Local historian will give lecture on Battle of Ebenezer Church
Published 5:36 pm Friday, January 11, 2013
Although little information is commonly known about the Battle of Stanton or the Battle of Ebenezer Church, Wayne Arnold will present a program on the battle Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Chilton Clanton Public Library.
Arnold has researched the battle for decades after gathering stories of the old families of Stanton and Plantersville as well as reading the diaries of officers and walking the battlegrounds with metal detectors finding and preserving artifacts from the battle.
President of the Clanton Historical Society Katherine Reece said Arnold will bring the artifacts he found from the battle to the lecture including mini-balls, Spencer rounds, a Spencer rifle, a Springfield rifle, a large piece of sandstone carved by a Confederate solider and railroad related artifacts from where the Confederates tore up the tracks to create breastworks.
Reece said the battle occurred during the Civil War when Brig. Gen. James H. Wilson of the Union Army was ordered to go to Selma and destroy the munitions plants.
His troops and Confederate troops led by Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest had a running battle through the western part of Chilton County known as the Battle of Stanton or the Battle of Ebenezer Church.
“It is almost impossible to find information about this battle,” Reece said. “Thankfully, Arnold grew up in the area and has learned about this battle since his childhood. He talked to old families and has about five decades of research from what people remember because for some people, this battle happened in their front yard.”
Reece said Arnold has many unique stories he plans to share during the lecture.
“Arnold will be donating his speaker’s fee to the Foshee House fund that got hit by the tornado,” Reece said. “In addition to him donating his speaker’s fee, we will have a donation jar for people to donate to the fund.”