Battle of Athens (1864) 1864
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 26 January 1864 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1864 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Civil War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 34.8033, -86.9722 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Athens was fought in Athens, Alabama (Limestone County, Alabama), on January 26, 1864, as part of the American Civil War. The Union force was a company under Captain Emil Adams from the 9th Illinois Mounted Infantry regiment. The Confederate force was the 1st Alabama Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel Moses W. Hannon.
On the morning of January 26, 1864, at around 4:00 a.m., ~700 Confederate cavalrymen attacked Athens, which was being held by a Union force of only 150. Even though the Union defenders had no fortifications and were outnumbered six to one, they were able to repulse the Confederate attack and force them into a retreat after a two-hour battle. The Union infantry effectively used the buildings of the town as protection, and the Confederate attackers realized that this kind of urban warfare was too time-consuming and unlikely to succeed before nearby reinforcements might arrive.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Athens (1864) (revision 1371049422), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Decatur 1864 · 21 km
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- Battle of Day's Gap 1863 · 55 km
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Other battles of the American Civil War
- Siege of Suffolk 1863
- Siege of Vicksburg 1863
- Skirmish at Ashley's Mills 1863
- Skirmish near Brooklyn, Kansas 1863
- Skirmish of Sporting Hill 1863
- Action at Ashley's Station 1864
- Ambush of the steamboat J. R. Williams 1864
- Bahia incident 1864
- Battle of Adairsville 1864
- Battle of Albemarle Sound 1864
All 498 battles of the American Civil War →
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles