On the first day of the battle, the Confederates attacked the XIV Corps and routed two divisions, but the rest of Sherman's army defended its positions successfully.

The next day, as Sherman sent reinforcements to the battlefield and expected Johnston to withdraw, only minor sporadic fighting occurred.

As a result of the overwhelming Union strength and the heavy casualties his army suffered in the battle, Johnston surrendered to Sherman little more than a month later at Bennett Place, near Durham Station.

Following his March to the Sea, Major General William T. Sherman, commanding the Military Division of the Mississippi, moved his army northward through the Carolinas.

[10] Confederate maps erroneously showed that the two Union wings were twelve miles (19 km) apart, which meant each would take a day to reach the other.

At 3 pm, Confederate infantry from the Army of Tennessee launched an attack and drove the Union left flank back in confusion, nearly capturing Carlin in the process and overrunning the XIV Corps field hospital.

[20] Confederates under Maj. Gen. D.H. Hill filled the vacuum left by the retreating Federals and began enfilading the Union troops remaining along the front.

[21] Hardee, using Taliaferro's division and Bate's corps from the Army of Tennessee, attacked the Union positions near the Harper house but were repulsed after multiple assaults.

Johnston remained on the field, claiming that he stayed to remove his wounded, but perhaps also in hope of enticing Sherman to attack again, as had happened at Kennesaw Mountain.

In his memoirs, Sherman admitted that this was a mistake and that he missed an opportunity to end the campaign then and there, perhaps capturing Johnston's army entirely.

Another notable loss was the twenty-three year old Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th Cavalry Battalion, which had been fighting dismounted since the fall of 1864.

During the night of March 21 until the following dawn, Johnston withdrew his army across Mill Creek and burned the bridge behind him, leaving behind a cavalry detachment as a rearguard.

In attendance at the review were Generals William J. Hardee, Joseph E. Johnston and Governor Zebulon Baird Vance.

The park, founded in 1965, includes 130 acres (0.53 km2) of the battlefield and runs a visitor's center adjacent to the restored Harper House, which served as a hospital for Union soldiers during the battle.

[35] The Trust and its partners, including the historical association, have acquired and preserved more than 2,063 acres (8.35 km2) of the battlefield in more than 55 separate acquisitions since 1990.