Johnson.[1] By prodding into the ground with their ramrods, some of our
foragers found there a lot of more or less valuable papers and letters,
which had for safe-keeping been buried in his cabbage patch. Some of the
letters from his son, who was an officer on Hood's staff, afforded us
much amusement. Our mess forager found here, also, a stock of flour that
lasted until we reached Savannah.
[1] H. V. Johnson was born in Burke County, Georgia, in 1812. He served
his State as Federal Senator from 1848 to 1849, and as Governor from
1853 to 1857. In 1860 he was nominated for the Vice-Presidency on the
ticket of Stephen A. Douglas. He opposed to the last the secession of
Georgia, but ultimately cast his lot with his State, and was elected to
the Confederate Senate. After the war he was active in securing the
restoration of Georgia to her political rights in the Union. In 1866 he
was again chosen to the Federal Senate, but was unable to serve under
the reconstruction acts of Congress. He died in Jefferson County,
Georgia, in 1880.
Thus far, we had almost always found sufficient provisions along the
line of march to feed the command fairly well. Now, however, we were
obliged to send out strong parties of foragers for long distances on our
flanks, to search the country in order to get enough to eat. Wherever we
went we destroyed everything that might be of value to the enemy. On the
29th, near Bostwick, we burned up millions of feet of bridge timber, all
got out and framed for bridges, that the Confederates expected to build
when the Yankees were driven out. I noticed that some of the timbers
were marked Strawberry Plains and Chattanooga Creek.
On December 3 our column crossed the Millen & Augusta Railroad near
Millen, and destroyed as much of it as we could. We were now in a level,
sandy country, thickly covered with pine timber, and plantations were
few and scattered. On the 4th we heard cannonading in the distance,
which was said by citizens to be at Charleston, South Carolina, seventy
miles away. On the 7th we found our road for a distance obstructed with
felled timber, which, however, so little delayed the march that those in
the rear would not have known of it. On the 8th, after passing
Springfield, the trains and pack-mules were left behind, with the Third
Division as a guard, while the First and Second Divisions pushed on
rapidly toward Savannah.
_In Front of Savannah_
We encountered the enemy in force for the first time fourteen miles from
Savannah, in Monteith Swamp, where they had built an earthwork across
the road and felled trees in front of it. The First Brigade of our
Division was sent around to their left, and our Brigade to their right,
while the Third Brigade moved forward on the center. Our plan was to
hold their attention to the front, while we got around on their rear.
They discovered us in time, however, to escape. Captain Kleven of
Company H, who with his skirmishers, was in advance of our Brigade, made
a rapid movement forward as soon as he saw the enemy falling back, and
succeeded in capturing three prisoners. The First Brigade opened fire at
about the same time, sending a few bullets over our way, and severely
wounding in the foot, Captain Buck of Company B. The Third Brigade also
came up in time to claim a share in the honor of capturing the three
prisoners. Finally, to settle the dispute, the prisoners themselves were
brought to Division headquarters, where they pointed out Captain Kleven
as their captor.
At Monteith Station we captured the post-office and a considerable mail.
The letters, which were mostly written by the soldiers whom we had
tried to capture the day before, afforded the men an abundance of fun.
On the 10th we marched to within about four miles of Savannah, where we
were stopped by the entrenched enemy. While we were getting into line, a
detail of foragers, gathered along the banks of the Savannah River,
spied a small steamer coming up the stream from the city. They hid
themselves along the shore until the boat was directly opposite, when
they opened a musketry fire and compelled the craft to surrender. It
proved to be a Confederate dispatch boat on its way up the river to warn
the fleet that Sherman and his army had arrived. The fleet did not
receive the warning, and interesting developments followed. The men who
had captured the prize did not know its value, and after stripping it of
everything they wanted, set fire to it.
The country between our lines and those of the enemy was a big rice
plantation, which overflowed at every high tide, and which could be kept
under water by closing the flood-gates. The only means of access to the
city were the narrow causeways built through this swamp. At the point
where we were located, the Savannah River is divided by Argyle Island
into two channels, the main or navigable one being near the Georgia
shore. The island is about ten miles long, and at our end something like
a mile wide. It was occupied by a large rice plantation, which naturally
overflowed about two feet at high tide, but which had been ditched and
diked so that the flow was regulated at the flood-gates. If we could
control these, we could keep the island passable. The plantation
buildings were situated on the east side, near the channel, where a
number of acres rose high enough above the general surface to be safe
from overflow.
On the evening of the 11th our Regiment was ordered across to Argyle
Island. There were on hand but two or three skiffs, and only a portion
of the men could be brought over that night. In the morning the crossing
was being continued, when suddenly the discovery was made that three
steamers were coming around the bend of the river on their way to
Savannah. Owing to the vigilance of our foragers on the previous day,
they had received no warning of the presence of Sherman's army.
Captain Winegar of Battery M, First New York Artillery, had his rifled
guns in position on a slight elevation along the shore, where he
commanded the river for a stretch of nearly a mile. As soon as the
steamers, which were a part of Commodore Tattnall's Mosquito Fleet, came
into plain view, he opened on them. They probably had never before been
under fire for their crews seemed confused. The first craft, which was a
gunboat, commenced immediately backing and turning. The second, the
armed tender "Resolute," started to do the same, but was run into by the
third, and so badly crippled that she drifted ashore against Argyle
Island. The other two vessels managed to escape up the river.
While the miniature naval battle was going on, our men who were on the
island, under command of Captain Barager, had hastened to the scene.
When the "Resolute" drifted ashore, they were on hand to prevent the
officers and crew from making their escape in small boats, as they had
started to do. There were twenty prisoners in all. We afterwards had a
fine lot of fun listening to the officers as they accused one another of
being the cause of the disaster. The "Resolute" was towed over to the
Georgia shore, near the battery, but could not be repaired in time to be
of any service in our future operations on the island.
The question of rations was at this time becoming vital. One day's
allowance had been issued to us on the day after our arrival in front of
Savannah. We were, therefore, on the lookout for anything that might
serve to supplement our supplies. As soon as my Company had come across
to the island, we took the shortest route to the plantation buildings on
the east side. Not a thing was left; those who had come before us had
already absorbed everything. But at the landing I found a good six-oared
boat that would carry about ten men besides the rowers. Impressing a
crew of negroes to row the boat, I started for a plantation on the other
side of the river, about half a mile up, thinking that I would be the
first man of Sherman's army to invade South Carolina. On landing,
however, I was told by the blacks that two of our "bummers" had been
there the day before, and in an altercation with the plantation hands
had killed one of them. The funeral was just going on when we arrived.
Subsequent events made me believe that Wheeler's Cavalry, and not our
men were responsible for this tragedy.
I placed a sentinel out on the only road by which a mounted force could
approach, and then began a search for eatables. We soon were rewarded by
a good supply of sweet potatoes and sorghum. In the boat-house we found
a fine lot of boats; as these were especially valuable for our purposes,
we shoved them all out into the river to float down to our landing on
the island. We had just loaded up our supplies, when my sentinel came
running in with the report that a large force of cavalry were coming. We
hastily pulled back to the island and waited for them; but they did not
come to close quarters and soon retired.
Three days later I was sent out with Captain Barager's Company and my
own to take possession of this plantation. We knew that the enemy now
held it in some force, but we did not know how strong they were. I had
secured boats enough on our first raid to be able to take over both of
our companies at one time. We started in the morning, when it was as yet
scarcely light, hoping to come upon the enemy unexpectedly. Their
sentinels discovered us, however, and fired on us while crossing. We
landed about a quarter of a mile from the plantation buildings and
rapidly pushed forward. I sent Barager with his Company to the right,
while I took the direct course to the rice mill, in which the enemy were
sheltered.
The country was broken up into a mass of ditches, dykes, and canals. We
found that our only road was along a narrow dyke, and that we should
either have to return or charge them in single file. We did not retreat.
In less time than it takes to tell this story, we had the mill. They
gave us one volley and hit nobody. We did not fire a shot. They escaped
with their guns and ammunition, but we captured all their provisions,
including their breakfast cooking on the fire. For the first time in
three days we had all that we wanted to eat. Colonel Hawley came over
soon after, with three more companies, but toward night the Confederates
appeared in such force that we again withdrew to the island.
The next morning the enemy brought down a section of artillery to the
Smith Plantation, as it was called, and commenced shelling our island
camp. I was sent with my Company to get as close as possible to them on
our side of the river, and either silence them or drive them off. I got
up within about a hundred and fifty yards of them and opened fire. They
immediately turned their guns on us, and for a few minutes gave it to us
hot. We had good shelter, however, and lost only one man--John Furlong,
a veteran of Company E. It took me about twenty minutes to drive off the
battery, but their infantry held out all day.
On the 19th the whole Brigade crossed over to the Smith Plantation, with
a section of artillery. Entrenchments were built at all commanding
points, and preparation made to hold the position. On the 20th Colonel
Hawley made a reconnoissance in force toward Union Causeway, the only
Confederate outlet from Savannah, but found the enemy in such strength
that he could not reach it. But from our position we could see the lines
of their wagons leaving the city. On the morning of the 21st it was
found that the enemy had evacuated Savannah, and our troops moved in and
took possession.
We now received orders to recross the river to the Georgia side and
march to Savannah. We had nothing but flatboats to cross in, and a
strong wind was against us, so that we made slow progress while our
Regiment covered the crossing. When all the rest had passed over, and we
were about half embarked, the enemy swarmed down upon us by the
thousand. They had us surrounded on three sides, with a river behind;
and our chances for seeing Savannah were not brilliant. Nevertheless, we
faced about and prepared to fight them. Our friends of the Second
Massachusetts came, without orders, back to our assistance, and placed
themselves where they could cover our flanks. We were sheltered behind a
dyke, and the enemy could not get at us save by charging across an open
rice field; this they did not have the nerve to do, so that when
darkness settled down we got off safely to the island. I think there was
not a man in our command, but thanked his lucky stars that it was not
some of Lee's veterans that had us in that fix that night.
_In Savannah_
The next day, we crossed without interruption from the island to the
Georgia shore, which we reached by four o'clock, and then marched toward
Savannah. We went into camp on the bank of the river about two miles
from the city, and this ended on our part the "March to the Sea."
Just twenty-five days had elapsed from the time our army left Atlanta
until it signalled the fleet off the coast. During that time our wing
had marched 300 miles, destroyed over 400 miles of railroad and an
amount of cotton that can hardly be estimated, and most of the time had
lived off the country. Of our immense train of 2,500 wagons not one had
been captured on the route. We had moreover secured an almost entirely
new stock of mules and horses. And to crown all, we had won Savannah
with an immense amount of the spoils of war. It was everywhere the
opinion that Sherman had struck the hardest blow at the Rebellion that
it had yet received, and at the least cost. The troops were in high
spirits over their continued successes. The feeling prevailed that they
had but to start for a place, and it was theirs. The confidence in
Sherman was unlimited. When we left Atlanta, on what was considered the
most perilous movement of the war, I never heard a single expression of
doubt as to our ultimate success. The Confederates whom we encountered
considered him the ablest general that had commanded troops in the war,
and feared him more than any other.
We remained at Savannah until January 17, 1865. Our camp was in a
beautiful grove of live oaks and pine, festooned with Spanish moss, and
the weather was delightful. The work was comparatively light, and the
men were confidently looking forward to the end of the war. We built new
fortifications around the city on nearly the same lines as the old
Revolutionary works. New roads were constructed across Hutchinson Island
and northward into South Carolina. We were also busy, in order that
supplies might be brought in as fast as needed, in clearing out the
Savannah River, which the enemy had closed with obstructions.
The citizens of Savannah seemed well pleased with their change of
rulers. They uniformly treated us with courtesy, and displayed a
sociability that we did not usually encounter in the South. In return,
General Sherman showed them every possible consideration. I was never in
a captured place where private property was respected and protected as
it was here, or where citizens were allowed so many privileges.
Employment was furnished to those who wanted it, and a large amount of
provisions was placed at the disposal of the mayor of the city for
distribution among the destitute.
A good story was told on the Episcopal rector of the town. He had been
deputized by the rest of the clergy to wait on General Sherman, and get
permission to preach. When he stated his business, Sherman at once
replied, "Of course you can preach; that is just what I want you to do."
The preacher then stammered out an enquiry whether he would be compelled
to pray for the President of the United States. "Pray for Jeff. Davis
or the Devil, if you want to," replied Sherman; "I think you had better
pray for them, for they need it more than Lincoln."
_Marching Northward_
On January 17 we crossed the Savannah River on our bridge of flatboats,
and started on our new campaign to the North. We were at the outset met
by such fearful weather that we were virtually brought to a standstill.
Only a portion of our army had yet crossed to the South Carolina side,
when a freshet of unprecedented height raised the river so suddenly that
it swept away the bridge, overflowed Hutchinson Island, and carried off
a lot of wagons and mules that were just about to start. The freshet
came before there had been a drop of rain in our vicinity; but it began
to rain immediately after, and it seemed as though it would never stop.
The country everywhere became a perfect quagmire, and a dry spot was
hard to find.
Slowly we proceeded up the east side of the Savannah River, the
remainder of Sherman's army following on the right side. On the 29th,
at Robertsville, we encountered a strong force of Wheeler's Cavalry,
which delayed our column for a short time. Our Regiment was sent to the
front to drive them off. The two right companies, under command of
Captain Haskins, deployed as skirmishers, and soon swept the enemy away
like chaff before the wind. On the 30th we opened communications with
Sherman at Sister's Ferry, where he had brought the remainder of his
army across into South Carolina.
We now left Savannah River, marching almost directly north. Profiting by
our previous experiences, we early organized a foraging party of four
men from each company. They had permission to mount themselves with
captured animals as soon as possible. In a short time they not only had
mounts, but sufficient pack animals to carry several days' provisions
for the Regiment. The first time they came into camp they presented a
motley appearance, riding horses and mules, and displaying every variety
of saddle and harness known to man. But they were soon as well mounted
as the cavalry, and had transportation and equipment for any service. As
we marched northward, the enemy's cavalry became more and more active
on our flanks, so that our foragers were compelled to unite for
protection. Our detail and that from the Second Massachusetts, under
Lieutenant Thompson, were united almost from the start.
The low ground and the constant rains made marching so difficult that we
rarely covered more than twelve miles in a day. Much of the way we were
obliged to corduroy the roads for the trains. For this purpose we used
fence rails when they were to be had; when there were none, we cut
timber and brush. Reaching the Charleston & Augusta Railroad at Graham
Station on February 7, we spent the next four days in destroying the
tracks toward Augusta.
While we were in camp at Graham Station, Colonel Hawley, who now
commanded our Brigade, and General Slocum, our Corps commander, had an
argument as to the best method of tearing up a railroad track. Hawley
contended that it was best to line up the men along the track, and at
the word of command have them pick it up and turn it over. Slocum
protested that this could not be done. A bet was made of a bottle of
Apollinaris water, or something else, and Hawley sent for his old
Regiment to try the experiment. When the order came to fall in without
arms, our men were cooking their supper. Captain Woodford of Hawley's
staff went along the line, while we were forming, and explained that the
Colonel had made a bet as to what the Regiment could do. We were soon
lined up along the track, and the command was given to take hold and
lift. In the hands of those brawny men, that railroad was a plaything.
It went over so fast, that some of the staff officers who had gathered
to watch the performance, had to move lively to escape the flying rails
and ties.[2]
[2] A detailed description of the manner of destroying railroad track
during Sherman's Campaign is given by Gen. H. W. Slocum, "Sherman's
March from Savannah to Bentonville," in _Century Magazine_ Old Series,
xxxiv, p. 930.
From Graham Station we marched northward through constant rain and mud,
subsisting entirely on the country, without drawing rations except
coffee or sugar, and generally we had plenty to eat; corn meal and bacon
constituted our usual bill of fare. The army was in fine spirits. In
thus picking up a living in such a country, where the only products of
the soil seemed to be tar and rosin, and pitch pines the only visible
vegetation, they felt confident of their ability to find a living
anywhere.
Our Corps did not enter Columbia, but crossed the Saluda River about ten
miles above. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps of the Army of the
Tennessee occupied the city, and destroyed everything in it. They
released about sixty Union officers who were confined there; and between
them and the soldiers and the whiskey that was found Columbia soon
ceased to exist. Scarcely a private residence, even, was left. The only
thing that would not burn was the new state-house, said to have been the
finest in the Union, and this was mined and blown up. South Carolina was
having a bitter taste of the horrors of war.
On February 21 we struck at Winnsboro the railroad running between
Columbia and Charlotteville; and following this northward for a
distance, destroyed it as we went along. Then turning toward the
northeast, by way of Rocky Mount, Hanging Rock, and Chesterfield, we
marched to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
During the entire march from Columbia to Fayetteville we had but three
pleasant days; the rain was almost continuous. Our road, most of the
way, was through swamps and creeks, where bridges had to be built and
roads corduroyed. Frequently, from early morning until midnight, we
worked in rain and mud to get our trains along for six or eight miles.
The rough work soon wore out our clothing--many of the men were
barefooted; many were wearing citizen's dress; the whole army looked
more like Falstaff's ragged regiment than soldiers of the United States.
But we met little opposition from the enemy. The spirit of four years
before seemed to have been beaten out of them. We felt that the only
Confederate troops that would still give us serious fighting, were those
with Lee at Richmond.
Arriving at Fayetteville on March 12, we once more opened communication
with the fleet, by way of Wilmington and Cape Fear River. On the 15th we
set out on our way to Goldsboro, and the first night went early into
camp, about ten miles from Fayetteville. At eight o'clock, however, we
were sent out again into a dark and stormy night to go to the assistance
of General Kilpatrick's Cavalry, which had met the enemy. For five miles
we waded through mud and water to the place of danger, and bivouacked
for the night in line, facing the enemy. In the morning we had some
sharp skirmishing, but in the afternoon the enemy were driven from their
position.
On the 19th General Carlin's Division of the Fourteenth Corps was
attacked and thrown into confusion by General Joe Johnston's army near
Bentonville. Our Brigade was rapidly pushed forward with a number of
others, and formed in line of battle near the left of the Corps. The
enemy made several attacks, the brunt of which fell upon the troops to
the right, and then retreated. This battle, which the Union Army
nicknamed the Battle of Acorn Run, in compliment to the badge of the
Fourteenth Corps, was the last in which our Regiment was engaged during
the war.
On the 22nd, we advanced once more, and found that the enemy was gone.
Two days later we arrived at Goldsboro, and occupied the city without
opposition. On the 27th, for the first time since we had left Savannah,
rations were issued to the troops.
_Peace_
We began the last campaign of the war on April 10, entering Raleigh on
the 13th without resistance. The next day we again began to organize our
foraging parties, and to make preparations for a campaign back through
Georgia. During the day, however, everything was changed. General
Johnston, following Lee's surrender on April 9, had sent in asking for
terms.
On April 20 I wrote home the following letter:
CAMP OF THE 3RD WIS. VET. INFTY.
RALEIGH, N. C., APRIL 20, 1864.
My Dear ----:
The Angel of Peace has spread his wings over our country once more.
The glad tidings were announced to the army last night by General
Sherman in general orders. As soon as the agreement which he had
made with General Johnston and higher authorities could be ratified
at Washington, peace would be restored from the Potomac to the Rio
Grande. It was a glorious day for us who have seen the thing through
from the beginning to the end. General Sherman also says that he
expects "soon to have the pleasure of conducting this army to its
homes," and I believe that within six weeks you will see me in
Chicago "home from the wars."