detached and cut off from all communication with the rear.” On the 16th,
General Sherman himself left Atlanta, and the march may be said to have
fairly commenced. It covered a period of five weeks, and terminated in
the capture of Savannah. In many respects this was the most brilliant
operation of the entire war. The sensation which the great march
occasioned throughout the North and in Europe, is almost unexampled in
history. One effective element was its mystery. In leaving Atlanta,
Sherman cut himself off from all communication with the North, and
utterly disappeared—no one knew whither, except such as enjoyed the
confidence of the government. The rebel authorities and press were
uncommonly reticent of all information of his movements. Rumors were
hunted up from day to day, but it was not until the army emerged upon
the Atlantic coast, that its history became known, and the importance
and the brilliancy of Sherman’s campaign was adequately realized. The
story of the great march has been many times told—very curtly and
concisely by General Sherman himself, in his report; very profusely by
war-correspondents who accompanied the army, and have since put forth
their narratives of its adventures. It was not attended by any important
battles, but was, of course, marked by a great variety of lively and
picturesque incidents.
The army, consisting of sixty thousand infantry and five thousand five
hundred cavalry, with one cannon to each thousand men, was divided into
two wings, the right being entrusted to Major-General O. O. Howard,
commanding the Fifteenth and Seventeenth corps, and the left to
Major-General H. W. Slocum, commanding the Fourteenth and Twentieth
corps. The right wing, under General Howard, preceded by
Brigadier-General J. Kilpatrick’s cavalry division, was put in motion in
the direction of Jonesboro’ and McDonough, with orders to make an
imposing feint on Macon, “to cross the Ocmulgee about Planter’s Mills,
and rendezvous in the neighborhood of Gordon in seven days, exclusive of
the day of march.” The cavalry moved out in columns of fours, filing
past the right wing, their splendid appearance eliciting shouts of
applause from the infantry. The latter suspected rightly that to
Kilpatrick was assigned the glorious task of releasing the Union
prisoners confined at Millen, and they consequently wished him God-speed
with all their hearts.
On the same day, General Slocum moved by Decatur and Stone Mountain. The
progress of the corps was at first slow, but the spirits of the men were
buoyant. They had been told all it was necessary for them to know, that
the base was to be changed, that a long and difficult march was before
them, and that a fatal blow was, by such means, to be dealt the rebel
Confederacy. The ensuing night proved pleasant; the road was broad and
good, and brilliantly illuminated by the conflagration of Atlanta.
The army was to move in four columns. The two constituting the left
wing, under General Slocum, were to take the more northerly route, and
the two forming the right, under Howard, were to pursue the more
southerly one, but all were to keep within supporting distance of each
other, with the cavalry operating on the flanks. The troops were
provided with good wagon trains, loaded with ammunition and forty days’
edible supplies, and were instructed to maintain this order of things as
long as possible by foraging liberally, and “living chiefly, if not
solely, upon the country.” Orders were issued to prevent the infliction
of any unnecessary loss and suffering upon the inhabitants, and “to
leave each family a reasonable portion for its maintenance but of course
such instructions were often disregarded and too frequently converted
into a license for indiscriminate plunder, so that the Georgians were at
last compelled to endure the full penalty of the fratricidal war they
had assisted in provoking.
As the left wing, under General Slocum, moved forward, the railroad from
Social Circle to Madison was torn up. On reaching Rutledge, the railroad
depot, engine-house, &c., were destroyed, and large quantities of cotton
were burned, three hundred bales being often destroyed by one corps in a
day’s march. Foraging, too, began to be richly recompensed. Madison, one
of the loveliest villages in Georgia, was next partially shorn of its
beauty. Its stores were sacked and its slave calaboose burned to the
ground. On Sunday the troops arrived at Eatonville, a terminus of the
branch railroad from Milledgeville, where they suffered much from cold
rains and the worst and most slippery roads they had yet traversed.
General Geary had, in the mean time, made a detour, for the purpose of
destroying the Oconee railroad bridge, a splendid structure, twelve
hundred feet in length. Several wagon bridges, tanneries,
shoe-factories, and four hundred bales of cotton in the neighborhood
shared its fate before he joined the main column. Supplies were now
found on every hand in abundance, including stacks of corn fodder,
numerous ground beds, containing about one hundred bushels of sweet
potatoes in each; also, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry. Fine horses
and sleek mules were hidden in thickets, but they were almost invariably
discovered by the men and appropriated to government use. Negroes
willingly assisted the soldiers in their search for hidden treasures,
and left their homes at a moment’s preparation to go they knew not
whither, in search of freedom, which they too often imagined to be “an
eternal Christmas—a life-long holiday.” Old and young, strong and weak,
men, women, and children, of all shades, some dressed in their master’s
or mistress’ best, and others almost naked, joined Sherman’s march, some
of them declaring that “Mars’r Sherman was a great man, but dis am de
work ob de Lord.”
On the twenty-second of November, Captain Duncan, with ten scouts,
dashed into Milledgeville, the capital of the State, and captured it.
The mayor came forth, and made a formal surrender of the town to General
Slocum, deprecating the destruction of private property. Governor Brown,
after vainly endeavoring to infuse into the hearts of the legislators
the courage which he himself could not muster, had fled precipitately,
as they had done, leaving the capital without defenders. Two thousand
stand of arms, a ton and a half of powder, and much other valuable
public property, was here captured. The penitentiary was burned by some
disorderly soldiers, after the convicts had been released. Millions of
Georgia paper money was found in the Treasurer’s office. Private
property was here protected, and only that belonging to the rebel
government, including two thousand bales of cotton, arsenals, machinery,
depots, &c., was burned.
General Kilpatrick’s cavalry had been—as, indeed, they were during the
whole march—busy covering the movements of the infantry columns,
protecting flanks, lighting up the country with burning cotton, guarding
against rebel dashes in the rear, and fighting splendidly in front.
After crossing Mud Creek, near Jonesboro’, the advance encountered the
enemy in force, provided with artillery. The rebel cannon opened
fiercely, but the enemy no sooner witnessed the imposing display of
cavalry which confronted them, than they lost heart, and retreated to
Lovejoy’s Station, where Wheeler had taken refuge behind a line of
earthworks, with artillery in position, and a large force of militia and
one brigade of his old command, under Iverson, numbering in all perhaps
four thousand men.
Colonel Murray’s gallant brigade, consisting of four regiments, was
formed for the assault, while the artillery on both sides thundered
heavily. The open country was favorable for a charge, which was quickly
sounded, and a brilliant dash upon the rebel works was made, which
resulted in the recapture of two of Rodman’s guns, which were lost by
Stoneman in his unfortunate raid, and the complete rout of the enemy,
with the loss on his part of ten killed and forty taken prisoners.
General Howard was now approaching Planter’s Mills with the view of
laying his pontoons and crossing the Ocmulgee, which purpose he
accomplished undisturbed. Kilpatrick was at the same time menacing Macon
from the west side of the stream. His cavalry passed Clinton on the 20th
and advanced upon Macon in three columns, the brigade under Colonel
Atkins taking the right, that under Colonel Murray the left, while the
Third Kentucky held the central road. Colonel Murray went dashing for
miles over a succession of barricades with little loss till he came
within reach of the guns of the enemy’s works, which opened a furious
discharge upon him. Without flinching, the Tenth Ohio advanced in the
face of this fire up the hill, and when the signal charge was given,
rushed forward with irresistible impetuosity. The works were surmounted,
artillerymen and infantry supports scattered, and the fort captured with
a celerity that surprised the victors themselves. But while busying
themselves with the eight siege guns they had taken but could neither
spike nor remove, the enemy rallied, other guns were turned upon the
Federals, and they were compelled to retire.
The cavalry now destroyed the Central railroad as far as Griswoldsville,
where Walcott’s brigade of infantry joined them in order to cover that
flank, while Howard’s trains were closing up and his men scattered and
engaged in the destruction of the railroad toward Gordon. The enemy had
made a reconnoissance in force and captured an entire picket post. He
was approaching in considerable strength, and scarcely had the Union
cavalry thrown up some hasty works, before they were assaulted by the
rebels, who advanced with a deafening yell. Walcott’s infantry,
regarding the Confederate militia with supreme contempt, swept down upon
them; but they did not prove such contemptible foes after all, and were
content with nothing short of a thorough defeat. They were commanded by
General Phillips, who displayed much gallantry in rallying them when
they shrank under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery; but his
efforts were finally unavailing, and his men fled panic-stricken,
leaving their brave commander and several hundred men prisoners in the
hands of the Union troops.
Kilpatrick crossed the Oconee river and joined Sherman at Milledgeville.
Slocum’s column left the capital on the 24th, crossed the Oconee, and
plunged into an extensive pine forest. The Oconee bridge was burned on
the following morning. The road traversed a wide swamp formed by a
winding creek, over which nine bridges had been built. The enemy had
destroyed these, and pontoons and corduroy had to supply their place.
Skirmishing with the enemy now grew lively. A dash of Colonel Hughes
into Sandersville nearly proved fatal to him, and the infantry of the
second column advanced to undisturbed possession of the town. Louisville
was reached on the 30th, and on the 2d and 3d of December, both men and
mules suffered much from the heat. On the march, the plantation of a
violent secessionist, Dr. W. Jones, was completely devastated, and that
of widow Jones, who had shown sympathy to Union captives, was spared for
the sake of her charitable deeds. The Milieu stockade, which had been
the prison of many thousand Union captives, was passed, but the
prisoners had been removed before even the swift and dashing Kilpatrick
could reach it. It consisted of a high log fence, enclosing fifteen
acres, in a thick pine forest, and was a melancholy and dreary
spectacle.
The right wing, under General Howard, had encountered little opposition,
except at Oconee Bridge, where Major Hartridge, of Wheeler’s cavalry,
made a stout but unavailing resistance. The Fourteenth and Twentieth
corps arrived at Millen with punctuality, which tended to ensure the
accomplishment of Sherman’s masterly plans.
Kilpatrick had, in the mean time, been raiding in advance. Two hundred
of his men under Captain Hayes, had struck out sixty miles from the main
command. They ventured within eight miles of Augusta, destroying a train
of cars, the bridge over Brier creek on the Augusta Branch railroad, and
committed other devastations calculated to weaken and confound the
enemy. Kilpatrick took special pains while Hayes was thus engaged, to
keep Wheeler’s attention fixed upon him, in the vicinity of Louisville.
Colonel Murray’s detachment was thrice vigorously assailed by the rebel
cavalry, and though driven off at last by the aid of artillery.
Kilpatrick’s command continued to be harassed with sharp skirmishing,
which culminated in a hard fight, at Turkey creek, where the narrow and
difficult passage over the bridge afforded the enemy an opportunity to
check his progress.
[Illustration: HOOD’S HEADQUARTERS AT ATLANTA.]
[Illustration: SHERMAN’S HEADQUARTERS AT ATLANTA.]
On the 28th of November, a foggy morning, Wheeler’s cavalry suddenly
assaulted Kilpatrick’s rear, drove him behind his second barricade, and
followed up the advantage with so much vigor, that nothing but hard
fighting and swift running saved that commander from capture. At Buck
Head creek the cavalry had another sharp conflict. The enemy charged
Kilpatrick on the flank, but his men were advantageously posted behind
timber, and the rebels exposed in an open field to a fire which drove
them back with the loss of two hundred left dead and wounded upon the
field. On the first of December Kilpatrick had the good fortune to
strike Wheeler’s cavalry in turn on the flank, and an encounter ensued
in which the rebels were defeated. On the 4th, Kilpatrick was again in
search of the enemy, and found him eight miles from Waynesboro’, where
he was ensconced behind rail barricades. These defences were found
obstinate, but Kilpatrick led his men in person, when the three lines
were successfully carried in a hand-to-hand fight, and Wheeler was
chased through Waynesboro’. The cavalry now moved toward Savannah,
exchanging a few shots with the rebel infantry at Sister’s ferry, when,
passing to the right wing again, they moved through Cypress Swamps; and,
on December 10th, they were shelled by the rebel batteries at Savannah,
in plain view, while picking their way through the rice fields which the
rebels had flooded to prevent their approach to the city.
As all the columns had reached their rendezvous about Millen in time,
they were ordered to continue their march on Savannah by several roads,
according to their position in line; General Davis following the
Savannah railroad, General Slocum the middle road, by the way of
Springfield, General Blair the railroad, and General Howard continuing
still south and west of the Ogeechee, with instructions to cross to the
east bank opposite Eden Station.
On approaching Savannah, the country became more marshy and difficult,
and the pioneer companies were constantly employed removing felled trees
and other obstructions, so placed as to impede the advance of the army.
When the heads of the columns were within fifteen miles of Savannah, all
the avenues to the city were found to be thus obstructed, with the
addition of extended earthworks and artillery. “But these,” says General
Sherman, “were easily turned, and the enemy driven away, so that by the
10th of December the rebels were driven within their lines at Savannah,
which followed two swampy streams, bordered by flooded ricefields.” The
only approaches to the city were by two railroads and three dirt-roads,
all of which were commanded by heavy ordnance, too strong for an attack
by the artillery which Sherman’s army had brought with it.
General Slocum had struck the Charleston railroad near the bridge, and
thus severed the connection between Charleston and Savannah. He invested
the latter city on the right and front, the left of the Twentieth corps
extending to the river. Here some of the foragers discovered the steamer
Water Witch, captured from the Union fleet, moving up, which was soon
recaptured and burned.
Howard now swung into line, bringing the Seventeenth corps on the right
centre, and placing the Fifteenth in reserve, to open communication with
the Union fleet, which purpose was effected by Captain Duncan, chief of
Howard’s scouts.
Major-General Kilpatrick had reconnoitred Fort McAllister, and, by a
rapid movement to Kilkenny Bluff, also succeeded in communicating with
the fleet. He solicited permission to attack the fort, which was very
prudently refused.
THE CAPTURE OF FORT MC ALLISTER, GA.
DECEMBER 13, 1864.
The railroad bridge called King’s Bridge, across the Ogeechee, leading
to the fort, had been burned by the rebels, and was now reconstructed in
an incredibly short time. On the 13th of December the Second division of
the Fifteenth corps, under the command of Brigadier-General Hazen,
crossed the bridge to the west bank, with orders to carry Fort
McAllister by assault. This work was a strong enclosed redoubt, manned
by two companies of artillery and three of infantry, in all about two
hundred men, and mounting twenty-three guns, _en barbette_, and one
mortar. General Hazen deployed his division about the fort, with both
flanks resting upon the river, posted his skirmishers behind the trunks
of trees whose branches had been used for abattis, and, about five P.
M., assaulted the place with nine regiments at three points.
General Sherman witnessed the assault from a rice-mill on the opposite
side of the river, and had the satisfaction of perceiving, at the same
moment, a United States gunboat in the distance, which, shortly
afterward, responded to his signal from the mill. Hazen had brought no
artillery, for the ground was too swampy to sustain it, and he placed
his reliance on the dash and bayonets of his men. All the guns of the
fort opened upon his single line as it advanced. At the same time, the
torpedoes, which had been buried plentifully in all the approaches to
the position, began to explode, killing and Wounding more than the guns.
The assailants had first to surmount the thick abattis, which they had
no sooner done than they poured into the fort a fire so deadly as to
silence its guns. A ditch, bristling with spikes, was the next fearful
obstacle to overcome. The Union soldiers scrambled out of this, and
clambered into the fort in swarms. A terrible, close, crowded conflict
now ensued. The garrison fought desperately; many of the men were
bayoneted at their guns, and the officers for a time refused to
surrender. But the Union troops continued to pour in on all sides, and
the fort was soon after surrendered to the victors.
On the following day the rebel prisoners were compelled to remove all
the torpedoes about the fort. The Union loss in this gallant affair was
twenty-three killed and eighty-two wounded; that of the enemy fourteen
killed, twenty-one wounded, and one hundred and ninety-eight soldiers
and thirteen officers made prisoners.
An important advantage gained by the capture of Fort McAllister was the
opening of communication with the supply ships which the government had
prudently held in readiness for the wants of Sherman’s army.
THE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH.
DECEMBER 21, 1864.
The Union lines now closely encircled Savannah. Its supplies were cut
off, and the Federals were night and day working themselves closer to
the city. Some thirty-pound Parrott guns were landed from the fleet, and
placed in position, and preparations were made for assaulting the
enemy’s works on all sides. On the 17th of December General Sherman
demanded of Lieutenant-General W. J. Hardee the surrender of Savannah,
and, on the following day, an answer was returned by Hardee refusing
this demand, coupled with an assertion of his ability to hold his
position for an indefinite time. He sustained this boast by opening a
wasteful and furious bombardment, with shot and shell, on the Union
lines.
The next night, the 20th of December, Hardee evacuated Savannah. He
ferried his men quietly across the river, and escaped by the Union
causeway, carrying with him all the able-bodied negroes, under guard,
into South Carolina.
General Geary was the first to discover the movement, and to enter the
deserted works. Mayor Arnold rode out and surrendered the city to him.
General Geary was afterward entrusted with the command of Savannah, and
afforded general satisfaction to its citizens, who were well pleased
with the moderation and equity of his administration.
General Hardee had burned the shipyard and a rebel ram there which was
nearly completed. The iron-clad floating battery, Georgia, was sunk by
her commander, and the iron-clad Savannah, after indulging in some
wanton firing upon the captured city, was blown up, the explosion
visiting the city like an earthquake.
The Union loss during the siege of Savannah did not exceed six hundred.
One hundred and forty-five cannon, one thousand prisoners, thirty
thousand bales of cotton, and immense quantities of ammunition and
supplies, and much valuable property were captured, which, as the city
was virtually taken before it was surrendered, were regarded by General
Sherman as the undoubted prizes of the government for which he and his
army had toiled and fought so long.
* * * * *
Sherman’s grand march to the sea was accomplished. Its mysterious
strategy and alarming boldness were now elucidated and justified by the
event. The rebels had been perplexed and distracted by the movement. The
feint on Macon first misled the enemy, and, afterward, Sherman’s
constant menace against Augusta divided the forces which might have been
united against him, and kept the Georgians in the most demoralizing
suspense and terror, which allowed the Union army to sever and burn at
its leisure the enemy’s only remaining railroad communications eastward
and westward, for hundreds of miles—namely, the Georgia State railroad
and the Central railroad from Gordon to Savannah, with numerous other
portions of it. The army passed over forty-two of the finest
grain-growing counties of the State, consuming their corn and fodder,
sweet potatoes, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, appropriating ten
thousand or more horses and mules, burning all their bridges, cotton
gins, all public buildings of service to the enemy, and bringing away a
countless number of slaves. “I estimate,” says General Sherman, “the
damage done to the State of Georgia and its military resources at one
hundred million dollars, at least twenty million dollars of which has
inured to our advantage, and the remainder is simple waste and
destruction. This may seem a hard species of warfare, but it brings the
sad realities of war home to those who have been directly or indirectly
instrumental in involving us in its calamities.”
GRAND NAVAL COMBAT IN MOBILE BAY.
CAPTURE OF FORTS MORGAN, POWELL, AND GAINES.
AUGUST 5–23, 1864.
Admiral Farragut, who had anchored off Mobile Bay for more than a month,
awaiting reinforcements and military cooperation, at length saw the day
approach on which he was prepared to undertake the most dangerous if not
formidable naval combat that history has ever recorded.
At the head of Mobile Bay, nearly thirty miles from the Gulf of Mexico,
lies the city of Mobile. Dauphin’s Island lies at the mouth of the bay,
and almost closes the entrance, having a narrow strait on either side.
The western channel affords but five feet of water, and is therefore not
navigable for heavy vessels. The eastern strait channel has a depth of
twenty feet. The entrance to the bay is guarded by two strong forts. The
principal defence is Fort Morgan, which is built on a low, sandy point
opposite Dauphin’s Island, and four miles from it. The rebels had
blockaded the whole passage between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island with
tiers of piles, chains, and torpedoes, leaving a channel of fifteen
hundred yards in width for the blockade-runners, which flowed directly
under the guns of the fort.