fought bitterly for control over territory and resources leading up to General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9th—three days after The Battle Of Asheville ended with a decisive Union victory here in western North Carolina.