The March beyond the River—The Exciting Discovery by the Enemy—
General Sherman’s Strategy—On to Savannah—The Rebel—Surprise
—The Army approach the City—A bold Movement—The Scouts—The
Signals—Fort McAllister stormed—Savannah invested.
GENERAL HOWARD’S column moved down the east side of the Oconee River,
reaching Sandersville November 26, burning the depot and tearing up the
railroad near that place. General Slocum’s battalions of the right wing
marched northward toward Sparta, the cavalry scouring the country,
getting all the forage they needed, horses and mules, and making havoc
with the railroads, mills, and _gin-houses_. These horsemen galloped
about as if quite at home; more like troops at a “general muster” than
warriors at work, excepting the signals of ruin they left behind.
At this very time, November 25, the secessionists lurking among us at
the North, matured a plot for burning the city of New York, by firing
the principal hotels. Combustibles were placed in rooms which had been
mysteriously engaged, the match applied, and then the doors locked. But
while a dozen hotels or more were thus set on fire, a watchful
Providence led to timely discovery. Indeed, he confused the
conspirators, so that the plot was poorly executed; the very effort to
conceal and give time for the flames to spread, by leaving the
apartments closed, excluding the currents of air, defeated the fiendish
design.
December 1st, the Fourteenth Corps threatened Augusta: “The rebels
became greatly frightened. Up to that time many of them were consoled
with the idea that, after all, Sherman was only on a great raid into the
heart of the State, or would yet turn and move westward upon Columbus,
Montgomery, and Mobile. But such hopes were dispelled when his cavalry
were discovered in Washington and Hancock counties. At Augusta
preparations for defence went on vigorously. Bragg was summoned from
Wilmington, and came, the Augusta papers said, with ten thousand men.
Troops came from Charleston, Hampton’s cavalry came from Virginia, and
the entire population of the city was put under arms, and all the slaves
in the surrounding country were impressed to work upon the
fortifications. Then began, also, a vigorous system of rebel _brag_.
Wheeler was put to his trumps, and required to whip Kilpatrick three
times a day, and to invariably close the report of his victory with the
announcement, ‘after this glorious success we fell back!’ All this
Wheeler most valiantly did; but on one occasion, in a fight near Gibson,
the county seat of Glascock County, being required to bring in
Kilpatrick’s head as a trophy, he humbly apologized with his hat,
observing, that in his haste to fall back, he had left Kilpatrick’s head
on its shoulders.
“Until it was fully ascertained that Sherman had reached Millen, the
rebels believed that he was passing down between the Ogeechee and Oconee
Rivers, aiming to reach the coast at Darien or Brunswick. Very adroit
strategy was necessary at this juncture to conceal the real direction of
the march, for had the rebels known in time that Augusta was certainly
to be avoided, the entire force there could have been sent down to
Millen, and thus thrown in Sherman’s front, and resisted or delayed his
march upon Savannah, and in the end would have proved a formidable
addition to the garrison of that place. Kilpatrick, therefore, pressed
Wheeler more vigorously than ever, and the latter fell back toward
Augusta, which put him out of Sherman’s way most effectually, again
leaving him in the rear of the very army whose advance he was
endeavoring to resist. It was during these cavalry operations that the
fight took place at Waynesboro’, December 3d, where Wheeler attacked
Kilpatrick, and reported that he had ‘doubled him up on the main body.’
But Kilpatrick wouldn’t stay ‘doubled up.’ On the next day Wheeler was
compelled to make his usual report that he had ‘signally repulsed
Kilpatrick’ but was ‘obliged to _fall back_,’ the result of which was
that he was driven back through Waynesboro’ and beyond Brier Creek, the
railway bridge over which was destroyed, within twenty miles of Augusta,
which was the nearest approach of our forces to that city. Kilpatrick
then took up a position to guard Sherman’s rear, and while doing so, his
force loaded their wagons with the forage and provisions of Burke
County, for use in the less fertile counties in the region of the
coast.”
If you have consulted the map, you have noticed four principal rivers on
the line of march; the Ocmulgee, the most westerly, on whose banks is
Macon; the Oconee, on which is situated Milledgeville; the Ogeechee,
that passes Millen, and the Savannah. Augusta is on the latter. Besides
these there were several small streams, and great swamps across the
war-path of General Sherman. He called the country between Sparta and
Warrenton “one universal bog.”
The 4th of December found the great army “swinging slowly round from its
eastern course,” taking Millen as the pivot, and striking in six
columns, along roads running in the same direction, between the Ogeechee
and Savannah Rivers, for the city of Savannah. General Sherman at his
leisure had secured forage in the rich counties of Washington, Burke,
Glascock, Warren, and Hancock, to prepare for a formidable resistance at
Savannah, which might delay the communication with Port Royal for
supplies. The rebels said he stopped to “grind corn;” but, while this
was unnecessary, because the horses could manage the ears, and the
troops had better fare, he was _grinding_ their hopes of disaster to him
and of escape, to powder. They had sent forces from Charleston and
Wilmington to Augusta and vicinity, sure of meeting him there, when lo!
he was hurrying, like an avalanche, upon the more important city by the
sea. Their feelings, when the bitter truth came fairly home to their
comprehension, were announced in an Augusta paper: “Sherman has not for
a moment hesitated, in our humble judgment, as to the point to be
attacked or the road to it. When his forage and provision trains are
full he will mass his entire force; throwing his cavalry to the rear,
with his wagon-train between the two wings of his army, he will move in
compact columns, steadily but cautiously, upon the city of Savannah,
with no fear of an attack on either flank. The Ogeechee and a few
crossings and terrible swamps on his right, and the Savannah River and
its equally swampy banks on his left, both flanks will be most securely
covered—a grand desideratum in army movements. And thus situated, he
has a march of something over eighty miles to the city of Savannah.”
When the Augusta people heard that their city was no longer threatened,
they drew a long breath and congratulated themselves. “The frowns and
sadness with which the countenances of our citizens have been bedecked,”
said the _Sentinel_, “have given way to smiles and mirth.” That is,
“smiles and mirth” because their neighbors in Savannah were to be the
recipients of Sherman’s favors, and not they.
Generals Davis and Kilpatrick had hitherto concealed and guarded the
army movements. The Fifteenth Corps, on the right bank of the river,
instead of the left wing, now menaced the enemy’s rear. These flank
manœuvres of the dashing Kilpatrick, joined to General Howard as he had
been to General Davis, were indispensable; for our battalions could not
clear the State of rebel troops, and must, therefore, avoid the delays
which would attend the opposition of a much smaller force at the
river-crossings, or any other spot where the difficulties of advance
favored the enemy.
The army found the once magnificent cotton fields some of them having a
thousand acres covered with corn, according to the order of Jeff Davis,
while the fleecy crops of former harvests had been sent to a safer
distance from the suspected course of General Sherman’s columns. At
Ogeechee Church, on the river bearing that name, and the narrowest part
of the peninsula between the streams, the army concentrated on the 5th
and 6th of December. Meanwhile General Kilpatrick, when dashing toward
Alexandria to burn the bridge over Brier Creek, encountered General
Wheeler at Waynesboro’. The sabres gleam in the sunlight, and the
bullets fly on their fatal mission, resulting at each conflict in the
flight of the rebel general. The seventy-nine miles from Millen to
Savannah steadily diminished, the splendid and triumphant army getting
by the 8th within less than a score of miles from the goal of their
martial and patriotic ambition.
The heroic General Howard, at this crisis of affairs, executed a bold
and brilliant movement. The rebels, to hold the Gulf Railroad, which
they were using in earnest, had pushed across the Ogeechee. General
Corse, of “Allatoona memory,” who, before they were aware of it, was
between the Little and Great Ogeechee, thirteen miles in advance of the
main army, reached and bridged the canal connecting the river with
Savannah, then crossing it, intrenched himself securely, almost in sight
of the city. And now the approach was hotly disputed, and brave men fell
in the ranks of General Blair’s columns. But some were killed by the
most cowardly and shameful conduct of the enemy. Shells and torpedoes
had been buried in the way of the march, and the tread of the heroes
exploding them, a number were prostrated in a sudden and horrible death.
The precaution then taken was a just though severe one. Prisoners of war
were ordered forward to remove the murderous and unseen means of
destruction. The prisoners were sent in advance as ordered. Crawling,
begging, praying, as their trembling fingers descended to dig away the
earth about the death-traps which they had, perhaps, helped to set, they
were a piteous spectacle. Soon the path was cleared for the onward steps
of the Union boys. General Howard’s next daring deed was to communicate
immediately with our fleet below Fort McAllister, held by a strong
garrison of the enemy. Here, on the gunboat _Dandelion_, Admiral
Dahlgren was anxiously waiting for tidings from the great army somewhere
between Atlanta and the sea.
On the evening of December 9th General Howard sent three of his
trustiest scouts, Captain Duncan, and Sergeants Myron J. Emmick and
George W. Quinly, in a small boat down the river. What a moment of
thrilling interest to both the General and the brave daring fellows
floating over the waters in that frail bark, right toward bristling
McAllister! All was silent—the speck glided under the cover of darkness
safely by, and hastened toward the _Dandelion_. Up went a white signal
flag, and another from the little boat answered it. The scouts were soon
on board the gunboat. Captain Duncan brought the following despatch from
General Howard:
“HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, }
NEAR SAVANNAH CANAL, _Dec. 9, 1864_. }
“_To the Commander of the United States Naval Forces in the
vicinity of Savannah_:
“SIR: We have met with perfect success thus far. The troops are
in fine spirits and near by.
“Respectfully, O. O. HOWARD, Major-General,
Commanding Right Wing of the Army.”
This was the first intelligence direct from the army, and “completely
dispelled all doubts and fears, as well as dissipated an immense amount
of rebel bombast and boasting of the impediments and difficulties with
which Sherman had met, to say nothing of the repeated total annihilation
of Kilpatrick’s cavalry, which seems not to have been worthy of mention
by General Howard or General Sherman. Wheeler, who at last accounts was
‘hacking away at Sherman’s rear,’ must have had a very dull sabre.”
The gallant Hazen was preparing, with his western boys, to storm Fort
McAllister, according to General Sherman’s orders. On the Ogeechee,
opposite the fort, stood the rice mill of Dr. Cheroe, from whose roof
the view of the fortress was distinct. There you might have seen
Generals Sherman and Howard, with staff and signal officers about them.
He was waiting for General Hazen’s signals, and gazing away toward the
sea for some sign of the fleet’s presence there. Suddenly a smile lights
up the bronzed face of the eagle-eyed leader of the Union legions, and
he exclaims:
“‘Look! Howard; there is the gunboat!’
“Time passed on, and the vessel now became visible, yet no signal from
the fleet or Hazen. Half an hour passed, and the guns of the fort opened
simultaneously with puffs of smoke that rose a few hundred yards from
the fort, showing that Hazen’s skirmishers had opened. A moment after
Hazen signalled:
“‘I have invested the fort, and will assault immediately.’ At this
moment Bickley announces ‘A signal from the gunboat.’ All eyes are
turned from the fort to the gunboat that is coming to our assistance
with news from home. A few messages pass, which inform us that Foster
and Dahlgren are within speaking distance. The gunboat now halts and
asks—
“‘Can we run up? Is Fort McAllister ours?’
“‘No,’ is the reply, ‘Hazen is just ready to storm it. Can you assist?’
“‘Yes,’ is the reply. ‘What will you have us do?’
“But before Sherman can reply to Dahlgren the thunders of the fort are
heard, and the low sound of small arms borne across three miles of marsh
and river. Field glasses are opened, and sitting flat upon the roof the
hero of Atlanta gazes away off to the fort. ‘There they go grandly; not
a waver,’ he remarks.
“Twenty seconds pass, and again he exclaims:
“‘See that flag in the advance, Howard; how steadily it moves; not a man
falters. * * There they go still; see the roll of musketry. Grand!
grand!’
“Still he strained his eyes, and a moment after speaks without raising
his eyes:
“‘That flag still goes forward; there is no flinching there.’
“A pause for a minute.
“‘Look!’ he exclaims, ‘it has halted. They waver; no! it’s the parapet!
There they go again; now they scale it; some are over. Look! there’s a
flag on the works! Another, another. It’s ours! The fort’s ours!’
“The glass dropped by his side; and in an instant the joy of the great
leader at the possession of the river and the opening of the road to his
new base burst forth in words:
“‘As the old darkie remarked, dis chile don’t sleep dis night!’ And
turning to one of his aids, Captain Auderied, he remarked, ‘Have a boat
for me at once; I must go there,’ pointing to the fort, from which half
a dozen battle flags floated grandly in the sunset.
“And well might William Tecumseh Sherman rejoice; for here, as the
setting sun went down upon Fort McAllister reduced, and kissed a fond
good night to the Starry Banner, Sherman witnessed the culmination of
all his plans and marches, that had involved such desperate resistance
and risk, the opening up of a new and shorter route to his base. Here at
sunset, on the memorable 13th of December, the dark waters of the great
Ogeechee bore witness to the fulfilment of the covenant Sherman made
with his iron heroes at Atlanta twenty-nine days before, to lead them
victorious to a new base.
“Sherman’s account of his movement on Fort McAllister was
characteristic. Said he, ‘I went down with Howard and took a look at it,
and I said to my boys, “Boys, I don’t think there are over four hundred
in that fort; but there it is, and I think we might as well have it.”’
The word was scarcely spoken before the work was done. Fifteen minutes
were all that was required.”
The object of this fortress was the protection of the coast from our war
vessels. It was surrounded by obstructions made of rows of piles,
through which was a small opening for a ship’s entrance.
General Sherman sent word to the fleet “that he would be down that
night, and to look out for his boat. The tug immediately steamed down to
Ossabaw Sound, to find General Foster or Admiral Dahlgren; but they not
being there, despatches were sent to them at Warsaw announcing General
Sherman’s intended visit, and the tug returned to its old position.
While approaching the fort again a small boat was seen coming down. It
was hailed with—
“‘What boat is that?’ and the welcome response came back ‘Sherman.’ It
soon came alongside, and out of the little dugout, paddled by two men,
stepped General Sherman and General Howard, and stood on the deck of the
_Dandelion_. The great leader was received with cheer after cheer, and
with every manifestation of delight and satisfaction by all. He was in
splendid spirits, and expressed his gratification at reaching his base.
He remained on board till about two o’clock in the morning. While on the
boat he wrote his despatches to General Grant, General Halleck, General
Foster, and Admiral Dahlgren.
“On the following day he came on board the _Nemaha_, and was received by
General Foster. The _Nemaha_ then proceeded to Warsaw Sound, when
Admiral Dahlgren, accompanied by his staff, came on board and spent some
time in conversation with the General. Colonel A. H. Markland,
superintendent of mails for the armies, came on board with despatches
for General Sherman, and delivered a verbal message from the President.
Taking the General by the hand, the Colonel said:
“‘General Sherman, before leaving Washington I was directed by the
President to take you by the hand, wherever I met you, and say for him,
‘God bless you and the army under your command;’ and he furthermore
added, ‘Since cutting loose from Atlanta, my prayers, and those of the
nation, have been for your success.’
“General Sherman seemed to be deeply affected, and after a moment’s
silence could only say, ‘I thank the President. Say my army is all
right.’”
Meanwhile Admiral Dahlgren sent a despatch to the Government, in which
he said of the army’s success and the brave scouts:
“Captain Duncan states that our forces were in contact with the rebels a
few miles outside of Savannah, and that Sherman’s army are not in want
of any thing. Perhaps no event could give greater satisfaction to the
country than that which I announced, and I beg leave to congratulate the
United States Government on its occurrence. It may, perhaps, be
exceeding my province, but I cannot refrain from expressing the hope
that the department will commend Captain Duncan and his companions to
the Hon. Secretary of War for some marks of approbation, for the success
in establishing communications between General Sherman and the fleet. It
was an enterprise that required both skill and courage.”
This was followed by a message from General Sherman:
“ON BOARD ‘DANDELION,’ }
OSSABAW SOUND, 11.50 P. M., _Dec. 13_. }
“To-day, at 5 P. M., General Hazen’s division of the Fifteenth
Corps carried Fort McAllister by assault, capturing its entire
garrison and stores. This opened to us the Ossabaw Sound, and I
pulled down to this gunboat to communicate with the fleet.
Before opening communication, we had completely destroyed all
the railroads leading into Savannah, and invested the city. The
left is on the Savannah River, three miles above the city, and
the right is on the Ogeechee River, at King’s Bridge. The army
is in splendid order and equal to any thing. The weather has
been fine and supplies abundant. Our march was most agreeable,
and we were not at all molested by guerillas. We reached
Savannah three days ago, but owing to Fort McAllister we could
not communicate; now we have McAllister, we go ahead.
“We have already captured two boats on the Savannah River, and
have prevented their gunboats from coming down. I estimate the
population of Savannah at twenty-five thousand and the garrison
at fifteen thousand. General Hardee commands. We have not lost a
wagon on the trip, but have gathered in a large supply of mules,
negroes, horses, etc., and our teams are in far better condition
than when we started. My first duty will be to clear the army of
surplus negroes, mules, and horses. We have utterly destroyed
over two hundred miles of railroad, and consumed stores and
provisions that were essential to Lee’s and Hood’s armies.
“The quick work made with Fort McAllister, and the opening of
communication with our fleet and consequent independence for
supplies, dissipate all their boasted threats to head me off and
starve the army. I regard Savannah as already gained. Yours
truly,
“W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.”
The fall of the fortress opened, as we have seen, the Ogeechee River to
Ossabaw Sound at its mouth, into which our vessels sailed; it also gave
General Sherman the opportunity of establishing a “water-base” anywhere
on that stream between his army and the sea, just back of Savannah. It
did more; the Savannah and the Albany and Gulf Railroads communicating
with the southern part of the State, were taken from the enemy, cutting
off large supplies. The next move was to stretch the army across the
peninsula between the rivers, the left resting on the Savannah, three
miles above the city, and the extreme right on the Ogeechee at King’s
Bridge. All the railways were in our possession, the rebel gunboats
which had gone up the Ogeechee to prevent General Sherman from crossing
into South Carolina were shut in, and the commander-in-chief prepared to
seize the beautiful town. Savannah, the largest city of Georgia, was
founded by General Oglethorpe in 1731−’32.
The ocean side of the town was well guarded with fortifications—those
grim and silent watchmen when unmolested, whose voice is thunder, and
their words massive globes of iron, frowned along the river-banks. Forts
Jackson and Pulaski were formidable defences; so much so that even the
engineer, Beauregard, did not dream of an approach in the rear of the
invested city. General Hardee commanded the forces keeping it.
The forces of General Sherman were so posted, that Hardee had to divide
and weaken his force to be ready for any attack, while the rice-fields
were flooded from the canals, and every advantage taken by the enemy to
ward off the impending blow. This is the general view of the situation,
December 13th, 1864. Such was the derided _retreat_ of General Sherman,
after General Hood swept backward from burning Atlanta into Tennessee! I
need not record here what the noble Thomas, with tried veterans, did
with the rebel general at Nashville, sending his battalions “whirling”
toward his invaded Secessia, just as the comprehensive genius of the
pursuer had planned, and confidently expected he would. For, the glory
of this marvellous campaign, under God, belongs to that sagacious,
resolute, and modest chieftain.