GREENSBORO UNION PT. AUGUSTA WAYNESBORO SYLVANIA SPRINGFIELD SAVANNAH MCALLISTER SAVANNAH -N flank of the infantry, so as to screen, so far as possible, the direction of our advance and the points to which it was directed. Each wing had its separate and efficient pontoon train. Gen. Sherman marched and camped first with one wing, then with the other. trating on Milledgeville,' which was entered without opposition; Sherman thus far accompanying the 14th corps, which was the last to leave Atlanta, and had not had a chance to fire a shot. In fact, the principal resistance encountered by our infantry was that of the bad roads of Georgia at that rainy season. Osterhaus had seen (for a moment) a few Rebel cavalry at the crossing of Cotton river; but, though they set fire to the bridge, they were driven off so promptly that only the planks were damaged. Thus far, our infantry had mainly been busied with destroying railroads and foraging on the plenty of central Georgia; each subordinate commander being instructed to live on the country so far as possible; saving to the utmost the twenty days' bread, forty days' beef, coffee, sugar, &c., and three days' forage, contained in our wagons. Helping the trains across the Ocmulgee and its tributaries, and up the long, steep hills beyond, had been the principal labor of the march; which was intended to average 15 miles per day. Kilpatrick held the laboring oar. 50 Moving south' from Atlanta with Howard, he had been confronted at East Point by Rebel cavalry; with whom he skirmished, driving them to Flint river, which he crossed at Jonesboro' at 7 A. M. next day; fol lowing the enemy to Lovejoy's, where they had taken post in the old Rebel works, having two guns. Dismounting Murray's brigade, Kilpatrick attacked and carried the works, captur ing 50 prisoners; Atkins's brigade soon after charging the fleeing foe, and taking their guns. Kilpatrick pushed thence by McDonough and Moving rapidly to Atlanta,' Howard advanced thence by McDonough, Monticello, and Clinton, to Gordon; while Slocum advanced by Covington, Madison, and Eatonton, concen 4 1 7 Nov. 15. infacty Georg KILPATRICK ADVANCES TO WAYNESBORO'. 691 Monticello to Clinton; whence he | taxed the best efforts of our engineers made a dash at Macon, driving in and axmen. the enemy's cavalry; but was unable lest! to carry the defenses, which were held by infantry and artillery. He burned a train of cars, and broke up the railroad; covering all the roads which diverged eastward from Macon, by the aid of Wolcott's brigade of infantry, which was sharply assailed from Macon, but worsted and beat off its assailants; while the right wing marched by to Gordon. 8 Howard now advanced to the Oconee at Ball's ferry, where a small force in his van crossed on a raft, but was driven back with loss. When his two corps had been brought up, and a detachment thrown across the swift current in boats, the enemy had decamped. Meantime, the Georgia Central railroad had been demolished, and the right wing pushed on, keeping to the right of that road, and encountering no serious resistance. Sherman was here with Blair; Howard with Osterhaus. At Millen, on the Central railroad, half way from Sandersville to Savannah, was a great prison-camp, where some thousands of our captured soldiers had long endured unspeakable privations. Sherman was intent on reaching and liberating them. To this end, he had sent Kilpatrick, with most of our cavalry, far to our left, so as to give the impression that he was making for Augusta rather than toward the coast, lest the prisoners should be removed from Millen. Kilpatrick had advanced from Milledgeville by Sparta and Gibson to Waynesboro'," skirmishing with Wheeler, who constantly menaced, but did not seriously attack him; and now Kilpatrick learned that the enemy had taken the alarm and removed the prisoners from Millen: so he judged it wiser to fall back on the left wing than to persist in a hazardous, unsupported advance, which had no longer a motive. In effecting this retreat, Kilpatrick and his staff, Slocum had moved out of Mil- with the 8th Indiana and 9th Michiledgeville simultaneously with How-gan, were, through a misapprehenard's advance from Gordon, and had concentrated at Sandersville,' driving out a small party of Wheeler's cavalry. Thence, the left wing followed the Central railroad, breaking it up to the Ogeechee, which it crossed" at Louisville; whence it kept north of that road, striking out for the Savannah river. The roads and bridges in our advance, bad at best, were of course made worse by the enemy; while the great swamps wherein this region abounds rendered the movement of our trains and guns a matter of difficulty, and sion of orders, cut off from the main body and very nearly surrounded by Wheeler; but they fought their way out and rejoined their comrades with little loss. Wheeler pressing on, Kil patrick dismounted, selected a good position, threw up a breastwork, and received the enemy's charge; which, though desperately made, was repulsed at all points with little loss. He then moved on a few miles and camped, unpursued; being soon reenforced by Col. M. C. Hunter's brigade of Baird's division, which Jeff. C. Davis, hearing of his peril, had sent from the left wing to his aid. | off, taking a gun and some prisoners. The need of assistance, however, was now over. Kilpatrick now joined the left wing, and covered its flank when it again advanced. He followed the fugitives across the Little Ogeechee to within 8 miles of the city, where he halted, and resumed, breaking up the Gulf railroad; King's bridge having been burned by the enemy. No force remained in our front here save the garrison of Fort McAllister. And now Blair's pontoons were laid across the Ogeechee, near Fort Argyle, and the two wings thus substantially united before Savannah. Slocum had set forward from Louisville "-the 20th corps in advanceand had moved down between the Savannah and the Ogeechee; finding the roads mainly of quicksand, coated by a thin crust of firmer sand, which was soon cut through by our trains, rendering their movement barely possible, and requiring miles of 'corduroy.' At intervals, the Rebels had fallen trees across the roads, but not exactly where they were wanted. The 14th corps had advanced farther to the left, with Kilpatrick still farther east; Sherman's object being still to threaten Augusta and be wilder the enemy as to his purpose. Thus Kilpatrick, supported by Baird, was thrown out again to Waynesboro'; fighting" Wheeler and driving him 8 miles across Briar creek; while Baird destroyed the Augusta railroad; when the 14th was concen Sherman, still with Blair, crossed" the Ogeechee near Barton, advancing to Millen;" Howard, with Wood's and Corse's divisions of the 15th corps, still moving south of the Ogeechee on the old dirt road to Savannah; while Hazen's and John E. Smith's divisions, keeping farther to the right, reached Statesboro'." Hazen had a skirmish here with a regiment of cavalry, which was easily driven; but the roadless swamps were vanquished with more difficulty. Wood threw " over the Ogeechee, by a foot-bridge, Williamson's brigade, which moved down the left bank; while Corse crossed his division on pontoons at Jenks's bridge, some distance below; Rice's brigade, in advance, having a smart skirmish with a Rebel battalion which disputed the passage; losing 5 men and taking 17 prisoners. The right wing now moved down both banks of the river; Osterhaus crossing Cannouchee creek; while Blair encountered" a Rebel force holding an intrenched line, with guns in position and riflepits in front, in a dense swamp, where his men had to wade kneedeep to form line of battle. The enemy were not in great force, how-trated on Jacksonboro', and all moved ever, and were easily driven: two rapidly down Briar creek toward the brigades pushing on to the Savannah Savannah; Baird and Kilpatrick in and Gulf railroad and breaking it; the rear, which was now pressed by while J. E. Smith's division closed Wheeler, with sharp skirmishing, but up on Corse's, and Corse pressed on with little loss on either side. Gen. toward Savannah. He was opposed Morgan, in Davis's van, was halted, by 600 infantry and 2 guns; but his near Ebenezer church, a strong fieldadvance brigade quickly ran them work in his front," which seemed to Nov. 30. Dec. 2. Dec. 4. 1 Dec. 6-7. 17 Dec. 1. 18 Dec. 4. 10 Dec. 9. 12 24 16 Dec. 9. HAZEN STORMS FORT MCALLISTER. 693 Her gar be firmly held; but night fell while | gle, McAllister was ours. rison of 200 surrendered; having 40 Hazen was in front of Fort McAllister on our left, and had been exchanging shots with it-hoping thus to attract the attention of our fleet blockading the coast, when Gens. Sherman and Howard rode" to Dr. Cheves's rice-mill to reconnoiter that fort. Kilpatrick had just been sent across the Ogeechee with a like purpose, and to open communication, if possible, with our fleet off the coast. About noon, as the two Generals scanned the fort through their glasses, it was observed to open fire inland from several guns; while Hazen's skirmishers could be discerned approaching it, and the smoke as of a steamer was visible off the mouth of the Ogeechee. A signal from Hazen now imported that he had invested the fort. Sherman signaled back that it was important to carry it that day. The steamer signaled that she was sent by Gen. Foster and Admiral Dahlgren to communicate with our army, but was in doubt whether to approach the fort as hostile or friendly. At that moment, Hazen's bugles sounded the charge; when his division rushed over torpedoes and abatis, through a shower of grape, up to and over the parapet, and, after a brief but desperate strug Sherman watched till he saw our colors hoisted over the fort, and heard the cheers of the victors as they fired their pieces into the air; when, taking a boat, he went with Howard down to the fort and congratulated Hazen; rowing thence down the Ogeechee till he met the National tug Dandelion, Lt.-Com'r Williamson; who informed him that Capt. Duncan, whom Howard had sent down the Ogeechee in a canoe, to run by the fort and communicate with Foster and Dahlgren, had safely reached them several days before, and that they might be expected here directly. Foster arrived in the Nemaha during that night; and Sherman met Dahlgren on board the Harvest Moon next day; sending by him to Hilton Head for heavy guns wherewith to bombard the city—those which he had brought through Georgia in his Winter march being inadequate. When several 30-pounder Parrotts had reached him, Sherman formally summoned" Hardee, who held the city, and who refused; suggesting that he was not yet completely invested. Slocum was now ordered to get the siege-guns into position, while Sherman started" to pay a flying visit to Hilton Head, to arrange with Foster for stopping the exit from Savannah toward Charleston. Being detained by high and adverse winds, however, he was met," in one of the inland passages among the Sea Islands, by an army tug of fodder, had been gathered from the country and issued to our men and animals; while 5,000 horses and 4,000 mules had been 'pressed' into the National service. Of cotton, 20,000 bales had been burned; while 25,000 more were captured in Savannah. Of negroes, 10,000 had abjured the delights of bondage to follow the National flag; beside thousands more -most of them women and children with the news that Hardee, with a force reported at 15,000 men, had evacuated the city during the dark and windy night of the 20th; crossing the Savannah on a pontoonbridge, and marching up the causeway road toward Charleston. The movement had been unsuspected by our pickets; and, when next morning broke, Savannah was ours, and Hardee beyond the reach of. pursuit. He had destroyed, under cover of a-who had had been most shamefully heavy fire, which he kept up through the day and evening of the 20th, the Navy Yard, two iron-clads, many smaller vessels, and a large quantity of ammunition, ordnance stores, and supplies of all kinds. His guns he could not even wait to spike, lest his flight should be detected. As our bombardment had barely commenced, the city was surrendered almost intact; while, of its cotton, a large share had been made over to the Confederacy, and so was an incontestable prize. We had lost, in that march of 255 miles, which was substantially the conquest of Georgia, six weeks' time and 567 men; whereof 63 were killed, 245 wounded, and 159 missing. To offset these, we had taken 1,328 prisoners and 167 guns. Our ammunition expended was inconsiderable; while our 65,000 men and 10,000 horses had lived generously off a State wherein our captives in thousands had died of virtual starvation and kindred agonies because (as was alleged) their captors were unable to subsist them. Aside from sheep, swine, fowls, sweet potatoes, and rice, whereof they had found an abundance, 13,000 beeves, 160,000 bushels of corn, and over 5,000 tons driven back by certain of our officers" at the crossings of rivers; and pitilessly reconsigned to Slavery, and thus to their masters' vengeful wrath. Sherman made some little atonement for this cruelty by assigning lands on the Sea Islands, deserted by Rebels, to the Blacks who had followed him to the coast. The merit of Sherman's achievement is dwarfed to vulgar appreciation by circumstances which should rather exalt it. It is true that Hood's movement on Nashville had withdrawn the main obstacle from his path; yet it was still possible to have confronted him on the Oconee, and then on the Ogeechee, with 30,000 men, one-third of them mounted; and thus have compelled him to repeated concentrations, assaults, and flank marches, which might have exhausted his food if not his munitions, and left him helpless while encircled by foes and vast stretches of inhospitable swamps and forests. The country, which yielded bounteous subsistence to an army covering a breadth of 40 miles and advancing from 10 to 20 miles per day, would have proved utterly inadequate in the face of a foe able to detain him a week at each considerable river and drive in or cut "Gen. Jeff. C. Davis appears to have been prominent in this inhumanity. |