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diff --git a/old/51999-0.txt b/old/51999-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3e20bad..0000000 --- a/old/51999-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9127 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Life and Military Career of Major-General -William Tecumseh Sherman, by P. C. (Phineas Camp) Headley - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Life and Military Career of Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman - - -Author: P. C. (Phineas Camp) Headley - - - -Release Date: May 5, 2016 [eBook #51999] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE AND MILITARY CAREER OF -MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN*** - - -E-text prepared by Larry Harrison, Cindy Beyer, and the online Distributed -Proofreaders Canada team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 51999-h.htm or 51999-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51999/51999-h/51999-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51999/51999-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/lifemilitarycare00head - - - - - -[Illustration: IN THE EVERGLADES OF FLORIDA.] - - -[Illustration: YOUNG AMERICANS - MODERN HISTORY OF HEROES] - - -LIFE AND MILITARY CAREER OF -MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. - -by - -REV. P. C. HEADLEY, - -Author of “Napoleon,” “Josephine,” “Women of the Bible,” -“Hero Boy,” etc., etc. - - - - - - - -New York: -William H. Appleton, 92 & 94 Grand Street. -1865. - -Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by -Wm. H. Appleton, -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the -Southern District of New York. - - - - - T O - - H E N R Y S T A N L E Y A L L E N, E S Q., - - O F N E W Y O R K, - - THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, - - W I T H S I N C E R E R E S P E C T A N D R E G A R D, - - BY THE AUTHOR. - - - - - P R E F A C E. - - -ALTHOUGH General Sherman’s military career has only reached its most -interesting and brilliant period, grateful and admiring thousands will -welcome an authentic outline of his history to the present time. The -facts of his early life were obtained from those who knew him best. - -To Colonel Bowman, an appreciative friend of General Sherman, whose -sketches of him in the _U. S. Service Magazine_ were graphic and -reliable, to the _Army and Navy Journal_ and able correspondents, we are -indebted for valuable material. - -The pen-portrait of the great commander, by Mr. Alvord, which has never -before been published, will be read with special interest. - -The volume is not offered to the public as a complete biography, with -all that might have been omitted carefully sifted from the essential -statements, but the annals of a remarkable man, with incidents connected -with his movements; affording the youth and all others, a general view -of the nation’s hero, from infancy to the unrivalled distinction he now -holds. - -May the unpretending volume stimulate the youthful mind to virtuous and -noble deeds, while it contributes to the more complete and voluminous -memoirs which will be written in the peaceful future before us, for -whose blessings of a perpetuated Union and civil liberty we shall owe a -lasting debt of gratitude to General Sherman. - - - - - C O N T E N T S. - - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - The Boyhood of Heroes—The ancestry of William Tecumseh - Sherman—The death of his Father—Why the name of the Indian - Chief was given him—The Birth-place of William Tecumseh, 13 - - CHAPTER II. - The Eventful Call—“Cump” in the Sandbank—The Unexpected - Summons—He obeys—His new Home—School days—A Studious and - Reliable Boy—Is appointed Cadet—Leaves Home for West Point—His - Life in the Academy—Graduates and goes to Florida, 23 - - CHAPTER III. - The Lieutenant in the Florida War—Its Origin—The - “Exiles”—Seminole Indians—Osceola—His wife made prisoner—The - second Seminole War—Wild Cat’s Daughter—Peace—Lessons of the - events before and after, 28 - - CHAPTER IV. - Lieutenant Sherman in Fort Moultrie—The Fortress—The Mexican - War—He goes to California—His Service there—Appointed - Captain—His Marriage—Exciting Scenes in California—In the - Commissary Department—Resigns his Commission—Turns Banker, 39 - - CHAPTER V. - Takes charge of a Military Academy in Alexandria, Louisiana—He - sees the rising storm of Civil War—Resigns—A noble Letter—He - repairs to St Louis, and superintends a Street Railroad, 45 - - CHAPTER VI. - Sumter falls—Sherman repairs to Washington—His Interview with the - Secretary of War and the President—His Prophetic Insight of the - Threatening Times—The state of the Country—Rebel Expectations, 50 - - CHAPTER VII. - The Conflict Deepens—The Captain is made Colonel of the - Thirteenth New York Volunteers—The Battle of Bull Run—The - unterrified Commander of the Thirteenth and his Troops—The - Brave Stand, 54 - - CHAPTER VIII. - General Sherman goes to Kentucky—Muldraugh’s Hill—His army - weakened—General Buckner’s superior force—Succeeds General - Anderson—Writes General McClellan—Interview with Secretary - Cameron—Paducah, 60 - - CHAPTER IX. - Pittsburg Landing—The Surprise—The Battle—The Victory—Sherman’s - glorious part in the Struggle—The Testimony of Officers—His - Letter on the Contest, 67 - - CHAPTER X. - The Morning after the Battle—General Sherman’s column in - Motion—What it did—Corinth the next Goal—The Siege—The - Evacuation—General Sherman’s troops the first to enter the - Works—The Hero is made Major-General—Advance on Holly - Springs—Memphis—General Sherman’s successful Command in that - City—The Guerrillas, 82 - - CHAPTER XI. - General Sherman’s next Post—The Steele’s Bayou Expedition—A Trial - of Courage—The Leader’s Heroism, 89 - - CHAPTER XII. - The Position of the Western Forces—The Expedition against - Vicksburg under General Sherman—The Just and Stringent Orders - of the Chief—He shows the Speculators no Mercy—The Advance of - the Grand Army Checked—The Embarkation of Troops—The - Magnificent Pageant—The Progress and Arrival of the Fleet, 95 - - CHAPTER XIII. - The March—The City—Preparations for an Assault—The Attack—The - Abatis and Rifle-pits—The Charge upon the Hill—Sherman - succeeded by McClernand—General Sherman’s Farewell Order—Result - of the Expedition, 105 - - CHAPTER XIV. - The Plot—General Sherman’s Part—His Successful Feint at Haines’ - Bluff—Joins the Main Army—The Advance toward Jackson, the State - Capital—The Victorious Entry of the City—On to Vicksburg - again—Assaults—Siege—Victory—General Sherman goes after “Joe” - Johnston, 118 - - CHAPTER XV. - General Sherman watching Joe Johnston—Foraging—An Attack—The - Enemy steals away in the Night—The Conquering Battalions have a - brief rest—Encampment on the Big Black River—Scenes - there—Reënforces General Rosecrans—Death of General Sherman’s - Son—Beautiful Letter—The Monument, 127 - - CHAPTER XVI. - The Grand Advance from Memphis—The Enemy prepare to Meet - it—General Sherman’s Genius equal to any Emergency—Rapid - Marches—The Foe driven from the Path—New Command—The Swollen - River—Into Chattanooga—The Tireless Chief and his Gallant - Troops push forward to Missionary Ridge, 136 - - CHAPTER XVII. - The Place of Battle—The Battle-ground—General Sherman’s Part in - the Struggle—Desperate Valor—Victory—Pursuit—No Rest—General - Burnside in Peril—General Sherman hastens to his Relief—The - Bridge breaks down—It is Rebuilt, and the Heroic Battalions - save Knoxville—General Sherman again at Chattanooga, 143 - - CHAPTER XVIII. - A New Expedition—Its Wise Design—Cause of its Failure in the Main - Purpose—The Hero of Vicksburg is created Lieutenant-General—The - New Order of Things—Two Grand Lines of March and of - Conquest—From Chattanooga to Kenesaw Mountain, 162 - - CHAPTER XIX. - The Battle of Kenesaw Mountain—On to Marietta—Across the - Chattahoochie—General Johnston succeeded by General - Hood—Marching and Fighting—Death of McPherson—Fight at - Jonesboro—The last struggle for Atlanta—Victory, 186 - - CHAPTER XX. - The Tidings of Victory at Washington—The President’s Messages to - the People and to the Army—General Sherman congratulates his - Battalions—The Rebel General is indignant—The Correspondence - between him and General Sherman—The authorities of Atlanta also - unreconciled to the new order of things—The noble Letters and - Conduct of the Conquerer, 217 - - CHAPTER XXI. - The Events which followed the Truce—General Hood’s Army in - Motion—Battle at Allatoona Pass—He is left to the care of the - gallant Thomas—The New and Magnificent Campaign of General - Sherman—The Field of his Operations—Burning of Rome—The - Advance—Atlanta partially Burned—The Rebel Fears and Hopes—The - March, 249 - - CHAPTER XXII. - 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, 287 - - CHAPTER XXIII. - The Surrender of the City demanded—The Refusal—Preparation to - Attack—The Enemy Flee—The Entrance of the Union Army—Scenes - that followed—General Sherman and the Negroes, 304 - - CHAPTER XXIV. - Major-General Sherman appreciated at Home—A Conflagration—A New - and Bolder Campaign—General Sherman begins his March—Perils and - Progress—Branchville and Columbia—Charleston, 330 - - CHAPTER XXV. - Wilmington—Peace Commissioners—General Sherman’s - Statesmanship—His Characteristics—Interesting Recollections of - General Sherman—His Pure Character, 357 - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - - The Boyhood of Heroes—The ancestry of William Teeumseh Sherman— - The death of his Father—Why the name of the Indian Chief was - given him—The Birth-place of William Tecumseh. - -MY youthful reader, you have heard the adage, “the boy is father of -the man;” which means clearly, that the principles and habits of early -years form the character and destiny of after life. And you will find in -the history of nearly all great and good men, in this country certainly, -that they began, in humble circumstances, their career. Not that poverty -is necessary to success, but the struggle to carve one’s own way in the -world, the almost unaided effort to secure an education for a profession -or business, develops and strengthens character. - -Another thing is true of deservedly eminent men; they were obedient and -dutiful while under the parental roof. A selfish, rebellious boy, never -made an honored member of society and of the State. You will find -illustrations of these truths in the lives of Washington, Adams, -Lincoln, Grant, Mitchel, Sherman, and many others, whose fame is lasting -as our institutions. - -In the year 1634 the Hon. Samuel Sherman, his brother, Rev. John -Sherman, and their cousin, Captain John Sherman, who were residents of -Dedham, England, came to this country. This was only thirteen years -after the _May Flower_, with its pilgrim company, rocked in -Massachusetts Bay. There were no ocean steamers then proudly ploughing -the broad Atlantic. In a ship like the plain bark which bore the first -colony, whose free principles, civil and religious, lie at the -foundation of this Republic, they embarked for the wilderness of the New -World. - -You can see, in imagination, the white-winged vessel glide from its -haven into the “wide, wide sea,” and float like a speck over the waste -of waters. The winds blow, the crested billows toss the _Shermans_, with -the rest of the ship’s company, about for weeks; they little dreaming of -quite a different storm, in which a descendant would figure so -conspicuously, just two hundred and thirty years later. At length the -ship reached Boston harbor. - -The Rev. John Sherman; a graduate of Immanuel College, “and a Puritan,” -went at once to his work. The Sabbath dawned, and under an ancient tree -in the present town of Watertown, three miles from Boston, you might -have seen a quiet and attentive congregation listening to his first -sermon in America. Here he settled, after receiving a call to Milford, -Conn. Some of his descendants were excellent and popular divines. The -captain also settled there; and from his branch of the family came Roger -Sherman, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. - -The Hon. Samuel Sherman pushed on to Wethersfield, Conn. Soon after he -removed to Stamford, and finally settled down in Stratford. The “coat of -arms,” that is to say, the family escutcheon or badge, bears a lion -rampant, and a sea lion on the crest. The motto is: “Conquer death by -virtue.” From him descended the “hero of our story,” whose grandfather, -Taylor Sherman, for many years judge, died May 4th, 1815, in the -ripeness of his manhood, at the age of fifty-eight. - -The widow, like the families of Generals Grant and Mitchel, and of our -most worthy President, turned her face toward the far West; for it was -then a long and weary way to the rich valleys of the Mississippi and its -tributaries. The beautiful State of Ohio—the empire State of the -western world—became her home. The prospects, for her sons especially, -on the cheap, rich soil, and in the rising towns of that vast and new -territory, were much better than in New England. - -The pleasant settlement of Lancaster was their first residence. -Subsequently she removed to Mansfield, in the same State, where she died -in 1848. Her children were Charles Robert, who was born September 26th, -1788, Daniel and Betsey. Charles married Mary Hoyt, May 8th, 1810, and -settled in Lancaster. His profession was law, in which he excelled -particularly as an advocate; he was very eloquent and successful in -pleading the cause of his clients before the judge and jury. - -In the year 1823 he was elected judge of the Superior Court of Ohio. He -continued in this high position till June 20th, 1829. Could you have -stood in the court room on that early summer day, you would have seen -the fine intelligent face of the judge suddenly grow pale, followed by -an expression of suffering. The eyes of the “gentlemen of the bar,” and -of citizens present, are turned with anxious interest toward him. Soon -after, he is compelled to leave the bench and remove to his private -apartment, where he rapidly sinks into the embrace of death. His disease -was supposed to be that fatal scourge of eastern lands and our own—the -cholera. Probably my young reader was not born when it spread terror -through nearly all the cities of our Union. In 1840 his remains were -removed to Lancaster, Ohio. Should you become a western lawyer, you may -have occasion to consult his decisions, contained in the first three -volumes of the Ohio Reports. - -This gifted, highly educated and popular judge left a widow with eleven -children. She was a devoted wife and mother, and a communicant in the -Presbyterian Church. Charles T., the eldest, is now a successful lawyer -in Washington, D. C.; the next in order was Mary Elizabeth; the third, -James; the fourth, Amelia; the fifth, Julia; and the sixth, William -Tecumseh, our hero. After him were L. Parker, John, the able and loyal -senator from Ohio, who was born May 10th, 1823; and after him were Susan -D. Hoyt and Frances B. - -William Tecumseh was born February 8th, 1820. It was quite difficult to -decide upon a name for the boy. “What shall we call him?” was the topic -of much domestic chat. Two or three favorite names were suggested and -discussed, but still the child was nameless. - -One day the father, who had seen the Indian chieftain Tecumseh, and -admired that really great man, came in and said, “I have the name of a -better man than either we have mentioned.” The eye and ear of those -around the cradle were turned to know whom he could be. The bright boy -only seemed to have no interest in the matter. “_Tecumseh_, we will name -him,” was the almost startling announcement. It was softened down to the -tone of civilized life by the addition of William. The further reason -for the selection of a warrior’s name who fought for the English, I will -tell you, as I did the story of “Ulysses S. Grant,” now his -lieutenant-general, in the language of another who wrote me on the -subject: “Tecumseh, the celebrated chief and warrior of the Shawanoese -tribe, who was killed at the battle of the Thames, October 5th, 1813, -was for a long time kept in rather fond remembrance in this immediate -vicinity, by those who were engaged in that conflict, of whom Captain -Sanderson is still a resident here; because they knew that several times -he prevented the shedding of innocent blood. This fact, with the desire -of Mr. Sherman to have one son educated for military life, led him to -choose Tecumseh for the boy, he being born not long after the death of -that chieftain.” - -Tecumthé, or as it is written Tecumseh, a Shawanoese Indian, was born in -Piqua, since called West Boston, on Mad River, in Clarke County, Ohio. -Tecumseh’s grandmother was the daughter of a Southern English colonial -governor, who fancied the handsome young Creek, and married him. Their -only son took for his wife a Shawanese woman, who gave birth to Tecumseh -while on a journey from the southern to the western hunting grounds. A -few years later three more sons were born at the same time, one of whom, -Tenskwautawaw, became the famous prophet who was the artful and -unprincipled instrument of his brother, Tecumseh, in his great lifework, -which was to arouse and unite the western tribes in the last determined -effort to drive and keep their white neighbors from the valley of the -Mississippi. While a boy, his splendid genius gave him the leadership -among his playmates, and he “was in the habit of arranging them in -parties for the purpose of fighting sham battles.” - -When about fifteen years old, he was so shocked at the scene then common -among the Indians—burning prisoners at the stake—that he determined to -give his voice against the horrid custom. The young reformer first -displayed his commanding eloquence in his bold condemnation of the -practice, which through his powerful influence gradually disappeared. He -advocated total abstinence from ardent spirits, the principal source of -savage degradation and destruction, and urged his people to drop all -superfluous ornaments, and abstain from the use of articles sold by the -traders. Like his illustrious namesake, our hero, he was mighty in -speech as well as in the battle-field. I will give in illustration a -brief address made August 12th, 1810, to Governor Harrison, whom he met -in council at Vincennes, on the Wabash River. The fine words and grand -views of the warrior, will make you think of our own Tecumseh marching -over the very country from which the ancestors of the Shawanoese came: - -“I have made myself what I am; and I would that I could make the red -people as great as the conceptions of my mind, when I think of the Great -Spirit that rules over all. I would not then come to Governor Harrison -to ask him to tear the treaty; but I would say to him, Brother, you have -liberty to return to your own country. Once there was no white man in -all this country; then it belonged to red men, children of the same -parents, placed on it by the Great Spirit to keep it, to travel over it, -to eat its fruits, and fill it with the same race—once a happy race, -but now made miserable by the white people, who are never contented, but -always encroaching. They have driven us from the great salt water, -forced us over the mountains, and would shortly push us into the lakes; -but we are determined to go no further. The only way to stop this evil -is for all the red men to unite in claiming a common and equal right in -the land, as it was at first and should be now—for it never was -divided, and belongs to all. No tribe has a right to sell, even to each -other, much less to strangers, who demand all, and will take no less. -The white people have no right to take the land from the Indians, who -had it first—it is theirs. They may sell, but all must join. Any sale -not made by all is not good. The late sale is bad; it was made by a part -only. Part do not know how to sell. It requires all to make a bargain -for all.” - -This upright, humane, and unequalled warrior, after struggling in vain -to save his declining race, fell gloriously during the last war with -England, in the battle of the Thames, not many miles from Detroit, on -the Canada side. - -His American namesake, by a singular course of providential events, as -you know and will read in the record of his life more fully, became the -greatest military commander of the age, in the very region from which, -with his people, he emigrated to the West. - -I will now take you to the place of William Tecumseh’s birth. Lancaster -is in Fairfield County, Ohio, on the Hockhocking River, twenty-eight -miles east of Columbus, the capital of the State. The valley is very -beautiful. It was the home of the Wyandots less than a century ago, and -was called Tarh or Crowtown, from the name of the principal chief. His -wigwam was on the bank-border of a prairie, near a clear and living -spring, from whose gushing waters he slaked his thirst for many years. - -In 1800 a Mr. Fane laid out Lancaster on Mount Pleasant, called by the -Indians, who at that time still lingered there, “Standing-Stone,” -because the summit was formed of masses of sandstone. It was a place of -popular resort on account of the extensive and magnificent views of the -surrounding country. Duke Saxe Weimar, who travelled in this country -about forty years since, carved his name on its rock. - -For several years after Lancaster was settled, the people had a curious -regulation, of which I must tell you, and something like which would not -be a bad arrangement at the present day. Stumps of the forest trees so -lately there, were scattered along the streets; and when a man was -caught intoxicated, the penalty was, the _removal of a stump_. The -drunkards and the stumps both were thinned out; for whenever a citizen -went staggering among the remnants of the primeval woods, he was watched -till sober enough to go to work, then set to digging at the roots. -Tipplers were careful to walk abroad in straight lines; and if one -failed to keep within the limits of _temperate_ drinking, he must take -good exercise at the stump, which was both a public exposure and a -blessing to the village. - -Lancaster is now a handsome city, full of western activity, and keeping -step to the music— - - “Westward the star of empire takes its way.” - -Such was and is the birthplace of William Tecumseh Sherman. - -[Illustration: WILLIAM TECUMSEH IN THE SAND BANK.] - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - - The Eventful Call—“Cump” in the Sandbank—The Unexpected Summons - —He obeys—His new Home—School days—A Studious and Reliable - Boy—Is appointed Cadet—Leaves Home for West Point—His Life in - the Academy—Graduates and goes to Florida. - -“MOTHER, may I go and play in the sand?” said a bright boy one day, -cap in hand, ready to bound into the open air. Almost before the -expected “yes” had ceased to echo in the room, “Cump,” as he was -familiarly called, hastened to a bank in which excavations had been -made, and the sand taken away. He was soon “busy as a bee,” throwing up -miniature fortifications and heaps in various forms, after the models of -his own juvenile invention. - -Meanwhile the distinguished Hon. Thomas Ewing, now the venerable -representative of the statesmen of the past, a resident of Lancaster, -entered the widowed mother’s dwelling. He knew that the benevolent and -departed father had not left her large family a fortune. It would -therefore be no easy task to educate and start them in the world. And -his errand there was to ask her to commit one of the boys to his home -and care. He said, with a playful earnestness, “I must have the smartest -of the lot; I will take no other, and you must select him for me.” After -a short consultation between the mother and eldest daughter, the choice -fell upon “Cump.” So it was decided that Mr. Ewing should take him to -his house and educate him with his own children. - -Leaving the mother and sister saddened with the prospect of parting with -the boy, he went to the sandbank, where we just now left William at -play. “Come, my boy,” said the unexpected visitor, “you are going to -live with me. I have seen your mother; she has given her consent.” - -The astonished little worker listened, and looked a moment at his -benefactor, then straightened up, brushed off the sand, and started -after him. That night he went to his bed in his new and beautiful home -with strange thoughts, and a shadow upon his young spirit. He had left -mother and the home of his childhood for life; only as an occasional -visitor. It was a crisis in his history, and one which decided in the -result his brilliant martial career. The public schools, which are now -the pride of our land, were not then known in Ohio. But Lancaster could -boast a good academy, and into its English department Tecumseh was -entered as a pupil. He had reached his ninth year, and soon convinced -his teacher and companions that he could take a high rank among the -boy-students of his age. - -Mr. Ewing assured me that there was nothing remarkable or eccentric in -his experience during the years that followed, excepting his executive -ability in little matters of business committed to him. He “never knew -so young a boy who would do an errand so correctly and promptly as he -did. He was transparently honest, faithful, and reliable. Studious and -correct in his habits, his progress in education was steady and -substantial.” At the age of sixteen, Mr. Ewing, in his official -position, had at his disposal the appointment of a cadet to the Military -Academy at West Point, and determined to offer it to his “_protégé_.” -Tecumseh had a taste for military life, and of course gladly accepted -the honor. - -Before we follow him to that institution we will take another glimpse of -the home of his adoption. Mrs. Ewing was a highly intelligent lady, a -member of the Roman Catholic Church, and had the privilege of educating -her children in her own faith. Her daughter Ellen was at this time an -attractive girl of nearly the same age of Tecumseh. For half a dozen of -life’s most careless, happy years, they had been to school, talked and -played together. And it is not strange that among the friends he left -behind him, when he turned the second time from home, and now for a -distant abode among strangers, that to part with her should be no common -trial for his young and manly heart. But he had entered for himself - - “Upon life’s broad field of battle,” - -and hastened to the ordeal of examination for admission to the academy. -The bright day of trial has come. Look in upon the spacious hall where -the Examining Board and distinguished visitors have gathered, to see and -hear what the young candidates for freshman honors may know. Now listen; -young Sherman’s name is called. He is modest, yet perfectly -self-possessed. After answering a test question with remarkable -propriety and dignity, a professor remarked: “He is a _blooded_ fellow!” -that is, he was of good blood—had the _ingrained_ qualities of -manliness, and the promise of honorable distinction. This was in the -summer of 1836. He advanced from class to class, mastering the studies -in the course, and maintaining a high reputation in all his relations to -the officers and students of the academy. He was quite at home in -artillery, which you know is the handling of heavy guns; and in the -saddle at the riding school of the institution. He graduated fifth in -his class June 30th, 1840. The rebel General Beauregard was a classmate. - -You have learned that, as a man, he _loses no time_ in his military -movements. Created second lieutenant in the Third Artillery, he repaired -to Florida in the service of the regular army. When the autumnal leaves -rustled in the war-path, he was fairly in the ranks and under the old -flag, which he was destined to honor so well, and with whose stars his -name would shine while it floats over the land of his birth. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - - The Lieutenant in the Florida War—Its Origin—The “Exiles”— - Seminole Indians—Osceola—His wife made prisoner—The second - Seminole War—Wild Cat’s Daughter—Peace—Lessons of the events - before and after. - -WHEN Lieutenant Sherman reached the Southern peninsula, our war with -the “exiles” and Seminoles had been in progress about five years. “Who -were the ‘exiles?’” you ask. In answering that question I shall give you -some account of the Florida wars, in which many of our West Point -graduates have been actors; among them Generals Grant, Mitchel, and -Sherman. And I shall let a distinguished statesmen, who has recently -died,[1] and who wrote a book about the “exiles,” tell you some -interesting things concerning these people. - -“Florida was originally settled by Spaniards in 1558. They were the -first people to engage in the African slave trade, and sought to supply -other nations with servants from the coast of Guinea. The colonists held -many slaves, expecting to accumulate wealth by the unrequited toil of -their fellow-men. - -“Carolina, by her first and second charters, claimed a vast extent of -country, embracing St. Augustine and most of Florida. Here was the first -occasion for hostilities, the conflicting claims to jurisdiction, of the -Spaniards and the colonies. The Carolinians also held many slaves. -Profiting by the labor of their servants, the people sought to increase -their wealth by enslaving the Indians who resided in their vicinity. -Hence in the early slave codes of that colony we find reference to -‘negro and _other_ slaves.’ - -“When the boundaries of Florida and South Carolina became established, -the colonists found themselves separated by the territory now -constituting the State of Georgia, at that time mostly occupied by the -Creek Indians. The efforts of the Carolinians to enslave the Indians -brought with them the natural and appropriate penalties. The Indians -soon began to make their escape from service to the Indian country. This -example was soon followed by the African slaves, who also fled to the -Indian country, and, in order to secure themselves from pursuit, -continued their journey into Florida. - -“We are unable to fix the precise time when the persons thus exiled -constituted a separate community. Their numbers had become so great in -1736 that they were formed into companies, and relied on by the -Floridians as allies to aid in the defence of that territory. They were -also permitted to occupy lands upon the same terms that were granted to -the citizens of Spain; indeed, they in all respects became free subjects -of the Spanish crown. Probably to this early and steady policy of the -Spanish Government, we may attribute the establishment and continuance -of this community of ‘exiles’ in that territory. A messenger was sent by -the Colonial Government of South Carolina to demand the return of those -fugitive slaves who had found an asylum in Florida. The demand was made -upon the Governor of St. Augustine, but was promptly rejected. This was -the commencement of a controversy which has continued for more than a -century, involving our nation in a vast expenditure of blood and -treasure, and it yet remains undetermined. The constant escape of -slaves, and the difficulties resulting therefrom, constituted the -principal object for establishing a free colony between South Carolina -and Florida, which was called Georgia. It was thought that this colony, -being free, could afford the planters of Carolina protection against the -further escape of their slaves from service. These ‘exiles’ were by the -Creek Indians called ‘Seminoles,’ which in their dialect signifies -‘runaways,’ and the term being frequently used while conversing with the -Indians, came into almost constant practice among the whites; and -although it has now come to be applied to a certain tribe of Indians, -yet it was originally used in reference to these ‘exiles’ long before -the Seminole Indians had separated from the Creeks.” - -These “exiles,” once slaves, had settled in rich valleys, and had their -flocks, and herds, and children around them. The great State of Georgia -did not like to see this paradise of escaped bondmen prosper. Indeed, -she looked with covetous eye upon every foot of Indian territory within -her limits, and seems to have early decided, with or without the -national sanction and help, to take possession of the “exiles,” and of -the lands belonging to the Aborigines. The first thing was to get -Florida from Spain, then seize the “exiles.” - -Such influences were brought to bear upon Congress, that in _secret_ -session a law was passed in 1811 to wrest the territory from the -authority of Spain. And now commenced the invasion of that country by -the most desperate men. It was like the outrage upon “bleeding Kansas” -since. - -The Seminoles had refused to surrender the “exiles,” and the Georgians -determined to exterminate them. This injustice and cruelty opened the -_first_ war with the Seminoles. Hostilities continued for many years, -attended with deeds of savage heroism, scenes of horror and of death, -till many an American soldier found a grave in the gloomy everglade and -dark river channel. At length there was a pause in the terrible border -warfare. Outrages by the white people continued, “exiles” were captured, -treaties broken, and the effort renewed to remove the Seminoles to the -western territory. Upon a certain day when a consultation was held over -a speech addressed by the Secretary of State, General Cass, urging -emigration, a youthful warrior, named “Osceola,” since very famous, drew -his burnished knife from his belt, and said, while striking it into the -table before him, “_This is the only treaty I will ever make with the -whites._” It was a threat of war again, soon realized. He was the son of -an Indian trader, a white man named Powell. His mother was the daughter -of a Seminole chief. He had recently married a woman said to have been -very “beautiful.” She was the daughter of a chief who had married one of -the “exiles,” but as all colored people, by slaveholding laws, are said -to follow the condition of the mother, she was called an African slave. -Osceola was proud of his ancestry. He hated slavery, and those who -practised the holding of slaves, with a bitterness that is but little -understood by those who have never witnessed its revolting crimes. He -visited Fort King in company with his wife and a few friends, for the -purpose of trading. Mr. Thompson, the agent, was present, and while -engaged in business, the wife of Osceola was seized as a slave. -Evidently having negro blood in her veins, the law pronounced her a -slave; and, as no other person could show title to her, the pirate who -had got possession of her body, was supposed, of course, to be her -owner. Osceola became frantic with rage, but was instantly seized and -placed in irons, while his wife was hurried away to slaveholding -pollution. He remained six days in irons, when, General Thompson says, -he became penitent, and was released. From the moment when this outrage -was committed, the Florida War may be regarded as commenced. Osceola -swore vengeance upon Thompson, and those who assisted in the -perpetration of this indignity upon himself, as well as upon his wife, -and upon our common humanity. The “exiles” endeavored to stimulate the -Indians to deeds of valor. In general council they decreed that the -first Seminole who should make any movement preparatory to emigration, -should suffer death. Charley E. Mathlu, a respected chief, soon after -fell a victim to this decree. Osceola commanded the party who slew him. -He had sold a portion of his cattle to the whites, for which he had -received pay in gold. This money was found upon his person when he fell. -Osceola forbade any one touching the gold, saying it was the price of -the red man’s blood, and with his own hands he scattered it in different -directions as far as he was able to throw it. But his chief object -appeared to have been the death of General Thompson. Other Indians and -“exiles” were preparing for other important operations, but Osceola -seemed intent—his whole soul was absorbed in devising some plan by -which he could safely reach Mr. Thompson, who was the object of his -vengeance. He, or some of his friends, kept constant watch on the -movements of Thompson, who was unconscious of the danger to which he was -exposed. Osceola, steady to his purpose, refused to be diverted from -this favorite object. Thompson was at Fort King, and there were but few -troops to protect that fortress. But Indians seldom attempt an escalade, -and Osceola sought an opportunity to take it by surprise. With some -twenty followers he lay secreted near the fort for days and weeks, -determined to find some opportunity to enter by the open gate, when the -troops should be off their guard. Near the close of December, 1835, a -runner brought him information that Major Dade, with his command, was to -leave Fort Brooke on the twenty-fifth of that month, and that those who -intended to share in the attack upon that regiment, must be at the great -“Wahoo Swamp” by the evening of the twenty-seventh. This had no effect -whatever upon Osceola. No circumstance could withdraw him from the -bloody purpose which filled his soul. - -“On the twenty-eighth, in the afternoon, as he and his followers lay -near the road leading from the fort to the house of the sutler, which -was nearly a mile distant, they saw Mr. Thompson and a friend -approaching. That gentleman and his companions had dined, and, on taking -their cigars, he and Lieutenant Smith, of the second artillery, had -sallied forth for a walk and to enjoy conversation by themselves. At a -signal given by Osceola, the Indians fired. Thompson fell pierced by -fourteen balls; Smith received about as many. The shrill war-whoop -followed the sound of the rifles, and alarmed the people at the fort. -The Indians immediately scalped their victims, and then hastened to the -house where Mr. Rogers, the sutler, and two clerks, were at dinner. -These three persons were instantly massacred and scalped. The Indians -took as many valuable goods as they could carry, and set fire to the -building. The smoke gave notice to those in the fort of the fate that -had befallen the sutler and his clerks. But the condition in which the -commandant found his troops forbade his sending out any considerable -force to ascertain the fate of Thompson and his companion. Near -nightfall a few daring spirits proceeded up the road to the hommock, and -brought the bodies to the fort, but Osceola and his followers had -hastened their flight, not from fear of the troops, but with the hope of -joining their companions at Wahoo in time to engage in scenes of more -general interest.” - -The election campaign for President occurred the very fall Lieutenant -Sherman went to Florida. Martin Van Buren was defeated, and there was no -greater cause of it than the continuance of the Florida war, wasting -precious life and treasure. You will be interested in the story of Wild -Cat’s daughter. He was the son of King Philip, a Seminole chief, and -became himself one of the mighty leaders in the Indian struggle for -existence. Not far from the time young Sherman went to the field of -conflict, the daughter of Wild Cat, “an interesting girl of twelve years -of age, fell into the hands of our troops in a skirmish near Fort -Mellon. This was regarded as a most fortunate circumstance, as it would -be likely to procure an interview with the father. Miceo, a sub-chief -and friend of Wild Cat, was despatched with a white flag, on which were -drawn clasped hands in token of friendship, with a pipe and tobacco. He -found Wild Cat, and delivered the message of the commanding-general, -requesting an interview. Wild Cat agreed to come in, and gave Miceo a -bundle of sticks, denoting the days which would elapse before he -appeared in camp. Miceo returned and made his report. - -“On the fifth of March Wild Cat was announced as approaching the -American camp with seven of his trusty companions. He came boldly within -the line of sentinels, dressed in the most fantastic manner. He and his -party had shortly before killed a company of strolling theatrical -performers, near St. Augustine, and having possessed themselves of the -wardrobe of their victims, put it on. He approached the tent of General -Worth, calm and self-possessed, and shook hands with the officers. He -then addressed the general without hesitation and with dignity, saying -he had received the talk and white flag sent him. He had come according -to invitation to visit the American camp with peaceful intentions, -relying upon his good faith. - -“At this moment his little daughter escaped from the tent where she was -to remain till General Worth should think the proper time to present her -to her father had come. With the feelings and habits of her race, she -gave him musket balls and powder which she had managed to obtain and -secret until his arrival. On seeing his child he could no longer command -that dignity of bearing so much the pride of every Indian chief. His -self-possession gave way to parental emotions; the feelings of the -father gushed forth; he averted his face and wept. - -“Having recovered his self-possession he addressed General Worth, -saying: ‘The whites dealt unjustly by me. I came to them, when they -deceived me. I loved the land I was upon; my body is made of its sands. -The Great Spirit gave me legs to walk over it; eyes to see it; hands to -aid myself; a head with which I think. The sun, which shines warm and -bright, brings forth our crops; and the moon brings back the spirits of -our warriors, our fathers, our wives and children. The white man comes; -he grows pale and sickly; why can we not live in peace? They steal our -horses and cattle, cheat us, and take our lands. They may shoot us—may -chain our hands and feet, _but the red man’s heart will be free_. I have -come to you in peace, and have taken you all by the hand. I will sleep -in your camp, though your soldiers stand around me thick as pine trees. -I am done: when we know each other better, I will say more.’ - -“During the interview, Wild Cat spoke with great sincerity; frankly -stated the condition and feelings of his people; stated the friendly -attachment between the ‘exiles’ and Indians; said that they would not -consent to be separated; that nothing could be done until their annual -assemblage in June, to feast on the green corn; that, hard as the fate -was, he would consent to emigrate, and would use his influence to induce -his friends to do so. After remaining four days in camp, he and his -companions left, accompanied by his little daughter, whom he presented -to her mother on reaching his own encampment.” - -Young Sherman was created first lieutenant November, 1841, and soon -after the war closed, followed by the removal of the “exiles” to the -country beyond the State of Arkansas, joining the Creeks there. - -There are two very interesting facts you will think of in this glimpse -of the early experience of our cadet-soldier. The first is, the real -beginning of the great rebellion, in the unjust and oppressive claims of -the Southern States upon other races, and upon our national legislation. -The other curious fact is the awful desolation of that leading State in -this wrong, Georgia, by the lieutenant, more than a score of years -afterwards, in the defence of our own imperilled liberties. - ------ - -[1] Hon. Joshua R. Giddings. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - - Lieutenant Sherman in Fort Moultrie—The Fortress—The Mexican War - —He goes to California—His Service there—Appointed Captain— - His Marriage—Exciting Scenes in California—In the Commissary - Department—Resigns his Commission—Turns Banker. - -LIEUTENANT SHERMAN was next ordered to Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan’s -Island, in Charleston harbor. Do you know the origin of that fortress -and of its name? Six days before the Declaration of Independence was -signed, there was a memorable battle and victory here, over the British -squadron commanded by Sir Peter Parker. A post had been commenced, -which, upon the appearance of the fleet was hastily completed, under the -command of General Moultrie, a very brave officer. - -General Charles Lee, the commander-in-chief at this post, urged Moultrie -to abandon the works, because the men-of-war would soon blow them to -pieces. “Then we will fight behind the ruins,” said the gallant leader -of a band, who answered his bold words with a “_hurrah!_” The battle -opened, and soon the American flag, which was then a white crescent on a -ground of blue, went down. The spectators at a distance thought the post -had surrendered. But no—the flag-staff was shot off, and Sergeant -William Jasper leaped through the embrasure of the wall, and seizing it, -restored it to its place on the battlements. He was a young hero, and -his name is among those of the daring defenders of the _first_ banner of -the Revolution. - -In this fortress Lieutenant Sherman had an unexciting round of duty. But -more active service was near. If you will turn to the map of the United -States you will see that the boundary between Texas and Mexico on the -south, runs northwesterly toward the Pacific Ocean, where lies -California, bounded on the southern side by Mexico. When war followed -the dispute between the United States and the Mexican Government about -the dividing line, in 1846, it was necessary to have troops in -California. With the forces sent to that new and thinly-settled region, -Lieutenant Sherman went under the banner he loved with all the -enthusiasm of his ardent nature. The fighting was principally done, you -know, at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Molino del Rey, and a -few other points far from the post of Sherman. But he did his duty in -the ranks of the frontier-guard, and was off on recruiting service when -those fierce battles were fought. - -California had been for many years under the Government of Mexico. The -people rebelled against Santa Anna, asserted their independence, but -again submitted to the old authority. In 1842 its rich plains attracted -emigration from all lands, which increased rapidly till war with Mexico -was declared. General Fremont was there. A quarrel began between the -Mexican people and the settlers. This was increased by the conflict of -the two nations, which resulted in our establishing a territorial -government. The whole was ceded to the United States at the close of the -war for $15,000,000, and became a State in 1850. With the flood of -population from many countries, before and after Lieutenant Sherman went -there, lawlessness of all kinds prevailed. Gambling was a common -business, incendiarism equally so, and justice was almost unknown, even -in the Government. Men were shot in open day for giving offence; the -people became alarmed, and appointed a vigilance committee, who took law -into their own hands. Our still youthful officer opposed such assumption -of power, believing in redress for wrongs through the constitutional -remedies. And often since the civil war commenced has he beguiled the -weary hours of camp-life by recounting the exciting scenes of those wild -days of California life. He saw a calmer period of history there. The -vigilance committee at length surrendered its power to the State -Government, and California has taken her place among the noblest of our -commonwealths, loyal to the flag in the darkest hour of strife. - -California gold! You have heard of the mania for the mines it created -all over our land when the boy now sixteen was in his cradle. But you -may not know what a chance to make a fortune Lieutenant Sherman had in -that territory—that he saw the small _beginning_ of the excitement. He -was dining, February 8th, 1848, with Captain Sutter, of Sacramento, who -was building a saw-mill. The workmen opened a sluice to wash out the -“tail-race,” when lo! there was gold in the sand. A specimen was brought -into the room where the officers sat, and pronounced to be the precious -particles, which have since attracted the fortune-hunters of every land -under the sun. But the lieutenant quietly returned to his post, and left -to others the great discovery. - -The rough experiences in southern and western forests—watching the -stealthy Indians, and riding through perilous and difficult paths—were -fitting him for work which would attract the admiring interest of the -world. So well did he improve his opportunities to serve his country and -perfect himself in military science, that his farther promotion to a -captaincy was ordered while on the Pacific coast. The war closed in the -winter of 1848, and the treaty of peace was signed in February of that -year. The life of a “regular” in the army became monotonous. Garrisons -and surveys occupied the troops. But there came, two years later, an -interesting change in the social relations of Captain Sherman. - -The friend he left with so much regret when he bade adieu to Lancaster, -Ohio, for a home at West Point, Miss Ellen B. Ewing, attracted the -gallant young soldier’s steps from the round of martial duty. In the -spring of 1850 he led her to the altar of marriage, in Washington, D. -C., where the bride’s father, the Hon. Thomas Ewing, has spent much of -his long life in Congress, and in the Cabinet. Two of the greatest -statesmen in this or any other nation, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay, -were guests on the occasion, also General Zachary Taylor. Not many -weddings in the Republic can boast of so many distinguished persons -among the spectators of the ceremonies, offering their congratulations -to the happy pair. - -Captain Sherman was for a period connected with the Commissary -Department of the Army. Its duties are the furnishing of the various -supplies for the troops. Tired of the quiet and tameness of the service, -in 1853 he resigned his commission, and retired to private life. That -well-known and wealthy citizen of St. Louis, Mr. Lucas, proposed to -establish a banking-house in San Francisco, under the name of “Lucas, -Turner & Co.,” at the head of which was placed Captain Sherman. - -We have come to a singular turn in his history. The cadet has been from -the Florida swamps to the mountains of the northern border, rising in -position, and steadily, honorably pursuing the object immediately before -him, till tired of an almost useless existence, as it seems, in the -army, he is at length a gentlemanly banker in the principal city of the -“golden coast.” Days, weeks, months, and years, find him in the -comparatively quiet round of business affairs. He is at home in the -material condition and politics of the country; for he is familiar -always with the current events of the times. The faithful boy at -errands, is the trusty soldier and banker also. No stain rests on the -record of his success in life. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - - Takes charge of a Military Academy in Alexandria, Louisiana—He - sees the rising storm of Civil War—Resigns—A noble Letter—He - repairs to St. Louis, and superintends a Street Railroad. - -CAPTAIN SHERMAN, of the house of Lucas, Turner & Co., was not -unsuccessful in the banking-office; but it was not suited to his culture -and taste, and he was without large capital. It is not strange, -therefore, that when, in 1860, he was offered the presidency of the -Louisiana State Military Academy at Alexandria, on a salary of five -thousand dollars per annum, he should accept the honorable position. - -You know that, besides the national institution for discipline in the -art of war, there are smaller schools of a similar character in several -of the States, besides private enterprises of great merit. The Academy -at Alexandria was organized in 1860, and, intended to accommodate two -hundred cadets. Whether the State had reference to the possibility of a -collision with the Government in this preparatory work we do not know, -but are sure that the chief officer had no thought of serving the cause -of revolt in taking its management. The town is situated on the Red -River, nearly in the centre of the State, three hundred and fifty miles -from New Orleans, which lies southeast of it, and down the Mississippi. - -Louisiana is a great cotton-growing State, and Alexandria is in one of -the richest portions of the wide plains skirting the stream which poured -its flood into the magnificent tide of the “Father of Waters.” It is -beautifully situated in the midst of cotton plantations, which, like -snow-fields in summer, spread away in every direction from the village. -Here the professor was directing his genius and attainments to carry out -the wishes of the founders of the school, when the first ominous sounds -of rebellion followed the election of Abraham Lincoln. - -He knew the Southern feeling well. The intercourse with the people of -the cotton States, from the association at West Point with their sons to -that hour, convinced him of what we at the North were slow to believe, -that they were determined to have their own way or _fight_. His clear -judgment and forecast caught the signal of revolution in the stormy -councils and secession resolutions which succeeded the political -revolution. The evil spirit of rebellion was in the very atmosphere -about him. There was hot blood, even in the recitation-rooms of the -Academy. The year 1860 closed over a purpose which had slowly but -steadily matured, to leave the institution in which he had just begun to -feel at home, and was fully qualified to manage. It had cost him anxious -thought. But far in advance, as he has been ever since, in his views of -the true issue—the men and the measures we must meet—he was sure a -sanguinary struggle was at hand. It saddened his heart, but nerved his -strong hand to grasp the starry banner and enter the arena of carnage -and victory. - -Thus decided in his convictions and loyalty, he did not wait for the -thunder of cannon around Fort Sumter. He wrote the following manly, -strong, and patriotic letter, which tells its own glorious story: - - “JANUARY 18, 1861. - “GOV. THOMAS O. MOORE, BATON ROUGE, LA. - - “SIR:—As I occupy a _quasi_-military position under this State, - I deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such position - when Louisiana was a State in the Union, and when the motto of - the seminary was inserted in marble over the main door, ‘_By the - liberality of the General Government of the United States_: The - Union—_Esto Perpètua_.’ - - “Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it becomes all men - to choose. If Louisiana withdraws from the Federal Union, _I_ - prefer to maintain my allegiance to the old Constitution as long - as a fragment of it survives, and my longer stay here would be - wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg you will - send or appoint some authorized agent to take charge of the arms - and munitions of war here belonging to the State, or direct me - what disposition should be made of them. - - “And furthermore, as President of the Board of Supervisors, I - beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent - the moment the State determines to secede; for on no earthly - account will I do any act, or think any thought, hostile to or - in defiance of the old Government of the United States. - - “With great respect, &c., - “(Signed) W. T. SHERMAN.” - -What a scorching rebuke is that in the first paragraph! How sublimely -loyal the sentiments of the last! - -The resignation was accepted. The professor turned his back upon his -cadets and upon Louisiana, till he shall return under the torn and -blackened flag of conquest. Repairing to St. Louis, he had no employment -for his brain or hands. But he was ready for any honest work. Mr. Lucas, -one of the millionaires of the city, offered him the office of -superintendent of a street railroad, on a salary of two thousand dollars -a year. He at once entered upon its duties, without a regret that he had -abandoned the halls of military science and a larger reward for his -labor. - -My young reader, it is a lesson for all ages and all times. Embrace the -providential openings for reputable and useful labor, without regard to -the present applause or the favor of the busy multitude about you. Think -of the brave Captain—the educated instructor—managing the affairs of a -city horse-railway! Then think of the host of young men, who would -rather starve, or _gamble_, to keep up the appearance of wealth and -position, rather than _go down_ in the world’s estimate of what is -respectable and fashionable, and you will admire the truly heroic -character of the gifted Sherman. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - - Sumter falls—Sherman repairs to Washington—His Interview with - the Secretary of War and the President—His Prophetic Insight of - the Threatening Times—The state of the Country—Rebel - Expectations. - -THE traitorous Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, had not lost sight of -the probable uprising of the South at no distant period, for a moment, -during all of his official career. Every fort on her soil was made an -easy prey to her rebellious hand by reducing their garrisons. - -The magnificent Fortress Monroe, on which the United States had expended -nearly two and a half millions, could muster only eight companies of -artillery. The forts, Moultrie, Pinckney, and Sumter, of Charleston -harbor, had only eighty men, who were in Fort Moultrie. - -And yet, had you been in the Halls of Congress when Mr. Clarke, of New -Hampshire, offered a resolution of inquiry into the condition of those -defences, you would have heard a storm of apparently virtuous -indignation from Jefferson Davis and his fellow-conspirators, as if the -intimation of treachery were an insult to Southern chivalry. - -A week later General Anderson and his band, loyal to the national -banner, having become assured that their capture with Fort Moultrie was -designed, after destroying its equipment as far as possible, stole at -dead of night from its walls and floated over the waters to silent -Sumter, whose massive battlements promised a safer refuge from the -passions of infatuated men. The rebels immediately seized Forts Moultrie -and Pinckney; and ten days later the Star of the West, an unarmed -steamer conveying a reënforcement of two hundred and fifty soldiers and -supplies for the destitute garrison, was fired upon from newly-erected -earthworks. - -The spring came with flowers and birds, but the angry storm of rebellion -beat around Sumter with increasing fury. Iron-clad batteries had risen -on every hand to cut off the approach of our ships, and grim ordnance -now pointed toward the old fortress. - -April 12th a messenger approached it with a very brief message to Major -Anderson; it was, “Surrender!” The reply was nearly as short: “His sense -of honor and his obligations to the Government would prevent -compliance.” - -A few hours after, and “boom! boom!” was the sound, followed with shot -and shell, against Sumter’s walls, which opened a bloody civil war. In -the iron hail the fort was scarred, and its ground covered with -exploding shells. At length the band, one-third the number of the famous -warriors at Thermopylæ, against ten thousand, saw the hopelessness of -resistance, and made honorable terms to themselves, of surrender. Every -telegraphic wire in the land, North and South, trembled to the tidings -of the battle hour. - -The Hon. Thomas Ewing wrote Charles Taylor Sherman, of Washington, the -brother of William Tecumseh, to use his influence to get the latter -again into the army. He felt that he was, and _would be_ needed. The -intelligent, patriotic mind of the captain did not require _light_ for -action, but only _opportunity_. - -Our railroad superintendent at St. Louis thought that all observant -people must see that a terrible conflict had begun, and like Grant in -Galena, left his office to offer his services to the Government, and his -life, if that should be the sacrifice, included in their acceptance. He -hastened to the nation’s capital. Soon after reaching Washington he -called on Secretary Cameron. - -“Mr. Secretary, civil war is imminent, and we are unprepared for it. I -have come to offer my services to the country in the struggle before -us.” - -“I think,” replies Mr. Cameron, “the ebullition of feeling will soon -subside, we shall not need many troops.” - -Indeed the Secretary was quite surprised, if not annoyed, at the -earnestness of Captain Sherman. He next sought an interview with the -President, and made a similar statement and offer to him. The good -President was inclined to take the whole thing as a joke. After -listening to the serious enthusiasm expressed in the strong appeal, he -replied, pleasantly: “We shall not need many more like you; the whole -affair will soon blow over.” - -He left the Chief Magistrate of a republic whose very existence he knew -was assailed, with a shadow of disappointment on his brave, loyal -spirit—not for himself, but for the cause near his heart. Friends then -advised him to go to Ohio and superintend the organization of three -months’ men there. He declared “it would be as wise to undertake to -extinguish the flames of a burning building with a squirt gun, as to put -down the rebellion with three months’ troops.” - -To talk of any thing less than a gigantic war was to him absurd. But he -was then nearly alone in his just estimate of the struggle. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - - The Conflict Deepens—The Captain is made Colonel of the - Thirteenth New York Volunteers—The Battle of Bull Run—The - unterrified Commander of the Thirteenth and his Troops—The - Brave Stand. - -INSTEAD of “blowing over,” the storm of rebellion grew darker, and -extended toward every point of the horizon. The appointment of Captain -Sherman to an important command was discussed and urged by those who -knew him. And what do you think he said? You recollect our -Lieutenant-General, when he asked the privilege of serving his country, -declined a generalship because too modest to aspire to its honors. The -lamented Major-General Mitchel desired any place, however humble, where -he might defend the Stars and Stripes. And said the gallant Sherman: “I -do not wish a prominent place; this is to be a long and bloody war.” - -Real _ability_ to achieve, and moral worth, are never boastful and -impatient to astonish the people. Even the great rebel General Lee, in a -letter recently published, urges the same unassuming, calm performance -of present duty upon his son: quoting as an illustration the “old -Puritan,” who in the early period of our legislation, when the day -suddenly became outwardly dark, as if the sun had disappeared from the -heavens, causing a pause of alarm, some fearing the judgment-day was at -hand, called for a light, saying he wished to proceed to business, and -be found at his post of duty when the final catastrophe came. This is -good counsel for us all, though from a _rebel’s_ pen. - -General McDowell, who was then one of our most popular commanders, seems -to have had a just appreciation of Sherman. He wanted his services; and -on the 13th of June, 1861, offered him the colonelcy of the Thirteenth -Infantry in the regular army, the command dating May 14th of that year. - -A month of preparation for the field passed, and the first great meeting -of the opposing armies summoned him to the war-path. July 16th, General -McDowell, with thirty-two thousand five hundred men, moved in four -divisions upon Manassas, through which lay the route to Richmond, the -capital of Virginia and of the Confederacy. From Arlington Heights, Long -Bridge, and Alexandria, the troops marched proudly forward, anticipating -an early victory. - -Never before, my young reader, did a large army go to the plain of -carnage with hearts so light and gay—“as if on a pic-nic excursion.” It -was a splendid, and to most of the troops a novel spectacle, that march -upon the “sacred soil” of the “Old Dominion,” to the animating notes of -“The Star Spangled Banner” and other national airs. July 21st, the -Sabbath day, the signals of battle were seen in our lines, regardless of -the hallowed time, and confident of an almost bloodless conquest. - -Colonel Bowman, one of General Sherman’s officers since, and a faithful -friend, has given a clear and unvarnished story of his part in the -affray: - -“The enemy had planted a battery on Warrenton turnpike, to command the -passage of Bull Run, and seized the stone bridge which crossed it, -erecting a heavy abatis to prevent our advance in that direction. The -object of the battle was to force this position, with a view to -subsequent operations beyond. The army engaged was commanded by -Brigadier-General McDowell. The fourth division was left in the rear. -The first, second, third, and fifth were commanded respectively by -Brigadier-General Tyler, and Colonels Hunter, Heintzelman, and Miles. In -the plan of battle, Miles was to be in reserve on the Centreville Ridge; -Tyler was to advance directly in front of Stone Bridge, on the Warrenton -road, and cannonade the enemy’s batteries; Hunter and Heintzelman were -to move to the right and cross the run above, and get to the enemy’s -rear. Colonel Sherman commanded the third brigade in Tyler’s (first) -division, consisting of troops since renowned for gallantry—Captain -Ayres’ Regular Battery, the Thirteenth, Sixty-ninth, and Seventy-ninth -New York, and Second Wisconsin infantry. - -“The advance was commenced on the morning of the 21st, and a part of -Hunter’s and Heintzelman’s divisions, according to McDowell’s official -report, ‘forced the enemy back far enough to allow Sherman’s and Keyes’s -brigades of Tyler’s division to cross from their position on the -Warrenton road. These drove the right of the enemy, understood to have -been commanded by Beauregard, from the front of the field, and out of -the detached woods, and down the road, and across it, up the slopes, on -the other side.’ Pressing on, these two brigades, with the two divisions -on the right, came upon an elevated ridge or table of land. Here was the -severest fighting of the famous battle. Sherman led his brigade directly -up the Warrenton road, and held his ground till the general order came -to retreat. It will be the verdict of history that the fighting at Bull -Run was no more disgraceful to us than the unsuccessful fighting of the -French at Waterloo. It was the disorganized _rout_ after the day was -done that showed that our army was as yet but an undisciplined rabble. -The day was lost partly by the delay in attack, but chiefly by the -arrival of reënforcements under Johnston, when victory was already in -our hands. General Patterson was the Grouchy of our Waterloo. - -“One fact in the battle has hitherto escaped comment. The orders of -Tyler’s division were to cross Bull Run, when possible, and join Hunter -on the right. This was done, Sherman leading off, with the Sixty-ninth -New York in advance, and encountering a party of the enemy retreating -along a cluster of pines. Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty, of the -Sixty-ninth, without orders, rode over to intercept their retreat, and -was shot dead by the enemy. Furious at his loss, the Sixty-ninth sprang -forward and opened fire, which was returned. ‘But,’ says Sherman, -‘determined to effect our junction with Hunter’s division, I ordered the -fire to cease, and we proceeded with caution toward the field, where we -then plainly saw our forces engaged.’ Turning to Colonel Burnside’s -official report, we shall find that he was at this time overwhelmingly -pressed by the enemy. It was a critical juncture. At length Major -Sykes’s battalion of regulars came up, and staggered the enemy, and at -the same moment Sherman came marching over the hill. ‘It was Sherman’s -brigade,’ says Burnside, ‘that arrived at about twelve and a half -o’clock, and by a most deadly fire assisted in breaking the enemy’s -lines.’ So much for soldierly promptness and strict obedience to orders. -From the vigor with which Sherman fought his brigade, the loss in his -four regiments was one hundred and five killed, two hundred and two -wounded, two hundred and ninety-three wounded or missing, with six -killed and three wounded in the battery, making a total of six hundred -and nine, the whole division losing eight hundred and fifty-nine. The -loss of the army, excluding prisoners and stragglers, was computed thus: -killed, four hundred and seventy-nine; wounded, eleven hundred and -eleven; total killed and wounded, fifteen hundred and ninety. When the -conduct of Sherman had become known, the Ohio delegation in Congress -unanimously urged his immediate promotion. This was easily effected, and -on the 3d of August, 1861, he was confirmed a brigadier-general of -volunteers.” - -Colonel Sherman’s brigade was the only one which retired from the field -in order, making a stand at the bridge on the track to Washington, to -dispute bravely “the right of way,” should the enemy pursue our -panic-stricken forces toward the capital. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - - General Sherman goes to Kentucky—Muldraugh’s Hill—His army - weakened—General Buckner’s superior force—Succeeds General - Anderson—Writes General McClellan—Interview with Secretary - Cameron—Paducah. - -AWAY on the borders of Kentucky the tramp of war was heard. The hero -of Sumter, General Anderson, was in command of the department. With the -advent of autumn, the Union Home Guards of Kentucky, with other troops, -had gathered to the banks of the Rolling Fork of Salt River—a branch -two hundred feet wide and only three feet deep. Two miles from the road -crossing lie the Muldraugh’s Hills, rising in romantic outline. Half way -upon the ascent runs the railroad, whose bridge is trestle-work ninety -feet high; it then enters Tunnel Hill, emerging into an open plain. - -General Buckner, the rebel commander, was at Bowling Green, looking -toward Louisville, where he boasted he would spend the winter. General -Sherman was sent to join General Anderson, the second in command, and -moved his force to Muldraugh’s Hills. Buckner had burned the bridge; the -Home Guards were withdrawn; and the enemy’s troops numbered twenty-five -thousand. To retire to Elizabethtown with the five thousand Union -soldiers was the best that General Sherman could do. - -At this crisis General Anderson resigned his command on account of ill -health, and the mantle of authority fell on General Sherman; no very -desirable honor at that time, for “most of the fighting young men of -Kentucky had gone to join the rebels. The non-combatants were divided in -sentiment, and most of them far from friendly. He lacked men, and most -of those he had were poorly armed. He lacked, also, means of -transportation and munitions of war; and if the rebel generals had known -his actual condition, they could have captured or driven his forces -across the Ohio in less than ten days. He applied earnestly and -persistently for reënforcements, and, at the same time, took every -possible precaution to conceal his weakness from the enemy, as well as -from the loyal public. At that time newspaper reporters were not always -discreet, and often obtained and published the very facts that should -have been concealed. He issued a stringent order excluding all reporters -and correspondents from his lines. This brought down upon him the -indignation of the press. More unfortunately still, he failed to impress -the Secretary of War with the necessities of his position and the -importance of holding it. On the 3d of November he telegraphed to -General McClellan the condition of affairs, with the number of his -several forces, showing them to be everywhere, except at one single -point, outnumbered, and concluded his despatch with the emphatic remark, -‘Our forces are too small to do good, and too large to be sacrificed.’ - -“In reply, General McClellan asks, ‘How long could McCook keep Buckner -out of Louisville, holding the railroad, with power to destroy it inch -by inch?’—giving no hint of a purpose to send reënforcements, but -looking to the probable abandonment of Kentucky. Previous to this, -General Sherman had had an interview with Secretary Cameron, in presence -of Adjutant-General Thomas, at Lexington, Kentucky, and fully explained -to him the situation of his command, and also of the armies opposed to -him; and, on being asked what force was necessary for a successful -forward movement in his department, answered, ‘Two hundred thousand -men.’ By the 1st of November, Adjutant-General Thomas’s official report -of this conversation, in all its details, was published in most of the -newspapers of the country, giving the enemy full knowledge of many -important facts relating to General Sherman’s department. He was too -weak to defend his lines; and the enemy knew it. He had no hope of -reënforcements, and, withal, was evidently in discredit with the War -Department, as being too apprehensive of the power, strength, and -resources of the enemy. He, therefore, felt he could not successfully -conduct the campaign, and asked to be relieved. He was succeeded by -General Buell, who was at once reënforced, and enabled to hold his -defensive positions until Grant, the following spring, should advance -down the Mississippi and up the Cumberland. - -“General Sherman was now set down as ‘crazy,’ and quietly retired to the -command of Benton Barracks, near St. Louis. The evidence of his insanity -was his answer to the Secretary of War—_that to make a successful -advance against the enemy, then strongly posted at all strategic points -from the Mississippi to Cumberland Gap, would require an army two -hundred thousand strong_! The answer was the inspiration or the judgment -of a military genius; but to the mind of Mr. Secretary Cameron it was -the prophecy of a false wizard. - -“It has been said of the Spaniards, ‘that they generally managed to have -an army when they had no general, and a general when they had no army;’ -and during the first years of the war we surpassed in folly their -example. It was vainly expected the rebellion could effectually be put -down without either a general or an army, by a mere flourish of -trumpets—as if the foundations of the Confederacy, like the walls of -Jericho, would yield and fall at the blowing of a ram’s horn. Subsequent -events have sufficiently vindicated General Sherman’s opinion expressed -in his reply to the Secretary of War. - -“Meantime General Halleck succeeded to the command of the Department of -the West, and General Sherman was not long allowed to remain in charge -of a recruiting-rendezvous at St. Louis. When General Grant moved on -Fort Donelson, Sherman was intrusted with the forwarding to him of -reënforcements and supplies from Paducah. General Grant subsequently -acknowleged himself ‘greatly indebted for his promptness’ in discharging -that duty. After the capture of that stronghold, General Sherman was put -in command of the fifth division of Grant’s army at Pittsburg Landing. -At the same time Beauregard was industriously collecting the rebel -forces at Corinth, a strong strategic point, well fortified, thirty -miles distant. Grant had moved up from Fort Donelson, and Buell was on -his way.” - -How grandly General Grant and Commodore Foote did their work at Forts -Henry and Donelson! What deeds of valor were performed by our Western -boys, whose couch at night was the snowy earth, reddened with the blood -of carnage! - -But while that storm of conflict was raging, an officer who had no -superior, and longed to enter its perils and glory for his native land -and his own loyal West, was patiently, and “without observation,” -sending, with an intelligent appreciation of what was needed, and -remarkable promptness, supplies for the heroes of the great border -battles. General Grant _knew_ the value of that service, and warmly -expressed in his despatches his “indebtedness to General Sherman” for -his activity, his timely and indispensable aid, apart from the bloody -field. - -My reader will recollect that the fall of Fort Donelson, about the -middle of February, 1862, startled the whole of “rebeldom.” The -strongest fortress in the West was taken. The next position in -importance was Corinth, because at the junction of the Memphis and -Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio Railroads. Memphis, the enemy knew, -must soon be the prize for which our victorious troops would strike. - -“Corinth must be defended!” was the cry from the South. General -Beauregard, the hero of Sumter and Bull Run, hastened to the field of -conflict, to lend the power of his name and generalship to the cause of -treason. - -General Grant had moved the gunboats after the surrender of Fort -Donelson down the Cumberland and up the Tennessee River to Pittsburg -Landing, making Savannah, ten miles distant, his own headquarters. - -General Buell, with the Army of the Ohio, was marching toward this point -to join him, from the pursuit of General Johnston through Nashville. The -rebel officers decided to concentrate their forces, by the railroads in -their possession, unexpectedly upon the Union army before Buell could -get there, and after annihilating it, turn upon him and scatter his -battalions. The enemy kept his counsels well, while preparing to hurl -his legions upon our columns. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - - Pittsburg Landing—The Surprise—The Battle—The Victory— - Sherman’s glorious part in the Struggle—The Testimony of - Officers—His Letter on the Contest. - -PITTSBURG is the nearest point to Corinth on the river, three miles -from which, in the sparsely settled country, is the old log building -called Shiloh Church—a dilapidated sanctuary of primitive, or rather -_backwoods_ style. Around this desolate place of former worship lay -General Sherman’s division, bordering both sides of the lower road to -Corinth. - -Sunday morning, April 6th, the fifty thousand men or more, under such -leaders as Beauregard, Johnston, Breckinridge, and Polk, fell upon the -army of the Republic, emerging from their forest paths like spectres in -the early light. “Carleton,” who was there, and carefully went over the -field of conflict to know all that was done, thus notices our hero: - -“Sherman’s pickets were being driven back by the rapid advance of the -rebel lines. It was a little past sun-rise when they came in, -breathless, with startling accounts that the entire rebel army was at -their heels. The officers were not out of bed. The soldiers were just -stirring, rubbing their eyes, putting on their boots, washing at the -brook, or tending their camp kettles. Their guns were in their tents; -they had a small supply of ammunition. It was a complete surprise. -Officers jumped from their beds, tore open the tent-flies, and stood in -undress to see what it was all about. The rebel pickets rushed up within -close musket range and fired. - -“‘Fall in! Form a line! here, quick!’ were the orders from the officers. - -“There was running in every direction. Soldiers for their guns, officers -for their sabres, artillerists to their pieces, teamsters to their -horses. There was hot haste, and a great hurly-burly. - -“General Hardee made a mistake at the outset. Instead of rushing up with -a bayonet charge upon Sherman’s camp, and routing his unformed brigades -in an instant, as he might have done, he unlimbered his batteries and -opened fire. - -“When the alarm was given General Sherman was instantly on his horse. He -sent a request to McClernand to support Hilderbrand. He also sent word -to Prentiss that the enemy were in front, but Prentiss had already made -the discovery, and was contending with all his might against the -avalanche rolling upon him from the ridge south of his position. He sent -word to Hurlbut that a force was needed in the gap between the church -and Prentiss. He was everywhere present, dashing along his lines, paying -no attention to the constant fire aimed at him and his staff by the -rebel skirmishers, within short musket range. They saw him, knew that he -was an officer of high rank, saw that he was bringing order out of -confusion, and tried to pick him off. While galloping down to -Hilderbrand, his orderly, Halliday, was killed. - -“Sherman tried to hold his position by the church. He considered it to -be of the utmost importance. He did not want to lose his camp. He -exhibited great bravery. His horse was shot, and he mounted another. -That also was killed, and he took a third, and, before night, lost his -fourth. He encouraged his men, not only by his words but by his reckless -daring. Captain Behr had been posted on the Purdy road with his battery, -and had had but little part in the fight. He was falling back, closely -followed by Pond. - -“‘Come into position out there on the right,’ said Sherman, pointing to -the place where he wanted him to unlimber. Then came a volley from the -woods. A shot struck the captain from his horse. The drivers and gunners -became frightened and rode off with the caissons, leaving five unspiked -guns to fall into the hands of the rebels! Sherman and Taylor, and other -officers, by their coolness, bravery, and daring, saved Buckland’s and -McDowell’s brigades from a panic; and thus, after four hours of hard -fighting, Sherman was obliged to leave his camp and fall back behind -McClernand, who now was having, a fierce fight with the brigades which -had pushed in between Prentiss and Sherman.” - -You shall hear from the general’s fellow-officers about his appearance -and gallantry on this terrible field of strife. A brave cavalry officer -said of him: “Having occasion to report personally to General Sherman, -about noon of the first day of Shiloh, I found him dismounted, his arm -in a sling, his hand bleeding, his horse dead, himself covered with -dust, his face besmeared with powder and blood. He was giving directions -at the moment to Major Taylor, his chief of artillery, who had just -brought a battery into position. Mounted orderlies were coming and going -in haste; staff officers were making anxious inquiries; everybody but -himself seemed excited. The battle was raging terrifically in every -direction. Just then there seemed to be universal commotion on our -right, where it was observed our men were giving back. ‘I was looking -for that,’ said Sherman, ‘but I am ready for them.’ His quick, sharp eye -flashed, and his war-begrimed face beamed with satisfaction. The enemy’s -packed columns now made their appearance, and as quickly the guns which -Sherman had so carefully placed in position began to speak. The deadly -effect on the enemy was apparent. While Sherman was still managing the -artillery, Major Sanger, a staff officer, called his attention to the -fact that the enemy’s cavalry were charging toward the battery. ‘Order -up those two companies of infantry,’ was the quick reply, and the -general coolly went on with his guns. The cavalry made a gallant charge, -but their horses carried back empty saddles. The enemy was evidently -foiled. Our men, gaining fresh courage, rallied again, and for the first -time that day the enemy was held stubbornly in check. A moment more and -he fell back over the piles of his dead and wounded.” - -General Rousseau, a division officer of Buell’s Army of the Cumberland, -speaks of him in the following handsome manner: - -“He gave us our first lessons in the field in the face of an enemy; and -of all the men I ever saw he is the most untiring, vigilant, and -patient. No man that ever lived could surpass him. His enemies say that -he was surprised at Shiloh. I tell you no. He was not surprised nor -whipped, for he fights by the week. Devoid of ambition, incapable of -envy, he is brave, gallant, and just. At Shiloh his old legion met him -just as the battle was ended; and at the sight of him, placing their -hats upon their bayonets, gave him three cheers. It was a touching and -fitting compliment to the gallant chieftain. I am thankful for this -occasion to do justice to a brave, honest, and knightly gentleman.” - -Nor did he escape the attention of his commanding officer. General -Grant, in a letter to the War Department, under date of July 25, 1863, -said: - -“At the battle of Shiloh, on the last day, he held, with raw troops, the -key point of the landing. It is no disparagement to any other officer to -say that I do not believe there was another division commander on the -field who had the skill and experience to have done it. To his -individual efforts I am indebted for the success of that battle.” - -Writes Colonel Bowman: “He formed his first line of battle on the brow -of a hill, or rather ridge, on the west of Lick and Owl Creeks, which -served as a natural fortification. The men, by lying down or retiring a -few steps, were well covered, and, by rising and advancing a few paces, -could deliver their fire with terrible effect. But his troops were -mostly green, and wholly untrained in the art of war. The rebel onset -was well directed, rapid, and most persistent. Some of Sherman’s -regiments broke and fled, while others fought like veterans. The fight -soon became general; Beauregard hurled his massed columns with great -impetuosity against our attenuated lines, which, though yielding to the -pressure, did not break. The rebels gained ground inch by inch, but -could do no more than compress the semicircle of our line of battle. -Beauregard had promised his troops to drive us into the Tennessee that -day before three o’clock, but nightfall found him contemplating the -chances of successful retreat; for Buell had arrived. Sherman’s conduct -on that day showed him to be a man of the first order of military -talent. He was not disconcerted by the panic among his green troops, -and, indeed, had expected it. All he asked was, that a reasonable number -should remain and obey orders; and in an American army there can always -be found a goodly proportion of officers and men incapable of being -cowards under any circumstances. With such he did battle on the 6th of -April, 1862—a day long to be remembered, as the day of the battle of -Shiloh. There was not a commanding general on the field who did not rely -on Sherman, and look to him as our chief hope; and there is no question -that but for Sherman our army would have been destroyed. He rode from -place to place, directing his men; he selected from time to time the -positions for his artillery; he dismounted and managed the guns; he sent -suggestions to commanders of divisions; he inspired everybody with -confidence; and yet it never occurred to him that he had accomplished -any thing worthy of remark.” - -General Nelson, a few days before his death, in conversation with Larz -Anderson and two or three other gentlemen, said: “During eight hours, -the fate of the army on the field of Shiloh depended on the life of one -man: if General Sherman had fallen, the army would have been captured or -destroyed.” - -General Halleck, in his despatch to the Secretary of War, recommending -General Sherman for promotion, said of him: “It is the unanimous opinion -here that Brigadier-General W. T. Sherman saved the fortunes of the day -on the 6th of April, and contributed largely to the glorious victory of -the 7th. He was in the thickest of the fight on both days, having three -horses killed under him, and being wounded twice. I respectfully request -that he be made a major-general of volunteers, to date from the 6th -instant.” - -Acting upon this recommendation, General Sherman was promoted to the -rank designated, to date from May 1st, 1862. - -I shall give you now a letter of considerable length, written by General -Sherman himself about the battle. Some of my readers may not care to -read it all; but it should have a place in the annals of his life, -because it is one of many illustrations of his power with the pen, and -is also his honest and truthful record of the great contest at Pittsburg -Landing: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION MISSISSIPPI. - “_Professor Henry Coppee, Philadelphia_: - - “DEAR SIR: In the June number of the _United States Service - Magazine_ I find a brief sketch of Lieutenant-General U. S. - Grant, in which I see you are likely to perpetuate an error, - which General Grant may not deem of sufficient importance to - correct. To General Buell’s noble, able, and gallant conduct you - attribute the fact that the disaster of April 6th, at Pittsburg - Landing, was retrieved, and made the victory of the following - day. As General Taylor is said in his later days to have doubted - whether he was at the battle of Buena Vista at all, on account - of the many things having transpired there, according to the - historians, which he did not see, so I begin to doubt whether I - was at the battle of Pittsburg Landing of modern description. - But I was at the battles of April 6th and 7th, 1862. General - Grant visited my division in person about ten A. M., when the - battle raged fiercest. I was then on the right. - - “After some general conversation, he remarked that I was doing - right in stubbornly opposing the progress of the enemy; and, in - answer to my inquiry as to cartridges, told me he had - anticipated their want, and given orders accordingly; he then - said his presence was more needed over at the left. About two P. - M. on the 6th, the enemy materially slackened his attack on me, - and about four P. M. I deliberately made a new line behind - McArthur’s drill field, placing batteries on chosen ground, - repelled easily a cavalry attack, and watched the cautious - approach of the enemy’s infantry, that never dislodged me there. - I selected that line in advance of a bridge across Snake Creek, - by which we had all day been expecting the approach of Lew. - Wallace’s division from Crump’s Landing. About five P. M., - before the sun set, General Grant came again to me, and, after - hearing my report of matters, explained to me the situation of - affairs on the left, which were not as favorable. Still the - enemy had failed to reach the landing of the boat. - - “We agreed that the enemy had expended the _furore_ of his - attack, and we estimated our loss, and approximated our then - strength, including Lew. Wallace’s fresh division, expected each - minute. He then ordered me to get all things ready, and at - daylight the next day to assume the offensive. That was before - General Buell had arrived, but he was known to be near at hand. - General Buell’s troops took no essential part in the first day’s - fight, and Grant’s army, though collected together hastily, - green as militia, some regiments arriving without cartridges - even, and nearly all hearing the dread sound of battle for the - first time, had successfully withstood and repelled the first - day’s terrific onset of a superior enemy, well commanded and - well handled. I know I had orders from General Grant to assume - the offensive before I knew General Buell was on the west side - of the Tennessee. I think General Buell, Colonel Fry, and others - of General Buell’s staff, rode up to where I was about sunset, - about the time General Grant was leaving me. General Buell asked - me many questions, and got of me a small map, which I had made - for my own use, and told me that by daylight he could have - eighteen thousand fresh men, which I knew would settle the - matter. - - “I understood Grant’s forces were to advance on the right of the - Corinth road and Buell’s on the left, and accordingly at - daylight I advanced my division by the flank, the resistance - being trivial, up to the very spot where the day before the - battle had been most severe, and then waited till near noon for - Buell’s troops to get up abreast, when the entire line advanced - and recovered all the ground we had ever held. I know that with - the exception of one or two struggles, the fighting of April 7th - was easy as compared with that of April 6th. - - “I never was disposed, nor am I now, to question any thing done - by General Buell and his army, and know that, approaching our - field of battle from the rear, he encountered that sickening - crowd of laggards and fugitives that excited his contempt and - that of his army, who never gave full credit to those in the - front line, who did fight hard, who had, at two P. M., checked - the enemy, and were preparing the next day to assume the - offensive. I remember the fact the better from General Grant’s - anecdote of the Donelson battle, which he told me then for the - first time—that, at a certain period of the battle, he saw that - either side was ready to give way if the other showed a bold - front, and he determined to do that very thing, to advance on - the enemy, when, as he prognosticated, the enemy surrendered. - - “At four P. M. of April 6th, he thought the appearances the - same, and he judged, with Lew. Wallace’s fresh division, and - such of our startled troops as had recovered their equilibrium, - he would be justified in dropping the defensive and assuming the - offensive in the morning. And, I repeat, I received such orders - before I knew General Buell’s troops were at the river. I admit - that I was glad Buell was there, because I knew his troops were - older than ours, and better systematized and drilled, and his - arrival made that certain which before was uncertain. I have - heard this question much discussed, and must say that the - officers of Buell’s army dwelt too much on the stampede of some - of our raw troops, and gave us too little credit for the fact - that for one whole day, weakened as we were by the absence of - Buell’s army, long expected, of Lew. Wallace’s division, only - four miles off, and of the fugitives from our ranks, we had - beaten off our assailants for the time. At the same time our - Army of the Tennessee have indulged in severe criticism at the - slow approach of that army which knew the danger that threatened - us from the concentrated armies of Johnston, Beauregard, and - Bragg, that lay at Corinth. - - “In a war like this, where opportunities for personal prowess - are as plenty as blackberries, to those who seek them at the - front, all such criminations should be frowned down; and were it - not for the military character of your journal, I would not - venture to offer a correction to a very popular error. - - “I will also avail myself of this occasion to correct another - very common mistake in attributing to General Grant the - selection of that battle-field. It was chosen by that veteran - soldier, Major-General Charles F. Smith, who ordered my division - to disembark there, and strike for the Charleston Railroad. This - order was subsequently modified by his ordering Hurlbut’s - division to disembark there, and mine higher up the Tennessee to - the mouth of Yellow Creek, to strike the railroad at Burnsville. - But floods prevented our reaching the railroad, when General - Smith ordered me in person also to disembark at Pittsburg - Landing, and take post well out, so as to make plenty of room, - with Snake and Lake Creeks the flanks of a camp for the grand - army of invasion. - - “It was General Smith who selected that field of battle, and it - was well chosen. On any other we surely would have been - overwhelmed, as both Lick and Snake Creeks forced the enemy to - confine his movements to a direct front attack, which new troops - are better qualified to resist than where flanks are exposed to - a real or chimerical danger. Even the divisions of that army - were arranged in that camp by General Smith’s orders, my - division forming, as it were, the outlying pickets, whilst - McClernand’s and Prentiss’s were the real line-of-battle, with - W. H. L. Wallace in support of the right wing, and Hurlbut on - the left; Lew. Wallace’s division being detached. All these - subordinate dispositions were made by the order of General - Smith, before General Grant succeeded him in the command of all - the forces up the Tennessee—headquarters, Savannah. - - “If there were any error in putting that army on the west side - of the Tennessee, exposed to the superior force of the enemy - also assembling at Corinth, the mistake was not General Grant’s; - but there was no mistake. It was necessary that a combat, fierce - and bitter, to test the manhood of the two armies, should come - off, and that was as good as any. It was not then a question of - military skill and strategy, but of courage and pluck, and I am - convinced that every life lost that day to us was necessary; for - otherwise at Corinth, at Memphis, at Vicksburg, we would have - found harder resistance, had we not shown our enemies that, rude - and untutored as we then were, we could fight as well as they. - - “Excuse so long a letter, which is very unusual for me; but of - course my life is liable to cease at any moment, and I happen to - be a witness to certain truths which are now beginning to pass - out of memory, and form what is called history. - - “I also take great pleasure in adding that nearly all the new - troops that at Shiloh drew from me official censure have more - than redeemed their good name; among them that very regiment - which first broke, the Fifty-third Ohio, Colonel Appen. Under - another leader, Colonel Jones, it has shared every campaign and - expedition of mine since, is with me now, and can march, and - bivouac, and fight as well as the best regiment in this or any - army. Its reputation now is equal to that of any from the State - of Ohio. - - “I am, with respect, yours truly, - “W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.” - -Rarely for young and old is there a finer example of Professor -Longfellow’s words in the Psalm of Life— - - “Learn to labor and to wait,” - -than this part of General Sherman’s career affords. He did his work -well, and two years afterwards the military genius, unrecognized then by -the country, filled the land with his praise. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - - The Morning after the Battle—General Sherman’s column in Motion— - What it did—Corinth the next Goal—The Siege—The Evacuation— - General Sherman’s troops the first to enter the Works—The Hero - is made Major-General—Advance on Holly Springs—Memphis— - General Sherman’s successful Command in that City—The - Guerrillas. - -THE eighth of April dawned upon the silent, sanguinary field of recent -conflict. Soon large companies of men were moving from the Union camps -with spades and other implements of burial, to lay in trenches the heaps -of the slain. The weather was warm in that southern latitude, and -General Grant hastened the work of interment alike of slaughtered -friends and foes. - -General Beauregard wrote to our commander, requesting leave to take -rebel bodies from our lines under flag of truce; but other hands were -completing the sad labor for the disfigured, blood-stained, and -pulseless warriors. - -Look away from that scene, after the battle, along the Corinth road, and -you see the serried files of living men, led by the unresisting Sherman, -dashing along in hot pursuit of the enemy. The chief of the fifth -division, with a force of cavalry and two brigades of infantry, is in -the war-path again. Suddenly appear the white tents of the abandoned -camps of the enemy, and hospital flags are flying over them in the early -breeze. What does it mean? They are _false_ signals, hung out to deceive -the pursuing commander, and protect the deserted canvas cities. Onward -the sagacious, daring leader hurries after the foe. - -And now a shout rings from the lips of our “boys.” The rebel cavalry are -in sight. A few moments later swords cross, pistols crack, and horses -rush together in the strife. Then the “graybacks” turn and fly, leaving -the field, camps, and all, to our victorious ranks. The work of -destruction followed. Tents, arms, ammunition, were mingled in a common -ruin. The road for miles was lined with wagons the foe were compelled to -leave in their haste to get out of our way; ambulances stood unused, -although thousands of the mangled were in need of them; limber-boxes, -which belong to the guns, were also abandoned; indeed, every thing -showed a hurried retreat, which but for the cavalry in the rear to cover -the flight of the infantry, would have been a complete rout of the -enemy. - -The victor returned from his gallant exploit only to repeat it. The -general advance toward Corinth immediately followed. The fifth division -swept over the country, which was arrayed in vernal verdure and bloom. -The birds sang as sweetly as in any former spring-time, startled beside -the highway only by the tramp of the marching host. - -May 17th the first shock came. The division of General Grant’s army -under Sherman, met the rebels in a severe conflict on the road to -Corinth. They had to fall back before the human tide, crested with fire -and steel. This brief contest only opened the way to the fortress of -rebel strength. And the question was, how shall Corinth be taken? It -must either be by direct and bloody assault, or by siege, surrounding -it, and compelling the imprisoned army to surrender. - -Beauregard watched with sleepless vigilance his foe. He ordered troops -to intrench on a ridge near Philip’s Creek and oppose the Union forces. -General Jeff. C. Davis approached the works; then, feigning a retreat, -drew the garrison out, when a severe struggle defeated the enemy -completely. This occurred May 21st; and, on the 27th, General Sherman -also had a fight with the rebels. - -The decisive hour at length has come; all is activity and excitement. We -cannot furnish you a more vivid description of the stirring and awfully -sublime scenes of such a crisis in army operations, than one given in a -letter from this field of conquest: - -“Regiments and artillery are placed in position, and, generally, the -cavalry is in advance; but when the opposing forces are in close -proximity, the infantry does the work. The whole front is covered by a -cloud of skirmishers, then reserves formed, and then, in connection with -the main line, they advance. For a moment all is still as the grave to -those in the background; as the line moves on, the eye is strained in -vain to follow the skirmishers as they creep silently forward; then, -from some point of the line, a single rifle rings through the forest, -sharp and clear, and, as if in echo, another answers it. In a moment -more the whole line resounds with the din of arms. Here the fire is slow -and steady, there it rattles with fearful rapidity; and the whole is -mingled with the roar of the reserves as the skirmishers are at any part -driven in; and if, by reason of superior force, these reserves fall back -to the main force, then every nook and corner seems full of sound. The -batteries open their terrible voices, and their shells sing horribly -while winging their flight, and their dull explosion speaks plainly of -death; their canister and grape go crashing through the trees, rifles -ring, the muskets roar, and the din is terrific. Then the slackening of -the fire denotes the withdrawing of the one party, and the more distant -picket firing that the work was accomplished. The silence becomes almost -painful after such a scene as this, and no one can conceive the effect -who has not experienced it. The line of works was selected, and, at the -word of command, three thousand men, with axes, spades, and picks, -stepped out into the open field from their cover in the woods. In almost -as short a time as it takes to tell it, the fence rails which surrounded -and divided three hundred farm lots, were on the shoulders of the men, -and on the way to the intended line of works. Then, as, for a time, the -ditches deepen, the dirt is packed on the outer side, the bushes and all -points of concealment are cleared from the front, and the centre -divisions of our army has taken a long stride toward the rebel works. -The siege guns are brought and placed in commanding positions. A -log-house furnishes the hewn and seasoned timber for the platforms, and -the plantation of a southern lord has been thus speedily transformed -into one of Uncle Sam’s strongholds, where the Stars and Stripes float -proudly. - -“Soon after daylight, on Friday morning, the army was startled by rapid -and long-continued explosions, similar to musketry, but much louder. The -conviction flashed across my mind that the rebels were blowing up their -loose ammunition, and leaving. The dense smoke arising in the direction -of Corinth strengthened this belief, and soon the whole army was -advancing on a grand reconnaissance. The distance through the woods was -short, and in a few minutes shouts arose from the rebel lines, which -told that our army was in their trenches. Regiment after regiment -pressed on, and passing through extensive camps just vacated, soon -reached Corinth, and found half of it in flames.” - -The troops under General Sherman were first in the works. Their columns, -as we have seen, were conspicuous in the entire and triumphant progress -from Shiloh, sustaining the heaviest blows, and bearing aloft proudly -the banner of the republic. General Sherman was in subordinate command, -but in his field of action he was the uniformly wise, shrewd, daring, -and successful leader. Wrote General Grant: “His services as division -commander in the advance on Corinth, I will venture to say, were -appreciated by the new general-in-chief beyond any other division -commander.” He was appointed major-general of volunteers, dating from -May 1st, 1862. - -Holly Springs, of which you will read more hereafter, is situated on the -railroad from Jackson, Tennessee, to New Orleans. June 20th, General -Sherman coolly relieved the rebels of its care, and took possession -himself, burning long stretches of trestle-work on the Mississippi -Central Railroad, to prevent an unpleasant surprise by the rebels. They -had removed their machinery for making and repairing arms to Atlanta, -Georgia, not dreaming of a visit to that city two years later by the -division-general at Holly Springs. - -A few weeks after these events, July 11th, General Halleck was ordered -to Washington in the high position of generalissimo of the Union armies, -and a reorganization of them followed. General Grant was placed in -command of the “Department of West Tennessee,” covering a large -territory bordering the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. Memphis, which -had surrendered June 6th, was a very important base of operations and -supplies. But guerrillas and contraband traders infested the country -around, making the city a dangerous haunt of traitors from the -border-land. General Grant displayed his wisdom in sending General -Sherman to the post, declaring that he could the most effectually -restore order and security to that disturbed district. Soon quiet -reigned, guerrillas disappeared, and villanous traders went to more -comfortable quarters. General Sherman did all and more than General -Grant expected of him. He was just, humane, and yet severe in his -administration, according to his views freely and often expressed; that -when people appeal to war for the settlement of claims, they must abide -entirely by the rules and consequences of so terrible a means of real or -imaginary redress. His ideas were comprehensive, and, had they prevailed -at an earlier period, our Government and commanders would have ended the -civil strife long ago, we cannot doubt. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - - General Sherman’s next Post—The Steele’s Bayou Expedition—A - Trial of Courage—The Leader’s Heroism. - -TO secure the forces necessary for a new movement against Vicksburg, -General Grant requested the War Department to reunite the thirteenth and -fifteenth corps with his own. Accordingly, after the completion of the -work of destruction of rebel defences and munitions at Arkansas Post, -the troops reported to him at Memphis. - -The country was then excited over a quiet, and yet startling act of the -Chief Magistrate—one which would be felt over the world, and through -all ages—the Proclamation of Emancipation! General Grant immediately -addressed himself to the enforcement of its provisions within the limits -of his command. Thousands wept for joy; thousands more trembled or -cursed with alarm over the immortal document. Issuing his order in -harmony with it, he soon after removed a portion of his magnificent army -to Young’s Point, in Louisiana, and another at Milliken’s Bend down the -Mississippi River, taking up his headquarters at the former place, where -General Sherman was also stationed with his troops. - -There was now a new device to get _around_ Vicksburg, and so open -communication with forces below the city. Canals were tried, but heavy -rains, and the troops being required to _fight_ the floods rushing into -camp and excavations, compelled the commander-in-chief to abandon the -enterprise. Providence Lake and its connections, and Yazoo Pass, were -successively explored, and the effort made to find a ship-path through -the wild region. - -Admiral Porter had been looking along the shores of the “Father of -Waters,” to see if he could discover a highway or _byway_ for his -gunboats. About the middle of March, 1862, he told General Grant that he -was quite sure he could get through by Steele’s Bayou, Black Bayou, to -Duck Creek, thence to Deer Creek, into Rolling Fork, and down Sunflower -River into the Yazoo, which empties into the Mississippi. - -[Illustration: IN THE BAYOUS.] - -General Grant and Admiral Porter proceeded on the experimental excursion -over these dark bayous. “And what are they?” you may ask. - -A bayou is a channel or outlet running from a river to other -waters—sometimes it is an old bed of the stream—forming thus -connections by which vessels can pass from one stream to another. - -General Grant returned to Young’s Point to send a pioneer corps to cut -away moss-covered trees overhanging the waters, and obstructing the way. -You can scarcely imagine the awful gloom and solitude of those tangled -woods, whose drooping boughs and long plumes of moss sweep the surface -of the dismal bayous. - -Admiral Porter soon found that the enemy were on his track, and might -shut him into the wilderness. He therefore sent to General Grant for -troops. The ignorance of the country, and the difficult winding way, -gave the rebels time to cut off the advance, and stop the bold -travellers just when near their journey’s end. - -General Sherman now appears in the adventure, ordered forward by his -chief, to help the admiral out of the perilous spot. - -The despatch from the Admiral having reached him March 21st, that the -channel was obstructed, and the enemy six hundred strong, with field -batteries disputing his advance, General Sherman, with the promptness -and decision characteristic of his unsleeping martial spirit, issued his -orders to the troops. They made a forced march, skirmishing part of the -way, and reached the gunboats before night of the 22d, a distance of -twenty-one miles, over a terrible road. But the brave fellows had -learned that General Sherman always had a reason for his movements, and -cheerfully advanced to the rescue through exhausting trial and peril. -“During the day the enemy had been largely reënforced from the Yazoo, -and now unmasked some five thousand men—infantry, cavalry, and -artillery. The boats were surrounded with rebels, who had cut down trees -before and behind them, were moving up artillery, and making every -exertion to cut off retreat and capture our boats. A patrol was at once -established for a distance of seven miles along Deer Creek, behind the -boats, with a chain of sentinels outside of them, to prevent the felling -of trees. For a mile and a half to Rolling Fork, the creek was full of -obstructions. Heavy batteries were on its bank, supported by a large -force. To advance was impossible; to retreat seemed almost hopeless. The -gunboats had their ports all closed, and preparations made to resist -boarders. The mortar boats were all ready for fire and explosion. The -army lines were so close to each other that rebel officers wandered into -our lines in the dark, and were captured. It was the second night -without sleep aboard ship, and the infantry had marched twenty-one miles -without rest. But the faithful force, with their energetic leader, kept -successful watch and ward over the boats and their valuable artillery. -At 7 o’clock that morning, the 22d, General Sherman received a despatch -from the admiral, by the hands of a faithful contraband who came along -through the rebel lines in the night, stating his perilous condition.” - -He was now fairly shut up in the bayou by the rebels. - -“The first firing of the gunboats was heard by General Sherman near the -Shelby plantation. He urged his troops forward, and after an hour’s hard -marching, the advance, deployed as skirmishers, came upon a body of the -enemy who had passed by the force which had been engaged. Immediately -engaging them, the enemy stood a while disconcerted by the unexpected -attack, fought a short time, and gave way. - -“The next effort of the rebels was to pass around our lines in the -afternoon and night, and throw their whole force still further below us; -General Stuart, with four regiments, marched on Hill’s plantation the -same morning, having run his transports in the night, and immediately -advanced one regiment up Deer Creek, and another still further to the -right. The rebels, who were making a circuit about General Sherman, thus -found the whole line occupied, and abandoned the attempt to cut off the -gunboats for that day. During the afternoon the troops and gunboats all -arrived at Hill’s plantation. - -“There were destroyed by our troops and by the rebels at least two -thousand bales of cotton, fifty thousand bushels of corn, and the gins -and houses of the plantations whose owners had obstructed our progress, -and joined in the warfare. The resources of the country we found ample -to subsist the army at Vicksburg for some length of time, and by the -destruction of them we crippled the enemy so far.” - -The rescue of the admiral’s force was next thing to a miracle: it was -God’s kind and timely interposition. A half hour’s delay in the -movements of Generals Sherman and Stuart, or of the second forced march -of the former, and all would have been lost. In the hands of a less -gifted and energetic leader, one of our bravest admirals, with his -fleet, would have been taken by the rebels, who were confident of the -prey and booty. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - - The Position of the Western Forces—The Expedition against - Vicksburg under General Sherman—The Just and Stringent Orders - of the Chief—He shows the Speculators no Mercy—The Advance of - the Grand Army Checked—The Embarkation of Troops—The - Magnificent Pageant—The Progress and Arrival of the Fleet. - -BEFORE following our brave commander further in his war-path, let us -survey the field of action in the West. The goal of patriotic ambition -was now the “Gibraltar of the Father of Waters”—Vicksburg. The great -work of preparation to move went forward during the autumn and early -winter under the eye of the patient, persistent Grant. - -December 22d, 1862, he issued an order dividing the troops into four -army corps, stating that “the fifth division, Brigadier-General Morgan -L. Smith commanding, the division from Helena, Arkansas, commanded by -Brigadier-General Steele, and the forces in the district of Memphis, -will constitute the fifteenth army corps, and be commanded by -Major-General W. T. Sherman.” Meanwhile, General Sherman had been -quietly put in command of his forces, and ordered to sail for Friar’s -Point, eighteen miles below Helena, and be ready to coöperate with the -main body of troops under General Grant, in a combined movement on the -stronghold. The former had been in the vicinity of the Tallahatchie -River, making reconnaissances, and was acquainted with that country by -this personal observation. He had issued an order of march which showed -no mercy to speculators, and, as you will see, is marked with the clear -thought and forcible words of its gifted author: - -“1. The expedition now fitting out is purely of a military character, -and the interests involved are of too important a nature to be mixed up -with personal and private business. _No citizen, male or female, will be -allowed to accompany it_, unless employed as part of a crew or as -servants to the transports. Female chambermaids to the boats and nurses -to the sick alone will be allowed, unless the wives of captains and -pilots actually belonging to the boats. No laundress, officer’s, or -soldier’s wife must pass below Helena. - -“2. No person whatever, citizen, officer, or sutler, will, on any -consideration, buy or deal in cotton or other produce of the country. -Should any cotton be brought on board of any transport going or -returning, the brigade quartermaster, of which the boat forms a part, -will take possession of it, and invoice it to Captain A. R. Eddy, Chief -Quartermaster at Memphis. - -“3. Should any cotton or other produce be brought back to Memphis by any -chartered boat, Captain Eddy will take possession of the same, and sell -it for the benefit of the United States. If accompanied by its actual -producer, the planter or factor, the quartermaster will furnish him with -a receipt for the same to be settled for, on proof of his loyalty at the -close of the war. - -“4. Boats ascending the river may take cotton from the shore for -bulkheads to protect their engines or crew, but on arrival at Memphis it -will be turned over to the quartermaster, with a statement of the time, -place, and name of its owner. The trade in cotton must await a more -peaceful state of affairs. - -“5. Should any citizen accompany the expedition below Helena, in -violation of these orders, any colonel of a regiment or captain of a -battery will conscript him into the service of the United States for the -unexpired term of his command. If he show a refractory spirit unfitting -him for a soldier, the commanding officer present will turn him over to -the captain of the boat as a deck hand, and compel him to work in that -capacity without wages until the boat returns to Memphis. - -“6. Any person whatever, whether in the service of the United States or -transports, found making reports for publication, which might reach the -enemy, giving them information, aid, and comfort, will be arrested and -treated as spies.” - -The columns of the three army corps had advanced along the railroad -leading from Grand Junction to Grenada, the advance passing onward -through Holly Springs the last of November. By the middle of December -General Grant’s headquarters were at Oxford, his face set toward -Vicksburg. On the 20th occurred a painful and memorable affair to check -the forward march. Although Gen. Grant had taken every precaution -against raiding parties, a dash was made at Holly Springs in his rear, -held by Colonel Murphy, who at once surrendered the post. - -General Grant was indignant at the cowardly surrender, and immediately -dismissed the unworthy officer from the service. In consequence of the -destruction of supplies, the commander-in-chief had to fall back to -Holly Springs and prepare to start again. While this serious -interruption in the army’s progress was transpiring, General Sherman had -located his headquarters on board of the _Forest Queen_ with his staff. -This magnificent fleet consisted of one hundred and twenty-seven -steamers besides the gunboats. The troops were hardy, western men, -unsurpassed in the ranks for the qualities of brave warriors. - -War does not often present such a pageant as that of this _armada_ -sailing down the Tennessee and then the Mississippi Rivers. The Stars -and Stripes waved over the crowded decks, and music floated over the -waters. The grand procession of vessels moved majestically over the -broad current, which in the sunlight reflected their forms, and in the -evening unnumbered signal lanterns from mast and prow and stern. Various -were the scenes and incidents of the voyage. - -Writes a passenger: “Until we got below Helena, wood was so scarce on -the river that it was only to be obtained by cutting it, either entirely -green or from the water-logged drifts which had caught against the -banks. Wherever a good placer was discovered, the boats lucky enough to -find it landed and all hands went out with axes, and in a few hours -enough was obtained to steam on to the next good place. - -“When the fleet approached Napoleon, Arkansas, the _Post Boy_, which is -a transportation boat, was in the advance, and as she neared the shore -she was hailed by a person bearing a flag of truce, with the information -that there was a band of guerrillas just below, waiting to fire upon -her. At this time she was the only boat visible, but in a short time the -remainder of the fleet made its appearance, and the guerrillas, if there -were any, concluded, no doubt, that we were too many for them. At all -events, at this point there was firing. The houses in the town appeared -to be nearly all deserted, but in some of them could be seen persons -standing back in the door, as if to escape the observation of their -neighbors, and waving their handkerchiefs. Napoleon is the place where -the first shot was fired at a Federal steamer on the Mississippi River, -but there may be some Union people there nevertheless. - -“As we reached Helena, very little of the city could be seen for the -long line of tents stretched along the bank. The fleet stopped there for -the night and took on the troops that were to accompany the expedition, -and next morning started on for Friar’s Point, the first place of -rendezvous. It lay there all night, and about nine o’clock next morning -again started down the river, and reached Gaines’ Landing, one hundred -and fifty miles below Helena, about two o’clock P. M., where it stopped -to wood. As the fleet approached this point the bank appeared to be -lined with negroes, who all started down the shore hurrahing and -shouting and jumping, and cutting all kinds of antics. I learned from -some of them that they thought the fleet was going down to set all the -slaves free. - -“When the boats landed, a negro gave information of a large store of -wood of the best quality, amounting to more than two thousand cords, -secreted in the timber near the bank, in a place where it would not -readily have been found. This was a great prize, and was instantly -levied on for the use of Uncle Sam. Every soldier able to do duty was -sent on shore to pack wood, and by nightfall all the boats were well -supplied for nearly the whole trip. Near the wood were some ten or -twelve houses, one of them a very fine frame. The negroes said the -owners had gone to join the Southern army, and the soldiers, without -more ado, burned them all down. Many of the negroes, if not all, came on -the boats, and are now under the protection of the army. - -“At early light the next morning the fleet moved on again, and as -General Morgan’s division came opposite a little village known as Wood -Cottage Landing, some guerrillas, secreted in a clump of undergrowth, -fired a volley at one of his transports. To teach them a lesson for the -future, General Morgan sent some troops on shore and burnt every house -in the neighborhood. - -“Milliken’s Bend was to be the last rendezvous of the fleet before it -started out for active operations on Vicksburg, and we arrived there -about dark on the evening of the 24th December. The next day would be -Christmas, and many of the soldiers had the idea that the fleet would -sail right in without difficulty, and that they would take their -Christmas dinner in Vicksburg. Many invitations were given among friends -for a dinner at the Preston House. They little dreamed of the -disappointment in store for them, or that New Year’s day would find them -on the wrong side of the hill. - -“On the night of the 24th, General Sherman sent out a detachment of -troops, under command of General M. L. Smith, to tear up a section of -the line of the Vicksburg and Texas Railroad, about ten miles west of -Vicksburg. The work was well and quickly done, and the stations at Delhi -and Dallas burned. - -“At daylight next morning all was ready, and the fleet started for its -destined port, which it reached on the banks of the Yazoo about noon the -same day. Many years ago, about eight miles below the mouth of the -Yazoo, the Mississippi cut a new channel for itself across a bend, -coming into the main channel again just above Vicksburg. The Yazoo -followed the old channel, and the mouth of the river is, therefore, -really from twelve to fifteen miles below where it was originally; but -from the old mouth to the new the river is known to pilots as ‘Old -River.’ Where the fleet landed was about three miles above Old River, -where the right rested, and the left extended to within three miles of -Haynes’ Bluff, the intervening space being about six miles. - -“On entering the Yazoo, the first object that attracted the attention -was the ruins of a large brick house and several other buildings, which -were still smoking. On inquiry, I learned that this was the celebrated -plantation of the rebel General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was killed -at Shiloh. It was an extensive establishment, working over three hundred -negroes. It contained a large steam sugar refinery, an extensive steam -saw-mill, cotton-gins, machine-shop, and a long line of negro quarters. - -“The dwelling was palatial in its proportions and architecture, and the -grounds around it were magnificently laid out in alcoves, with arbors, -trellises, groves of evergreens, and extensive flower-beds. All was now -a mass of smouldering ruins. Our gunboats had gone up there the day -before, and a small battery planted near the mansion announced itself by -plugging away at one of the iron-clads, and the marines went ashore -after the gunboats had silenced the battery, and burned and destroyed -every thing on the place. If any thing were wanting to complete the -desolate aspect of the place, it was to be found in the sombre-hued -pendant moss, peculiar to Southern forests, and which gives the trees a -funereal aspect, as if they were all draped in mourning. As on almost -every Southern plantation, there were many deadened trees standing about -in the fields, from the limbs of all of which long festoons of moss -hung, swaying with a melancholy motion in every breeze. - -“The weather, since the starting out of the fleet, had, up to this time, -been very fine; but as evening now approached, a heavy rain commenced, -which, from the appearance of things, bid fair to continue for an -indefinite period. The Yazoo River was low, and the banks steep and -about thirty feet high. Along the edge of the water, and reaching to the -foot of the bank, is a dense undergrowth of willows, briers, thorns, -vines, and live oaks, twined together in a most disagreeably promiscuous -manner. To effect a landing of the troops and trains, a way had to be -cut through this entanglement, from every boat, and this caused such a -delay that it was quite dark before all the troops were got on shore. -Tents were pitched for the night, pickets sent out, and the army -encamped, anxiously awaiting the dawn of the next day.” - -That General Grant would fail to communicate with him, General Sherman -could not know. He carried out his part of the great programme, and -steadily advanced in accordance with its provisions for united action. -In this profound ignorance of the occasion of the failure, he prepared -to move upon Vicksburg. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - - The March—The City—Preparations for an Assault—The Attack—The - Abatis and Rifle-pits—The Charge upon the Hill—Sherman - succeeded by McClernand—General Sherman’s Farewell Order— - Result of the Expedition. - -ON Saturday morning, December 27th, the advance of the “right wing of -the Army of the Tennessee” reached Vicksburg. The approach to the city -from Johnston’s Landing was very difficult, the town “being on a hill, -with a line of hills surrounding it at a distance of several miles, and -extending from Haines’ Bluff, on the Yazoo River, to Warrenton, ten -miles below, the city, on the Mississippi River. The low country in the -vicinity is swampy, filled with sloughs, bayous, and lagoons; to -approach Vicksburg with a large force by this route, even in times of -peace, would be a matter of great difficulty, and with an enemy in -front, it was almost an impossibility.” - -The line of battle was soon formed by the army, and, from different -points, the onset made upon the enemy’s works. Oh! how gallantly those -Western legions beat against the ramparts! And when the twilight shadows -stole over the bristling walls and hill-sides, they had driven the rebel -forces a mile from their original position. Sunday dawned upon the -night’s repose of the combatants, and on the sacred air rang out the -summons to carnage again. But the affair at Holly Springs had broken up -the grand plan of attack, while the flying troops from General Grant’s -front reënforced the garrison. Over the battlements of rebellion poured -the iron tempest upon Sherman’s unyielding lines. Securely the foe -remained behind those defences, rising for two miles along the bluff, -presenting a barrier no army small as the “right wing” could scale or -remove. Meanwhile the sharpshooters from the forest dropped the officers -on every hand. - -The brave Sherman was all the while expecting every moment to hear the -roar of General Grant’s guns in the rear. With Monday came a succession -of brilliant charges, which were fruitless as the dash of sunlit waves -against the cannon-pierced granite of Gibraltar. If a momentary -advantage were gained, it was lost in the return tide of overwhelming -numbers. A spectator of these terribly sublime encounters, wrote: - -“General Morgan, at eleven o’clock A. M., sent word to General Steele -that he was about ready for the movement upon the hill, and wished the -latter to support him with General Thayer’s brigade. General Steele -accordingly ordered General Thayer to move his brigade forward, and be -ready for the assault. The order was promptly complied with, and General -Blair received from General Morgan the order to assault the hill. The -artillery had been silent for some time; but Hoffman’s battery opened -when the movement commenced. This was promptly replied to by the enemy, -and taken up by Griffith’s First Iowa battery, and a vigorous shelling -was the result. By the time General Blair’s brigade emerged from its -cover of cypress forest, the shell were dropping fast among the men. A -field-battery had been in position in front of Hoffman’s battery; but it -limbered up and moved away beyond the heavy batteries and the -rifle-pits. - -“In front of the timber where Blair’s brigade had been lying was an -abatis of young trees, cut off about three feet above the ground, and -with the tops fallen promiscuously around. It took some minutes to pass -this abatis, and by the time it was accomplished the enemy’s fire had -not been without effect. Beyond this abatis was a ditch fifteen or -twenty feet deep, and with two or three feet of water in the bottom. The -bottom of the ditch was a quicksand, in which the feet of the men -commenced sinking, the instant they touched it. By the time this ditch -was passed the line was thrown into considerable confusion, and it took -several minutes to put it in order. All the horses of the officers were -mired in this ditch. Every one dismounted and moved up the hill on foot. -Beyond this ditch was an abatis of heavy timber that had been felled -several months before, and, from being completely seasoned, was more -difficult of passage than that constructed of the greener and more -flexible trees encountered at first. These obstacles were overcome under -a tremendous fire from the enemy’s batteries and the men in the -rifle-pits. The line was recovered from the disorder into which it had -been thrown by the passage of the abatis; and with General Blair at -their head, the regiments moved forward ‘upon the enemy’s works.’ The -first movement was over a sloping plateau, raked by direct and -enfilading fires from heavy artillery, and swept by a perfect storm of -bullets from the rifle-pits. Nothing daunted by the dozens of men that -had already fallen, the brigade pressed on, and in a few moments had -driven the enemy from the first range of rifle-pits at the base of the -hill, and were in full possession. - -“Halting but a moment to take breath, the brigade renewed the charge, -and speedily occupied the second line of rifle-pits, about two hundred -yards distant from the first. General Blair was the first man of his -brigade to enter. All this time the murderous fire from the enemy’s guns -continued. The batteries were still above this line of rifle-pits. The -regiments were not strong enough to attempt their capture without a -prompt and powerful support. For them it had truly been a march - - Into the jaws of death— - Into the mouth of hell. - -“Almost simultaneously with the movement of General Blair on the left, -General Thayer received his command to go forward. He had previously -given orders to all his regiments in column to follow each other -whenever the first moved forward. He accordingly placed himself at the -head of his advance regiment, the Fourth Iowa, and his order—‘Forward, -second brigade!’—rang out clear above the tumult. Colonel Williamson, -commanding the Fourth Iowa, moved it off in splendid style. General -Thayer supposed that all the other regiments of his brigade were -following, in accordance with his instructions previously issued. He -wound through the timber skirting the bayou, crossed at the same bridge -where General Blair had passed but a few minutes before, made his way -through the ditch and both lines of abatis, deflected the right and -ascended the sloping plateau in the direction of the rifle-pits -simultaneously with General Blair, and about two hundred yards to his -right. - -“When General Thayer reached the rifle-pits, after hard fighting and a -heavy loss, he found, to his horror, that only the Fourth Iowa had -followed him, the wooded nature of the place having prevented his -ascertaining it before. Sadly disheartened, with little hope of success, -he still pressed forward and fought his way to the second line, at the -same time that General Blair reached it on the left. Colonel -Williamson’s regiment was fast falling before the concentrated fire of -the rebels, and with an anxious heart General Thayer looked around for -aid. - -“The rebels were forming three full regiments of infantry to move down -upon General Thayer, and were massing a proportionately formidable force -against Gen. Blair. The rebel infantry and artillery were constantly in -full play, and two heavy guns were raking the rifle-pits in several -places. With no hope of succor, General Thayer gave the order for a -return down the hill and back to his original position. The Fourth Iowa, -entering the fight five hundred strong, had lost a hundred and twenty -men in less than thirty minutes. It fell back at a quick march, but with -its ranks unbroken and without any thing of panic. - -“It appears that just at the time General Thayer’s brigade started up -the hill, General Morgan sent for a portion of it to support him on the -right. General Steele at once diverted the Second Regiment of Thayer’s -brigade, which was passing at the time. The Second Regiment being thus -diverted, the others followed, in accordance with the orders they had -previously received from their commander. Notice of the movement was -sent to General Thayer; but, in consequence of the death of the courier, -the notification never reached him. This accounts for his being left -with nothing save the Fourth Iowa regiment. The occurrence was a sad -one. The troops thus turned off were among the best that had yet been in -action, and had they been permitted to charge the enemy, they would have -won for themselves a brilliant record. - -“When General Blair entered the second line of rifle-pits, his brigade -continued to pursue the enemy up the hill. The Thirteenth Illinois -infantry was in advance, and fought with desperation to win its way to -the top of the crest. Fifty yards or more above the second line of -rifle-pits is a small clump of willows, hardly deserving the name of -trees. They stand in a corn-field, and from the banks of the bayou below -presented the appearance of a green hillock. To this copse many of the -rebels fled when they were driven from the rifle-pits, and they were -promptly pursued by General Blair’s men. The Thirteenth met and engaged -the rebels hand to hand, and in the encounter bayonets were repeatedly -crossed. It gained the place, driving out the enemy; but as soon as our -men occupied it, the fire of a field-battery was turned upon them, and -the place became too hot to be held. - -“The road from Mrs. Lake’s plantation to the top of the high ground, and -thence to Vicksburg, runs at an angle along the side of the hill, so as -to obtain a slope easy of ascent. The lower side of this road was -provided with a breastwork, so that a light battery could be taken -anywhere along the road and fired over the embankment. From the nearest -point of this embankment a battery opened on the Thirteenth Illinois, -and was aided by a heavy battery on the hill. Several men were killed by -the shell and grape that swept the copse. - -“The other regiments of the brigade came to the support of the -Thirteenth, the Twenty-ninth Missouri, Colonel Cavender, being in the -advance. Meantime the rebels formed a large force of infantry to bring -against them, and when the Twenty-ninth reached the copse the rebels -were already engaging the Union troops. The color-bearer of the Twelfth -had been shot down, and some one picked up the standard and planted it -in front of the copse. The force of the rebels was too great for our men -to stand against them, and they slowly fell back, fighting step by step -toward the rifle-pits, and taking their colors with them. - -“In this charge upon the hill the regiments lost severely. In General -Blair’s brigade there were eighteen hundred and twenty-five men engaged -in this assault, and of this number six hundred and forty-two were -killed, wounded, and captured.” - -Under a flag of truce the dead were buried and the wounded removed, -after which General Sherman gave the order for his troops to reëmbark. - -The arrival of General McClernand at the scene of action caused a change -in the command, as he ranked General Sherman by over one month in the -date of his commission; and an order was at once given by the former to -withdraw from the Yazoo River, where the vessels were stationed, and -return to the Mississippi River. General McClernand, on assuming the -command, ordered the title of the army to be changed, and General -Sherman announced the fact in the following order: - - “HEADQUARTERS RIGHT WING ARMY OF TENNESSEE, } - STEAMER FOREST QUEEN, MILLIKEN’S BEND, _January 4, 1863_. } - - “Pursuant to the terms of General Orders No. 1, made this day by - General McClernand, the title of our army ceases to exist, and - constitutes in the future the Army of the Mississippi, composed - of two ‘army corps,’ one to be commanded by General G. W. Morgan - and the other by myself. In relinquishing the command of the - Army of the Tennessee, and restricting my authority to my own - corps, I desire to express to all commanders, to soldiers and - officers recently operating before Vicksburg, my hearty thanks - for their zeal, alacrity, and courage manifested by them on all - occasions. We failed in accomplishing one purpose of our - movement, the capture of Vicksburg; but we were part of a whole. - _Ours was but part of a combined movement, in which others were - to assist. We were on time; unforeseen contingencies must have - delayed the others._ We have destroyed the Shreveport road, we - have attacked the defences of Vicksburg, and pushed the attack - as far as prudence would justify; and having found it too strong - for our single column, we have drawn off in good order and good - spirits, ready for any new move. _A new commander is now here to - lead you._ He is chosen by the President of the United States, - who is charged by the Constitution to maintain and defend it, - and he has the undoubted right to select his own agents. _I know - that all good officers and soldiers will give him the same - hearty support and cheerful obedience they have hitherto given - me._ There are honors enough in reserve for all, and work enough - too. Let each do his appropriate part, and our nation must in - the end emerge from this dire conflict purified and ennobled by - the fires which now test its strength and purity. All officers - of the general staff now attached to my person will hereafter - report in person and by letter to Major-General McClernand, - commanding the Army of the Mississippi, on board the steamer - _Tigress_, at our rendezvous at Gaines’ Landing and at - Montgomery Point. - - “By order of Major-General W. T. SHERMAN. - “J. H. HAMMOND, A. A.-G.” - -The morning light of January the 9th, 1864, fell upon the _White Cloud_, -carrying the mail with tidings of disaster, death, and suffering, bound -for St. Louis, and the _City of Memphis_, bearing the sick and wounded. -In the Army of the Mississippi, under General McClernand, acting for the -time independent of General Grant’s command, the late chief acted a -subordinate part. - -The fleet was again in motion, steaming up the broad current for -Arkansas Post, whose fortress was the object of the expedition. It lies -nearly north of Vicksburg, as a glance at the map will show you. On the -11th the transports and gunboats appeared before the fort. - -The commander’s brief report will tell the story of attack, conflict, -and victory, in which General Sherman had no inferior part. - - “HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - POST OF ARKANSAS, _January 11, 1863_. } - “Major-General U. S. GRANT, _Commanding Department of Tennessee_: - - “I have the honor to report that the forces under my command - attacked the Post of Arkansas to-day, at one o’clock, having - stormed the enemy’s work. We took a large number of prisoners, - variously estimated at from seven thousand to ten thousand, - together with all his stores, animals, and munitions of war. - - “Rear-Admiral David D. Porter, commanding the Mississippi - Squadron, effectively and brilliantly coöperated, accomplishing - this complete success. - - “JOHN A. MCCLERNAND, Maj.-Gen. Com’ding.” - -The noble Admiral Porter, a child of the sea, whose father was famous in -the last war with England, also gives an account of his work with the -grim warriors of the waters: - - “UNITED STATES MISSISSIPPI SQUADRON, } - ARKANSAS POST, _January 11, 1863_. } - “Hon. GIDEON WELLES, _Secretary of Navy_: - - “SIR: The gunboats _Louisville_, _De Kalb_, _Cincinnati_, and - _Lexington_, attacked the heavy fort at the Post, on the - Arkansas, last night, and silenced the batteries, killing twenty - of the enemy. - - “The gunboats attacked again this morning, and dismounted every - gun, eleven in all. - - “Colonel Dunnington, late of the United States Navy, commandant - of the fort, requested to surrender to the navy. I received his - sword. - - “The army coöperated on the land side. The forts were completely - silenced, and the guns, eleven in number, were all dismounted in - three hours. - - “The action was at close quarters on the part of the three - iron-clads, and the firing splendid. - - “The list of killed and wounded is small. The _Louisville_ lost - twelve, _De Kalb_ seventeen, _Cincinnati_ none, _Lexington_ - none, and _Rattler_ two. - - “The vessels, although much cut up, were ready for action in - half an hour after the battle. - - “The light draught _Rattler_, Lieutenant-Commander Wilson Smith, - and the other light draughts, joined in the action when it - became general, as did the _Black Hawk_, Lieutenant-Commander R. - B. Breese, with her rifle-guns. Particulars will be given - hereafter. - - “Very respectfully, your obedient servant, - “DAVID D. PORTER, _Acting Rear-Admiral_.” - -Thus did the army and navy share equally in the honors of the success; -neither is complete without the other. - -The results of the original expedition seem small; and severe comments -were spoken and written about General Sherman’s haste and failure. That -his gallant spirit was loyal, and his aim to serve the country, his -whole career has amply shown. That he relied upon the expected -battalions of Grant to meet the strength of the garrisoned enemy -victoriously, is evident. The defeat was one of the lessons of our early -warfare, which no leader has so well improved as Major-General Sherman. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - - The Plot—General Sherman’s Part—His Successful Feint at Haines’ - Bluff—Joins the Main Army—The Advance toward Jackson, the - State Capital—The Victorious Entry of the City—On to Vicksburg - again—Assaults—Siege—Victory—General Sherman goes after - “Joe” Johnston. - -DURING the weeks of early spring the deeply laid plot against -Vicksburg ripened into action. Quietly the master mind of the plan to -reach and take it, had laid out the work for his commanders. On -different sides toward the enemy feigned attacks were made to deceive -the rebels. March 29th, the Thirteenth Corps, led by McClernand, made -the advance from Milliken’s Bend, the grand starting-point. - -Gen. Sherman, with the Fifteenth Corps, was to bring up the rear, and -would therefore be last to leave in the general advance. - -April 28th a message in cipher, _i. e._ secret characters, understood -only by those in correspondence, was received by him from General Grant, -apprising him of the time chosen for an attack on Grand Gulf. It also -informed him that an assault upon Haines’ Bluff, on the Yazoo River, -should “come off” at the same time, if it could be done in a way to be -understood by our loyal people. For, to deceive the enemy and gain -advantage over him, while the pretended attack was thought to be [the] -real one, ending in defeat, would depress the national feeling, and do -more harm than good. This was the problem for General Sherman to solve. -He was sure he could make the affair understood by his troops, and those -for whom they were fighting would not long be in the dark. He therefore -took ten steamers, and embarking with his true-hearted warriors, started -from Milliken’s Bend for the Yazoo. The spectacle was beautiful—itself -a _deception_ when contrasted with the havoc and horrors of conflict. -When the fleet steamed into the mouth of the river, other vessels were -waiting to join in the _ruse_. The whole number of boats then moved, -April 29th, to the Chickasaw Bayou. The morning of the following day the -fleet pushed forward to the fort. Now came preparation for action in the -gunboats of Admiral Porter, the stir of the gunners about their massive -engines of destruction. A few moments later the thunder of bombardment -opened, and for four hours it echoed over the works and waters. The -gunboats then retired out of range, and General Sherman landed his -force, while the rebels looked on, expecting an immediate attack by him. -No sooner had the last soldier left the transports than the naval force -advanced and renewed the fire on the fortress. General Sherman saw that -the feint had succeeded, the foe was getting ready to resist an assault. - -Says General Grant in his official report: “To prevent heavy -reënforcements going from Vicksburg to the assistance of the Grand Gulf -forces, I directed Sherman to make a demonstration on Haines’ Bluff, and -to make all the show possible. From information since received from -prisoners captured, this ruse succeeded admirably.” - -Meanwhile, the magnificent naval scene in the passing of Vicksburg by -Admiral Porter’s fleet, and the unrivalled and romantic raid of Colonel -Grierson through the heart of the enemy’s country to Baton Rouge, -cutting railroads southeasterly of the same defiant Gibraltar, gave -their promise of success to the bold plans of General Grant. - -While General Sherman was frightening the enemy, and learning his -strength and positions, General Grant sent for the heroic commander. He -at once forwarded to Grand Gulf the two divisions of his corps left at -Milliken’s Bend; and soon as the night covered his feints on the Yazoo, -sailed down the tide to his encampment at Young’s Point. Nor did he -pause long here. With all his troops, excepting a garrison to hold the -position, he hastened to Hard Times, four miles from Grand Gulf, which -you will see lies on the banks of the Mississippi in Louisiana. It was a -remarkable march of sixty-three miles in about five days. The columns -reached Hard Times on the morning of the 6th, and the same evening -commenced crossing the ferry to join General Grant. - -And now began in earnest the great movement of the army toward -Vicksburg; for here the supply-wagons were furnished and in line of -march, arrangements made to send on more when needed, and the long -cavalcade put in motion. General Sherman commanded at Hard Times upon -General Grant’s advance, till the provision for the many thousand troops -was completed. Unless you have seen this part of army-work, you have no -idea of the immense scale on which it is conducted. There are miles of -wagons, hundreds of horses and mules to draw them, and an army of -teamsters to drive the brute muscle of the campaign. The gigantic -locomotive storehouse moved toward Hawkinson’s Ferry on the Black River, -where the commander-in-chief was waiting for it and Sherman’s Corps. -While this deliberate and determined progress was made, the -Mississippians were getting alarmed. The Governor of Mississippi issued -a flaming proclamation, calling upon the people “to awake and join their -brothers in arms, who were baring their bosoms to the storm of battle in -defence of all they held dear.” - -On May 12th, “Generals Sherman and McClernand had skirmishing at -Fourteen-Mile Creek, and McPherson a successful engagement at Raymond. -Sherman and McPherson then started for Jackson, the capital of -Mississippi, the former on the turnpike road, the latter on the Clinton -road. The rain fell in torrents, making the roads at first slippery and -then miry. But the troops marched without straggling, and in the best of -spirits, about fourteen miles, and engaged the enemy about twelve -o’clock M., near Jackson. The wily rebel General Johnston, in command -there, made a vigorous feint of resisting Sherman’s progress by posting -infantry and artillery on the south side of the city, meanwhile moving -nearly all his force against McPherson. But Sherman at once penetrated -this device, by sending a reconnoitring party to his right, which -flanked the position. The enemy retreated, after a heavy engagement with -McPherson, who had beaten him. From Jackson McPherson and McClernand -turned to Bolton; but Sherman was left at Jackson, and effectually -destroyed the railroads, bridges, factories, workshops, arsenals, and -every thing valuable for the support of the enemy. General Grant -meanwhile, with the other two corps, had gained the decisive victories -of Champion’s Hill on the 16th of May, and Big Black River on the 17th. -Early on the former day he sent for Sherman ‘to move with all possible -speed until he came up with the main force near Bolton. The despatch -reached him at ten minutes past seven A. M., and his advance division -was in motion in one hour from that time.’ The other followed on its -heels, and both reached Bolton that night, by a forced march of twenty -miles. There orders came to keep on to Bridgeport; and by noon of the -next day the march to Bridgeport was accomplished. There Sherman assumed -the advance, starting before dawn of May 18, and rapidly marched toward -Vicksburg. By a quick detour to the right he managed to throw himself -before night on Walnut Hills, in a brilliant manœuvre, and thereby -established communication between the army and the fleet in the Yazoo. -On these latter movements of Sherman the comment of General Grant is as -follows:—‘His demonstration at Haines’ Bluff, in April, to hold the -enemy about Vicksburg, while the army was securing a foothold east of -the Mississippi; his rapid marches to join the army afterwards; his -management at Jackson, Mississippi, in the first attack; his almost -unequalled march from Jackson to Bridgeport, and passage of the Black -River; his securing Walnut Hills on the 18th of May, attest his great -merit as a soldier.’ - -“General Grant first determined to carry Vicksburg by assault, and -ordered a general attack for two o’clock of the 19th of May. General -Sherman was, curiously enough, on the ground he had before gallantly but -vainly striven to take, in December, having now seized it from the rear -without a struggle. Promptly at the hour his men rushed to the work. The -interval was a broad reach, rugged and broken with deep ravines, and -strewed with abatis or felled timber, and with groves of standing trees. -It would have been a rough and impenetrable region even if unswept with -artillery. But in truth the enemy’s cannon, carefully disposed, raked -and enfiladed almost every step. But the order was Forward! and forward -went the gallant brigade of General A. L. Lee, of Osterhaus’s division, -and, struggling across the impediments, gained the crest of one of the -ridges and planted the colors of the Thirteenth infantry on the enemy’s -first line of works. The charge cost this regiment six officers and -seventy-seven men killed and wounded out of two hundred and fifty. The -column was then called off and covered from fire. General Grant’s report -says: ‘The Fifteenth Army Corps, _from having arrived in front of the -enemy’s works in time_ on the 18th to get a good position, were enabled -to make a vigorous assault. The Thirteenth and Seventeenth Corps -succeeded no further than to gain advanced positions covered from the -fire of the enemy.’ On the morning of the 22d, a second and more -terrific assault was made by all three corps, preceded by a tremendous -cannonading from guns and mortars, mingled with the heavy booming from -the entire fleet. The orders were to advance without firing a musket. -The army dashed forward across ravines and ditches, over ground covered -with artful tangles of cane and grapevines, to find only new -difficulties. Yet so far did some of the gallant brigades advance as to -lie underneath the guns of the fort, while hand-grenades and lighter -shells were hurled over the parapet among them. The assault is worthy to -be mentioned with the names of Mamelon, Vert, and Malakoff. But, like -the Crimean stronghold, this Sebastopol of the Mississippi could only be -carried by assault after a protracted siege. With fearful loss, the -gallant army was retired from the unequal fight, and regular approaches -commenced. The conduct, triumphant issue, and joyful results of the -siege, are familiar. On the 4th of July, 1863, after a campaign of -extraordinary energy, the unconditional surrender of Vicksburg closed up -a series of movements of which General Halleck declares, ‘No more -brilliant exploit can be found in military history.’ - -“While, however, the rest of the army, on the national holiday, moved -into the city they had won, to rejoice in their success, and to rest -after exhausting labors, for Sherman and his corps there was still work -in hand. About a fortnight before the surrender, General Joe Johnston -was threatening the rear of the besieging army with a large improvised -force. Grant at once sent this message to Sherman: ‘You must whip -Johnston fifteen miles from here.’ But Johnston drew back upon Jackson, -and General Sherman was notified to be ready to start against the latter -place on July 6th. ‘I placed Major-General Sherman in command of all the -troops designated to look after Johnston. Johnston, however, not -attacking, I determined to attack him the moment Vicksburg was in our -possession, and accordingly notified Sherman that I would again make an -assault on Vicksburg at daylight of the 6th, and for him to have up -supplies of all descriptions ready to move upon receipt of orders if the -assault should prove a success. His preparations were immediately made, -and when the place surrendered on the 4th, _two days earlier_ than I had -fixed for the attack, _Sherman was found ready, and moved at once_ with -a force increased by the remainder of both the Thirteenth and Fifteenth -Army Corps, and is at present (July 6th) investing Jackson, where -Johnston has made a stand.’ - -“General Sherman was now intrusted with the chief part of General -Grant’s army: he moved so quickly that the latter was able to telegraph -to Washington, July 12th, ‘General Sherman has Jackson invested from -Pearl River on the north to the river on the south. This has cut off -many hundred cars from the Confederacy. General Sherman says he has -force enough, and feels no apprehension about the result.’” - -Nor was there occasion to fear; for the rebel chief was under the eye of -a lion in war’s arena, that never missed his prey when fairly within his -reach. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - - General Sherman watching Joe Johnston—Foraging—An Attack—The - Enemy steals away in the Night—The Conquering Battalions have a - brief rest—Encampment on the Big Black River—Scenes there— - Reënforces General Rosecrans—Death of General Sherman’s Son— - Beautiful Letter—The Monument. - -GENERAL SHERMAN was in no haste to strike; he could leisurely watch -the foe chafing in the narrow limits of his beleagured ground. -Expeditions were sent out in different directions, the gallant troopers -destroying railroad tracks, bridges, and culverts, and bringing in -supplies from the enemy’s lands and granaries. - -July 11th they accidentally found in an old building, carefully packed -away, a large library, and various mementos of friendship. A glance -revealed the owner. A gold-headed cane bore the inscription, “To -Jefferson Davis, from Franklin Pierce.” Precious plunder! The arch -traitor has hidden in the quiet country, and in a place which could -awaken no suspicion, his valuable library, correspondence, and articles -of cherished regard. The excited troopers soon get into the book pile, -and volumes, heaps of letters, and handsome canes, are borne as trophies -(a new kind of forage) to headquarters. Secession is discovered in many -letters, by Northern friends of the treasonable leader, and his right to -that proud distinction freely granted. Added to their capture, hundreds -of cars were taken from the Confederacy. - -On the 13th a heavy fog lay along the river-banks, hiding from each -other’s view the opposing armies. Suddenly rebel shouts came through the -gloom, and a desperate sortie from their works is made upon General -Sherman’s defences. He is ready to meet the shock, and after a brief -struggle they stagger back to their intrenchments. - -The twilight hour of July 16th brought to a projection of the works -rebel bands of music, insulting our troops with “Bonnie Blue Flag,” “My -Maryland,” “Dixie’s Land,” and other airs perverted to the service of -treason. The next morning’s dawn gave signs of a retreating foe. The -fighting Joe Johnston had stolen away, leaving all over Jackson the -marks of ruin. The day before—July 15th—the President issued a -proclamation for national thanksgiving, on the 6th day of August, for -the recent victories. - -General Johnston _was_ fairly _whipped_, and without the awful waste of -life a great battle involves. And now followed other bloodless, and yet -exciting scenes of war. You might have seen squads of cavalrymen -galloping in every direction, in the wake of the retreating foe, and, -with axe and torch, laying in ruins bridges and barns, and whatever -might serve the cause of rebellion. Of our brave chieftain’s successes -to this time, since he dashed forward to Walnut Hills, after the first -occupation of Jackson, “the siege of Vicksburg and last capture of -Jackson, and dispersion of Johnston’s army, entitle General Sherman to -more honor than usually falls to the lot of one man to earn.” - -The short period of rest enjoyed by the heroic army was only one of -preparation for a more difficult and grander advance. The London -_Spectator_ said of the bold and splendid campaign: It comprised “a -series of movements which were overlooked at the time, yet upon which -hung the safety of two Federal armies—the extraordinary march of -General Sherman from Vicksburg to Chattanooga.” - -The camp of the Fifteenth Army Corps, during this interlude of marching, -lay along the Big Black River, between Jackson and Vicksburg, about -twenty miles from the latter. It was acting as guard to all that region -against any return movements or raids of the enemy. A glance at the map -will show you the exact position. - -But there is a history of this and similar encampments which will never -be written. In the sultry air and poisonous vapors of the Big Black, -officers and men resorted to every possible resource for whiling away -the dull hours and cheering the home-sick invalids. - -Not unfrequently, in the light of the evening-lamps, the -commander-in-chief has amused and interested by the hour a circle of -officers gathered about him, with the narratives of his early -adventures, presenting, with the vividness of reality, the exciting life -among the Indians of Florida and the gold-seekers of California. - -But one day there was an unusual stir around the General’s headquarters; -for visitors worth more to him than all earthly honors or gold were -escorted to his tent, his wife and his son, bearing his own name, had -come from their western home, to meet him once more before his long and -perilous marches over hostile soil. But the hours of domestic converse -and delight flew swiftly by, the farewells were spoken, and the -well-guarded visitors went on their homeward way. There was no safeguard -against disease lurking in those Southern swamps. The gifted and -beautiful boy, unconsciously to all, had been smitten, and a raging -fever soon laid him at the gate of death. He had been adopted by the -Thirteenth Corps as their pet—a compliment both to him and his father, -who was himself the idol of those brave battalions. - -How this bereavement affected him and his old veterans, you will know -hereafter. - -September 22d, General Grant telegraphed him from Vicksburg to send -forward immediately a division to reënforce General Rosecrans, who had -been defeated by General Bragg at Chickamauga, and was obliged to -retreat to Chattanooga, unpursued by his successful enemy. General -Rosecrans commanded the Army of the Cumberland, and was now holding the -great central stronghold in the vast battle-field between Vicksburg and -Charleston. At 4 o’clock of the same day the telegram was read by -General Sherman, who is always a minute man. General Osterhaus’ division -was on the road to Vicksburg, and the following day “it was streaming -toward Memphis.” A day later, and the commander-in-chief received orders -to follow with the entire corps. The tents disappeared like dew before -the morning sun, and the proud host were following the columns of -Osterhaus toward Memphis. Two divisions were transported by water. But -the low tide and scarcity of food made their progress slow. The leader -was impatient of delay, for he longed to try the metal of his corps -against that of General Bragg. He is no fancy commander; but an -incarnation of nervous energy, with no display of tinsel in his attire, -helping with his own hands to bring in fence-rails to feed the fires, -then turning teamster to wagons hauling wood from the interior to the -boats. - -During the first days of October, while General Osterhaus is in front of -Corinth, his boats lie before Memphis. - -And amid the absorbing duties of a grand campaign, look into the -General’s tent, and you shall see the warrior for a moment lost in the -grieving father, and will feel that the scene is, indeed, “a touching -episode of the war.” The letter, addressed to the Thirteenth Infantry, -and by its officers ordered to be printed for distribution among the -soldiers of the regiment, cannot but touch a tender chord in every -heart. Stricken father, noble patriot, the hero of uncounted battles; -let the nation pause in its admiration of his gallant deeds, to weep -with the mourner over the young life that no “bugle note” will awaken. - - “GAYOSO HOUSE, MEMPHIS, TENN., _Oct. 4, Midnight_. - “Capt. C. C. SMITH, _Commanding Battalion Thirteenth Regulars_: - - “MY DEAR FRIEND: I cannot sleep to-night till I record an - expression of the deep feelings of my heart to you, and to the - officers and soldiers of the battalion, for their kind behavior - to my poor child. I realize that you all feel for my family the - attachment of kindred; and I assure you all of full reciprocity. - Consistent with a sense of duty to my profession and office, I - could not leave my post, and sent for my family to come to me in - that fatal climate, and in that sickly period of the year, and - behold the result! The child that bore my name, and in whose - future I reposed with more confidence than I did in my own plans - of life, now floats a mere corpse, seeking a grave in a distant - land, with a weeping mother, brother, and sisters clustered - about him. But, for myself I can ask no sympathy. On, on, I must - go to meet a soldier’s fate, or see my country rise superior to - all factions, till its flag is adored and respected by ourselves - and all the powers of the earth. - - “But my poor Willy was, or thought he was, a sergeant of the - Thirteenth. I have seen his eye brighten and his heart beat as - he beheld the battalion under arms, and asked me if they were - not real soldiers. Child as he was, he had the enthusiasm, the - pure love of truth, honor, and love of country, which should - animate all soldiers. God only knows why he should die thus - young. He is dead, but will not be forgotten till those who knew - him in life have followed him to that same mysterious end. - - “Please convey to the battalion my heartfelt thanks, and assure - each and all that if, in after years, they call on me or mine, - and mention that they were of the Thirteenth Regulars, when poor - Willy was a sergeant, they will have a key to the affections of - my family that will open all it has—that we will share with - them our last blanket, our last crust. - - “Your friend, W. T. SHERMAN, _Maj.-Gen._” - -The noble Thirteenth did not stop in their expressions of sympathy with -words. The chieftain went to his war-path, while the sculptor’s chisel -was busy on the marble, until it formed a lasting memorial of manly -affection cherished by the troops for father and son. Wrote one who saw -it in Cincinnati before it was removed to the “silent city:” - -“At Rule’s marble works we observed recently a beautiful monument to the -memory of Major-General Sherman’s son, who died over a year since, in -Memphis, while returning home with his mother from the Black River, -where they had been visiting the General, and where, unfortunately, the -boy contracted a fever. The monument was made by order of the Thirteenth -Regiment of Regular United States Infantry, of which General Sherman was -Colonel four years since, and of which his namesake-son, the deceased -child, was, by general consent, considered a sergeant, having been -elected to that position by the members of the regiment, who were very -proud of him. The monument is about two feet square at the base, and six -feet high. Above the rough ground base is the marble base, an -eight-sided, finely-polished and ornamented block. Upon four of the -faces are inscriptions, and upon the other four, between them, the -American shield, with its Stripes and Stars. Surmounting the base is a -full-sized tenor drum, with straps and sticks complete, and crossed -above this two flags of the Union—all in beautiful white marble. The -inscriptions are as follows: - -“‘In Thy Tabernacles I shall dwell forever. I shall be protected under -the cover of Thy wing. Psalms l. 1.’ - -“‘Our Little Sergeant Willie—from the First Battalion, Thirteenth -United States Infantry.’ - -“‘William Tecumseh Sherman, son of William T. and Ellen E. Sherman. Born -in San Francisco, California, June 8, 1854; died in Memphis, Tennessee, -October 3, 1863.’ - -“‘In his spirit there was no guile.’ - -“‘Blessed are they undefiled in the way, who walk in the way of the -Lord. Psalms cxviii.’” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - - The Grand Advance from Memphis—The Enemy prepare to Meet It— - General Sherman’s Genius equal to any Emergency—Rapid Marches— - The Foe driven from the Path—New Command—The Swollen River— - Into Chattanooga—The Tireless Chief and his Gallant Troops push - forward to Missionary Ridge. - -OPEN the map, my reader, and spend a few moments, tracing the long way -before the Union troops, and you will understand the greatness of the -success of the march from Memphis to Chattanooga, which are three -hundred and nine miles apart. The Memphis and Charleston Railway connect -them. The Tennessee and Elk Rivers cross the country, many of whose -bridges were gone, and the foe lurked along the lines of travel. - -But when General Sherman received orders from General Halleck to -transport his troops to Athens, Alabama, repairing the railroad and -getting his supplies as best he could, he was off with the haste of a -prepared and fearless leader, whose heart was in the cause, for whose -triumph he fought. But instead of using boats, “his quick eye saw that -he could move his trains faster by road under escort.” He therefore did -so, and conveyed into the enemy’s country the entire Fourth Division -over the iron track. - -“Alarmed by this very dangerous move eastward, the enemy quickly -assembled at Salem and Tuscumbia, with intent to thwart it and to foil -the junction with Rosecrans. At the former point Chalmers collected -three thousand cavalry and eight pieces of artillery, and planted -himself in our path. Hearing of this, General Sherman, on October 11th, -put his whole force in motion toward Corinth, and himself started -thither in a special train with a battalion of the Thirteenth Infantry -(his own regiment) as escort. On approaching Colliersville, which was -defended by a few troops in a stockade, the train was fired upon, and it -was discovered that Chalmers was investing the place. Instantly the -General ordered his regulars to charge, and under his eye they scattered -the rebels in all directions, and reached the stockade. Before General -Sherman’s arrival, the little garrison had been sorely pressed in a -severe contest. The General soon changed the aspect of affairs, and beat -off the superior force. Corinth being reached next night, he sent -General Blair to Iuka with the First Division, and pushed troops toward -Bear Creek, five miles east of Iuka, as fast as they came up. - -“Foreseeing difficulties in crossing the Tennessee, he had written to -Admiral Porter at Cairo to watch the river and send up gunboats as soon -as the water would permit, and to General Allen at St. Louis to despatch -a ferry-boat to Eastport. The requests were promptly fulfilled. It now -only remained to work away at the railroad, in accordance with orders, -covering his working-parties from the enemy’s attacks. At the same time -he despatched Blair with two divisions to drive the enemy from -Tuscumbia, where, under Stephen Lee, they were five thousand strong. It -was accomplished after a severe fight at Cane Creek; and Tuscumbia was -occupied on the 27th of October.” - -Pause here, to get a glimpse of the general movements in the programme -of war, of which this was no inferior part. General Grant had been put -in command of the “Departments of the Ohio, of the Cumberland, and of -the Tennessee, constituting the military division of the Mississippi.” -In the latter General Sherman was appointed to the command, while -General Thomas succeeded General Rosecrans in the department of the -Cumberland. October 23d, General Grant, modestly wearing his new -laurels, reached Chattanooga. The enemy occupying Lookout Mountain, with -their terraces of cannon cut off our troops to get their scanty supplies -by the most difficult mountain routes. Wrote a Union soldier of the sad -condition of things there: - -“I confess I do not see any very brilliant prospects for continuing -alive in it all this winter, unless something desperate be done. While -the army sits here, hungry, chilly, watching the ‘key to Tennessee,’ the -‘good dog’ Bragg lies over against us, licking his Chickamauga sores -without whine or growl. He will not reply to our occasional shots from -Star Fort, Fort Crittenden, or the Moccasin Point batteries across the -river; has forbidden the exchange of newspapers and the compliments of -the day between pickets; has returned surly answers to flag-of-truce -messengers; in fact, has cut us dead. - -“The mortality among the horses and mules is frightful to contemplate. -Their corpses line the road, and taint the air, all along the Bridgeport -route. In these days, hereabouts, it is within the scope of the most -obtuse to distinguish a quartermaster or a staff officer by a casual -glance at the animal he strides. ‘He has the fatness of twenty horses -upon his ribs,’ as Squeers remarked of little Wackford; and so he has. -God help the others. - -“I am assured that this state of things will not last long; that hordes -of men are energetically at work improving our communication, and that -we soon shall be benefited by the overflowing plenty of the North. The -vigor and good spirits of the army all this time are developed in a most -astonishing manner.” - -Relief was nearer than the writer deemed at the time. General Sherman, -at Iuka, reorganized his new command on the very day of the battle at -Cane Creek, and sent General Ewing with a division to cross the -Tennessee, and hasten with all possible speed to Eastport. A messenger -from General Grant on the same day came down the river over the Muscle -Shoals, with an order to suspend his work on the railroad, and press -forward to Bridgeport. No message ever found a more welcome ear. -November 1st, the chieftain led his columns across the Tennessee and on -to the branch of the Elk River. But the river was unfordable, and with -no leisure to construct a bridge or ferry, he was compelled to take a -circuitous route along the stream by the way of Fayetteville, where he -mapped out the routes for the different divisions, and hastening to -Bridgeport, sent to General Grant, by telegram, the position of his -army. November 15th, the unresting commander of admiring and -uncomplaining troops reined up his steed at the headquarters of General -Grant in Chattanooga, after more than three hundred miles of varied and -difficult travel between him and Memphis, where he lay during the early -days of October. - -The hero of Vicksburg welcomed with delight his peer in the field of -war’s most daring exploits. Though worn and weary with their unrivalled, -if not hitherto unequalled march, such was his confidence in his brave -men, he heard without hesitation the order to bring them across the -Tennessee, secure a position at the extremity of Missionary Ridge, and -also threatened Lookout Mountain; saying for himself, “I saw enough of -the condition of men and animals in Chattanooga to inspire me with -renewed energy.” - -Away he flies to execute the commands. He does not wait for means of -conveyance; he has no false ideas of dignity to interfere with the -business in hand. Taking a row-boat, he glides before the strokes of his -own strong arms, down the river to Bridgeport. The divisions are soon in -order of march. But oh! what roads! _Mud—mud—mud!_ is before the -unflinching columns. They toil on, their leader sharing with them the -exhausting labor, till three divisions, on the 23d, are sheltered from -the observation of the enemy behind the hills, opposite the mouth of the -Chickamauga. - -Night comes on, and with silent, stealthy steps, a force advanced along -the Tennessee, taking prisoners nineteen out of twenty men who were on -picket duty. By daylight eight thousand troops were on the banks of the -river, ready to cross over and fasten upon Missionary Ridge. Before the -sun was above the hill-tops, a pontoon bridge, three hundred and fifty -feet long, was commenced, and at 1 P. M. _it was done_. Proudly the -grand cavalcade streamed over the causeway of boats, and advanced toward -the desired position. These movements were favored by the concealment—a -providential interposition—which “a light, drizzling rain and -low-hanging clouds” afforded. Three o’clock found them safely lodged at -the terminus of Missionary Ridge. Up the hill the gallant ranks pressed, -completely surprising the enemy, who, in his vexation at the humiliating -success of the flanking generalship, opened a fruitless fire of -artillery and musketry. The “boys” could not allow this, and, dragging -their own guns up the acclivity, soon silenced the noisy demonstration -of impotent wrath. But beyond and higher was a spur, still more -important in the coming trial of strength between the two great armies. -Fortifying the ground gained, at midnight the orders passed along the -columns to advance at dawn. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - - The Place of Battle—The Battle-ground—General Sherman’s Part in - the Struggle—Desperate Valor—Victory—Pursuit—No Rest— - General Burnside in Peril—General Sherman hastens to his Relief - —The Bridge breaks down—It is Rebuilt, and the Heroic - Battalions save Knoxville—General Sherman again at Chattanooga. - -MY reader cannot even imagine, in his peaceful home, the dread -interest which broods over preparation for a great and decisive battle. -Thoughts of the loved and absent throng the minds of brave men; hasty -letters are written, and messages left, should they fall in mortal -combat. Bibles are read, prayers offered, and hope rekindled in many -heroic hearts. Ambulances and “stretchers” are made ready for the -wounded, and surgeons arrange their instruments, lint, and bandages, -while orders are passed from the commanding general down to the -lieutenant. This work of preparation went forward at Chattanooga during -the hours of November 23d. - -Writes Colonel Bowman, the friend of General Sherman, a scholar, a -gentleman, and a gallant soldier: “In the plan of the battle, Hooker was -to hold the enemy at Lookout Mountain, and carry it, if possible. -General Sherman was to vigorously assault Missionary Ridge. As that was -their vital point, the enemy would mass to defend it. This would weaken -the centre, upon which Thomas would rush, to penetrate it. Simple and -plausible as this plan seemed, and successful as it proved, to most men -who looked up at the frowning and precipitous heights which towered even -into the clouds, above Chattanooga, with rebel works studded with -artillery commanding every rugged approach, the idea of carrying them -seemed little short of madness. The rebels felt so secure as to risk -sending Longstreet’s entire corps to Knoxville, where it closely -besieged the army of Burnside. ‘By half-past three P. M. of the 24th,’ -says Grant, ‘the whole of the northern extremity of Missionary Ridge, to -near the tunnel, was in Sherman’s possession. During the night he -fortified the position thus secured, making it equal, if not superior, -in strength to that held by the enemy.’ - -“Before dawn of the 25th of November General Sherman was in the saddle, -and had made the entire tour of his position in the dim light. It was -seen that a deep valley lay between him and the precipitous sides of the -next hill in the series, which was only partially cleared, and of which -the crest was narrow and wooded. The farther point of the hill was held -by the enemy, with a strong breastwork of logs and fresh earth, crowded -with men, and carrying two guns. On a still higher hill beyond the -tunnel he appeared in great force, and had a fair plunging fire on the -intermediate hill in dispute. The gorge between these two latter hills, -through which the railroad-tunnel passes, could not be seen from -Sherman’s position, but formed the natural _place d’armes_, where the -enemy covered his masses ‘to resist our turning his right flank, and -thus endangering his communications with the Chickamauga depot.’ General -Corse was to have the advance; ‘and the sun had hardly risen,’ says -Sherman, ‘before his bugle sounded the “Forward.”’ - -“His men moved briskly down into the valley and up the steep sides of -the hill in front, and, in spite of all opposition, carried and held a -sort of secondary crest on the enemy’s hill, which, however, was swept -with a murderous fire from the breastworks in front. And now for more -than an hour a very bloody and desperate conflict raged, our line now -swaying up close to the breastwork, as though it would sweep over and -engulf it, and anon dashed back, receding far away to its first -conquest. Meanwhile, Sherman’s left, on the outer spur of the ridge, and -his right abreast of the tunnel, were hotly engaged, and partially drew -the enemy’s fire from the assaulting party on the hill-crest. Our -artillery also plumped shot and shell into the breastwork, and strove to -clear the hill in Corse’s front. About ten A. M. the fight raged -furiously, and General Corse was severely wounded. Two brigades of -reënforcements were sent up; but the crest was so crowded that they had -to fall away to the west of the hill. At once the heavy masses of the -enemy in a gorge, under cover of the thick undergrowth, moved out on -their right and rear. So suddenly overwhelmed, the two supporting -brigades fell back in some confusion to the lower edge of the field, -where they reformed in good order; but, as they constituted no part of -the real attack, the temporary rebuff was unimportant. General Corse, -Colonel Loomis, and General M. L. Smith still stubbornly held the -attacking column proper up at the crest. General Grant says of them, -‘The assaulting column advanced to the very rifle-pits of the enemy, and -held their position firmly and without wavering.’ ‘When the two reserved -brigades fell back,’ says Sherman, ‘the enemy made a show of pursuit, -but was caught in flank by the well-directed fire of one brigade on the -wooded crest, and hastily sought his cover behind the hill.’ - -“The desperate and incessant attack of General Sherman was triumphantly -successful. It was directed against, in the words of Grant, ‘the enemy’s -most northern and vital point,’ and ‘was vigorously kept up all day.’ -Sherman’s position not only threatened the right flank of the enemy, but -also his rear and stores at Chickamauga. The enemy, therefore, began -very early to mass his line down against the single gallant storming -party. ‘At three P. M.,’ writes Sherman, ‘column after column of the -enemy was streaming toward me, gun after gun poured its concentric shot -on us from every hill and spur that gave a view of any part of the -ground.’ Long and anxiously he waited for the centre to open its part of -the contest, and meanwhile held stubbornly to his bloody ridge under -murderous fire. Grant, keeping his eye fixed on this key point, sent a -division to Sherman’s support, but he sent it back with the note that -‘he had all the force necessary.’ Now at last the time had come for -seizing victory out of doubtful battle. Hooker on the right had -gallantly swept round the enemy’s left. ‘Discovering that the enemy,’ -says General Grant, ‘in his desperation to defeat or resist the progress -of Sherman, was weakening his centre on Missionary Ridge, determined me -to order the advance at once.’ It was ordered and gallantly executed. -The huge masses with which Sherman was contending, now, to their dismay, -found Thomas on their left flank, and the centre of their long line -broken in. They turned; but it was too late. The white line of Thomas’s -musketry swept up from ridge to ridge, and the army of Bragg was flung -back, in overwhelming defeat, into the valleys of Georgia. Thus was the -great victory of Chattanooga won. - -“And now pursuit swiftly followed victory. The same night Sherman pushed -his skirmishers out, and, finding that enemy had given way, sent a -division after him to the depot, and followed it up at four A. M. with a -part of Major-General’s Howard’s Eleventh Corps. As the column advanced, -wagons, guns, caissons, forage, stores, pontoons, and all the ruins of a -defeated army and an abandoned camp, were found on the route. At night -of the 26th, so rapid was the pursuit that the rear-guard of the enemy -was reached, and a sharp fight ensued, till darkness closed in. The next -day all three armies pressed on, Hooker and Thomas sharing with Sherman -the marching and fighting. General Sherman meanwhile detached Howard to -move against the railroad between Dalton and Cleveland, and destroy it. -This was done, and communication thereby cut between Bragg and -Longstreet. The same movement also turned the flank of the enemy, who -were engaging Hooker so heavily further south at Ringgold that the -latter sent to Sherman to turn their position. It was already done -before Hooker’s messenger arrived. Continuing to Ringgold, he found -General Grant. The enemy had been driven from Tennessee, and Sherman was -ordered to move leisurely back to Chattanooga. The next day he -effectually destroyed the railroad from half-way between Graysville and -Ringgold to the State line, and General Grant ‘consented that, instead -of returning to Chattanooga, he might send back all my artillery, -wagons, and impediments, and make a circuit by the north as far as the -Hiawassee.’ This, too, was effected, with the destruction of more -railroad and the capture of more stores. ‘This,’ says Sherman, ‘was to -have been the limit of our journey. Officers and men had brought no -baggage or provisions; and the weather was bitter cold.’ But at this -time Grant received an urgent appeal for relief from Burnside, stating -that his supplies could only last until the 3d of December. Nothing but -incomparable energy would save Knoxville and its gallant commander. -Granger had already been ordered thither, but ‘had not yet got off,’ -says General Grant, ‘nor would he have the number of men I directed. -Besides, he moved with reluctance and complaint. I therefore determined, -notwithstanding the fact that two divisions of Sherman’s forces had -marched from Memphis and had gone into battle immediately on their -arrival at Chattanooga, to send him with his command.’ Accordingly -General Sherman received command of all the troops designed for -relieving Knoxville, including Granger’s. ‘Seven days before,’ he -writes, ‘we had left our camps on the other side of the Tennessee, with -two days’ rations, without a change of clothing, stripped for the fight, -with but a single blanket or coat per man, from myself to the private -included. Of course, we then had no provisions, save what we gathered by -the road, and were ill supplied for such a march. But we learned that -twelve thousand of our fellow-soldiers were beleaguered in the mountain -town of Knoxville, eighty-four miles distant, that they needed relief, -and must have it in three days. This was enough; and it had to be done.’ - -“That night General Howard repaired and planked the railroad-bridge, and -at daylight the army passed the Hiawassee and marched to Athens, fifteen -miles. On the 2d of December the army hurried thence toward London, -twenty-six miles distant, and the cavalry pushed ahead to save the -pontoon bridge across the Tennessee, held by Vaughn’s brigade of the -enemy. They moved with such rapidity as to capture every picket, but -found Vaughn posted strongly in earthworks containing artillery in -position. They were forced to wait till night, when Howard’s infantry -came up. During the night the enemy retreated, destroying the pontoons, -running three locomotives and forty-eight cars into the Tennessee, and -leaving for Howard to capture at daylight a large quantity of -provisions, four guns, and other material. - -“The bridge was gone, and but one day of the allotted three remained. -The same night, therefore, Sherman sent word to Colonel Long, commanding -the cavalry brigade, that Burnside must know within twenty-four hours of -his approach—ordering him to select his best material, to start at -once, ford the Little Tennessee, and push into Knoxville, ‘at whatever -cost of life and horse-flesh.’ The distance to be travelled was forty -miles, and ‘the road villanous.’ Before dawn they were off. At daylight -the Fifteenth Corps was turned from Philadelphia to Morgantown; but even -at this place the Little Tennessee was found too deep for fording. A -bridge was skilfully extemporized by General Wilson—‘working partly -with crib-work and partly with square trestles made of the houses of the -late town of Morgantown;’ and by dark of December 4th the bridge was -down and the troops passing. Next morning came the welcome message from -Burnside, dated December 4th, that Long’s cavalry had reached Knoxville -on the night of the 3d, and all was well. Just before this news, the -diagonal bracings of Wilson’s bridge had broken, from want of proper -spikes, and there was delay. But the bridge was mended, and the forced -march continued, till, at Marysville, on the night of the 5th, a staff -officer of General Burnside rode up to announce that Longstreet had -raised the siege the night before. Sending forward Granger’s two -divisions to Knoxville, General Sherman at once ordered the rest of his -gallant army to halt and rest; for their work was done. - -“General Sherman rode from Marysville to Knoxville, greeted General -Burnside, and freely expressed his admiration at the skilful -fortification of the place, including Fort ‘Saunders,’ where -Longstreet’s assaulting columns had met a bloody repulse. Knoxville -being saved, it was obviously best for Sherman’s army, excepting -Granger’s two divisions, to return to support the suspended movement -against Bragg. But before General Sherman left he received the following -letter: - - KNOXVILLE, _December 7th, 1863_. - TO MAJOR-GENERAL SHERMAN: - - I desire to express to you and your command my most hearty - thanks and gratitude for your promptness in coming to our relief - during the siege of Knoxville, and am satisfied your approach - served to raise the siege. - - A. E. BURNSIDE, Major-General. - -“General Sherman now leisurely returned to Chattanooga, his cavalry -giving chase for some distance to a rebel wagon-train on the way. On the -14th of December his command reached the banks of the Hiawassee. Four -days of easy marches brought them to Chattanooga, after a three-months’ -campaign unparalleled in the history of the war. His losses had amounted -to something over two thousand men. His official report states that his -men had marched for long periods, without regular rations or supplies of -any kind, through mud and over rocks, sometimes barefooted, without a -murmur. Without a moment’s rest, after a march of over four hundred -miles, without sleep for three successive nights, they crossed the -Tennessee River, fought their part in the battle of Chattanooga, pursued -the enemy out of Tennessee, then turned more than a hundred miles north -and compelled Longstreet to raise the siege of Knoxville, which had been -the source of anxiety to the whole country. ‘The praises of Confederate -generals,’ says the London _Spectator_, in reviewing some of these -facts, ‘have been sung abundantly on this side the water: the facts are, -that all military skill and military perseverance and courage are not on -one side. . . . Such a display of genuine military qualities should not -pass without some record; and we offer it to our readers as some proof -that, with all their faults, the Federal officers and soldiers are not -without great virtues, which soldiers at least should admire.’” - -General Sherman repaired to Vicksburg to look after the affairs of the -widening field of the Union army under his leadership. Here, in answer -to inquiries from Adjutant-General Sawyer, at Huntsville, Alabama, he -wrote a splendid letter, both in comprehensiveness of views and the -clear vigorous style of composition. If you begin it you will want to -finish it, though long. It is full of fire, historical knowledge, and -yet so plain a child can understand it. The matter discussed, is the -treatment of rebels in a conquered territory: - - “HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, } - VICKSBURG, _Jan. 31, 1864_. } - “Major R. M. SAWYER, _Assistant Adjutant-General,_ - _Army of the Tennessee, Huntsville_: - - “DEAR SAWYER: In my former letter I have answered all your - questions save one, and that relates to the treatment of - inhabitants known or suspected to be hostile or ‘secesh.’ This - is in truth the most difficult business of our army as it - advances and occupies the Southern country. It is almost - impossible to lay down rules, and I invariably leave the whole - subject to the local commanders, but am willing to give them the - benefit of my acquired knowledge and experience. - - “In Europe, whence we derive our principles of war, as developed - by their histories, wars are between kings or rulers, through - hired armies, and not between peoples. These remain, as it were, - neutral, and sell their produce to whatever army is in - possession. - - “Napoleon, when at war with Prussia, Austria, and Russia, bought - forage and provisions of the inhabitants, and consequently had - an interest to protect farms and factories which ministered to - his wants. In like manner, the allied armies in France could buy - of the French inhabitants whatever they needed, the produce of - the soil or manufactures of the country. Therefore, the rule was - and is, that wars are confined to the armies, and should not - visit the homes of families or private interests. - - “But in other examples a different rule obtained the sanction of - historical authority. I will only instance that, when in the - reign of William and Mary the English army occupied Ireland, - then in a state of revolt, the inhabitants were actually driven - into foreign lands, and were dispossessed of their property, and - a new population introduced. To this day a large part of the - north of Ireland is held by the descendants of the Scotch - emigrants sent there by William’s order and an act of - Parliament. - - “The war which now prevails in our land is essentially a war of - races. The Southern people entered into a clear compact of - government, but still maintained a species of separate - interests, history, and prejudices. These latter became stronger - and stronger, till they have led to a war which has developed - fruits of the bitterest kind. - - “We of the North are, beyond all question, right in our lawful - cause, but we are not bound to ignore the fact that the people - of the South have prejudices, which form a part of their nature, - and which they cannot throw off without an effort of reason or - the slower process of natural change. Now, the question arises, - should we treat as absolute enemies all in the South who differ - from us in opinion or prejudice, kill or banish them; or, should - we give them time to think, and gradually change their conduct - so as to conform to the new order of things, which is slowly and - gradually creeping into their country? - - “When men take arms to resist our rightful authority, we are - compelled to use force, because then all reason and argument - fail. When the provisions, horses, mules, wagons, etc., are used - by the enemy, it is clearly our duty and right to take them, - because otherwise they might be used against us. - - “In like manner, all houses left vacant by an inimical people - are clearly our right, or such as are needed as storehouses, - hospitals, and quarters. But a question arises as to dwellings - used by women, children, and non-combatants. So long as the - non-combatants remain in their homes and keep to their - accustomed business, their opinions and prejudices in nowise - influence the war, and therefore should not be noticed. But if - any one comes out into the public streets and creates disorder, - he or she should be punished, restrained, or banished either to - the rear or front, as the officer in command adjudges. If the - people, or any of them, keep up a correspondence with parties in - hostility, they are spies, and can be punished with death, or - minor punishment. - - “These are well-established principles of war, and the people of - the South having appealed to war, are barred from appealing to - our Constitution, which they have practically and publicly - defied. They have appealed to war, and must abide its rules and - laws. The United States, as a belligerent party claiming right - in the soil as the ultimate sovereign, have a right to change - the population, and it may be and is both politic and just we - should do so in certain districts. When the inhabitants persist - too long in hostility, it may be both politic and right we - should banish them and appropriate their lands to a more loyal - and useful population. No man will deny that the United States - would be benefited by dispossessing a single, prejudiced, - hard-headed and disloyal planter, and substitute in his place a - dozen or more patient, industrious, good families, even if they - be of foreign birth. I think it does good to present this view - of the case to many Southern gentlemen, who grow rich and - wealthy, not by virtue alone of their industry and skill, but by - reason of the protection and impetus to prosperity given by our - hitherto moderate and magnanimous Government. It is all idle - nonsense for these Southern planters to say that they made the - South, that they own it, and that they can do as they - please—even to break up our Government, and to shut up the - natural avenues of trade, intercourse, and commerce. - - “We know, and they know, if they are intelligent beings, that, - as compared with the whole world, they are but as five millions - are to one thousand millions; that they did not create the land; - that their only title to its use and usufruct is the deed of the - United States, and that if they appeal to war, they hold their - ally by a very insecure tenure. - - “For my part, I believe that this war is the result of false - political doctrines, for which we are all as a people - responsible, viz.: That any and every people have a right to - self-government; and I would give all a chance to reflect, and - when in error to recant. I know slaveowners, finding themselves - in possession of a species of property in opposition to the - growing sentiment of the whole civilized world, conceived their - property in danger, and foolishly appealed to war; and by - skilful political handling involved with themselves the whole - South on the doctrines of error and prejudice. I believe that - some of the rich and slaveholding are prejudiced to such an - extent that nothing but death and ruin will extinguish, but hope - that as the poorer and industrial classes of the South will - realize their relative weakness, and their dependence upon the - fruits of the earth and good will of their fellow men, they will - not only discover the error of their ways, and repent of their - hasty action, but bless those who persistently maintained a - constitutional Government, strong enough to sustain itself, - protect its citizens, and promise peaceful homes to millions yet - unborn. - - “In this behalf, while I assert for our Government the highest - military prerogatives, I am willing to bear in patience that - political nonsense of slave rights, State rights, freedom of - conscience, freedom of press, and such other trash, as have - deluded the Southern people into war, anarchy, bloodshed, and - the foulest crimes that have disgraced any time or any people. - - “I would advise the commanding officers at Huntsville, and such - other towns as are occupied by our troops, to assemble the - inhabitants and explain to them these plain, self-evident - propositions, and tell them it is for them now to say whether - they and their children shall inherit the beautiful land which - by the accident of nature has fallen to their share. The - Government of the United States has in North Alabama any and all - rights which they choose to enforce in war, to take their lives, - their homes, their lands, their every thing, because they cannot - deny that the war does exist there, and war is simply power - unrestrained by constitution or compact. If they want eternal - war, well and good—we will accept the issue and dispossess - them, and put our friends in possession. - - “I know thousands and millions of good people who, at simple - notice, would come to North Alabama and accept the elegant - houses and plantations now there. If the people of Huntsville - think different, let them persist in war three years longer, and - then they will not be consulted. Three years ago, by a little - reflection and patience they could have had a hundred years of - peace and prosperity, but they preferred war; very well, last - year they could have saved their slaves, but now it is too late; - all the powers on earth cannot restore to them their slaves any - more than their dead grandfathers. Next year their lands will be - taken, for in war we can take them, and rightfully, too, and in - another year they may beg in vain for their lives. A people who - will persevere in war beyond a certain limit, ought to know the - consequences. Many, many people, with less pertinacity than the - South, have been wiped out of national existence. - - “My own belief is, that even now the non-slaveholding classes of - the South are alienating from their associations in war. Already - I hear criminations. Those who have property left, should take - warning in time. - - “Since I have come down here I have seen many Southern planters - who now hire their negroes, and acknowledge that they knew not - the earthquake they were to make by appealing to Secession. They - thought that the politicians had prepared the way, and that they - could depart in peace. They now see that we are bound together - as one nation in indissoluble ties, and that any interest or any - people that set themselves up in antagonism to the nation must - perish. - - “While I would not remit one jot or tittle of our nation’s right - in peace or war, I do make allowances for past political errors - and false prejudices. Our national Congress and Supreme Courts - are the proper arenas in which to discuss conflicting opinions, - and not the battle-field. - - “You may not hear from me again, and if you think it will do any - good call some of the better people together and explain these - my views. You may even read to them this letter and let them use - it, so as to prepare them for my coming. - - “To those who submit to the rightful law and authority, all - gentleness and forbearance, but to the petulant and persistent - secessionists, why, death is mercy, and the quicker he or she is - disposed of the better. Satan, and the rebellious saints of - heaven, were allowed a continuance of existence in hell, merely - to swell their just punishment. To such as would rebel against a - Government so mild and just as ours was in peace, a punishment - equal would not be unjust. - - “We are progressing well in this quarter. Though I have not - changed my opinion that we may soon assume the existence of our - National Government, yet years will pass before ruffianism, - murder, and robbery will cease to afflict this region of our - country. - - “Truly, your friend, W. T. SHERMAN, - Major-Gen. Commanding.” - -As it was at the beginning of the war, so in this earnest declaration of -views, the great commander keeps in advance of the popular and ruling -ideas of the conflict. - -Like Napoleon in military genius and sublimely daring marches, he is -vastly his superior in principles of human progress, and the foundations -of true national prosperity. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - - A New Expedition—Its Wise Design—Cause of its Failure in the - Main Purpose—The Hero of Vicksburg is created - Lieutenant-General—The New Order of Things—Two Grand Lines of - March and of Conquest—From Chattanooga to Kenesaw Mountain. - -THE holidays of the season which introduced the year 1863 had scarcely -passed, and your gifts of affection, young reader, were still in your -hands, or in a snug corner of your home, when the untiring chief, who -was and is defending that home from the hosts of rebellion, was planning -a grand expedition into Central Mississippi. - -The map will show you the town of Meridian, where important railroads -have their junction, more than a hundred miles from Vicksburg. To this -centre of the empire, claimed by the usurper Davis, around which lay the -richest corn and cotton fields of the South, and swarmed the toiling -slaves, General Sherman determined to lead his battalions. You must -recollect, he would have to cut loose from his “base of supplies,” and, -with a long wagon-train carrying rations for twenty days, conduct his -“movable column”—that is, the entire army in motion, and with no -communications open—over the enemy’s country, where well-disciplined -troops were not very far from his path. It was a most daring adventure, -but just like the brave commander who conceived it. Comprehending the -gigantic revolt, and the vital points in the Confederacy, he has had but -one view of the means to suppress the infamous rebellion. Had his plan -been adopted, the war might have been ended now. Large armies, bold and -rapid movements into the home of secession, sparing nothing that affords -it any nourishment, has been the war-creed of General Sherman. February -found the campaign complete in preparation. On the 3d the commander left -the streets of Vicksburg, reining his steed toward Meridian. - -Two days before, General W. S. Smith was to leave Memphis, Tenn., with -eight thousand cavalry, and join him at Meridian. The course of march -was in part along the track in which the troops advanced on Vicksburg. -The cavalcade of twenty thousand men, followed by miles of -supply-wagons, crossed the Big Black River, moved along by Champion -Hills and Clinton to Jackson. Here General McPherson, with the Sixteenth -Corps, and General Hurlbut, with the Seventeenth Corps, who had taken -different routes, met General Sherman, and were united to his army. - -The rebels did not seem to care about fighting the daring chieftain, but -retreated before him. At Line Creek resistance was offered, a short -battle followed, and again the host moved forward, taking the towns of -Quitman and Enterprise, on every hand spreading alarm. - -February 13th he reached the Big Chunkey River. Meridian was the next -point to be gained, when, with all his forces, he could push on, getting -between General Johnston and Mobile, where Commodore Farragut was -thundering with his naval ordnance, and perhaps interfere very much with -General Polk’s army. Meanwhile, military depots would disappear before -the torch, and other havoc with supplies distract and cripple the foe. -With such successes, it would not be difficult to hasten over the -intervening ground, and hurl his legions against the city from the land -side, thus finishing the work Commodore Farragut had so well commenced. -At Meridian, February 13th, 150 miles from Vicksburg, he congratulated -his troops in these words: - -“The General Commanding conveys his congratulations and thanks to the -officers and men composing this command, for their most successful -accomplishment of one of the great problems of the war. Meridian, the -great railway centre of the Southwest, is now in our possession, and, by -industry and hard work, can be rendered useless to the enemy, and -deprive him of the chief source of supply to his armies. Secrecy in plan -and rapidity of execution accomplish the best results of war; and the -General Commanding assures all that, by following their leaders -fearlessly and with confidence, they will in time reap the reward so -dear to us all—a peace that will never again be disturbed in our -country by a discontented minority.” - -But as General Grant’s delay at Holly Springs, on account of its -cowardly surrender, turned the first attack upon Vicksburg into a -defeat, so by the failure of General Smith to start from Memphis till -the 13th of February, the further success of the expedition was made -impossible. Still, the affair was a magnificent raid into the heart of -“rebeldom,” which spread terror along its way, and left the ruins of -railroads, bridges, and storehouses behind, while securing animals and -various material for the use of the Union army. - -The great commander was now compelled to turn his column toward -Vicksburg again, which he entered three weeks after his departure, -having led his troops safely across hostile soil more than two hundred -and fifty miles, surrounded by large armies. March 2d, General Sherman -reached New Orleans in the gunboat _Diana_, and when referring to his -expedition, termed it “a big raid only.” Before he had rested his heroic -men, a law which had been before Congress while he was marching, was -passed, creating the office of Lieutenant-General, the President -conferring the honor of it upon Major-General Grant. The same order of -March 12th gave to General Sherman the command before held by the hero -of Vicksburg, called the Department of the Mississippi, and including -the smaller departments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee, -with the Arkansas. Around him were to stand Generals McPherson, Hooker, -Thomas, Hurlbut, Logan, Schofield, and Howard, the “Havelock of the -army.” - -The grandest and most decisive campaigns of the war were now planned. -The Army of the Potomac, commanded by General Meade, was again to start -for Richmond, under the eyes of the Lieutenant-General; and the -divisions of General Sherman were to take Atlanta, the former the “head, -the latter the heart of the Confederacy.” - -It was a sublime crisis in the struggle. The two great heroes of the -conflict had in their hands enterprises worthy of their genius, and -which would hold the interest of the nation and of the world. For if -either of the bold movements succeeded, the other it would seem must, -because beyond the single victory were the vast results of the -cöoperating armies on the coast, from the mouth of the James River to -Savannah. Immediately upon receiving the notice of his appointment, in -the middle of March, General Sherman began a tour of inspection, -visiting Athens, Decatur, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, and other -places of military importance, carefully acquainting himself with the -extent and resources of the new field of his command. From reports -published, it is believed that on the 1st day of May the effective -strength of the several armies, for offensive purposes, was about as -follows: - - _Army of the Cumberland, Major-General Thomas Commanding._ - - Infantry 54,568 - Artillery 2,377 - Cavalry 3,828 - ——— - Total 60,773 - Guns 130 - - _Army of the Tennessee, Major-General McPherson Commanding._ - - Infantry 22,437 - Artillery 1,404 - Cavalry 624 - ——— - Total 24,465 - Guns 96 - - _Army of the Ohio, Major-General Schofield Commanding._ - - Infantry 11,183 - Artillery 679 - Cavalry 1,679 - ——— - Total 13,541 - Guns 28 - - Grand aggregate number of troops, 98,779; guns, 254. - -About these figures were maintained during the campaign, the number of -men joining from furlough and hospitals about compensating for the loss -in battle and from sickness. These armies were grouped on the morning of -May 6th, as follows: That of the Cumberland at and near Ringgold; that -of the Tennessee at Gordon’s Mill, on the Chickamauga; and that of the -Ohio near Red Clay, on the Georgia line, north of Dalton. - -A reference to the map again will show you Dalton on the railroad -between Chattanooga and Atlanta, with Ringgold northwest of it. A -distinguished general of the army describes the advance: - -“Marching from Chattanooga on the 5th of May, and from Ringgold on the -7th, he first encountered Johnston at Tunnel Hill, a strong position, -but which was used by him merely as an outpost to his still stronger one -of ‘Buzzard Roost.’ This latter is a narrow gorge or pass in the -Chatoogata Mountains, flanked on one side by the precipitous sides of -Rocky Face Ridge (not unlike the Palisades of the Hudson River) and on -the other by the greater but less precipitous elevation called John’s -Mountain. This gorge was commanded on the Dalton side by an amphitheatre -of hills, which, as well as the tops of Rocky Face and John’s Mountain, -was crowned by batteries, lined with infantry, and terraced by -sharpshooters. The railroad and wagon-road wind through the gorge, which -is absolutely the only passage through the mountains at this place. -Taking a leaf from the book of his Yorktown experience, Johnston had -skilfully flooded the entrance to the gorge by damming a neighboring -mountain-stream, and covering both railroad and wagon-road with water to -the depth in some places of eight to ten feet. It is scarcely possible -to conceive a stronger defensive position, and the rebels had been -induced to believe that it was unassailable.” - -The pass, which doubtless received its name from a large bird common at -the south, was made impassable by abatis, and piles driven down filling -the defile, and the whole overflowed by the waters of Mill Creek. Two -days’ reconnoissance and sharp skirmishing proved to General Sherman -that an attack in front would cost too great a sacrifice of life, and -that the pass must be turned. The means for this were found in a gap -called Snake Creek Gap, some fifteen miles to the southwest. The thick -dark forest, by its concealment, would protect the march. Rising almost -perpendicularly are the flinty sides of Rocky Face, on the other side of -which stands Oak Knob. Into this wild and romantic seclusion our army -pushed its front, while the rebels lurked in the heights around and -above the Union “boys.” - -General Morgan, whose command was there, relates, that “a corporal of -Company I, Sixtieth Illinois, broke from the line, and under the cover -of projecting ledges got up within twenty feet of a squad of rebels on -the summit. Taking shelter from the sharpshooters, he called out: - -“‘I say, rebs, don’t you want to hear Old Abe’s amnesty proclamation -read?’ - -“‘Yes! yes!’ was the unanimous cry, ‘give us the ape’s proclamation.’ - -“‘Attention!’ commanded the corporal, and in a clear and resonant voice -he read the amnesty proclamation to the rebels, beneath the cannon -planted by rebel hands to destroy the fabric of Government established -by our fathers. When he arrived at those passages of the proclamation -where the negro was referred to, he was interrupted by cries of ‘None of -your Abolitionism; look out for rocks!’ And down over his hiding-place -descended a shower of stones and rocks. Having finished the reading, the -corporal asked: - -“‘Well, rebs, how do you like the terms? Will you hear it again?’ - -“‘Not to-day, you bloody Yank. Now crawl down in a hurry and we won’t -fire,’ was the response; and the daring corporal descended and rejoined -his command, which had distinctly heard all that passed. I regret I -could not learn the name of the corporal, for he must get promotion at -the hands of Father Abraham and Governor Dick Yates.” - -Another incident of army life at this crisis of the campaign will -interest you: While on Rocky Face General Howard stood upon a ledge of -rocks from which he could see a large force of rebels upon a projecting -spur of the ridge immediately beneath him. Tired of gazing upon the -enemy, the General, in the absence of hand grenades, lighted the fuse of -shells, and amused himself by dropping them down into the centre of the -enemy, in whose ranks there was quite a lively commotion in consequence. -The frightened enemy little suspected that the hand that dropped the -shells into their ranks was the companion of the one lost at Fair Oaks -by the fearless leader of the Eleventh Army Corps. - -The flank movement was led by General McPherson with the Fifteenth and -Sixteenth Corps, and Garrard’s division of cavalry, supported by General -Thomas with the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, while Generals Howard -and Schofield, with the Fourth, Twenty-third, and Stoneman’s division of -cavalry, “amused the enemy in front.” Suddenly General Johnston waked up -from his dream of security, and hastily abandoning his stronghold fell -back upon a new position to save his communications, which were around -the town of Resaca, almost due south from Chattanooga, and distant from -it by railroad fifty-six miles. It is situated in Gordon County, -Georgia, on the north bank of the Coosawattee River, which flows -southwest, changing its name to the Oostalantee, and joins Etowah at -Rome, the two forming the Coosa, which, joining the Tallapoosa, forms -the Alabama, and flows into the Gulf at Mobile. - -The railroad bridge at Resaca, destroyed by the rebels on their retreat, -is one of the most important, perhaps the most important, on the Western -and Atlantic Railway; it is six hundred feet long. The distance from -Resaca to Atlanta is eighty-two miles by rail, and the country much more -favorable for our operations than that from Chattanooga to Resaca. - -The rebel general began to learn lessons of caution in the _flanking_ -school of General Sherman, and so guarded the extremities of his army -that the latter was compelled to try a direct assault in front. For -three days the sound of battle at intervals echoed among the hills, with -constantly increasing advantage to the vigilant, skilful, and unyielding -Sherman, until he had in his possession commanding hills, with railroads -and bridges in his rear. Eight guns, two flags, large quantities of -stores, and several hundred prisoners, were the trophies of the -hard-earned victories. - -The night of the 15th of May the rebel chief, finding himself outwitted -and outflanked, made a hurried retreat. When the morning revealed the -flight of the foe, General Sherman’s army started in pursuit. General -Thomas, second only in splendid achievements and gallantry to his -commander, was “directly on his heels,” while Generals McPherson and -Schofield took different routes. Amusing scenes occasionally lit up the -darkest hours of night and conflict. - -During the whole operations of Saturday and Sunday, while forcing -General Johnston from his intrenchments, General Beatty’s brigade, of -Wood’s division, was in reserve. The boys did not relish their position, -and, while the battle raged with great fury, they showed unmistakable -signs of uneasiness. One fellow, more daring than his companions, -quietly sauntered out and made for the front. Meeting a wounded soldier -returning from the front, the “Buckeye” borrowed his “fixins” and -entered Hazen’s brigade, where he fought bravely until shot in the jaw. -Retiring to the rear, he met a staff-officer, who inquired the number of -his regiment, and, learning it was not under fire, asked how he came to -be wounded. “Well,” replied the soldier, “you see I don’t like to be -back in the rear, so I came out to take a shot at the Johnnies, and I be -dogged if they haven’t peppered me.” - -At nine on Saturday night the Nineteenth Alabama was lying in line, with -a rebel battery separating it from another regiment. The battery was -withdrawn, and the colonel of the Nineteenth went down to fill the gap -with his regiment; he was accompanied by four hundred men. Arriving at -the gap they found it filled with pickets, who quietly “took them in out -of the wet,” and brought them in. Our boys had crawled up unobserved, -and filled the gap in the enemy’s line, captured Colonel McSpadden and -companions, and retired without receiving a shot. The rebel colonel -himself highly praised the strategy of his captors. - -Onward through forest, across streams, and over heights, the nobly proud -and confidant columns pressed toward Atlanta. The song and joke—the -sacred page and prayer—the inexcusable oath—all marked the long -marches, the night encampment, and the morning hour of preparation to -renew the tramp of embattled legions toward the interior of the -Confederate Territory. How sublime the music, rising over that moving -host, which a listener thus describes: - -“At early dawn one morning, ere the troops were fully awakened from -their slumbers, the melodious notes of ‘Old Hundred,’ given forth by one -of the brigade bands, rang out upon the air, and were echoed by the -green-capped hills beyond. Soldiers intently occupied in preparing the -morning meal stood still and listened to the melody, and instinctively -joined in it. It flew from regiment to regiment; brigade after brigade -took it up, and, ere the notes of the band ceased to reverberate, five -thousand voices were raised in ‘Praise God from whom all blessings -flow.’ A moment later all was still. Breakfast was taken; and so -silently did the veterans of many battle-fields break camp and fall into -line that everybody remarked it, and complimented them for their -conduct. I have heard ‘Old Hundred’ often, when the lungs of the organ -seemed inspired with life, and a congregation joined their melodious -voices, but never until to-day did I hear it sung with the full -inspiration of the soul.” - -May 25th, General Thomas’s troops, with the fearless Hooker in the -advance, were sweeping toward Dallas, when the enemy crossed their path. -The action of New Hope Church came off, leaving the Union colors -streaming victoriously over the exulting volunteers. But there was a -different flag taken from hostile hands. General Stoneman, the splendid -cavalry officer, captured from the Third Texas Cavalry a black flag with -a skeleton figured upon it together with a death’s head and cross-bones. -This flag is no myth or creation of the wild fancy of some terrified -trooper, but a reliable thing now in possession of a surgeon in the -General’s command, and seen and handled by the members of General -Schofield’s staff. They are said to have carried it from the first. What -they expect to have understood by it is easily arrived at from the -remark of a member of another Texas regiment who was taken prisoner and -brought to headquarters. When asked by a member of the staff if he -belonged to the regiment which carried the black flag, he replied that -he did not, else he should not have been brought there. It is, perhaps, -needless to state that our men are reported to have taken no prisoners -from the Third Texas Cavalry. - -While the forces were approaching Dallas, occurred one of war’s striking -contrasts, related by a participant in the scenes: - -“Last night the enemy kept up a lively demonstration along our whole -line sufficient to interfere slightly with our slumbers at headquarters. -About three o’clock yesterday afternoon Cheney’s First Illinois Battery, -20-pounder Parrott guns, opened a brisk fire upon a strong rebel -fortification, one mile from Dallas, which frowns upon our lines at an -altitude of nearly two hundred feet, and from which a fine view is -easily obtained of our movements. The cannonade was continued till -sunset, shells bursting in all directions, scattering their -death-dealing fragments among loyal and disloyal. The monotony was -relieved by the constant arrival of mounted orderlies bearing their -important despatches of the enemy’s doings from the respective brigade -and division commanders, while the music of the Minié balls, as they -whistled through the trees over our heads, lent enough exhilarating -excitement to the afternoon hours to dispel all thought of drowsiness. -While the musketry rattled quite lively along our lines, causing the -vales to reverberate, and the loud reports of the deadly rifles rang -through the mountain forests, the military bands were discoursing -sentimental and patriotic melodies within sound of the rebel lines. - -“So near have our skirmishers advanced to the enemy’s front, that last -night, while a prayer-meeting was being held in the rebel camps, our -troops could hear quite distinctly their appeals to Heaven for peace. I -regret to state that some of the ‘Yankees’ were sacrilegious enough to -interpolate the names of Grant and Sherman, just at the point where the -traitors invoked health and strength to Lee and Johnston. The tone of -their petitions was for peace, which Gen. Sherman is determined they -shall not enjoy until he secures that piece of Georgia which he has -marked out as the reward for his invincible army.” - -At this crisis in the march, already among the rivers flowing to the -Gulf, with the iron-works on their banks at different points, General -Sherman issued an order containing directions respecting care of the -wounded, who were to be carried from the field by the musicians and -others not in the ranks; and requiring hospitals to be kept nearer the -moving columns, protecting them by the irregularities on the surface, -and not by distance. Here is what he says of cowards: - -“Skulking, shirking, and straggling behind in time of danger, are such -high detestable crimes that the General Commanding would hardly presume -them possible, were it not for his own observation, and the report that -at this moment soldiers are found loafing in the cabins, to the rear, as -far back as Kingston. The only proper fate of such miscreants is that -they be shot, as common enemies to their profession and country; and all -officers and patrols sent back to arrest them, will shoot them without -mercy, on the slightest impudence or resistance. By thus wandering in -the rear they desert their fellows, who expose themselves in battle in -the full faith that all on the rolls are present, and they expose -themselves to capture and exchange as good soldiers, to which they have -no title. It is hereby made the duty of every officer who finds such -skulkers, to deliver them to any provost guard, regardless of corps, to -be employed in menial or hard work, such as repairing roads, digging -drains, sinks, &c. Officers, if found skulking, will be subjected to the -same penalty as enlisted men, viz., instant death, or the hardest labor -and treatment. Absentees not accounted for, should always be mustered as -deserters, to deprive them of their pay and bounties, reserved for -honest soldiers.” - -We cannot chronicle all the battles and skirmishes of the “running -fight”—not _from_ the enemy, but after him. The charge upon Allatoona -Pass by the Union cavalry, June 2d, where General Sherman had flanked -General Johnston a week before, was a brilliant display of valor -baptized in blood. - -The first week in June had passed, and General Sherman’s troops, after -marching more than a hundred miles since leaving Chattanooga, through a -country unknown to them, daily skirmishing with the watchful foe, -striking against works capable of resisting twice their number of -troops, and all the time without broken ranks, gaining substantial -advantage, now fairly confronted General Johnston intrenched upon Lost -Mountain, Pine Hill, and Kenesaw Mountain, three bold peaks connected -together by a line of ridges, and twenty-six miles north of Atlanta. His -line was closely circumscribed by ours. In no place were the hostile -parallels more than a musket-shot apart. The rebel right rested on -Kenesaw Mountain, on the railroad, four miles north of Marietta, their -left on Lost Mountain, some six miles west of Kenesaw. Between these two -formidable ridges the rebels had gradually been forced back from a -triangle, with the apex toward us, until their line was but a faint -crescent, their centre still being slightly advanced. Right, left, and -centre, their position was closely invested. Our troops shed parallel -after parallel, until the country in their rear was furrowed with -rifle-pits and abatis, and scored with a labyrinth of roads. - -“The country is covered with primitive forests, and in very few places -are there cleared spaces sufficiently large to display the movements of -a brigade. There is an abundance of scrubby undergrowth which hides -every thing a few yards distant from view; and when one inspects the -difficulties, it seems hardly credible, though such is the case, that we -fully developed the enemy’s position with two days’ skirmish.” - -A brave officer from whose accurate observations passages have already -been taken, says of this halting-place in the great race for Atlanta: -“The ridge in front of Kenesaw commences about Wallace’s House on the -Burnt Hickory and Marietta road, and extends thence across the railroad -behind Noonday Creek about two miles in an east-by-north direction. Lost -Mountain and Kenesaw are about eleven hundred feet high, Pine Hill and -Brushy Hill about four hundred feet high, and the ridges everywhere -about one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet, or about the same as, -and, in fact, not very dissimilar to Missionary Ridge at Chattanooga. -The enemy was everywhere strongly intrenched behind log barricades, -protected by earth thrown against them, with a ditch, formidable abatis, -and in many places a chevaux-de-frise of sharpened fence-rails besides. -Their intrenchments were well protected by thick traverses, and at -frequent intervals arranged with emplacements and embrasures for -field-guns. The thickness of this parapet was generally six to eight -feet _at top_ on the infantry line, and from twelve to fifteen feet -thick at the top, where field-guns were posted or where fire from our -artillery was anticipated. The amount of digging and intrenching that -Johnston’s army had done is almost incredible. General Sherman’s tactics -resulted in wresting Lost Mountain, Pine Hill, the ridge in front of -Kenesaw, and Brushy Hill from the enemy, and forcing back his two wings, -Kenesaw Mountain operating as a sort of hinge, until his left was behind -Olley’s Creek, and his right behind the stream which flows between the -houses named on the map as McAffee and Wiley Roberts. Kenesaw Mountain -then became the projecting fortress of the defensive line, the wings -being turned backward from it. It is a rocky eminence, rather -precipitous, thickly-wooded, and crowned with batteries. - -“Our respective lines were about eight or nine miles in length, from six -hundred to seven hundred yards distant from each other, and strongly -intrenched. Skirmishing went on incessantly, and artillery duels -occurred two or three times daily. The enemy at different times made -some dozen or more assaults, sometimes getting within fifty yards of our -intrenchments, but were always repulsed, and generally with heavy loss -to them. To gain certain positions, we opened a heavy artillery fire -upon their whole line, pressed their two flanks heavily, and made -assaults in two places upon their centre. The assaults were -unsuccessful; but the Twenty-third Corps, upon their extreme right, -gained important advantages of position.” - -Wrote another: “We fancy out here that the over-expectant loyal public -are disappointed at the seemingly slow progress of our cause in this -department. It is only necessary to state that the immense amount of -supplies required for an army of this size, to be transported a distance -of over two hundred miles through the enemy’s country, with a -single-track railroad, is a gigantic undertaking. As for subsisting upon -the country, that is out of the question, the inhabitants themselves -depending upon the charity of the ‘ruthless invaders’ for daily -sustenance. Forage, ordnance stores, and commissary supplies, must all -flow through this single artery with lightning rapidity, if we would -replenish these stores as fast as exhausted. Nothing but the most -thorough organization and complete system, with great energy in the -various departments, could ever have prevented our troops from suffering -for the want of food and clothing. The public can never appreciate the -innumerable natural obstacles that have embarrassed the operations of -this unflinching army. The truly loyal do not demand any such -explanations as these, for with such leaders as Grant and Sherman -apprehension is groundless; but of late the Copperhead press, not -content with misrepresenting and belittling General Grant’s victorious -advance toward the rebel capital, sneer at General Sherman’s -generalship, and insinuate already, in the face of brilliant successes -achieved, that the ‘On to Atlanta’ movement is a failure. - -“Standing upon the martial-crowned top of Pine Mountain, amid the -fluttering of those peculiar flags used by the Signal Corps, we learned -that from this eminence were transmitted, in those mysterious signals, -all the movements of the enemy, and such operations of our army as were -necessary. In front of you stands the defiant, frowning Kenesaw, with -its thick woods concealing the rebel batteries from view that line its -steep sides, while five or six miles west of Kenesaw, Lost Mountain -lifts its sugar-loaf crest to the sky, solitary and alone, looming up -against the gorgeously tinted clouds that deck the heavens. Just before -you, looking south, can be discerned the suburbs of Marietta, with the -Georgia Military Institute standing out prominently in the picture. -Gazing down the steep declivity into the thickly-wooded vales which lie -at the spectator’s feet, a magnificent panorama of natural beauty is -unfurled. So close are the lines of the contending armies, that the -dense volumes of smoke from their camp fires roll up united, but hang in -portentous clouds over friend and foe. - -“While wrapt in silent admiration, mixed with a deep sense of awe at the -wild and romantic scene before me, the bands encamped in the valley -which encircles the base of the mountain struck up the ‘John Brown’ or -‘Glory Hallelujah Chorus,’ the echoes of which vibrated, re-echoed, and, -finally, as the sun’s departing rays began to fade from the horizon, its -pathetic notes died away, or mingled with the rattle of musketry which -flashed along our skirmish line. I can never forget the peculiar -impression photographed upon my mind by the swelling of this historical -anthem of Freedom’s first battle, as it grandly sailed over Pine -Mountain. My reverie was soon disturbed by the sudden roar of many -batteries belching out their savage peals with fearful rapidity from -both sides, and for several minutes quite an artillery duel was indulged -in, interspersed with short rolls of musketry. It was curious to watch -the rebel guns, as the smoke lazily curled from the cannon’s mouth, -while the solid shot whizzed and shells shrieked over our breastworks.” - -Among the incidents of this part of the great campaign was a dress -parade of the rebels on the top of Kenesaw Mountain. Our lines were so -near, that the display was distinctly visible and audible. Below the -regiment, whose bayonets gleamed in the rays of the setting sun, were -the bristling rifle-pits. A courier suddenly dashed up to the adjutant, -and handed him a despatch from General Johnston, announcing that General -Sherman “had brought his army so far south, that his line of supplies -was longer than he could hold; that he was too far from his base—just -where their commanding general wished to get him; that a part of their -army would hold the railroad, thirty miles north of the Etowah; and that -the great railroad bridge at Allatoona had been completely destroyed; -that in a few days Sherman would be out of supplies, because he could -bring no more trains through by the railroad. They were urged to -maintain a bold front, and in a few days the Yankees would be forced to -retreat. Breathless silence evinces the attention which every word of -the order receives, as the adjutant reads. Cheers are about to be given, -when hark! loud whistles from Sherman’s cars, at Big Shanty, interrupt -them. The number of whistles increase. Allatoona, Ackworth, and Big -Shanty depots resound with them. Supplies have arrived. The effect can -easily be imagined. The illustration was so apt, the commentary so -appropriate, that it was appreciated at the instant. ‘Bully for the base -of supplies!’ ‘Bully for the long line!’ ‘Three cheers for the big -bridge!’ ‘Here’s your Yankee cars!’ ‘There’s Sherman’s rations!’ Bedlam -was loose along their line for a short time.” - -There was a tree in front of General Herron’s division of the Fifteenth -Army Corps, to which was given the name of _fatal tree_. Seven soldiers -in succession, who hid behind it to shoot, were killed. Then a board was -put on the tree, on which was chalked “dangerous.” The rebels soon shot -this sign to pieces, when a sergeant took his position there, and in -less than two minutes two Minié balls pierced his body, making the -eighth victim of rebel bullets—a tragical _item_ in war’s dread work. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - - The Battle of Kenesaw Mountain—On to Marietta—Across the - Chattahoochie—General Johnston succeeded by General Hood— - Marching and Fighting—Death of McPherson—Fight at Jonesboro— - The last struggle for Atlanta—Victory. - -JUNE 14th, General Hooker was on the right and front of the rebel -intrenchments, General Howard on the left and front. A heavy cannonading -was opened, filling the air with bursting shells and whistling balls, -till the old mountains echoed with the thunder and shouts of battle, and -hung upon their tops the streamers of its sulphurous smoke. Look away -among the rebel battalions, and mark that daring and conspicuous -officer, with the air of dignified, cultivated, and mature manhood. With -words of command on his lips, he reels, and falls from his steed. The -fatal missile has opened the life current of the Bishop and General -Polk, the severest loss to the rebels of that sanguinary day. - -The next morning brightened the summit of Pine Mountain without the -gleaming bayonets and bristling cannon on which the sunset rays fell a -few hours before; the enemy had abandoned the summit during the night. -The heroic Thomas and Schofield immediately advanced, and found the -stubborn foe again strongly intrenched along a range of rocky hills -running from Kenesaw to Lost Mountain. General McPherson crowded the -opposing lines on the left. The unyielding and steady advance of the -Union forces made the sides of Lost Mountain too warm for the rebels, -and on the 17th, just when General Sherman was about to order a charge, -they withdrew, leaving in our hands not only the formidable heights, but -the “admirable breastworks connecting it with Kenesaw Mountain.” Onward -through dark forests and across deep ravines, the resolute chief led the -“boys,” fighting every step of the way, toward the next fiery barrier of -bullets and steel. This was found at Kenesaw. The fastness had become -the last defence against the Northern troops among the peaks which had -for more than two weeks frowned upon them. It was the enemy’s front, the -outer lines having fallen back to cover Marietta and the railroad to the -Chattahoochie. - -Sadly glorious deeds were done in these wilderness fights. When the One -Hundred and Nineteenth New York regiment was so near the hostile ranks -that a halt to throw up a temporary breastwork of logs was necessary, by -some singular and melancholy mistake a party of twelve or fifteen men -were ordered to advance beyond these works on picket duty. Though -knowing that it was almost certain death to show their heads above the -walls of their little fort, still they obeyed without question or -hesitation. They had advanced scarcely more than a rod beyond their -comrades, when a heavy volley of musketry prostrated to the ground every -man save two! Two were killed instantly, and the rest wounded more or -less severely. All of the wounded, however, were able to drag themselves -back and escape, except one poor fellow, Sergeant Guider, who was so -badly wounded that he could not stir from his place. There he lay almost -within arms-length of his comrades, and yet they were powerless to -rescue him or give him aid, so galling was the rebel fire. One bolder -than the rest made the hazardous attempt, but scarcely had he got over -the breastworks when he fell severely wounded. They endeavored to allay -his raging thirst by throwing to him canteens of water, and even one of -these was pierced by a rebel bullet. Finally, as they could not go over -the breastworks, they dug a way under them with no other implements than -their bayonets, and through it two men crawled and succeeded in reaching -him unhurt. Just as they reached him their comrades in the rear gave an -exultant cheer, which elicited from the rebels another volley. A fatal -ball pierced the poor fellow’s breast for a second time, and he had only -time to murmur feebly to his rescuers, “Now I die content; I am in your -hands,” and expired. - -Then came the terrible assault upon the stronghold to dislodge the -enemy. Oh, how bravely yet vainly did the columns to whom the voice of -their leader was enough to take them anywhere, dash against the rocks -terraced with cannon! Again the charge sounded, and, like tides -thundering on the face of Gibraltar, the lion-hearted Hooker hurled his -forces upon the death-dealing intrenchments. There was an Illinois -regiment, whose sublime patriotism, like that of the One Hundred and -Nineteenth New York, shed immortal radiance on the sanguinary field, -assuring all men that our conflict is no tragical play of ambition, or -murderous work of revenge. - -“In the bloody charge led by General Hooker, the Twenty-seventh Illinois -was pressing upon the rebel works; and when they had approached very -near them, Michael Delaney, the color-bearer, rushed some ten paces -forward ahead of his regiment, and holding aloft the starry banner of -his country, shouted to his comrades to follow. Just then a ball struck -his left arm, inflicting a flesh wound, from which the blood trickled in -profuse currents. Still grasping the flag, and keeping it to the breeze, -he drew his revolver, and rushing forward, leaped upon the enemy’s -works, waving his flag, and firing his pistol upon the foe. Thus, -standing upon the enemy’s works, his pistol in hand, and his colors -streaming over his head, two rebels approached him, one on each side, -and thrust their bayonets into the sides of the hero martyr. He felt the -cold steel pierce to the very quick of his young life, yet he did not -falter. With the blood gushing from his wounds, he clasped the flag to -his breast, and bore it back in safety to his comrades, among whom he -soon after bled to death. Though no star or eagle decorated his -shoulders, he is of the country’s heroes, his name stamped among theirs, -high on the roll of honor. Though no sculptured marble may mark the spot -of his lonely grave among the melancholy pines of northern Georgia, his -intrepid bravery entitles him to the homage of all who honor the flag he -so bravely bore, and laid down his life to save. The Twenty-seventh -Illinois regiment suffered heavily, but behaved nobly, in this fierce -and unequal contest.” - -And the unresting, yet patient, sagacious commander, in his own report, -tells us how he alarmed his antagonist, and drew him away from the -slopes of Kenesaw to save his path of retreat: “On the 1st of July -General McPherson was ordered to throw his whole army by the right down -to and threaten Nickajack Creek and Turner’s Ferry, across -Chattahoochie. General McPherson commenced his movement on the night of -July 2d, and the effect was instantaneous. The next morning Kenesaw was -abandoned, and with the first dawn of day I saw our skirmishers appear -on the mountain top. General Thomas’s whole line was then moved forward -to the railroad, and turned south in pursuit toward the Chattahoochie. -In person I entered Marietta at 8.30 o’clock in the morning, just as the -enemy’s cavalry vacated the place. General Logan’s corps of General -McPherson’s army, which had not moved far, was ordered back into -Marietta by the main road, and General McPherson and General Schofield -were instructed to cross Nickajack, and attack the enemy in flank and -rear, and, if possible, to catch him in the confusion of crossing the -Chattahoochie; but Johnston had foreseen and provided against all this, -and had covered his movement well. He had intrenched a strong -_tête-du-pont_ at the Chattahoochie, with an advanced intrenched line -across the road at Smyrna camp-meeting ground, five miles from -Marietta.” - -Strange scenes, indeed, are witnessed in this civil war: “The two armies -in Georgia met in the persons of some of their superior -officers—Generals Clayborne, Cheatham, Hindman, and Maney—parties -having been detailed from each by mutual agreement, for the burial of -their dead. Grouped together in seemingly fraternal unity were officers -and men of both contending armies, who but five minutes before were -engaged in the work of slaughter and death. Cheatham looked rugged and -healthy, though seemingly sad and despondent. He wore his ‘fatigue’ -dress, a blue flannel shirt, black necktie, gray homespun pantaloons, -and slouch black hat. Colonel Clancy, of the Fifty-second Ohio, in -talking to Generals Maney and Hindman, remarked that it was a sad state -of affairs to witness human beings of a common origin and nationality -dig two hours every day to bury the dead of twenty minutes’ fighting. -‘Yes, yes, indeed,’ said one, ‘but if the settlement of this thing were -left to our armies there would be peace and good fellowship established -in two hours.’” - -With the “forward to Atlanta!” ringing over the proud ranks of Generals -Logan, Howard, Palmer, and Hooker, moving out through the enemy’s works, -and defiling into the valley along the railroad toward Marietta, let us -look into the deserted mountain fortress. First you will notice twenty -feet in front of the battlements, to prevent approach, the small trees -cut down and sharpened, presenting an impenetrable thicket of pointed -green-wood under the “dread artillery.” Besides, “hay-rakes,” as they -are called by the “boys,” are added. They are trees half of a foot in -diameter, pierced with two rows of auger holes about the same distance -apart, through which are driven sticks sharp at both ends—no trifling -barrier to a successful charge. Inside of the defences all the means of -strength suggested by military art had been employed to make them -impregnable. But before the irresistible Sherman, General Johnston is -obliged to retreat, hastening on toward the bulwarks of Atlanta. - -At Smyrna, General Sherman continues: “General Thomas found him, his -front covered by a good parapet, and his flanks behind the Nickajack and -Rottenwood Creeks. Ordering a garrison for Marietta, and General Logan -to join his own army near the mouth of Nickajack, I overtook General -Thomas at Smyrna. On the 4th of July we pushed a strong skirmish line -down the main road, capturing the entire line of the enemy’s pits, and -made strong demonstrations along Nickajack Creek, and about Turner’s -Ferry. This had the desired effect, and the next morning the enemy was -gone, and the army moved to the Chattahoochie, General Thomas’s left -flank resting on it near Price’s Ferry, General McPherson’s right at the -mouth of Nickajack, and General Schofield in reserve; the enemy lay -behind a line of unusual strength, covering the railroad and pontoon -bridges and beyond the Chattahoochie.” - -The commander-in-chief now began to cast about for places to ford the -Chattahoochie, whose waters crossed his path. He had secured three safe -points of passage above his enemy, with good roads running toward the -city, ten miles distant, on which his eager eye was fixed. - -Marietta, where General Johnston paused to make a faint resistance -before reaching the river, is a pleasant town which before the war -contained a thousand inhabitants, with neat villas and elegant brick -mansions. Nearly all the families left before or with the rebel army on -their retreat, leaving their deserted houses and gardens as trophies for -the “invading horde of Lincolnites.” But about forty houses were -occupied, principally by rabid rebel women, who, as our officers rode -through the town, betrayed evident uneasiness, rushing into their houses -in some instances, and locking their doors against all callers who -politely asked admittance. The town is beautifully situated in the -Kenesaw valley, with nearly all the houses nestling in beautiful groves -of southern trees that gave forth fragrant odors, to mingle with the air -that is wafted to the mountain resort, where the ladies made their -lookout to witness the efforts of the Federals to drive back Johnston -and his followers. Our troops occupied the town about ten o’clock, while -the bells of the Episcopal Church pealed out the call to public worship. -The minister and the congregation were not interrupted in their -devotions, the troops behaved very orderly, and, after a brief rest, -resumed the march to the Chattahoochie. - -While here, the chieftain wrote the following noble letter to a friend -of former days, the wife of Rev. Charles Bowen, in reply to a note -reminding him of the cherished past in their social relations, and of -the melancholy present with its cruel “Yankee invasion.” - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD NEAR MARIETTA, GA., _June 30_. } - “_Mrs. Anna Gilman Bowen, Baltimore, Md._ - - “DEAR MADAM: Your welcome letter of June 18th, came to me here - amid the sound of battle, and, as you say, little did I dream, - when I knew you, playing as a school-girl on Sullivan’s Island - beach, that I should control a vast army, pointing, like the - swarm of Alaric, toward the plains of the South. Why, oh why is - this? If I know my own heart it beats as warmly as ever toward - those kind and generous families that greeted us with such warm - hospitality in days long past but still present in memory, and - to-day, were Frank and Mrs. Porcher, and Eliza Gilman, and Mary - Lamb, and Margaret Blake, the Barksdales, the Quashis, the - Pryors, indeed any and all of our cherished circle, their - children, or even their children’s children, to come to me as of - old, the stern feelings of duty and conviction would melt as - snow before the genial sun, and I believe I would strip my own - children that they might be sheltered; and yet they call me - barbarian, vandal, and monster, and all the epithets that - language can invent that are significant of malignity and hate. - All I pretend to say, on earth as in Heaven, man must submit to - some arbiter. He must not throw off his allegiance to his - Government or his God without just reason and cause. The South - has no cause; not even a pretext. Indeed, by her unjustifiable - course she has thrown away the proud history of the past, and - laid open her fair country to the tread of devastating war. She - bantered and bullied us to the conflict. Had we declined battle, - America would have sunk back, coward and craven, meriting the - contempt of all mankind. As a nation, we were forced to accept - battle, and that once begun, it has gone on till the war has - assumed proportions at which even we in the hurly-burly - sometimes stand aghast. I would not subjugate the South in the - term so offensively assumed, but I would make every citizen of - the land obey the common law, submit to the same that we do—no - worse, no better—our equals and not our superiors. I know and - you know that there were young men in our day, now no longer - young, but who control their fellows, who assumed to the - gentlemen of the South a superiority of courage and manhood, and - boastingly defied us of northern birth to arms. God knows how - reluctantly we accepted the issue, but once the issue joined, - like the northern race in other ages, though slow to anger, once - aroused are more terrible than the more inflammable of the - South. Even yet my heart bleeds when I see the carnage of - battle, the desolation of homes, the bitter anguish of families; - but the very moment the men of the South say that instead of - appealing to war they should have appealed to reason, to our - Congress, to our courts, to religion, and to the experience of - history, then will I say Peace—Peace; go back to your point of - error, and resume your places as American citizens, with all - their proud heritages. Whether I shall live to see this period - is problematical, but you may, and may tell your mother and - sisters that I never forgot one kind look or greeting, or ever - wished to efface its remembrance; but in putting on the armor of - war I did it that our common country should not perish in infamy - and dishonor. I am married, have a wife and six children living - in Lancaster, Ohio. My course has been an eventful one, but I - hope when the clouds of anger and passion are dispersed, and - truth emerges bright and clear, you and all who knew me in early - years will not blush that we were once dear friends. Tell Eliza - for me that I hope she may live to realize that the doctrine of - ‘secession’ is as monstrous in our civil code as disobedience - was in the Divine law. And should the fortunes of war ever bring - you or your sisters, or any of our old clique under the shelter - of my authority, I do not believe they will have cause to regret - it. Give my love to your children, and the assurance of my - respects to your honored husband. - - “Truly, W. T. SHERMAN.” - -Wrote a loyal pen in that grand cavalcade of freedom from the heights on -the banks of the Chattahoochie: “The view is exceedingly interesting. -Away off to the southeast, ten miles distant, can be distinctly seen the -farm-houses that nestle in the forests around Atlanta—the tall spires -of the churches and public buildings, and the fortifications that guard -the approaches to the ‘Gate City.’ Stretching away to the south, the eye -beholds a vast forest, dotted by innumerable plantations and villages. -Nearer, almost at the base of the mountain, the Serpentine River can be -seen through the thick growth of trees that line its banks, while the -military, State, and private roads to the east and south, remind the -beholder of a huge spider’s web, so numerous are they, and forming so -many angles. - -“On the 4th the curiosity of the troops to see Atlanta was so strong, -that stragglers left their regiments and climbed the side from which -they viewed the promised land to which they are ‘pilgrimaging.’ Many of -the poor fellows, I fear, will never live to obtain a nearer view, as a -desperate defence will be made ere Johnston evacuates it for another -position, and by surrendering it open the doors for greater Federal -success beyond and on either side.” - -July 10th found General Sherman in possession of the country north and -west of the river, with only the smoking ruins of the enemy’s bridges -left to tell of his hurried retreat toward Atlanta, for whose gates the -race was renewed. Manœuvring, marching, and skirmishing again, marked -the movements of the contending armies. - -I shall let you read further the great commander’s own story of the -chase after leaving the banks of the river, in which he pays a passing -tribute to the gallant McPherson: - -“On the 21st of July we felt the enemy in his intrenched position, which -was found to crown the heights overlooking the comparatively open ground -of the valley of Peach-tree Creek, his right beyond the Augusta road to -the east, and his left well toward Turner’s Ferry, on the Chattahoochie, -at a general distance from Atlanta of about four miles. - -“On the morning of the 22d, somewhat to my surprise, this whole line was -found abandoned, and I confess I thought the enemy had resolved to give -us Atlanta without further contest; but General Johnston had been -relieved of his command, and General Hood substituted. A new policy -seemed resolved on, of which the bold attack on our right was the index. -Our advancing ranks swept across the strong and well-finished parapet of -the enemy, and closed in upon Atlanta, until we occupied a line in the -form of a general circle of about two miles radius, when we again found -him occupying in force a line of finished redoubts, which had been -prepared for more than a year, covering all the roads leading into -Atlanta; and we found him also busy in connecting these redoubts with -curtains strengthened by rifle trenches, abatis, and chevaux-de-frise. - -[Illustration: MAP OF GEORGIA] - -“General McPherson, who had advanced from Decatur, continued to follow -substantially the railroad, with the Fifteenth Corps, General Logan; the -Seventeenth, General Blair, on its left; and the Sixteenth, General -Dodge, on its right; but as the general advance of all the armies -contracted the circle, the Sixteenth Corps, General Dodge, was thrown -out of line by the Fifteenth connecting on the right with General -Schofield near the Howard House. General McPherson, the night before, -had gained a high hill to the south and east of the railroad, where the -Seventeenth Corps had, after a severe fight, driven the enemy, and it -gave him a most commanding position, within easy view of the very heart -of the city. He had thrown out working-parties to it, and was making -preparations to occupy it in strength with batteries. The Sixteenth -Corps, General Dodge, was ordered from right to left to occupy this -position and make it a strong general, left flank. General Dodge was -moving by a diagonal path, or wagon track, leading from the Decatur road -in the direction of General Blair’s left flank. General McPherson -remained with me until near noon, when some reports reaching us that -indicated a movement of the enemy on that flank, he mounted and rode -away with his staff. I must here also state that the day before I had -detached General Garrard’s cavalry to go to Covington, on the Augusta -road, forty-two miles east of Atlanta, and from that point to send -detachments to break the two important bridges across the Yellow and -Ulcofauhatchee Rivers, tributaries of Ocmulgee, and General McPherson -had also left his wagon-train at Decatur under a guard of three -regiments, commanded by Colonel, now General Sprague. Soon after General -McPherson left me at the Howard House, as before described, I heard the -sounds of musketry to our left rear—at first mere pattering shots, but -soon they grew in volume, accompanied with artillery, and about the same -time the sound of guns was heard in the direction of Decatur. No doubt -could longer be entertained of the enemy’s plan of action, which was to -throw a superior force on our left flank, while he held us with his -forts in front, the only question being as to the amount of force he -could employ at that point. I hastily transmitted orders to all points -of our centre and right to press forward, and to give full employment to -all the enemy in his lines, and for General Schofield to hold as large a -force in reserve as possible, awaiting developments. Not more than half -an hour after General McPherson had left me, viz., about 12½ P. M. of -the 22d, his adjutant-general, Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, rode up and -reported that General McPherson was either dead or a prisoner; that he -had ridden from me to General Dodge’s column, moving as heretofore -described, and had sent off nearly all his staff and orderlies on -various errands, and himself had passed into a narrow path or road that -led to the left and rear of General Giles A. Smith’s division, which was -General Blair’s extreme left; that a few minutes after he had entered -the woods a sharp volley was heard in that direction, and his horse had -come out riderless, having two wounds. The suddenness of this terrible -calamity would have overwhelmed me with grief, but the living demanded -my whole thoughts. I instantly despatched a staff officer to General -John A. Logan, commanding the Fifteenth Corps, to tell him what had -happened; that he must assume command of the Army of the Tennessee, and -hold stubbornly the ground already chosen. - -“But among the dead was Major-General McPherson, whose body was -recovered and brought to me in the heat of battle, and I had it sent, in -charge of his personal staff, back to Marietta, on its way to his -northern home. He was a noble youth, of striking personal appearance, of -the highest professional capacity, and with a heart abounding in -kindness, that drew to him the affections of all men. His sudden death -devolved the command of the Army of the Tennessee on the no less brave -and gallant General Logan, who nobly sustained his reputation and that -of his veteran army, and avenged the death of his comrade and -commander.” - -What high appreciation of a gifted and gallant officer, tender regard, -and sublime self-control, are displayed in those words from the field of -carnage! Lieutenant-General Grant was not ashamed to weep in his tent -over McPherson’s death; in the closing circle of conflict around -Atlanta, General Sherman could only feel the pang of poignant regret, -and marshal the unfallen for further and bloodier strife. - -At this crisis, Congress having passed a law authorizing the -organization of colored troops, a Massachusetts State Agent applied to -him to know where, in the rebel States penetrated by our troops, would -be the best points for recruiting stations. His letter in reply will -possess interest, because while it furnishes the desired information, it -contains the writer’s views of the subject. The best treasure, and the -best blood of the nation, has been his estimate of the great and -glorious sacrifice demanded in our struggle for national existence. He -scorns all evasions of duty, and resorts to doubtful expedients, for -relief from any of the burdens of such a war. - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, NEAR ATLANTA, GA., _July 30, 1864_. } - - “SIR: Yours from Chattanooga, July 28th, is received, notifying - me of your appointment by your State as lieutenant-colonel and - provost-marshal of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, under the - act of Congress approved July 4, 1864, to recruit volunteers to - be credited to the States respectively. On applying to General - Webster, at Nashville, he will grant you a pass through our - lines to those States, and, as I have had considerable - experience in those States, would suggest recruiting depots to - be established at Macon and Columbus, Miss., Selma, Montgomery, - and Mobile, Alabama, and Columbus, Milledgeville, and Savannah, - Georgia. I do not see that the law restricts you to black - recruits, but you are at liberty to collect white recruits also. - It is [a] waste of time and money to open rendezvous in - Northwest Georgia, for I assure you I have not seen an - able-bodied man, black or white, there, fit for a soldier who - was not in this army or the one opposed to it. - - “You speak of the impression going abroad that I am opposed to - the organization of colored regiments. My opinions are usually - very positive, and there is no reason why you should not know - them. Though entertaining profound reverence for our Congress, I - do doubt their wisdom in the passage of this law: - - “1st. Because civilian agents about an army are a nuisance. - - “2d. The duty of citizens to fight for their country is too - sacred a one to be peddled off by buying up the refuse of other - States. - - “3d. It is unjust to the brave soldiers and volunteers who are - fighting, as those who compose this army do, to place them on a - par with the class of recruits you are after. - - “4th. The negro is in a transition state, and is not the equal - of the white man. - - “5th. He is liberated from his bondage by the act of war; and - the armies in the field are entitled to all his assistance and - labor and fighting _in addition_ to the proper quotas of the - States. - - “6th. This bidding and bantering for recruits, white and black, - has delayed the reënforcement of our armies at the times when - such reënforcements would have enabled us to make our successes - permanent. - - “7th. The law is an experiment which, pending war, is unwise and - unsafe, and has delayed the universal draft which I firmly - believe will become necessary to overcome the wide-spread - resistance offered us; and I also believe the universal draft - will be wise and beneficial; for under the Providence of God it - will separate the sheep from the goats, and demonstrate what - citizens will fight for their country, and what will only talk. - - “No one will infer from this that I am not a friend to the negro - as well as the white race. I contend that the treason and - rebellion of the master freed the slave, and the armies I have - commanded have conducted to safe points more negroes than those - of any general officer in the army; but I prefer negroes for - pioneers, teamsters, cooks, and servants, others gradually to - experiment in the art of the soldier, beginning with the duties - of local garrisons, such as we had at Memphis, Vicksburg, - Natchez, Nashville, and Chattanooga; but I would not draw on the - poor race for too large a proportion of its active, athletic - young men, for some must remain to seek new homes and provide - for the old and young, the feeble and helpless. These are some - of my peculiar notions, but I assure you they are shared by a - large proportion of our fighting men.” - -The honesty, directness, and philanthropy of these views, will command -respect from those who opposed them, and would raise an army of -emancipated slaves. With him it was not contempt of the negro, but the -scorn of a timid, easy policy by the North, while exactly the opposite -course was taken by the South. - -General Sherman now ordered from Chattanooga four rifled cannon, whose -calibre was four and a half inches, and whose signals of his arrival -were to be dropped into streets of Atlanta. August 10th, these -messengers of _peace with victory_, arrived and began their -negotiations. Night and day they sent their globes of fire into the -city, kindling conflagrations and spreading confusion and terror on -every hand. But the enemy had come to the strongest position along the -entire war-path between Chattanooga and the ocean; and although the -“Gate City” was made a heap of ruins, he was resolved to hold the forts, -which would guard the way, even over the smoking embers of destruction. - -The fine cavalry officer, General Stoneman, was sent on a raid to the -Macon Railroad, in which he was taken prisoner. This had so elated the -rebels they began to think of “turning the tables” on General Sherman. -Suddenly Major-General Wheeler appeared before Dalton, which you -recollect was the first important position taken after leaving -Chattanooga, with a force of infantry and cavalry variously reported at -from seventeen hundred to five thousand men. It was defended by a -garrison of four hundred men under Colonel Seibold. Approaching the town -in line of battle, General Wheeler demanded the surrender of the place -in the following terms: “To prevent the effusion of blood, I have the -honor to demand the immediate and unconditional surrender of the forces -under your command at this garrison.” To which Colonel Seibold replied: -“I have been placed here to defend the post, but not to surrender it. B. -Seibold, commanding U. S. forces.” - -On the receipt of this reply, an attack was made on the garrison, who -retired into their defences, where they succeeded in holding their -position until the arrival of General Steedman with reënforcements from -Chattanooga, when the rebels were forced to retreat after inflicting -some slight damage to the railroad track near Dalton. - -A few days later General Sherman issued orders for a general advance of -the army by the right flank. All the sick, with surplus wagons and -encumbrances of every kind, were sent back to the intrenched position -near the river bridge, reducing the number of wagons to three thousand -and of ambulances to one thousand; and on the night of August 25th the -canvas city gave place to the marshalled host, moving forward in the -darkness to gather more closely the fatal cordon around Atlanta. The -following night flung its shadows upon the still marching thousands, -getting nearer and nearer the throat of the foe. The Army of the -Tennessee moved to the West Point Railroad, when General Sherman ordered -“a day’s work to be expended in destroying the road, and it was done -with a will,” to use his own words. Having surveyed in person the ruins, -and satisfied with the thoroughness of the devastation, he led the whole -army forward. - -General Howard moved on the right toward Jonesboro’, General Thomas had -the centre, whose goal was Conch’s, on the Decatur and Fayetteville -road, and General Schofield the extreme left. To get a clear impression -of the army operations here, you will need the help of a large map, on -which the railroads and towns about Atlanta can be seen in their -relation to it. Meanwhile General Hood was growing merry over a fancied -retreat by the manœuvring and confident Sherman. The long trains moving -to the rear, and the course of the battalions backward toward Sandtown -on the Chattahochie, _looked_ like it. But the commander knew his enemy -and the way to trap him. - -August 28th, the grand army was keeping cheerful step to the music of -the march to conflict and victory; the long columns of warriors proudly -gazing after their chief, who with equal pride cared for and led them to -the fields of conquest. - -Atlanta was now the object of enthusiastic interest. It was profound -strategy which divided the rebel forces at Jonesboro’ and Atlanta, -throwing the Union army like a wedge between them, thus making the fall -of Atlanta certain: “During the night of the 28th, the rest of the army -being well under way, the Twenty-third Corps withdrew and followed the -general movement toward the Macon Road, General Schofield timing his -movements with the corps further on the left, which had the longer arc -of the circle to traverse. The general line of march for the -Twenty-third Corps was toward the junction of the two railroads at East -Point, the Third division, under General Cox, holding the advance, and -with the Second Division, under General Hascall, occasionally erecting -temporary works to guard against threatened attacks from the enemy, who -were on the alert against this demonstration. On the 31st these two -divisions effected a junction with General Stanley, of the Fourth Corps. -General Hascall’s division went into position to guard the left toward -East Point, and General Cox pushed forward toward the Macon road, which -was reached by two or three o’clock P. M., General Stanley, of the -Fourth Corps, striking it about the same time. The troops of these two -corps at once set to work fortifying, while details were sent out, which -destroyed the track for miles. No opposition was encountered, and by -dark strong works had been thrown up, facing east and south, the work of -destruction on the railroad being continued through the night. On the -morning of the 1st of September, Newton’s and Kimball’s divisions were -marched along the line of the railroad the length of a brigade front, -and at a given signal the ties and rails were lifted from their bed, -piled up and burnt. Thus a mile and a half was turned up and destroyed -in half an hour. An advance of another mile and a half was then made -down the road, and the operation repeated. Thus alternately marching and -destroying the road, the two divisions marched a distance of ten miles, -to within two miles of Jonesboro’, where they formed a junction with the -Fourteenth Corps. Soon after the Twenty-third Corps, which followed the -Fourth, came into position on its left. Further to the left was the Army -of Tennessee. - -“Previous to this the enemy had discovered the direction of General -Sherman’s march, and two corps under Hardee had been sent to confront -him at Jonesboro’, Hood meanwhile remaining for the defence of Atlanta. -Daring the night of August 30th the march of a rebel column was heard on -our left and centre, and in the morning two corps were found massed on -our right. At daybreak, the Second brigade of Hazen’s division of the -Fifteenth Corps advanced and drove the enemy from a hill, which gave, -our artillery command at Jonesboro’, and the railroad less than one half -mile distant. This success was immediately followed up by the -reënforcement of the brigade holding the hill, by a brigade from -Osterhaus’ division. Toward three P. M. the enemy appeared in front of -Hazen’s position, Lee’s corps advancing to the assault through a field -of corn, while Hardee’s Corps attempted a flanking movement on the -right, which was checked by Harrow’s division. Both divisions were soon -engaged in checking the desperate and determined assault with which the -enemy sought to overwhelm them. The rebels were driven back, only to -rally again and again for the assault, until after two hours of -desperate fighting they were finally repulsed. They had fortunately -struck a position which we held too strongly to be easily dislodged. A -reënforcement of two regiments were sent during the attack, by General -Howard to General Wood, and a brigade of the Seventeenth Corps, Colonel -Bryant’s, to General Hazen. Failing in this assault, Cleburne’s rebel -division marched to our extreme right, and assaulted Kilpatrick, who -held the bridge on Flint River. General Kilpatrick succeeded, however, -in holding his position until relieved by General Giles B. Smith’s -division. - -“During the night Hardee despatched Lee’s corps to look after the safety -of Atlanta, so that but a single rebel corps was found opposed to our -army on the morning of September 1st. This corps lay in position in -front of Jonesboro’, with their right resting on the railroad. Having -failed in the assault with which they hoped to drive back our army, they -were prepared to resist its further advance in the best position they -could secure. They had a large number of guns in position, which did -effective service during the day. Late in the afternoon General Davis -formed his troops for a charge upon the enemy’s position; -Brigadier-General Carlin’s division on the left, and Brigadier-General -Morgan, joining the Fifteenth Corps on the right, General Baird being in -reserve. The line was formed in the arc of a circle on the edge of the -woods, the two flanks thrown forward overlapping the enemy, who held a -position on some commanding ridges in front, covering Jonesboro’. In the -face of a deadly fire of musketry, shell, and canister, the gallant -Fourteenth Corps charged upon the rebel position, driving them from -their breastworks and capturing many prisoners, including -Brigadier-General Govan, several colonels and other commissioned -officers. Eight guns were also taken, among them part of Loomis’s -battery captured at Chickamauga. The troops captured belonged to the -fighting division of Cleburne. The approach of night prevented pursuit -of the broken columns of the rebels, who escaped under cover of the -darkness. - -“At daybreak on the 2d, the Fourth and Twenty-third Corps advanced in -pursuit of the retreating rebels, who came to bay near Lovejoy’s -Station, six miles beyond Jonesboro’, toward Macon, taking position on a -wooded ridge behind a swamp bordering a creek. Some skirmishing was had -with the enemy’s first line until night, which was spent by our troops -in intrenching. The enemy being found in strong position, and his -retreat being assured, no further advance was attempted. - -“Meantime Atlanta was alive with excitement. Despair had succeeded -confidence as it became known that Hardee had been driven from -Jonesboro’ south, while Hood was left in Atlanta with his communications -severed, and our army threatening both from the north and the south. -Early on Thursday, September 1st, the removal of supplies and ammunition -commenced, and was continued through the day. Large quantities of -provisions that could not be removed were distributed to the citizens, -the storehouses at the same time being thrown open to the troops as they -passed through the city. The rolling stock of the railroad, consisting -of about one hundred cars and six engines, was gathered together and -destroyed. The cars were laden with the surplus ammunition taken out on -the Augusta Railroad, and set on fire and blown up, making the earth -tremble with the explosion. Over one thousand bales of cotton were also -given to the torch. The scene of confusion and excitement among the -town’s people when it became evident that the city was to be evacuated, -is beyond description. Every possible and impossible vehicle was brought -into requisition to carry away the effects of the inhabitants, who, in -sorrowful procession, took up their line of march toward the South. For -the third time the peripatetic Memphis _Appeal_ was on the wing, its -editor reporting himself at this time ‘thoroughly demoralized.’ From the -shanties and cellars of the city swarmed out the lower classes of the -population to seize what they could from the general wreck. The -explosion of ammunition was heard by General Slocum, of the Twentieth -Corps, seven miles distant. Suspecting the cause, he sent out a heavy -column to reconnoitre at daybreak on the morning of the 2d instant. They -met with no opposition, and pushed forward on the roads leading into -Atlanta from the north and northwest. Arriving near the city, they were -met by the mayor, Mr. Calhoun, who formally surrendered the city. The -formalities disposed of, our troops entered Atlanta with banners flying -and music playing, the inhabitants looking on in silence. General Slocum -established his headquarters at the Trout House, the principal hotel of -the city. Eleven heavy guns, mostly sixty-six pounders, were found in -the forts of the city, and others were subsequently discovered buried in -fictitious graves. About three thousand muskets, in good order, and -three locomotives were also secured, besides large quantities of -manufactured tobacco. About two hundred rebel stragglers were gathered -up by the Second Massachusetts, which was detailed for provost duty, its -colonel, Cogswell, being appointed provost-marshal. But a small -proportion of the inhabitants remained in the city, and these -principally of the lower classes, and tradesmen who proposed to make an -honest penny out of the army. Their hopes were speedily cut short by a -peremptory order from General Sherman ordering all civilians from the -city.” - -In looking back upon this campaign, a very remarkable feature of it was -the protection of his line of communication: “It was not a little -precarious, and more than once aroused the anxiety of the nation. It -might well occasion solicitude. His base was, in one sense, not at -Chattanooga, but at Nashville; with the former point as a secondary -base. Accordingly, the enemy bent his efforts not only to breaking the -railroad between Atlanta and Ringgold, striking it at Dalton and -Calhoun, but also to raiding on the road from Chattanooga back to -Nashville. From Atlanta to Chattanooga the railroad is one hundred and -thirty-five miles long; from Chattanooga to Nashville, only a little -less. With this line of two hundred and fifty miles, stretched clear -across the great Alleghany chain from flank to flank, in a disputed -country, filled with guerrillas and hostile inhabitants, with myriads of -nooks and eyries in the mountainous region, apt for the assemblage and -protection of marauding bands, with that attenuated line infested by -many squadrons of the best cavalry in the Confederacy, long accustomed -to be victorious everywhere—cavalry who had devastated almost with -impunity the broad States of Kentucky and Tennessee again and again, -under such bold and skilful leaders as John Morgan, Forrest, Wheeler, -Stephen Lee, Rhoddy, and Chalmers—in spite of all, for four eventful -months, through victory and repulse, in action and repose alike, Sherman -has been able to keep his lines strong and clear. - -“While all the Southern newspapers and many Southern generals, and while -even English journals of great ability were proving by all the laws of -logic and strategy that Sherman _must_ now retreat, Sherman did not -retreat. At the very moment, indeed, when the exultation of the -Confederates was the highest at the absolute certainty of his downfall, -Sherman pushed on and took Atlanta, ending logic and campaign both at -once.” - -It was one of the grandest, most decisive and exciting scenes of the -civil war, when the great leader of the Union battalions in Georgia -enjoyed the pause in marches and battles afforded by the occupation of -Atlanta. The sound of booming cannon, the crack of musketry, all the -Babel discord of war, was comparatively hushed. In the distance the foe -was reluctantly, slowly retreating; and along the track of both armies -the new-made graves and the wounded were lying, the waymarks of a -gigantic struggle for - - “The land of the brave, and the home of the free.” - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - - - The Tidings of Victory at Washington—The President’s Messages to - the People and to the Army—General Sherman congratulates his - Battalions—The Rebel General is indignant—The Correspondence - between him and General Sherman—The authorities of Atlanta also - unreconciled to the new order of things—The noble Letters and - Conduct of the Conquerer. - -“ATLANTA has fallen!” flew on lightning-wing over the country, making -the wildest rejoicing of the loyal millions, and darkening with -despondency and wrath the faces of traitors in their own camps and those -among the patriots of the north. “Atlanta is ours, and fairly won!” was -the sublimely simple message of General Sherman. The importance and -grandeur of the achievement called forth an enthusiastic expression of -rejoicing in the Executive mansion, and of gratitude to God. - -We can almost imagine our calm and excellent President gathering about -him his Cabinet, and proposing three cheers for Sherman; then retiring -to his private apartment, raising his tearful eye upward to the “King of -kings,” in thankful recognition of the source of strength and conquest, -before he took the pen to send over the land the brief and stirring -messages given below: - - “_To Major-General Dix, New York_: - - “The President has issued the following recommendations and - orders in relation to the recent successes by the United States - forces at Mobile and Atlanta. - - “EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.” - - “EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON CITY, - _September 3, 1864_. - - “The signal success that Divine Providence has recently - vouchsafed to the operations of the United States army - and navy in the harbor of Mobile, and the reduction of - Forts Powell, Gaines, and Morgan, and the glorious - achievements of the army under Major-General Sherman in - the State of Georgia, resulting in the capture of the - city of Atlanta, call for devout acknowledgments to the - Supreme Being, in whose hands are the destinies of - nations. - - “It is therefore requested that on next Sunday, in all - places of public worship in the United States, - thanksgiving be offered to Him for His mercy in - preserving our national existence against the insurgent - rebels who so long have been waging a cruel war against - the Government of the United States for its overthrow, - and also that prayer be made for the Divine protection - to our brave soldiers and their leaders in the field, - who have so often and so gallantly perilled their lives - in battling with the enemy, and for blessings and - comfort from the Father of Mercies to the sick, and - wounded, and prisoners, and to the orphans and widows of - those who have fallen in the service of their country, - and that he will continue to uphold the Government of - the United States against all the efforts of public - enemies and secret foes. - - “ABRAHAM LINCOLN.” - - “EXECUTIVE MANSION, _September 3_. - - “The national thanks are tendered by the President to - Major-General William T. Sherman, and the gallant - officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta, for - the distinguished ability, courage, and perseverance - displayed in the campaign in Georgia, which, under - Divine favor, have resulted in the capture of the city - of Atlanta. - - “The marches, battles, sieges, and other military - operations that have signalized this campaign, must - render it famous in the annals of war, and entitle those - who have participated therein to the applause and thanks - of the nation. - - “ABRAHAM LINCOLN.” - - “EXECUTIVE MANSION, _September 3_. - - “Ordered—_First_. That on Monday, the 5th day of - September, commencing at the hour of twelve o’clock - noon, there shall be given a salute of one hundred guns - at the arsenal and navy yard at Washington, and on - Tuesday, the 6th of September, or the day after the - receipt of this order, at each arsenal and navy yard in - the United States, for the recent brilliant achievements - of the fleet and the land forces of the United States in - the harbor of Mobile, in the reduction of Fort Powell, - Fort Gaines, and Fort Morgan. The Secretary of War and - Secretary of the Navy will issue the necessary - directions in their respective Departments for the - execution of this order. - - “_Second._ That on Wednesday, the 7th day of September, - commencing at the hour of twelve o’clock noon, there - shall be fired a salute of one hundred guns at the - arsenal at Washington, and at New York, Boston, - Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, Newport, Ky., and - St. Louis, and at New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, Hilton - Head, and Newbern, the day after the receipt of this - order, for the brilliant achievements of the army under - the command of Major-General Sherman in the State of - Georgia, and the capture of Atlanta. The Secretary of - War will issue directions for the execution of this - order. - - “ABRAHAM LINCOLN.” - -The glad tidings swept over the broad belt of hostile soil to the -headquarters of the lieutenant-general, who sent back a laconic, but -noble response: - - “CITY POINT, VA., _September 4–9_ P. M. - “Major-General SHERMAN: - - “I have just received your despatch announcing the capture of - Atlanta. In honor of your great victory I have just ordered a - salute to be fired with shotted guns from every battery bearing - upon the enemy. The salute will be fired within an hour, amidst - great rejoicing. - - “U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.” - -The gallant chieftain of the conquering battalions, followed with his -official congratulations to the proud and exultant columns which had -pierced, like a wedge, the “heart of the Confederacy.” It is a finished -and eloquent order: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, GA., _Sept. 8, 1864_. } - - “The officers and soldiers of the Armies of the Cumberland, - Ohio, and Tennessee, have, already received the thanks of the - Nation, through its President and Commander-in-Chief, and it now - remains only for him who has been with you from the beginning, - and who intends to stay all the time, to thank the officers and - men for their intelligence, fidelity, and courage displayed in - the campaign of Atlanta. - - “On the 1st of May our armies were lying in garrison, seemingly - quiet from Knoxville to Huntsville, and our enemy lay behind his - rocky-faced barrier at Dalton, proud, defiant, and exulting. He - had had time since Christmas to recover from his discomfiture on - the Mission Ridge, with his ranks filled, and a new - commander-in-chief, second to none of the Confederacy in - reputation for skill, sagacity, and extreme popularity. All at - once our armies assumed life and action, and appeared before - Dalton; threatening Rocky Face we threw ourselves upon Resaca, - and the rebel army only escaped by the rapidity of its retreat, - aided by the numerous roads with which he was familiar, and - which were strange to us. Again he took position in Allatoona, - but we gave him no rest, and by a circuit toward Dallas and - subsequent movement to Ackworth, we gained the Allatoona Pass. - Then followed the eventful battles about Kenesaw, and the escape - of the enemy across Chattahoochie River. - - “The crossing of the Chattahoochie and breaking of the Augusta - road was most handsomely executed by us, and will be studied as - an example in the art of war. At this stage of our game our - enemies became dissatisfied with their old and skilful - commander, and selected one more bold and rash. New tactics were - adopted. Hood first boldly and rapidly, on the 20th of July, - fell on our right at Peach Tree Creek, and lost. Again, on the - 22d, he struck our extreme left, and was severely punished; and - finally, again on the 28th he repeated the attempt on our right, - and that time must have been satisfied; for since that date he - has remained on the defensive. We slowly and gradually drew our - lines about Atlanta, feeling for the railroads which supplied - the rebel army and made Atlanta a place of importance. We must - concede to our enemy that he met these efforts patiently and - skilfully, but at last he made the mistake we had waited for so - long, and sent his cavalry to our rear, far beyond the reach of - recall. Instantly our cavalry was on his only remaining road, - and we followed quickly with our principal army, and Atlanta - fell into our possession as the fruit of well-concerted - measures, backed by a brave and confident army. This completed - the grand task which had been assigned us by our Government, and - your general again repeats his personal and official thanks to - all the officers and men composing this army, for the - indomitable courage and perseverance which alone could give - success. - - “We have beaten our enemy on every ground he has chosen, and - have wrested from him his own Gate City, where were located his - foundries, arsenals, and workshops, deemed secure on account of - their distance from our base, and the seemingly impregnable - obstacles intervening. Nothing is impossible to an army like - this, determined to vindicate a Government which has rights - wherever our flag has once floated, and is resolved to maintain - them at any and all costs. - - “In our campaign many, yea, very many of our noble and gallant - comrades have preceded us to our common destination, the grave; - but they have left the memory of deeds on which a nation can - build a proud history. McPherson, Harker, McCook, and others - dear to us all, are now the binding links in our minds that - should attach more closely together the living, who have to - complete the task which still lies before us in the dim future. - I ask all to continue as they have so well begun, the - cultivation of the soldierly virtues that have ennobled our own - and other countries. Courage, patience, obedience to the laws - and constituted authorities of our Government; fidelity to our - trusts and good feeling among each other; each trying to excel - the other in the practice of those high qualities, and it will - then require no prophet to foretell that our country will in - time emerge from this war purified by the fires of war and - worthy its great founder—Washington. - - “W. T. SHERMAN, - “Major-General Commanding.” - - “All the corps, regiments, and batteries composing the army may, - without further orders, inscribe Atlanta on their colors. By - order of - - “Major-General SHERMAN. - “L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.” - -I am sure you will read with lively interest the remarkable -correspondence between General Hood, with that of the city authorities, -and General Sherman. The favorite motto among literary men, “The pen is -mightier than the sword,” is not quite true perhaps of our hero; for he -excels in the use of _both_, as the Georgia campaign and letters will -show. The annals of war have no finer productions of cultivated genius -from the plains of death and victory. The following orders opened the -spirited battle of the chiefs with the weapons of intellect: - - “HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIV. OF THE MISS., } - IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, GA., _Sept. 4_. } - - “1. The city of Atlanta being exclusively required for warlike - purposes, will at once be vacated by all except the armies of - the United States, and such civilian employés as may be retained - by the proper departments of Government. - - “2. The chief quartermaster, Colonel Easton, will at once take - possession of buildings of all kinds, and of all staple article, - such as cotton, tobacco, &c., and will make such dispositions of - them as are required by existing regulations, or such orders as - he may receive from time to time from the proper authorities. - - “3. The chief engineer will promptly reconnoitre the city and - suburbs, and indicate the sites needed for the permanent defence - of the place, together with any houses or other buildings that - stand in his way, that they may be set apart for destruction. - Colonel Easton will then, on consultation with the proper - officers of the ordnance, quartermaster, medical, and railroad - departments, set aside such buildings and lots of ground as will - be needed for them, and have them suitably marked and set apart; - he will then, in consultation with Generals Thomas and Slocum, - set apart such as may be necessary to the proper administration - of the military duties of the department of the Cumberland and - of the post of Atlanta, and all buildings and materials not thus - embraced will be held subject to the use of the Government, as - may hereafter arise, according to the just rules of the - quartermaster’s department. - - “4. No general, staff, or other officer, or any soldier, will, - on any pretence, occupy any house or shanty, unless it be - embraced in the limits assigned as the camp of the troops to - which such general or staff belongs. But the chief quartermaster - may allow the troops to use boards, shingles, or other materials - of building, barns, sheds, warehouses and shanties, not needed - by the proper departments of Government, to be used in the - reconstruction of quarters and barracks as the troops and - officers serving with them require. And he will also provide, as - early as practicable, the proper allowance of tents for the use - of the officers and men in their encampments. - - “5. In proper time, just arrangements will be made for the - supply to the troops of all articles they may need over and - above the clothing, provisions, &c., furnished by the - Government; and on no pretence whatever will traders, - manufacturers, or suttlers, be allowed to sell in the limits of - fortified places; and if they manage to come in spite of this - notice, the quartermaster will seize their stores and - appropriate them to the use of the troops, and deliver the - parties or other unauthorized citizens, who thus place their - individual interest above that of the United States, into the - hands of some provost-marshal, to be put to labor on the forts, - or conscripted into one of the regiments or batteries already in - service. - - “6. The same general principles will apply to all military posts - south of Chattanooga. - - “By order of Major-General W. T. SHERMAN. - “L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.” - -The message addressed to the enemy contained the following words, which -were like oil to the fire on the defeated General’s smothered wrath: -“All citizens are required to leave Atlanta and proceed either South or -North. The Government will furnish transportation South as far as Rough -and Ready, and North as far as Chattanooga. All citizens may take their -movable property with them. Transportation will be furnished for all -movables. Negroes who wish to do so may go with their masters. Other -male negroes will be put in Government employ. Negro women and children -will be sent out of the lines.” - -The rebel General sent his indignant protest against the determination -of General Sherman to send the disloyal people of Atlanta where their -friends could support them. How well he talks of God and humanity! - - “HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, } - OFFICE CHIEF OF STAFF, _Sept. 9, 1864_. } - “Major-Gen. SHERMAN, _Commanding United States Forces in Georgia_: - - “GENERAL: Your letter borne by James W. Ball and James R. Crew, - citizens of Atlanta, is received. You say therein, ‘I deem it to - be to the interest of the United States, that the citizens now - residing in Atlanta should remove,’ &c. I do not consider that I - have any alternative in the matter. I, therefore, accept your - proposition to declare a truce of ten days, or such time as may - be necessary to accomplish the purpose mentioned, and shall - render all the assistance in my power to expedite the - transportation of citizens in this direction. I suggest that a - staff officer be appointed by you to superintend the removal - from the city to Rough and Ready, while I appoint a like officer - to control their removal further South; that a guard of one - hundred men be sent by either party, as you propose to maintain - order at that place; and that the removal begin on Monday next. - - “And now, sir, permit me to say that the unprecedented measure - you propose transcends in studied and ingenious cruelty all acts - ever before brought to my attention in the dark history of war. - - “In the name of God and humanity I protest, believing that you - will find that you are expelling from their homes and firesides - the wives and children of a brave people. - - “I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant, - - J. B. HOOD, General. - “_Official_—A. MCHUMMETT, Lieutenant, &c.” - -Accompanying the above letter was one addressed to Colonel Calhoun, -Mayor: - - “HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, _Sept. 9, 1864_. - “Hon. JAMES H. CALHOUN, _Mayor_: - - “SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter - touching the removal of the citizens of Atlanta, as ordered by - General Sherman. Please find enclosed my reply to General - Sherman’s letter. I shall do all in my power to mitigate the - terrible hardship and misery that must be brought upon your - people by this extraordinary order of the Federal commander. - Transportation will be sent to Rough and Ready to carry the - people and their effects further South. - - “You have my deepest sympathy in this unlooked-for and - unprecedented affliction. I am, sir, very respectfully, your - obedient servant, - - “J. B. HOOD, General.” - -Like his polished sword, flashes with thought and patriotism the pen of -the victor in his reply: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIV. OF THE MISS., } - IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, GA., _Sept. 10, 1864_. } - “General J. B. HOOD, _Comm’g Army of the Tenn. Confederate Army_: - - “GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your - letter at the hands of Messrs. Ball and Crew, consenting to the - arrangements I had proposed to facilitate the removal South of - the people of Atlanta, who prefer to go in that direction. - - “I enclose you a copy of my orders, which will, I am satisfied, - accomplish my purpose perfectly. You style the measures proposed - ‘unprecedented,’ and appeal to the dark history of war for a - parallel, as an act of ‘studied and ungenerous cruelty.’ It is - not unprecedented, for General Johnston himself very wisely and - properly removed the families all the way from Dalton down, and - I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted. Nor is it - necessary to appeal to the ‘dark history of war,’ when recent - and modern examples are so handy. You yourself burned - dwelling-houses along your parapet, and I saw to-day fifty - houses that you have rendered uninhabitable because they stood - in the way of your forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line - so close to the town that every cannon-shot and many - musket-shots from our line of investment, that overshot their - mark, went into the habitations of women and children. General - Hardee did the same at Jonesboro’, and General Johnston did the - same last summer at Jackson, Miss.; I have not accused them of - heartless cruelty, but merely instance these cases of very - recent occurrence, and could go on and enumerate hundreds of - others, and challenge any fair man to judge which of us has the - heart of pity for the families of ‘a brave people.’ I say it is - kindness to the families of Atlanta to remove them now at once - from scenes that women and children should not be exposed to, - and the ‘brave people’ should scorn to commit their wives and - children to the rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate - the laws of war, as illustrated in the pages of its ‘dark - history.’ - - “In the name of common sense, I ask you not to appeal to a just - God in such a sacrilegious manner. - - “You who in the midst of peace and prosperity have plunged a - nation into war, ‘dark and cruel war;’ who dared and badgered us - to battle, insulted our flag; seized our arsenals and forts that - were left in the honorable custody of a peaceful ordnance - sergeant; seized and made prisoners of war the very garrisons - sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians, long - before any overt act was committed by the (to you) hateful - Lincoln Government; tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into - rebellion in despite of themselves; falsified the vote of - Louisiana; turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed - ships; expelled Union families by the thousands; burned their - homes, and declared, by an act of your Congress, the - confiscation of all debts due to Northern men for goods had and - received! Talk this to the marines, but not to me, who have seen - these things, and who will this day make as great sacrifice for - the peace and honor of the South as the best Southerner among - you. - - “If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out as we - propose to-day, and not deal in such _hypocritical appeals to - God and humanity_. God will judge us in due time, and he will - pronounce whether it be more humane to fight with a town full of - women and the families of a ‘brave people’ at our back, or to - remove them in time to places of safety among their own friends - and people. - - “I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, - - “W. T. SHERMAN, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. - “[Official copy:] L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.” - -The conquering chief humanely gives the rebels time to depart, declaring -a truce of ten days: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, GA., _Sept. 10, 1864_. } - - “1. Pursuant to an agreement between General J. B. Hood, - commanding the Confederate forces in Georgia, and Major-General - W. T. Sherman, commanding this army, a truce is hereby declared - to exist from daylight of Monday, September 12, until daylight - of Thursday, September 22—ten (10) full days—at a point on the - Macon Railroad known as Rough and Ready, and the country round - about or a circle of two (2) miles radius, together with the - roads leading to and from, in the direction of Atlanta and - Lovejoy station, respectively, for the purpose of affording the - people of Atlanta a safe means of removal to points South. - - “2. The Chief Quartermaster at Atlanta, Colonel Easton, will - afford all the citizens of Atlanta who elect to go South all the - facilities he can spare to remove them comfortably and safely, - with their effects, to Rough and Ready station, using cars and - ambulances for that purpose; and commanders of regiments and - brigades may use their regimental and staff teams to carry out - the object of this order; the whole to cease after Wednesday, - 21st instant. - - “3. Major-General Thomas will cause a guard to be established on - the road out beyond the camp-ground, with orders to allow all - wagons and vehicles to pass that are used manifestly for this - purpose; and Major-General Howard will send a guard of one - hundred men, with a field officer in command, to take post at - Rough and Ready during the truce, with orders in concert with a - guard from the Confederate army of like size, to maintain the - most perfect order in that vicinity during the transfer of these - families. A white flag will be displayed during the truce, and a - guard will cause all wagons to leave at 4 P. M. of Wednesday, - the 21st instant, and the guard to withdraw at dark, the truce - to terminate the next morning. - - “By order of Major-General W. T. SHERMAN. - “L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp.” - -The letter of the authorities of Atlanta, referred to by Hood, and his -reply, are as follows: - - “ATLANTA, GA., _September 11_. - “_Major-General W. T. Sherman_: - - “SIR: The undersigned mayor, and two members of council for the - city of Atlanta, for the time being the only legal organ of the - people of the said city, to express their wants and wishes, ask - leave most earnestly, but respectfully, to petition you to - reconsider the order requiring them to leave Atlanta. At first - view it struck us that the measure would involve extraordinary - hardship and loss, but since we have seen the practical - execution of it, so far as it has progressed, and the individual - condition of many of the people, and heard their statements as - to the inconveniences, loss, and suffering attending it, we are - satisfied that the amount of it will involve in the aggregate - consequences appalling and heartrending. Many poor women are in - an advanced state of pregnancy; others now having young - children, and whose husbands are either in the army, prisoners, - or dead. Some say: ‘I have such a one sick at home; who will - wait on them when I am gone?’ Others say: ‘What are we to do? We - have no houses to go to, and no means to buy, build, or to rent - any—no parents, friends, or relatives to go to.’ Another says: - ‘I will try and take this or that article of property, but such - and such things I must leave behind, though I need them much.’ - We reply to them: ‘General Sherman will carry your property to - Rough and Ready, and General Hood will take it there on.’ And - they will reply to this: ‘But I want to leave the railroad at - such a point, and cannot get conveyance from there on.’ We only - refer to a few facts to try to illustrate in part how the - measure will operate in practice. As you advanced, the people - north of us fell back, and before your arrival here a large - portion of the people had retired south, so that the country - south of this is already crowded, and without houses to - accommodate the people, and we are informed that many are now - staying in churches and other out-buildings. This being so, how - is it possible for the people still here (mostly women and - children) to find any shelter? and how can they live through the - winter in the woods—no shelter or subsistence—in the midst of - strangers who know them not, and without the power to assist - them, if they were willing to do so? This is but a feeble - picture of the consequences of this measure. You know the woe, - the horror, and the suffering cannot be described by words. - Imagination can only conceive of it, and we ask you to take - these things into consideration. We know your mind and time are - constantly occupied with the duties of your command, which - almost deter us from asking your attention to this matter; but - thought it might be that you had not considered the subject in - all its awful consequences, and that on more reflection, you, we - hope, would not make this people an exception to all mankind, - for we know of no such instance ever having occurred—surely - none such in the United States; and what has this helpless - people done, that they should be driven from their homes, to - wander as strangers, outcasts, and exiles, and to subsist on - charity? We do not know, as yet, the number of people still - here. Of those who are here we are satisfied a respectably - number, if allowed to remain at home, could subsist for several - months without assistance, and a respectable number for a much - longer time, and who might not need assistance at any time. In - conclusion, we most earnestly and solemnly petition you to - reconsider this order, or modify it, and suffer this unfortunate - people to remain at home and enjoy what little means they have. - Respectfully submitted, - - “JAMES M. CALHOUN, Mayor. - “E. E. RAWSON, } - “L. C. WELLS.” } Councilmen. - -Here is General Sherman’s answer to the letter of Mayor Calhoun and the -Councilmen of Atlanta: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, ATLANTA, _September 12, 1864_. } - “JAMES M. CALHOUN, _Mayor_, E. E. RAWSON _and_ S. C. WELLS, - _representing City Council of Atlanta_: - - “GENTLEMEN: I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a - petition to revoke my order removing all the inhabitants from - Atlanta. I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your - statements of the distress that will be occasioned by it, and - yet shall not revoke my order, simply because my orders are not - designed to meet the humanities of the case, but to prepare for - the future struggle in which millions, yea, hundreds of millions - of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest. We must - have peace, not only in Atlanta, but in all America. To secure - this, we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and - favored country. To stop the war, we must defeat the rebel - armies that are arrayed against the laws and Constitution which - all men must respect and obey. To defeat these armies, we must - prepare the way to reach them in their recesses, provided with - the arms and instruments which enable us to accomplish our - purpose. - - “Now I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, and that we may - have many years of military operations from this quarter, and - therefore deem it wise and prudent to prepare in time. The use - of Atlanta for warlike purposes is inconsistent with its - character as a home for families. There will be no manufactures, - commerce, or agriculture here for the maintenance of families, - and, sooner or later, want will compel the inhabitants to go. - Why not go now, when all the arrangements are completed for the - transfer, instead of waiting until the plunging shot of - contending armies will renew the scenes of the past month? Of - course I do not apprehend any such thing at this moment, but you - do not suppose this army will be here till the war is over? I - cannot discuss this subject with you fairly, because I cannot - impart to you what I propose to do; but I assert that my - military plans make it necessary for the inhabitants to go away, - and I can only renew my offer of services to make their exodus - in any direction as easy and comfortable as possible. You cannot - qualify war in harsher terms than I will. - - “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought - war on our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a - people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, - and I know that I will make more sacrifices than any of you - to-day to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division - of our country. If the United States submits to a division now, - it will not stop, but will go on till we reap the fate of - Mexico, which is eternal war. The United States does and must - assert its authority wherever it has power; if it relaxes one - bit of pressure it is gone, and I know that such is not the - national feeling. This feeling assumes various shapes, but - always comes back to that of _Union_. Once admit the Union, once - more acknowledge the authority of the National Government, and - instead of devoting your houses and streets and roads to the - dread uses of war, I and this army become at once your - protectors and supporters, shielding you from danger, let it - come from what quarter it may. I know that a few individuals - cannot resist a torrent of error and passion such as has swept - the South into rebellion; but you can point out, so that we may - know those who desire a Government, and those who insist on war - and its desolation. - - “You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against - the terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only - way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace - and quiet at home, is to stop this war, which can alone be done - by admitting that it began in error, and is perpetuated in - pride. We don’t want your negroes, or your horses, or your - houses, or your land, or anything you have; but we do want and - will have a just obedience to the laws of the United States. - That we will have; and if it involves the destruction of your - improvements, we cannot help it. You have heretofore read public - sentiment in your newspapers, that live by falsehood and - excitement, and the quicker you seek for truth in other quarters - the better for you. - - “I repeat, then, that by the original compact of government, the - United States had certain rights in Georgia which have never - been relinquished, and never will be; that the South began the - war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom houses, &c., long - before Mr. Lincoln was installed, and before the South had one - jot or tittle of provocation. I myself have seen in Missouri, - Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, hundreds and thousands of - women and children fleeing from your armies and desperadoes, - hungry, and with bleeding feet. In Memphis, Vicksburg, and - Mississippi, we fed thousands upon thousands of the families of - rebel soldiers left on our hands, and whom we could not see - starve. Now that war comes home to you, you feel very - different—you deprecate its horrors, but did not feel them when - you sent carloads of soldiers and ammunition, and moulded shells - and shot to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, and desolate - the homes of hundreds and thousands of good people, who only - asked to live in peace at their old homes, and under the - Government of their inheritance. But these comparisons are idle. - I want peace, and believe it only can be reached through Union - and war, and I will ever conduct war purely with a view to - perfect and early success. - - “But, my dear sirs, when that peace does come, you may call on - me for anything. Then will I share with you the last cracker, - and watch with you to shield your homes and families against - danger from every quarter. Now you must go, and take with you - the old and feeble; feed and nurse them, and build for them in - more quiet places proper habitations to shield them against the - weather, until the mad passions of men cool down, and allow the - Union and peace once more to settle on your old homes at - Atlanta. - - “Yours, in haste, - “W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.” - -The next effort of his facile pen corrects a falsehood which had been -copied from a rebel paper: - - “ATLANTA, _Sept. 24, 1864_. - “_To the Louisville Agent of the New York Associated Press_: - - “Your press despatches of the 21st embrace one from Macon, of - the 14th, announcing the arrival of the first train of refugees - from Atlanta, with this addition, ‘that they were robbed of - everything before being sent into the rebel lines.’ Of course, - that is false; and it is idle to correct it so far as the rebels - are concerned, for they purposed it as a falsehood, to create a - mischievous public opinion. The truth is, that during the truce, - 446 families were moved South, making 705 adults, 860 children, - and 479 servants, with 1,651 pounds of furniture and household - goods on the average for each family, of which we have a perfect - recollection by name and articles. At the end of the truce, - Colonel Warner, of my staff, who had general supervision of the - business, received from Major Clan, of General Hood’s staff, the - following letter: - - “‘ROUGH AND READY, _Sept. 21, 1864_. - - “‘COLONEL: Our official communications being about to - close, you will permit me to bear testimony to the - uniform courtesy you have shown on all occasions to me - and my people, and the promptness with which you have - corrected all irregularities arising in our intercourse. - Hoping at some future time to be able to reciprocate - your courteousness, and in many instances your positive - kindness, I am, with respect, your obedient servant, - - “‘U. T. CLAN, Major and A.-G.-G. Gen. Hood’s Staff.’ - - “I would not notice this, but I know the people of the North, - liable to be misled by a falsehood calculated for special - purposes, and by a desperate enemy, will be relieved by this - assurance, that not only care, but real kindness has been - extended to families who lost their home by the act of their - male protectors. - - “(Signed) W. T. SHERMAN, - “Major-Gen. Commanding.” - -The congratulations of the heroic, devoutly Christian General Howard, -who is equally at home in the Sabbath school and in the smoke of battle, -will add to the interest of the records of this eventful time: - - “It is with pride, gratification, and a sense of Divine favor, - that I congratulate this noble army upon the successful - termination of the campaign. - - “Your officers claim for you a wonderful record—for example, a - march of four hundred miles, thirteen distinct engagements, four - thousand prisoners, and twenty stands of colors captured, and - three thousand of the enemy’s dead buried in your front. - - “Your movements upon the enemy’s flank have been bold and - successful; first upon Resaca, second upon Dallas, third upon - Kenesaw, fourth upon Nickajack, fifth, via Roswell, upon the - Augusta Railroad, sixth upon ‘Ezra Church,’ to the southwest of - Atlanta, and seventh upon Jonesboro’ and the Macon Railroad. - Atlanta was evacuated while you were fighting at Jonesboro’. - - “The country may never know with what patience, labor, and - exposure you have tugged away at every natural and artificial - obstacle that an enterprising and confident enemy could - interpose. The terrific battles you have fought may never be - realized or credited; still a glad acclaim is already greeting - you from the Government and people, in view of the results you - have helped to gain; and I believe a sense of the magnitude of - the achievements of the last hundred days will not abate, but - increase with time and history. - - “Our rejoicing is tempered, as it always must be, by the - soldier’s sorrow at the loss of his companions in arms. On every - hillside, in every valley throughout your long and circuitous - route, from Dalton to Jonesboro’, you have buried them. - - “Your trusted and beloved commander fell in your midst; his - name, the name of MCPHERSON, carries with it a peculiar feeling - of sorrow. I trust the impress of his character is upon you all, - to incite you to generous actions and noble deeds. - - “To mourning friends, and to all the disabled in battle, you - extend a soldier’s sympathy. - - “My first intimate acquaintance with you dates from the 28th of - July. I never beheld fiercer assaults than the enemy then made, - and I never saw troops more steady and self-possessed in action - than your divisions which were then engaged. - - “I have learned that for cheerfulness, obedience, rapidity of - movement and confidence in battle, the army of the Tennessee is - not to be surpassed, and it shall be my study that your fair - record shall continue, and my purpose to assist you to move - steadily forward and plant the old flag in every proud city of - the rebellion. - - “(Signed) O. O. HOWARD, Major-Gen. - “_Official_: SAMUEL L. TAGGART, A.-A.-G.” - -The most decided and pleasing evidence of the manly and magnanimous -heart of the conqueror, is given by the enemy himself. In his -despatches, General Sherman sends the following note: - - “ATLANTA, _Sept. 26_. - - “The following, which belongs to the testimonials from the - authorities at Atlanta, has just been received in communication; - and in conclusion of the subject, I send you a copy of the - mayor’s letter. - - “W. T. SHERMAN. - - “‘ATLANTA, _Sept. 20_. - - “‘On leaving Atlanta, I should return my thanks to - General Sherman, General Slocum, General Ward, Colonel - Colburn, Major Beck, Captain Mott, and other officers, - with whom I have had business transactions in carrying - out the orders of General Sherman for the removal of the - citizens, and in transacting my private business, for - their kindness to, and their patience in answering the - many inquiries I had to make on the duration of the - delicate and arduous duties devolving on me as mayor of - this city. - - “‘Respectfully, JAMES M. CALHOUN.’” - -Similar testimony appeared in the columns of rebel newspapers. The next -quotation is from the Macon _Telegraph_: “Refugees report generally kind -personal treatment from General Sherman and his officers. Whatever -exceptions may have occurred have been in violation of orders—instances -of individual pilfering, which cannot always be prevented in an army, -and in many cases have been detected and punished. - -“A friend, whose wife was left an invalid in Atlanta, and came within -our lines a day or two since, says, that at her request General Sherman -came to see her, and finding her unable to attend to the arrangement of -her movables for transportation, had them all bound up nicely and -transported to our lines, even to her washtub. - -“The Federal general had three hours’ conversation with her, and -justified at length his order for the removal, insisting that in his -exposed position, liable to be cut off and besieged, it was the part of -humanity to require that non-combatants should not be exposed to the -privations and perils to which his army must probably be subjected; and -worse, because he could not provide food for a large population. Goods -left behind were stored and duplicate receipts given, with the promise -that they should be safely returned. - -“Refugees report that Sherman’s army is going North by thousands, and -his force is now very small. Whether this movement is confined to men -going out of service, or embraces reënforcements to Grant, they were -unable to say.” - -I must give you a pleasant picture of the chief while marshalling his -troops at Atlanta: “While I was watching to-day the endless line of -troops shifting by, an officer with a modest escort rode up to the fence -near which I was standing, and dismounted. He was rather tall and -slender, and his quick movements denoted good muscle added to absolute -leanness—not thinness. His uniform was neither new nor old, but -bordering on a hazy mellowness of gloss, while the elbows and knees were -a little accented from the continuous agitation of those joints. - -“The face was one I should never rest upon in a crowd, simply because, -to my eye, there was nothing remarkable in it save the nose, which organ -was high, thin, and planted with a curve as vehement as the curl of a -Malay cutlass. The face and neck were rough and covered with reddish -hair, the eye light in color and animated; but, though restless and -bounding like a ball from one object to another, neither piercing nor -brilliant; the mouth well closed but common, the ears large, the hands -and feet long and thin, the gait a little rolling, but firm and active. -In dress and manner there was not the slightest trace of pretension. He -spoke rapidly, and generally with an inquisitive smile. To this -_ensemble_ I must add a hat which was the reverse of dignified or -distinguished—a simple felt affair, with a round crown and drooping -brim—and you have as fair a description of General Sherman’s externals -as I can pen. - -“Seating himself on a stick of cordwood hard by the fence, he drew a bit -of pencil from his pocket, and spreading a piece of note paper on his -knee, he wrote with great rapidity. Long columns of troops lined the -road a few yards in his front, and beyond the road, massed in a series -of spreading green fields, a whole division of infantry was waiting to -take up the line of march, the blue ranks clear cut against the verdant -background. Those who were near their general looked at him curiously; -for in so vast an army the soldier sees his commander-in-chief but -seldom. Page after page was filled by the general’s nimble pencil, and -despatched. - -“For a half hour I watched him, and, though I looked for and expected to -find them, no symptoms could I detect that the mind of the great leader -was taxed by the infinite cares of a terribly hazardous military _coup -de main_. Apparently it did not lay upon his mind the weight of a -feather. A mail arrived. He tore open the papers and glanced over them -hastily, then chatted with some general officers near him, then rode off -with characteristic suddenness, but with fresh and smiling countenance, -filing down the road beside many thousand men, whose lives were in his -keeping.” - -The truly great mind is magnanimous in the hour of victory; a selfish, -narrow one is arrogant and oppressive. We ought to be devoutly grateful -to God for leaders in this second life-struggle of freedom, who in -general character emulate our unrivalled Washington, and do not tarnish -the cause he loved by revengeful or unworthy deeds. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - - The Events which followed the Truce—General Hood’s Army in Motion - —Battle at Allatoona Pass—He is left to the care of the - gallant Thomas—The New and Magnificent Campaign of General - Sherman—The Field of his Operations—Burning of Rome—The - Advance—Atlanta partially Burned—The Rebel Fears and Hopes— - The March. - -DURING the truce which closed September 22d, General Hood had moved -his army toward Macon, to protect that important town. But the startling -rumor reached his ear that his bold antagonist would turn his front -toward Mobile, away on the shores of the Gulf. This drew the rebel chief -from his position, and brought him by a westward movement across the -track toward the seaboard. - -On Sunday, September 25th, at Macon, Jeff Davis addressed the soldiers, -assuring them their feet would soon press the soil of Tennessee, -spreading before them golden visions of conquest and abundance of -supplies. To compel General Sherman to abandon his southern march, and -follow him into Tennessee, the desperate leader of treason’s battalions -wheeled about and recrossed the Chattahoochie River. Thus was abandoned -the great State of Georgia, and the “hotbed of secession,” South -Carolina, to the Union army. Generals Hood and Forrest began to cut -railroad lines and burn bridges. - -At Allatoona Pass the enemy made a furious assault on our garrison to -regain this Thermopylæ of the campaign, but dashed in vain upon the -valor of our unyielding ranks. The commander-in-chief of our forces, who -had signalled General Corse from the top of Kenesaw Mountain to meet the -enemy there, sent the “boys” his warm congratulations: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, KENESAW MOUNTAIN, _Oct. 7, 1864_. } - - “The General commanding avails himself of the opportunity, in - the handsome defence made of ‘Alatoona,’ to illustrate the most - important principle in war, that fortified posts should be - defended to the last, regardless of the relative numbers of the - party attacking and attacked. - - “Allatoona was garrisoned by three regiments, commanded by - Colonel Tourtelotte, and reënforced by a detachment from a - division at Rome, under command of Brigadier-General J. M. - Corse, on the morning of the 5th, and a few hours after was - attacked by French’s division of Stewart’s corps, two other - divisions being near at hand, and in support. General French - demanded a surrender, in a letter, to ‘avoid a useless effusion - of blood,’ and gave but five minutes for answer. General Corse’s - answer was emphatic and strong, that he and his command were - ready for the ‘useless effusion of blood’ as soon as it was - agreeable to General French. - - “This was followed by an attack which was prolonged for five - hours, resulting in the complete repulse of the enemy, who left - his dead on the ground, amounting to more than two hundred, and - four hundred prisoners, well and wounded. The ‘effusion of - blood’ was not ‘useless,’ as the position at Allatoona was and - is very important to our present and future operations. - - “The thanks of this army are due, and are hereby accorded, to - General Corse, Colonel Tourtelotte, officers and men, for their - determined and gallant defence of Allatoona, and it is made an - example to illustrate the importance of preparing in time, and - meeting the danger, when present, boldly, manfully, and well. - - “The army, though unseen to the garrison, was cöoperating by - moving toward the road by which the enemy could alone escape, - but unfortunately were delayed by the rain and mud; but this - fact hastened the retreat of the enemy. - - “Commanders and garrisons of the posts along our railroads are - hereby instructed that they must hold their posts to the last - minute, sure that the time gained is valuable and necessary to - their comrades at the front.” - -While General Hood was thus retracing his steps, capturing Dalton and -threatening Chattanooga, General Sherman was on his track, pursuing him -to the Tennessee. The lion-hearted Thomas was at Nashville, and, quite -sure that he could “take care of Hood,” as the order ran, the great -commander turned his face again southward. - -He had telegraphed to the Secretary of War that his army needed rest at -Atlanta. It was true, but General Sherman did not intend to have it -then. The rebels and the country were bewildered by his mysterious -movements. Early in November he was between the Tennessee and -Chattahoochie, his headquarters at Kingston, with Rome on the line to -Atlanta. The deeply-laid game was played by the master hand in the dark -to others. Preparations were at once made for a grander campaign than -that which had just closed. - -On the 10th, when the evening darkened around the beautiful Rome of -Georgia, the heavens glowed with its conflagration. A fearful storm had -ceased, the advance was at hand, and it was necessary, in the stern -demands of war, to make a torch and desolation of that place, in the -wake of the march. The fire was kindled by General Corse, according to -the orders of the commander. A spectator wrote of the scenes of that -terrific conflagration: - -[Illustration: MARCHING TO SAVANNAH.] - -“All the barracks were laid in ashes, and a black veil of dense smoke -hung over the war-desolated city nearly all day, arising from the -smouldering ruins. - -“Owing to the great lack of railroad transportation, General Corse was -obliged to destroy nearly a million of dollars’ worth of property, among -which was a few thousand dollars’ worth of condemned and unserviceable -government stores. Nine rebel guns, captured at Rome by our troops, were -burst, it being deemed unsafe to use them. One thousand bales of fine -cotton, two flour mills, two rolling mills, two tanneries, one salt -mill, an extensive foundry, several machine shops, together with the -railroad depots and storehouses, four pontoon bridges, built by General -Corse’s pioneer corps for use on the Coosa and Etowah rivers, and a -substantial trestle bridge, nearly completed for use, were destroyed. -This trestle, constructed by the Engineer corps, I am told, would have -cost fifty thousand dollars North. Recollecting the outrages perpetrated -upon Colonel Streight by the ‘Romans,’ our troops, as soon as they -learned that the town was to be abandoned and a portion of it burned, -resolved to lay Rome in ashes in revenge. The roaring of the flames, as -they leaped from window to window, their savage tongues of fire darting -high up into the heavens, and then licking the sides of the buildings, -presented an awful but grand spectacle, while the mounted patrol and the -infantrymen glided along through the brilliant light like the ghostly -spectres of horrid war.” - -Concentrating at Atlanta, the last use made of the stronghold and -cherished hope of the Confederacy was the finishing work of getting a -vast army in motion—a grand start into hostile country, away from the -base of supplies. - -After the men had bivouacked for the night, the following orders, issued -by General Sherman, were read to the troops, and were greeted with many -manifestations of approbation by the veterans, who, in so many bloody -battles, have followed the lead of Sherman: - - “HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, KINGSTON, GA., _Nov. 8, 1864_. } - - “The General commanding deems it proper at this time to inform - the officers and men of the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, - and Twentieth Corps, that he has organized them into an army for - a special purpose well known to the War Department and to - General Grant. It is sufficient for you to know that it involves - a departure from our present base, and a long and difficult - march to a new one. All the chances of war have been considered - and provided for as far as human sagacity can. All he asks of - you is to maintain that discipline, patience and courage which - have characterized you in the past, and he hopes, through you, - to strike a blow at our enemy that will have a material effect - in producing what we all so much desire, his complete overthrow. - Of all things the most important is, that the men, during - marches and in camp, keep their places, and not scatter about as - stragglers or foragers, to be picked up by hostile people in - detail. - - “It is also of the utmost importance that our wagons should not - be loaded with anything but provisions and ammunition. All - surplus servants, non-combatants, and refugees should now go to - the rear, and none should be encouraged to encumber us on the - march. At some future time we will be enabled to provide for the - poor whites and blacks who seek to escape the bondage under - which they are now suffering. - - “With these few simple cautions in your minds, he hopes to lead - you to achievements equal in importance to those of the past. - - “By order of - “Major-General W. T. SHERMAN.” - -The grand army, of more than fifty thousand men, was divided into two -wings, although in some of its movements arranged in three or more -separate columns. General Slocum commanded the left wing, composed of -the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, and General Howard the right wing, -made up of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps. The dashing, brilliant -Kilpatrick was chief of a cavalry force. The marching orders were -issued, and flew along the extended battle front, meeting with a glad -welcome from the troops. The clear directions of the chieftain will -present the line and method of march: - - “IN THE FIELD, KINGSTON, GA., _November 9, 1864_. - - “I. For the purpose of military operations, this army is divided - into two wings, viz.: The right wing, Major-General O. O. - Howard, commanding the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps; the left - wing, Major-General H. W. Slocum, commanding the Fourteenth and - Twentieth Corps. - - “II. The habitual order of march will be, whenever practicable, - by four roads, as nearly parallel as possible, and converging at - points hereafter to be indicated in orders. The cavalry, - Brigadier-General Kilpatrick commanding, will receive special - orders from the Commander-in-Chief. - - “III. There will be no general trains of supplies, but each - corps will have its ammunition and provision train, distributed - habitually as follows: Behind each regiment should follow one - wagon and one ambulance; behind each brigade should follow a due - proportion of ammunition wagons, provision wagons, and - ambulances. In case of danger, each army corps should change - this order of march by having his advance and rear brigade - unencumbered by wheels. The separate columns will start - habitually at seven A. M., and make about fifteen miles per day, - unless otherwise fixed in orders. - - “IV. The army will _forage liberally on the country_ during the - march. To this end each brigade commander will organize a good - and sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more - discreet officers, who will gather, near the route travelled, - corn or forage of any kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, - corn-meal, or whatever is needed by the command; aiming at all - times to keep in the wagon trains _at least ten days’ provisions - for the command and three days’ forage. Soldiers must not enter - the dwellings_ of the inhabitants or commit any trespass; during - the halt or a camp they may be permitted to gather turnips, - potatoes, and other vegetables, and drive in stock in front of - their camps. To regular foraging parties must be intrusted the - gathering of provisions and forage at any distance from the road - travelled. - - “V. To army corps commanders is intrusted the power _to destroy - mills, houses, cotton-gins, etc._, and for them this general - principle is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods _where - the army is unmolested, no destruction_ of such property should - be permitted; but should guerillas or bushwhackers molest our - march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, - or otherwise manifest local hostility, then army corps - commanders should order and _enforce a devastation more or less - relentless, according to the measure of such hostility_. - - “VI. As for horses, mules, wagons, etc., belonging to the - inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate freely - and without limit; discriminating, however, between the rich, - who are usually hostile, and the poor or industrious, usually - neutral or friendly. Foraging parties may also take mules or - horses to replace the jaded animals of their trains, or to serve - as pack mules for the regiments or brigades. In all foraging, of - whatever kind, the parties engaged will refrain from abusive or - threatening language, and may, when the officer in command - thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts, but no - receipts; and they will endeavor to leave with each family a - reasonable portion for their maintenance. - - “VII. _Negroes who are able-bodied and can be of service to the - several columns, may be taken along_; but each army commander - will bear in mind that the question of supplies is a very - important one, and that his first duty is to see to those who - bear arms. - - “VIII. The organization at once of a good pioneer battalion for - each corps, composed, if possible, of negroes, should be - attended to. This battalion should follow the advance guard, - should repair roads and double them if possible, so that the - columns will not be delayed after reaching bad places. Also, - army commanders should study the habit of giving the artillery - and wagons the road, and marching their troops on one side; and - also instruct their troops to assist wagons at steep hills or - bad crossings or streams. - - “IX. Captain O. M. Poe, chief engineer, will assign to each wing - of the army a pontoon train, fully equipped and organized, and - the commanders thereof will see to its being properly protected - at all times. - - “By order of Major-General W. T. SHERMAN.” - -The feeling of the troops is expressed in the words of another who was -with them: “They do not stop to ask questions. Sherman says ‘Come,’ and -that is the entire vocabulary with them. A most cheerful feature of the -situation is the fact that the men are healthful and jolly as men can -be, hoping for the best, daring to do the worst. - -“Behind us we leave a track of smoke and flame. Half of Marietta was -burned up, not by orders, however, for the command is that proper -details shall be made to destroy all property which can ever be of use -to the rebel armies. Stragglers will get into these places, and -dwelling-houses are levelled to the ground. In nearly all cases these -are the deserted habitations formerly owned by rebels, who are now -refugees. - -“Yesterday, as some of the men were marching toward the Chattahoochie -River, they saw in the distance pillars of smoke rising along its banks; -the bridges were in flames. Says one, hitching his musket a bit on the -shoulder in a free and easy way, ‘I say, Charley, I believe Sherman has -set the river on fire.’ ‘Reckon not,’ replied the other, with the same -indifference. ‘If he has, it’s all right.’ And so they pass along, -obeying orders, not knowing what is before them, but believing in their -leader.” - -The foraging parties were to bring in from the country along the -war-path, supplies for the long cavalcade, sweeping over a belt of land -twenty to seventy miles wide, right across the proud State of Georgia. - -The regulations respecting retaliation for outrages were wise and -humane, because they prevented the very ruin which the rebels, -unrestrained by fear, would have drawn upon themselves. It was not an -idle threat, but proved to be a most timely, useful one. - -November 12th, you might have seen the magnificent spectacle a great war -alone affords. Mounted on his steed, his cork hand on the rein, General -Howard led the right wing in bristling ranks, to the sound of martial -airs, from Atlanta. And here I must tell you about that cork hand. You -may recollect that the heroic chief lost his arm at Fair Oaks, fighting -under General McClellan. He returned soon after to his home in Lewiston, -Maine. It happened that I was there upon a beautiful summer day, when -the Sabbath-school children had a meeting in Rev. Mr. Adams’s church, at -Auburn, across the river. General Howard was present, the first time he -had attended a public gathering since the wound was received. And many -hearts were touched to hear him talk earnestly of truth and duty, while -the yet unhealed stump would try to gesticulate, as the arm did of old. -He is a complete man, and appreciated by his general-in-chief. - -The imposing pageant of the advancing host was repeated on the 14th, -when General Slocum marched at the head of the left wing from the doomed -city. Then General Sherman, with his staff and body-guard, gave a last -look, and took his road to Macon. “Let Hood go North; our business is -down South,” was his brief comment upon the rebel general’s movements. - -The torch was applied to the public buildings and railroad depots, -flinging at night a lurid light over the dismantled ruined -fortifications, and upon the surrounding hills. The scene was grand and -awful, memorable to all who witnessed this burning of the “Gate City.” -No private residences were designedly given to the flames. “The evidence -of the rebels themselves has since appeared to show, that though Atlanta -had been besieged, captured, and depopulated, there was no heartless or -unavoidable destruction of private property, such as the enemy have -delighted to charge upon General Sherman. Thus abandoned, it was left in -the rear of our army, whose face was now seaward, and the hand of time, -with a higher degree of civilization, can only efface the marks -inflicted by a warlike occupation. Before the war Atlanta was one of the -most thriving inland cities of the South, and contained 12,000 -inhabitants. - -“The rebels at Richmond received their first news of Sherman’s departure -from Atlanta, from the North, but refused to place confidence in it. ‘It -is a big Yankee lie,’ said the Richmond _Examiner_, ‘and if Sherman -really has burnt Atlanta, it is to cover a retreat northward, to look -after Hood.’ ‘But if Sherman is really attempting this prodigious -design,’ it continued, ‘his march will only lead him to the “Paradise of -Fools.”’ The more Southern papers, those of Augusta, Savannah, etc., -were alike incredulous with those of Richmond, upon the receipt of the -first news of Sherman’s movement. ‘It is rumored that Atlanta is -evacuated,’ said the Augusta _Chronicle_, of November 15, ‘and we trust -the rumor will prove correct.’ The same paper of November 18, implores -the citizens of Augusta to ‘look at the situation without nervousness or -fear—pray to God, but keep your powder dry—meet the storm like -men—it’s always darkest just before day.’ - -“It is only necessary to follow Sherman’s course, to note the precision -with which he moved, the width of country which he covered, and the -directness of his march upon his objective point, to realize the -impotency of all the shrieks, invocations, and proclamations that only -spoiled so much valuable paper in the Confederacy.” - -While the heavens hung like curtains of glowing crimson above and around -the circular theatre of ruin, whose cinders shot through the hot -atmosphere continually, the fine band of the Thirty-third Massachusetts -were playing, “John Brown’s soul goes marching on!” The effect was -awfully grand; the strange stirring anthem rising over the advance of -that mighty host whose way was flashing with the torchlights of burning -buildings. - -Let us suppose we were upon an eminence near Atlanta, with power of -vision to look away over the “heart of Georgia,” the goal of General -Sherman’s moving columns. Running through it are two railroads, the only -lines traversing the State of Georgia, and forming the chief link of -railway connection between Virginia and the States of Alabama and -Mississippi, now the southwestern limit of the so-called Confederacy. -One of these railroads is the Georgia Central, running from Savannah to -Macon, 190 miles, thence to Atlanta, by the Macon and Western Railroad, -101 miles, making the total distance from Savannah to Atlanta by -railroad, 291 miles. The other is the Georgia Railroad, running from -Augusta to Atlanta, at from 40 to 60 miles north of the Georgia Central -Railroad, and making the distance to Atlanta, from Augusta, 171 miles. -At Millen, on the Georgia Central road, 79 miles north of Savannah, is -the junction of a branch road, called the Waynesboro’ Railroad, which -connects with Augusta, 53 miles distant, and makes the distance by rail -from Savannah to Augusta 132 miles. Along these lines of travel the -country is thickly settled, and richly productive. Cotton, wheat, and -corn fields, with forests and streams, mansions and slave huts, make a -southern landscape inviting to a great army, whose thousands of men must -have food to eat, and plenty of it. To cover the railroads and destroy -them as the troops advanced, making Milledgeville, the capital, a point -of rendezvous, was the first object of the commander. General -Kilpatrick’s splendid cavalry protected flank and front—“the eyes of -the army.” On, on, the extended wings move; while a cavalry force sweeps -off toward Macon, where General Cobb commands the rebel militia, to make -him believe an attack upon him is designed. The “fire-eater” is awake to -his perilous position, and ready to defend “Southern rights;” when, lo! -the horsemen suddenly disappear. Their enterprise seems a serious joke, -provoking a laugh; for it was to keep at Macon the only force that could -dispute the way, excepting some cavalry brigades at Macon, till left -fairly in the rear. This being done, General Sherman cared little where -the Confederate hero went. The enemy was amazed and bewildered—the bold -invader’s plans baffled his attempts to decipher them. An extract from a -Richmond paper will be both a curious and interesting illustration. - -The _Sentinel_ with assurance declared: “It is not Sherman’s object to -make his way to the Atlantic to assist Meade, leaving Thomas heir to his -far higher honors and responsibilities in the West. If he shall succeed -in penetrating the circle that now surrounds him, and escaping to Port -Royal, his first anxiety, like Kilpatrick’s, will be for ships to take -him away. Steam to Annapolis, and steam to Nashville, if Nashville be -not already fallen, will be all too slow to quiet his impatience and to -mollify his chagrin. While his own course through Georgia will have been -that of an arrow through the air, or a ship over the sea, leaving no -track behind; while his exploits and his honors will have been those of -the baffled fox hounded from the barn-yard, or the disappointed wolf, -chased and pelted by the shepherds; he will return to Tennessee to find -Hood, we trust, in possession of the State. He will return to find that -his campaign into Georgia, so boastfully entered upon, has but lost the -territories won by his predecessors.” - -While the editors and other leading minds at the Confederate capital -were thus speculating and wondering, General Sherman was having a most -auspicious start on the long march over rebel soil. “The right wing -moved directly south from Atlanta, which is in Fulton County, to Rough -and Ready and Jonesboro’ stations on the Macon and Western Railroad, in -Fayette County. On November 16th one column of the right wing passed -through Jonesboro’, twenty-six miles south of Atlanta, Wheeler’s cavalry -and Cobb’s militia retiring upon Griffin. Another column of the right -wing occupied McDonough, November 17th, the county seat of Henry County, -some distance east of Jonesboro’, and about thirty-five miles southeast -of Atlanta. Henry County is one of the largest and richest of Georgia, -and here our forces found large supplies of provisions and forage. On -the 16th Wheeler engaged our cavalry at Bear Creek station, ten miles -north of Griffin, and telegraphed General Hardee that he had ‘checked -the Yankee advance.’ The very same evening, at six o’clock, his ragged -troopers fell back through Griffin, in the direction of Barnesville, -where Cobb’s militia had already preceded him. Our cavalry occupied -Griffin, which is the county seat of Spalding County, on the 17th, and -on the 18th drove Wheeler out of Barnesville, in Pike County, and -through Forsyth, the county seat of Monroe County, seventy-six miles -south of Atlanta and twenty-five miles northwest of Macon.” - -Turning to the map you will see the Ocumulgee River, on whose banks -Macon is situated, northeast of which, on the Oconee, is Milledgeville, -the State capital. November 20th General Sherman crossed the former -stream with his face toward the seat of government; this was the first -intelligence the rebels had of his purpose to pass by Macon. Meanwhile -General Howard’s columns moved rapidly through Monticello, the shire -town of Jasper County, burning the courthouse, thence to Hillsboro’, the -county seat of Jones County, to reach the Georgia Central Railroad at -Gordon, where the branch track to Milledgeville has its junction. Thus -General Sherman left General Cobb behind, and sending to Griswoldville a -rear-guard of infantry, pushed on the 21st to Milledgeville, with -General Howard’s troops ready to join him. - -The march, so far, had averaged thirteen and a half miles each day, -making ninety-five miles from Atlanta. There was no need of great haste, -and the strength of the men was spared for the vast enterprise before -them. “General Sherman camped on the plantation of Howell Cobb. We found -his granaries well filled with corn and wheat, part of which was -distributed and eaten by our animals and men. A large supply of syrup -made from sorghum, which we have found at nearly every plantation on our -march, was stored in an out-house. This was also disposed of to the -soldiers and the poor decrepit negroes, which this humane, -liberty-loving major-general, abandoned to die in this place a few days -ago. - -“General Sherman distributed to the negroes with his own hands the -provisions left here, and assured them that we were their friends, and -they need not be afraid that we were foes. One old man answered him: ‘I -spose dat you’se true; but, massa, you’se’ll go way tomorrow, and -anudder white man will come.’ He had never known any thing but -oppression, and had been kept in such ignorance that he did not dare put -faith in any white man. The negroes were told that as soon as we got -them into our power, they were put into the front of the battle, and we -killed them if they did not fight; that we threw the women and children -into the Chattahoochie, and when the buildings were burned in Atlanta, -we filled them with negroes, to be devoured by the flames. - -“General Sherman invited all able-bodied negroes (others could not make -the march) to join the column, and he takes especial pleasure when they -join the procession, on some occasions telling them they are free: that -Massa Lincoln has given them their liberty, and that they can go where -they please; that if they earn their freedom they should have it, but -that Massa Lincoln had given it to them anyhow. Thousands of negro women -join the column, some carrying household truck; others, and many of them -there are, who bear the heavy burdens of children in their arms, while -older boys and girls plod by their sides. All these women and children -are ordered back, heartrending though it may be to refuse them liberty. - -“But the majority accept the advent of the Yankees as the fulfilment of -the millennial prophecies. The ‘day of jubilee,’ the hope and prayer of -a lifetime, has come. They cannot be made to understand that they must -remain behind, and they are satisfied only when General Sherman tells -them, as he does every day, that we shall come back for them some time, -and that they must be patient until the proper hour of deliverance -comes.” - -The enemy finding our army had deceived them and was gone, General Cobb -sent a force from Macon to attack the rear-guard at Griswoldsville, a -part of which had been employed to threaten Macon, where a sharp -skirmish resulted in a loss to them of several hundred killed and -wounded; the severest battle of all the march. General Slocum’s left -wing had pressed on through De Kalb County to Covington, burning -railroad buildings on the way. Near this town, while foraging in the -fine fertile country, a force from one of the brigades of the Twentieth -Corps was assailed by a party of “bushwhackers,” and one of our soldiers -killed. Then followed the execution of General Sherman’s threat of -devastation, involving in it the burning of the Methodist College at -Oxford. The large libraries, the cabinets and apparatus, all were swept -away by the fires of war, the charred ruins of an institution which cost -nearly a million of dollars, only remaining in the wake of relentless -Mars. General Slocum pushed forward his troops, living on the “fat of -the land,” destroying railways, and flinging on his path the flames of -burning warehouses, markets, and bridges. The same day that General -Howard reached Gordon, General Slocum was at Eatonton, the northern -terminus of the branch railroad. The troops came together at -Milledgeville, General Howard entering it first with his troops; because -the far-seeing commander-in-chief found that the best point for crossing -the Oconee was there. - -The legislature, which was in session on the 18th, hearing of the -advance of General Sherman’s resistless columns, prepared to flee before -them. Governor Brown departed in his private carriage for Macon, taking -with him the public papers, funds, and whatever of personal effects he -could convey. Never was such a stampede of the law-making chivalry of -Georgia dreamed of by them. Members of this terrified body hurried away -to Augusta, and others followed the Governor to Macon; some in -carriages, some on horses, and others on foot, not having Confederate -currency enough to pay for other means of escape. Two of the honorable -fugitives paid one thousand dollars to be carried eight miles. Scarcely -had Governor Brown reached Macon when he hastened to the City Hall and -issued a flaming proclamation—chanticleer crowing after he is driven -from the field by his rival in the fight. - -Catching the contagious alarm, in the wake of the fugitive legislature, -the citizens able to get away, carrying with them to the depot their -household treasures, then also fled, until the infirm and the negroes -only represented the just now proud and defiant population. The latter -were wild with joy, embracing the soldiers, and exclaiming, “Bless de -Lord! tanks be to Almighty God, the Yanks is come; the day of jubilee -hab arrived!” Such was their simple recognition of God in the war, and -of the friends of liberty. General Sherman’s headquarters were at the -Executive Mansion, its former occupant having, with extremely bad grace, -in fleeing from his distinguished visitor, taken with him the entire -furniture of the building. As General Sherman travels with a roll of -blankets, and haversack full of hard tack, which is as complete an -outfit for a life out in the open air as in a palace, this discourtesy -of Governor Brown was not a serious inconvenience. - -The campaign toward the sea was now fairly opened, and successful in all -its details: “At first, moving his army in three columns, with a column -of cavalry on his extreme right, upon eccentric lines, he diverted the -attention of the enemy, so that he concentrated his forces at extreme -points, Macon and Augusta, leaving unimpeded the progress of the main -body. In this campaign it was not the purpose of the General to spend -his time before fortified cities, nor yet to encumber his wagons with -wounded men. His instructions to Kilpatrick were to demonstrate against -Macon, getting within five miles of the city. - -“With that ignorance of danger common to new troops, the rebels rushed -upon our veterans with the greatest fury. They were received with -grape-shot and musketry at point blank range, our soldiers firing coolly -while shouting derisively to the quivering columns to come on, as if -they thought the whole thing a nice joke. The rebels resumed the attack, -but with the same fatal results, and were soon in full flight, leaving -more than three hundred dead on the field. Our loss was some forty -killed and wounded, while their killed, wounded, and prisoners, are -estimated to exceed two thousand five hundred. A pretty severe lesson -they received. It is said, ‘_Ce n’est que le premier pas qui coûte._’ -This first step has been a most expensive one, and judging from the fact -that we have not heard from them since, they seem to have interpreted -the proverb otherwise than in the recognized sense.” - -Gov. Brown reluctantly left in Milledgeville three thousand muskets and -several thousand pounds of powder, to be destroyed by our troops. Then -came a comic episode in the march. A number of officers and men took -possession of the State House, elected a speaker, a clerk, and a -chaplain, and went to work upon bills and resolutions in earnest. Calls -to order, deciding between members claiming the floor, and humorous -hits, filled up the time. When in the midst of the amusing excitement, a -courier rushed in, saying, the “Yankees are coming!” then there was a -sudden suspension of business, a panic, and a run for the doors. This -was succeeded by an uproar of laughter. - -Somehow the entreaty of the politicians and editors of the Confederacy -to burn and otherwise destroy property likely to fall into our hands, -did not move the hearts of traitors. Each waited to see his neighbor -commence the havoc, and excepting what the army appropriated, and the -rebels carried off, but little damage was done. The enemy was completely -in the mist of mystery, and General Sherman’s skilful, blinding -movements, successfully deluded his antagonists. Their blows were always -hesitating, and, when given by them, were equally ineffectual. It was -evident, however, that the Oconee River must be passed at some point by -our troops. Accordingly, the enemy posted himself where the railroad -crosses the river, five miles east of Gordon, and here burned the -bridge. Wednesday, the 23d, brought our troops well up to the river. - -The people along the line of march seldom expressed their sentiments to -the army. A few illustrations from those who saw and heard for -themselves, will give the general feeling: “When they do speak it is not -in vain eulogy of the rebel army and the cause in which they are -engaged. They are broken in spirits, and the haughty secession ladies, -who by force of ‘arms’ and tongue drove their brothers, sons, and -lovers, into the army, are now as meek as singed kittens, and only too -glad to smile upon a good-looking Yankee. They all frankly admit that -their cause is hopeless—that subjugation awaits them in the future, and -all they now wish is for the storm to burst and pass; that peace with -them, crushed beneath the Yankee heel, is preferable to the present -state of things. - -“‘Great God!’ exclaimed one very intelligent Milledgeville lady, whose -all had been taken, ‘little did I think, when I bade my dear boys, who -now sleep in their graves, good-bye, and packed them off, that this day -would come, when old, impoverished, and childless, I must ask the men -whom they fought against for a meal of victuals to satisfy my hunger. -But it serves me right; I was deceived, drove them to battle, death, and -infamy, and here I stand, their murderer.’ - -“Riding up to a house one day, I met an old woman and three grown-up -daughters at the door uttering frantic appeals for help. I inquired what -was wrong, when the old woman pointed to a burning cotton gin, and -exclaimed, ‘Put it out! You uns are burnin’ me child!’ I asked where the -child was, and succeeded in learning that it was in the burning gin -house. Away I went, with some men, to rescue the innocent, and at the -door met a ten year old boy, who, badly singed, issued forth from the -fiery furnace. Returning to the house, I inquired how the boy came -there? Putting the pipe between her lips, to compose her nerves, the old -lady at last ventured an explanation: ‘Well,’ said she, ‘we uns heard -that you uns killed all the little boys, to keep them out from growing -up to fight ye, and we hid ’em.’ Strange as this may seem, among the -poor, ignorant dupes of Davis, it is a common belief that the Yankees -slay all the male children. We found many infant Moseses and Jeffs hid -away in cellars and corn-cribs, but none in bulrushes. An officer called -upon a lady in Effingham County, whose plantation had been stripped of -every thing, and found her in tears and her children crying for bread. -He endeavored to soothe her, when she lifted up her beautiful eyes -beseechingly, and implored, ‘Give me something for my starving -children.’ Away the officer went to his mess and fed the children from -his private larder. On the following morning he was quite chagrined to -witness two oak boxes, one barrel of flour, four trunks, and other -articles exhumed from the garden by the soldiers.” - -The eight days’ march to Millen, seventy-five miles from Milledgeville, -was full of varied and remarkable interest. General Kilpatrick, with his -“ubiquitous cavalry,” galloped away to the Central Railroad bridge, over -the Oconee, twenty-five miles southeast of Milledgeville, where General -Howard was trying to build a pontoon bridge, which the rebel General -Wayne, with a brigade of released inmates of the penitentiary, and of -militia, was determined to prevent; a battle followed, and the enemy was -driven back. Then again the unrivalled trooper acted as “a curtain” upon -the extreme left, having covered in the same way the right wing in the -earlier part of the campaign; while all the time he had the nobler aim, -if possible, to reach Millen in time to rescue our incarcerated and -dying prisoners of war. “The stockade or coop in which our prisoners -were confined, after their removal from Andersonville, was located in a -dense pine forest, six miles from Millen station, on the Savannah and -Augusta Railroad. It was a square of fifteen acres, enclosed by pine -logs set upright in the ground, very close together. At intervals of -twenty feet along the palisades were the sentry boxes, fifteen feet from -the ground; access to them could only be had by means of ladders on the -outside. The palisade logs were uniformly ten inches thick, and so -straight and close were they that all view of the pine woods beyond them -was shut out from the unfortunates within. Entering at the broad gate -they crossed the ‘dead line’ (single rail fence) fearlessly, and -approached the burrows or adobe huts where the ‘Yankees’ had slept in -confinement. These were not filthy, because no considerable amount of -filth could accumulate during the three weeks our men were kept there; -but they were cheerless and comfortless. There was no attempt at -regularity in laying out this village of Kennel. In one of them the dead -body of a Union soldier, name unknown, was found unburied. Decidedly the -most comfortable looking appendage to the stockade was the brick -cook-house near the centre, with accommodation for a dozen or fifteen -men to work at a time. At the southeast angle of the stockade, on the -outside, stood a square earthwork, built to command with its guns both -the burrows inside and the approaches to the logs on the outside. In the -hospital huts, a quarter of a mile from the pen, were good -accommodations for three hundred men, and there were evidences that they -were not sufficient. A fine large spring, where excellent water bubbled -out, completed the lists of objects familiar to the brave boys who had -lived in that silent clearing in the pine woods. The dead prisoners were -buried in rows, a short distance from the hospital, graves being -numbered as high as six hundred and fifty. The prisoners were kept at -Millen only three weeks.” - -November 29th the “boys” kept Thanksgiving upon the luxuries of Georgia -plantations. The Ogeehee was crossed on November 30th. It is a stream -sixty yards wide, where the troops passed over on a bridge which was put -in repair, and with pontoons. - -In a sketch from a reliable source, we have an explanation of the false -charge made by a distinguished orator against General Sherman, that he -removed a bridge, and left unprotected negroes to the enemy. He knew -nothing of the sad affair when it occurred: - -“From the time we left Atlanta, with fifty or one hundred contrabands, -the ‘colored brigades’ continued to swell in numbers until we arrived at -the Ogeechee River, when fully ten thousand were attached to the various -columns. They represented all shades and conditions, from the almost -white housemaid servant, worth $15,000 in rebel currency, to the tar -black, pock-marked cotton picker, who never crosses massa’s door sill. A -very large majority of them were women and children, who, mounted on -mules, sometimes five on an animal, in ox wagons, buggies, and vehicles -of every description, blocked the roads and materially delayed the -movement of the columns. It was no unusual sight to behold a slave -mother carrying two young children and leading a third, who, in a half -nude state, trudged along the thorny path to freedom. Columns could be -written descriptive of the harrowing scenes presented by this -unfortunate class of fugitives. So much difficulty did General Davis -find in moving his column, that at the Ogeechee River, as a military -necessity, he placed a guard at the bridge, who halted the caravan of -contrabands until the rear of the column passed, and then removed the -pontoon. The negroes, however, not to be frustrated, constructed a -foot-bridge and crossed. Next day the column had its full complement of -negroes. - -“Arriving at Ebenezer Creek, the same method was taken to clear the -column, with better success. The creek runs through a half mile of -swamp, which is covered by water, and can only be crossed by a narrow -bridge. This bridge was taken up, and the moment our forces disappeared -the brutal Wheeler was in our rear. Next day only a few darkies came up. -Another day passed and still fully two-thirds were missing. Inquiries -elicited the information that Wheeler, on finding the defenceless -negroes blocked, drove them pellmell into the water, where those who -escaped say they struggled to reach the opposite bank, amidst -heartrending shrieks; but most of the mothers went down in the water -with their children clasped to their bosoms, while Wheeler and his -inhuman band looked on with demoniac smiles. How far true this may be I -know not, but all the negroes who escaped, with whom I have talked, seem -to agree in their account of the hellish slaughter.” - -The bridges over the Oconee and Fisher’s Creek were burned behind the -army. The rebels were compelled to speak well, on the whole, of General -Sherman’s command. I shall add their testimony, given at the time: - -“In their route they destroyed, as far as possible, all mills, cribs, -and gin-houses, cotton screws and gins, cotton implements, etc., and -carried off all stock, provisions, and negroes. When their horses gave -out they shot them. At Eatonton they killed over one hundred. At -Milledgeville they only destroyed the arsenal, depot, and penitentiary. -They did not burn the factory near that place. The right wing of the -Federal army, under General Howard, crossed the Ocmulgee River between -Adams’s Ferry and Macon. It is said that the town of Forsyth was -completely demolished. The Federals expressed great astonishment at the -rich country they were passing, and the abundance of provisions in it. -General Slocum gave orders to the citizens along his route to shoot down -his stragglers without mercy. One punishment inflicted by some of the -Federal generals for plundering, was severe whipping. A portion of Major -Graham’s command reached this city last night. They report that they -visited Atlanta several days since, and found it completely evacuated -and burned. They state that the Federals took all the cattle and forage -in their route, but did not molest those who stayed at home.” - -“The most pathetic scenes occur upon our line of march daily and hourly. -Thousands of negro women join the column, some carrying household truck; -others, and many of them there are, who bear the burden of children in -their arms, while older boys and girls plod by their sides. All these -women and children are ordered back, heartrending though it may be to -refuse them liberty. They won’t go. One begs that she may go to see her -husband and children at Savannah. Long years ago she was forced from -them and sold. Another has heard that her boy was in Macon, and she is -‘done gone with grief goin’ on four years.’ - -“The other day a woman with a child in her arms was working her way -along amongst the teams and crowds of cattle and horsemen. An officer -called to her kindly: ‘Where are you going, aunty?’ - -“She looked up into his face with a hopeful, beseeching look, and -replied: - -“‘I’se gwine whar you’se gwine, massa.’ - -“At a house a few miles from Milledgeville we halted for an hour. In an -old hut I found a negro and his wife, both of them over sixty years old. -In the talk which ensued nothing was said which led me to suppose that -either of them was anxious to leave their mistress, who, by the way, was -a sullen, cruel-looking woman, when all at once the old negress -straightened herself up, and her face, which a moment before was almost -stupid in its expression, assumed a fierce, almost devilish, aspect. - -“Pointing her shining black finger at the old man, crouched in the -corner of the fire-place, she hissed out: ‘What for you sit dar? you -spose I wait sixty years for nutten? Don’t yer see de door open? I’se -follow my child; I not stay. Yes, nodder day I goes ’long wid dese -people; yes sar, I walks till I drops in my tracks.’ A more terrible -sight I never beheld. I can think of nothing to compare with it, except -Charlotte Cushman’s Meg Merrilies. Rembrandt only could have painted the -scene, with its dramatic surroundings. - -“It was near this place that several factories were burned. It was odd -to see the delight of the negroes at the destruction of places known -only to them as task-houses, where they had groaned under the lash. - -“Pointing to the Atlanta and Augusta Railroad, which had been destroyed, -the question was asked, ‘It took a longer time to build this railroad -than it does to destroy it?’ - -“‘I would think it did, massa; in dat ar woods over dar is buried ever -so many black men who were killed, sar, yes, killed, a working on dat -road—whipped to deth. I seed em, sar.’ - -“‘Does the man live here who beat them?’ - -“‘Oh no, sar; he’s dun gone long time.’ - -“I have seen blind and lame mules festooned with infants in bags, and -led by fond parents so aged and weak they could hardly totter along. -‘Mars’r Sherman was a great man, but dis am de work ob de Lord,’ they -said.” - -The swampy borders were belted with “corduroy,” and their heavy fogs -hung over the halting columns. At evening the spectacle was weird-like -in its wild romance. “A novel and vivid sight was it to see the fires of -pitch pine flaring up into the mist and darkness, the figures of men and -horses looming out of the dense shadows in gigantic proportions. -Torchlights are blinking and flashing away off in the forests, while the -still air echoed and reëchoed with the cries of teamsters and the wild -shouts of the soldiers. A long line of the troops marched across the -foot-bridge, each soldier bearing a torch, their light reflected in -quivering lines in the swift running stream. Soon the fog, which settles -like a blanket over the swamps and forests of the river bottoms, shut -down upon the scene, and so dense and dark was it that torches were of -but little use, and men were directed here and there by the voice.” - -Not far from this spot the troops encountered a singular character. He -had been depot-master before the railroad was destroyed—a shrewd, -intelligent old man, so far as the war is concerned. He said to the -soldiers: “They say you are retreating, but it is the strangest sort of -retreat I ever saw. Why, the newspapers have been lying in this way all -along. They allers are whipping the Federal armies, and they allers fall -back after the battle is over. It was that ar’ idee that first opened my -eyes. Our army was allers whipping the Feds, and we allers fell back. I -allers told ’em it was a humbug, and now by —— I know it, for here you -are right on old John Wells’s place; hogs, potatoes, corn, and fences -all gone. I don’t find any fault. I expected it all. - -“‘Jeff. Davis and the rest,’ he continued, ‘talk about splitting the -Union. Why if South Carolina had gone out by herself, she would have -been split in four pieces by this time. Splitting the Union! Why, the -State of Georgia is being split right through from end to end. It is -these rich fellows who are making the war, and keeping their precious -bodies out of harm’s way. There’s John Franklin went through here the -other day running away from your army. I could have played dominoes on -his coat tails. There’s my poor brother, sick with small-pox at Macon, -working for eleven dollars a month, and hasn’t got a cent of the stuff -for a year. Eleven dollars a month and eleven thousand bullets a minute. -I don’t believe in it, sir. - -“‘My wife came from Canada, and I kind o’ thought I would some time go -there to live, but was allers afraid of the ice and cold; but I can tell -you this country is getting too hot for me. Look at my fence-rails -burning there. I think I can stand the cold better. - -“‘I heard as how they cut down the trees across your road up country and -burn the bridges; why, one of your Yankees can take up a tree and carry -it off, tops and all; and there’s that bridge you put across the river -in less than two hours—they might as well try to stop the Ogeechee as -you Yankees. - -“‘The rascals who burnt this yere bridge thought they did a big thing; a -natural born fool would have more sense than any of them. - -“‘To bring back the good old time,’ he said, ‘it’ll take the help of -Divine Providence, a heap of rain, and a deal of hard work, to fix -things up again.’” - -It is interesting to look over the sea and get a glimpse of the -impressions of our English _friends_ regarding the “wandering host.” The -organ of the army and navy said: “It is clear that, so long as he roams -about with his army inside the Confederate States, he is more deadly -than twenty Grants, and that _he must be destroyed if Richmond or any -thing is to be saved_. Lee will probably be forced by this condition of -affairs to assume the offensive, because he cannot afford to let Grant -hold his hands whilst Sherman is committing burglary in the Southern -mansion. If Sherman has really left his army in the air, and started off -without a base to march from Georgia into South Carolina, he has done -either one of the most brilliant or one of the most foolish things ever -performed by a military leader.” - -The great leader and his intelligent troops must have enjoyed the -mystery in which both friends and foes were living; knowing well that in -public and private circles, in the periodical press and the national -councils, the speculations and theories about him, the fears and hopes, -were manifold and often ludicrous, while his battalions were having a -triumphal march over the proudest portion of the Confederacy. “The great -army, over the lands and into the dwellings of the poor and rich alike, -through towns and cities, like a roaring wave, swept, and paused, -revelled and surged on. In the day-time, the splendor, the toil, the -desolation of the march; in the night-time, the brilliance, the gloom, -the music, the joy and the slumber of the camp. Memorable the music -‘that mocked the moon’ of November of the soil of Georgia; sometimes a -triumphant march, sometimes a glorious waltz, again an old air stirring -the heart alike to recollection and to hope. Floating out from throats -of brass to the ears of soldiers in their blankets and generals within -their tents, these tunes hallowed the eves to all who listened. - -“Sitting before his tent in the glow of a camp fire one evening, General -Sherman let his cigar go out to listen to an air that a distant band was -playing. The musicians ceased at last. The general turned to one of his -officers; ‘Send an orderly to ask that band to play that tune again.’ - -“A little while, and the band received the word. The tune was ‘The Blue -Juniata,’ with exquisite variations. The band played it again, even more -beautifully than before. Again it ceased, and then, off to the right, -nearly a quarter of a mile away, the voices of some soldiers took it up -with words. The band, and still another band, played a low -accompaniment; camp after camp began singing; the music of ‘The Blue -Juniata’ became, for a few minutes, the oratorio of half an army. - -“Back along the whole wide pathway of this grand march from border to -coast, the eye catches glimpses of scenes whose savage and poetic images -an American, five years ago, would have thought never could have been -revived from the romantic past.” - -History records no war scenes so full of poetic interest, with so little -bloodshed, as those along the path of this advancing host. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - - 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. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - - The Surrender of the City demanded—The Refusal—Preparation to - Attack—The Enemy Flee—The Entrance of the Union Army—Scenes - that followed—General Sherman and the Negroes. - -DECEMBER 20th, Fort Lee and other defences of Savannah had been taken, -but there was left a single narrow path of escape for the beleaguered -enemy—the Union Causeway, just below Hutchinson’s Island, which it was -difficult for our troops to reach. But General Sherman had his eye on -this outlet, intending to secure it within a day or two, shutting in -General Hardee and his army. The next morning a flag of truce was sent -toward the city gates, under whose protection was conveyed the demand -for its surrender. The brief message of General Sherman closed with the -words which General Hood used in his call for the surrender of Dalton, a -few months before, with its negro troops: - -“If the demand is not complied with, I shall take no prisoners.” - -General Hardee replied defiantly, declaring that he had men and supplies -for a successful defence. This was done to deceive the army closing like -the coil of an anaconda about him. General Sherman suspected it, but the -officers generally expected a battle. The preparations for assault went -forward rapidly. - -The rebel chief improved his opportunity, and suddenly decamped under -cover of night, defiling along the causeway while our weary troops were -resting on their arms. He had stationed his iron-clads near Hutchinson’s -Island, which, with the battalions on its lower end, protected the -highway of the flying thousands whose arms reflected the glare of the -burning Navy Yard, fired during the evacuation. The thunder of exploding -iron-clads, destroyed by the rear-guard, was the last signal of his -retreat from the boastful Hardee: “The night was exceedingly propitious -for such an operation. It was dark and a heavy wind was blowing from the -west, conveying the sound of trampling feet over the pontoons away from -our lines. But during some of the lulls that occurred General Geary, -commanding the Second division, Twentieth Corps, the extreme left of our -lines resting on the Savannah River, heard the movement across the -bridge, but could not decide in which direction the troops were passing. -He ordered his division to be ready at a moment’s notice to move, and -then watched the progress of affairs. At midnight General Geary became -convinced in his own mind that the enemy were evacuating the town, and -notified the commanding general of this fact. The enemy’s skirmish line -continued a fusilade on our pickets, and did not cease until two or -three o’clock, when they were drawn in, and not many moments after our -picket line was advanced, and meeting no opposition, rushed still -further on, crawled through the abatis, floundered through the ditches, -and scrambled over the parapets and found the first line deserted. -General Geary immediately advanced his division, occupied the line and -pushed on toward the city. The second line was found abandoned as well, -and General Geary, at the head of a small body of men, hurried on.” - -On the following morning, December 21st, the _Savannah Republican_, -which two days before emulated the departed commander in the language of -defiance—hurling the anathemas of southern chivalry upon the -“Yankees”—came out with an earnest appeal to the citizens, counselling -quiet and decorum, and the use of all proper means to secure the -“_respect of a magnanimous foe_.” What a strange revolution in -tactics—a marvellous light streamed into the city and the editor’s -“sanctum” along the causeway from the wake of the fugitive “Greybacks.” -Before General Geary “had entered the city, Mayor Arnold, of the city, -with four or five of the commonalty, rode up and surrendered the city to -him unconditionally, and expressed a trust in the magnanimity of an -honorable foe for the safety of the lives and property of the -inhabitants. General Geary accepted the surrender unconditionally, and -assured them that their lives and property should be protected. He then -entered the city, despatching Captain Veale of his staff, with four -hundred men, to take possession of Fort Jackson; and also another member -of his staff to General Slocum, to inform him of his occupation of the -town. The officer who bore this message had some difficulty in -convincing our soldiers that Geary’s division was in town. They said to -him, ‘You can’t come that, Johnnie Reb. The game is an old one and will -not work.’ Finally he assured them sufficiently to gain a passage, and -delivered his despatch to General Slocum, commanding the left wing of -the army. At eight o’clock all the enemy’s works were in our possession. -Captain Veale, with his party, took possession of Fort Jackson and Fort -Barlow, taking about sixty heavy guns in both works and lines connecting -with them. The enemy had fired the barracks, but the fire was soon -subdued.” - -In the haste of his departure Hardee strangely neglected to destroy the -ammunition of the forts, and the cotton in the city. Only a portion of -the guns left behind were spiked. Munitions of war, more than 30,000 -bales of cotton, and railroad rolling stock, fell into our hands. - -“General Sherman’s entry into the town was marked by no extraordinary -commotion. The city received him quietly and respectfully, though not -with open arms. - -“The population of Savannah, during the past thirty days, has been -immensely increased by emigration from the interior. Thousands of -people, including many wealthy families, fled from the country -threatened by General Sherman’s march, to find, as they presumed, an -undisturbed refuge in the city. The houses overflow with them; numbers -dwell in sheds, and live upon the streets. Negroes form a large part of -this transient population. Many rebel officers and soldiers are found -concealed in houses, and probably considerable valuable property, not -yet estimated in the fruits of this almost bloodless siege, will yet be -brought to light likewise. - -“A number of prisoners, which may be counted in addition to those found -in the city, were previously captured during our advance against the -enemy’s works. Colonel Clinch, of General Hardee’s staff, with thirty -men, was taken on board a transport in the Savannah River a few days -before the surrender. A quantity of whiskey was aboard the transport, -and when our officers reached it, every man on board, except Colonel -Clinch, was found in a state of beastly intoxication. General Harrison, -a militia general, and a man of considerable wealth, residing near the -city, was also taken prisoner during the siege.” - -While the sun of December 21st was moving toward the zenith, General -Sherman rode at the head of his enthusiastic columns, with music and -banners enlivening the magnificent scene, into the broad, quiet streets -of Savannah, followed by his wing-commanders, the gallant Howard and -Slocum. Hour after hour the tramp of Union soldiers echoes on the -pavements, until at length, in mansions, public buildings, and tents, -the exultant host settled down into comparative repose. The next day the -wires of the telegraph transmitted to the President this laconic -message: - - “SAVANNAH, GA., _December 22, 1864_. - “_His Excellency President Lincoln_; - - “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, - with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, - and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. - - “W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.” - -In all the world’s history of the Christmas times, was there ever a gift -so memorable, or one more worthy to receive it? You will always -recollect it with the delight expressed by a playful pen: “The sugar -plum which Sherman dropped into the national stocking that Abraham -Lincoln hung up, came in the semblance of Savannah. We have all enjoyed -it. We have admired its roundness and its sweetness. We rejoice over the -one hundred and fifty heavy guns, and the thirty-three thousand bales of -cotton. The capture of Savannah is an event which we have long -anticipated, and are therefore only quietly enjoying it. Reaching us, as -the intelligence did, on a day that was meteorologically gloomy, it shed -an interior sunlight brighter than a more substantial one.” - -The quartermaster, in General Sherman’s behalf, a little later -announced, that “all persons wishing to leave the city under existing -orders, and go within the Confederate lines, are informed that the -steamer _F. R. Spalding_ will be in readiness at the wharf at the foot -of Drayton Street, at six o’clock A. M. on Wednesday, the 11th instant, -to transport them to Charleston, S. C. Wagons and ambulances will be -sent to the residences of families, to take them and their baggage to -the boat. As there are no conveniences on the boat to provide food, each -family had better provide itself with what it will require for -twenty-four hours. - -“Applications for wagons and ambulances must be made to Captain J. E. -Remington, assistant quartermaster, last house on the west end of Jones -Street, south side.” - -About two hundred citizens availed themselves of the opportunity thus -offered them to rejoin their relatives or friends within the enemy’s -lines. The new paper, the _Loyal Georgian_, thus hoisted its flag, with -the notices following: “The mind that conceived, and the arm that, under -Omnipotence, could execute these grand army movements, has not yet -finished its work. That same powerful body which with its gigantic wings -swept over the State of Georgia as a whirlwind, must yet move on its -irresistible course until the whole land shall acknowledge the power and -authority of the Government of the United States. When that day comes, -the commander will lay aside his laurels, the soldier his sword, and -this broad and fair abounding land of ours shall once more teem with the -busy hum of peaceful life. May a merciful God grant the happy day soon -to be ushered in upon us, and peace, sweet peace! be our portion; but -until the ‘last armed foe expires,’ the army of the Union will and must -stand as a bulwark against all destroyers, come from where they may. - -“General Sherman has his headquarters at the house of Mr. Charles Green. -General Howard’s headquarters are at the house of Mr. Molyneux, late -British consul at Savannah, who is now in Europe. General Slocum’s -headquarters are at the late residence of Hon. John E. Ward. General -Geary, commandant of the post, has his office in the Bank building, next -door to the Custom House. - -“Divine service will be held in the Independent Presbyterian, the -Lutheran, Baptist, St. John’s Church, and Methodist Churches, to-morrow -morning at half-past ten o’clock, by their respective pastors. - - “I. S. K. AXSON, D. M. GILBERT, - S. LANDRUM, A. M. WYNN, - C. F. MCRAE.” - -The condition of the city under the new rule was very clearly given by -rebel papers. January 10th, the Richmond _Whig_, whose hatred of the -North has been unsurpassed, was compelled to confess that General -Sherman was wise and humane in his administration, as an extract will -show: - -“The Augusta _Chronicle_ and _Sentinel_ of the 4th instant publishes a -number of news items, derived from a gentleman who left Savannah on the -1st instant. - -“The most perfect order is maintained in the city. No soldier is allowed -to interfere with the citizens in any particular. A citizen was arrested -by a drunken soldier a few days since. The citizen knocked the soldier -down. The officer of the guard, as soon as he arrived, said nothing to -the citizen, but had the soldier taken to the barracks, gagged and -soundly whipped for his misbehavior. - -“A drunken soldier, who undertook to create a disturbance recently, and -who refused to allow himself to be arrested, was shot down at once by -the guard. - -“One or two of the Insurance Companies of Savannah are considering the -project of establishing a National Bank for the issue of ‘greenbacks.’ - -“The Custom House and Post Office are being cleaned and repaired, -preparatory to the commencement of business again. - -“The soldiers are not allowed under any circumstances whatever to enter -private residences. - -“The negroes in most cases are orderly and quiet, remaining with their -owners and performing their customary duties. - -“One store with goods from the North has already been opened. - -“Nothing but ‘greenbacks’ are in circulation. - -“The churches on Sundays are well filled with ladies. On week days, -however, but few of them are seen on the streets. - -“A majority of the male population have remained in the city. The -families of most of the men who have left still remain. - -“A majority of the citizens have provisions for some time to come, but -there is a scarcity of wood, but General Sherman has announced that he -will soon remedy this last difficulty by getting wood via the Gulf -Railway, and hauling it to the citizens. - -“No pass is allowed to any male person to go toward the city. - -“All females who are caught going toward the city are thoroughly -searched. - -“Eleven hundred loaves of good baker’s bread, which had been collected -for the soldiers of Sherman’s army, but for which authorized agents did -not call, were on Thursday turned over to the Poor Association of -Savannah by the Committee acting in behalf of the Soldier’s Dinner, and -were yesterday distributed to the poor of the city. It was truly a kind -and providential gift, for the city is entirely out of breadstuffs of -every kind, and for days past have been unable to issue a pound of meal -or flour to the hundreds who were sorely in need of it.” - -General Sherman had a very summary way of answering inquiries of the -citizens on whose lips was the gall of secession. To a proud lady who -said to him: “General, you may conquer, but you can’t subjugate us,” he -instantly replied, “I don’t want to subjugate you, I mean to kill you, -the whole of you, if you don’t stop this rebellion.” In conversation a -short time since with several citizens of Savannah on the subject of the -war, General Sherman, in his characteristic manner, remarked: “We wish -to cultivate friendly feeling with your people; if they love monarchy we -will not quarrel with them; but we love a strong republic and mean to -maintain it.” He also said he had been through Mississippi twice and -through Georgia once. “The sun goes North on the 21st, and by that time -I shall be ready to go North, too.” In a private letter to a -distinguished military man in New York, his noble and magnanimous spirit -appears: - -“Colonel Ewing arrived to-day, and bore me many kind tokens from the -North, but none gave me more satisfaction than to know that you watched -with interest my efforts in the national cause. I do not think a human -being could feel more kindly toward an enemy than I do to the people of -the South, and I only pray that I may live to see the day when they and -their children will thank me, as one who labored to secure and maintain -a Government worthy the land we have inherited, and strong enough to -secure our children the peace and security denied us. - -“Judging from the press, the world magnifies my deeds above their true -value, and I fear the future may not realize its judgment. But whatever -fate may befall me, I know that you will be a generous and charitable -critic, and will encourage one who only hopes in this struggle to do a -man’s share.” - -Two days later a gentleman addressed a note to General Sherman, asking -questions designed to draw from him his views upon the prospects of -Georgia, and her relations to the General Government. His reply is -marked with his original thought, and reveals his high ability as a -statesman: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, } - IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., _Jan. 8, 1865_. } - “_N. W——, Esq., —— County, Ga._: - - “DEAR SIR: Yours of the 3d instant is received, and in answer to - your inquiries, I beg to state I am merely a military commander, - and act only in that capacity; nor can I give any assurances or - pledges affecting civil matters in the future. They will be - adjusted by Congress when Georgia is again represented there as - of old. - - “Georgia is not out of the Union, and therefore the talk of - ‘reconstruction’ appears to me inappropriate. Some of the people - have been and still are in a state of revolt; and as long as - they remain armed and organized, the United States must pursue - them, with armies, and deal with them according to military law. - But as soon as they break up their armed organizations and - return to their homes, I take it they will be dealt with by the - civil courts. Some of the rebels in Georgia, in my judgment, - deserve death, because they have committed murder, and other - crimes, which are punished with death by all civilized - governments on earth. I think this was the course indicated by - General Washington, in reference to the Whiskey Insurrection, - and a like principle seemed to be recognized at the time of the - Burr conspiracy. - - “As to the Union of the States under our Government, we have the - high authority of General Washington, who bade us be jealous and - careful of it, and the still more emphatic words of General - Jackson, ‘The Federal Union, it must and shall be preserved.’ - Certainly Georgians cannot question the authority of such men, - and should not suspect our motives, who are simply fulfilling - their commands. Wherever necessary, force has been used to carry - out that end; and you may rest assured that the Union will be - preserved, cost what it may. And if you are sensible men you - will conform to this order of things or else migrate to some - other country. There is no other alternative open to the people - of Georgia. - - “My opinion is, that no negotiations are necessary, nor - commissioners, nor conventions, nor any thing of the kind. - Whenever the people of Georgia quit rebelling against their - Government and elect members of Congress and Senators, and these - go and take their seats, then the State of Georgia will have - resumed her functions in the Union. - - “These are merely my opinions, but in confirmation of them, as I - think, the people of Georgia may well consider the following - words referring to the people of the rebellious States, which I - quote from the recent annual message of President Lincoln to - Congress at its present session; - - “‘They can at any moment have peace simply by laying down their - arms and submitting to the national authority under the - Constitution. After so much, the Government would not, if it - could, maintain war against them. The loyal people would not - sustain or allow it. If questions should remain we would adjust - them by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, courts, - and votes. Operating only in constitutional and lawful channels, - some certain and other possible questions are and would be - beyond the Executive power to adjust, as, for instance, the - admission of members into Congress and whatever might require - the appropriation of money.’ - - “The President then alludes to the general pardon and amnesty - offered for more than a year past, upon specified and more - liberal terms, to all except certain designated classes, even - these being ‘still within contemplation of special clemency,’ - and adds: - - “‘It is still so open to all, but the time may come when public - duty shall demand that it be closed, and that in lieu more - vigorous measures than heretofore shall be adopted.’ - - “It seems to me that it is time for the people of Georgia to act - for themselves, and return, in time, to their duty to the - Government of their fathers. - - “Respectfully, your obedient servant, - - “W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.” - -Bearing the same date of this able letter, are his words of -congratulation to his rejoicing army: - - “IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., _Jan. 8_. - - “The General Commanding announces to the troops composing the - military division of the Mississippi, that he has received from - the President of the United States and from Lieutenant-General - Grant, letters conveying the high sense and appreciation of the - campaign just closed, resulting in the capture of Savannah and - the defeat of Hood’s army in Tennessee. - - “In order that all may understand the importance of events, it - is proper to revert to the situation of affairs in September - last. We held Atlanta, a city of little value to us, but so - important to the enemy that Mr. Davis, the head of the - rebellious faction in the South, visited his army near Palmetto, - and commanded it to regain it, as well as to ruin and destroy us - by a series of measures which he thought would be effectual. - - “That army, by a rapid march, first gained our railroad near Big - Shanty, and afterward about Dalton. We pursued, but it marched - so rapidly that we could not overtake it, and General Hood led - his army successfully far toward Mississippi, in hopes to decoy - us out of Georgia. But we were not then to be led away by him, - and purposed to control and lead events ourselves. Generals - Thomas and Schofield, commanding the department to our rear, - returned to their posts, and prepared to decoy General Hood into - their meshes, while we came on to complete our original journey. - - “We quietly and deliberately destroyed Atlanta and all the - railroads which the enemy had used to carry on war against us; - occupied his State capital, and then captured his commercial - capital, which had been so strongly fortified from the sea as to - defy approach from that quarter. - - “Almost at the moment of our victorious entry into Savannah came - the welcome and expected news that our comrades in Tennessee had - also fulfilled, nobly and well, their part; had decoyed General - Hood to Nashville, and then turned on him, defeating his army - thoroughly, capturing all his artillery, great numbers of - prisoners, and were still pursuing the fragments down into - Alabama. So complete a success in military operations, extending - over half a continent, is an achievement that entitles it to a - place in the military history of the world. - - “The armies serving in Georgia and Tennessee, as well as the - local garrisons of Decatur, Bridgeport, Chattanooga, and - Murfreesborough, are alike entitled to the common honor, and - each regiment may inscribe on its colors at pleasure the words - ‘Savannah,’ or ‘Nashville.’ - - “The General Commanding embraces in the same general success the - operations of the cavalry column under Generals Stoneman, - Burbridge, and Gillem, that penetrated into Southwestern - Virginia, and paralyzed the efforts of the enemy to disturb the - peace and safety of the people of East Tennessee. Instead of - being put on the defensive, we have, at all points, assumed the - bold offensive, and completely thwarted the designs of the - enemies of our country. By order of - - “Major-General W. T. SHERMAN.” - -This was followed on the 14th by a message regulating the trade and -social life of the people: - - “IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., _Jan. 14_. - - “It being represented that the Confederate army and armed bands - of robbers, acting professedly under the authority of the - Confederate government, are harassing the people of Georgia and - endeavoring to intimidate them in the efforts they are making to - secure to themselves provisions, clothing, security to life and - property, and the restoration of law and good government in the - State, it is hereby ordered and made public: - - “I. That the farmers of Georgia may bring into Savannah, - Fernandina, or Jacksonville, Fla., marketing, such as beef, - pork, mutton, vegetables of any kinds, fish, &c., as well as - cotton in small quantities, and sell the same in open market, - except the cotton, which must be sold by or through the Treasury - agents, and may invest the proceeds in family stores, such as - bacon and flour, in any reasonable quantities, groceries, shoes, - and clothing, and articles not contraband of war, and carry the - same back to them families. No trade-store will be attempted in - the interior, or stocks of goods sold for them, but families may - club together for mutual assistance and protection in coming and - going. - - “II. The people are encouraged to meet together in peaceful - assemblages to discuss measures looking to their safety and good - government, and the restoration of State and national authority, - and will be protected by the national army when so doing; and - all peaceable inhabitants who satisfy the commanding officers - that they are earnestly laboring to that end, must not only be - left undisturbed in property and person, but must be protected - as far as possible consistent with the military operations. If - any farmer or peaceful inhabitant is molested by the enemy, - viz., the Confederate army of guerillas, because of his - friendship to the National Government, the perpetrator, if - caught, will be summarily punished, or his family made to suffer - for the outrage; but if the crime cannot be traced to the actual - party, then retaliation will be made on the adherents to the - cause of the rebellion. Should a Union man be murdered, then a - rebel selected by lot will be shot; or if a Union family be - persecuted on account of the cause, a rebel family will be - banished to a foreign land. In aggravated cases, retaliation - will extend as high as five for one. All commanding officers - will act promptly in such cases, and report their action after - the retaliation is done. By order of - - “Major-General W. T. SHERMAN.” - -We have now a very remarkable interview between a delegation of the -negro population, including twenty men, nearly all of whom were -preachers, and Secretary Stanton and General Sherman. There were members -of the parishes whose pastors were present, worth from $3,000 to -$30,000. Rev. Garrison Frazier, sixty-seven years of age, was the -speaker. The answers to various questions touching slavery, the war, and -the ability of the negroes to take care of themselves, were promptly and -intelligently answered. After General Sherman had left the room, an -inquiry touching their opinion of General Sherman was made, with the -following reply: - -“We looked upon General Sherman prior to his arrival as a man in the -Providence of God specially set apart to accomplish this work, and we -unanimously feel inexpressible gratitude to him, looking upon him as a -man that should be honored for the faithful performance of his duty. -Some of us called on him immediately upon his arrival, and it is -probable he would not meet the Secretary with more courtesy than he met -us. His conduct and deportment toward us characterized him as a friend -and a gentleman. We have confidence in General Sherman, and think -whatever concerns us could not be under better management.” - -The conference was followed by the following order: - - “HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIV. OF THE MISS., } - IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., _Jan. 16, 1865_. } - - “I. The islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned - rice-fields along the river for thirty miles back from the sea, - and the country bordering the St. John River, Florida, are - reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negroes now - made free by the acts of war and the President of the United - States. - - “II. At Beaufort, Hilton Head, Savannah, Fernandina, St. - Augustine, and Jacksonville, the blacks may remain in their - chosen or accustomed avocations; but on the islands, and in the - settlements hereafter to be established, no white person - whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for - duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive - management of affairs will be left to the freed people - themselves, subject only to the United States military authority - and the acts of Congress. By the laws of war, and orders of the - President of the United States, the negro is free, and must be - dealt with as such. He cannot be subjected to conscription or - forced military service, save by the written orders of the - highest military authority of the department, under such - regulations as the President or Congress may prescribe. Domestic - servants, blacksmiths, carpenters, and other mechanics, will be - free to select their own work and residence; but the young and - able-bodied negroes must be encouraged to enlist as soldiers in - the service of the United States, to contribute their share - toward maintaining their own freedom, and securing their rights - as citizens of the United States. Negroes so enlisted will be - organized into companies, battalions, and regiments, under the - orders of the United States military authorities, and will be - paid, fed, and clothed according to law. The bounties paid on - enlistment may, with the consent of the recruit, go to assist - his family and settlement in procuring agricultural implements, - seed, tools, boats, clothing, and other articles necessary for - their livelihood. - - “III. Whenever three respectable negroes, heads of families, - shall desire to settle on land, and shall have selected for that - purpose an island or a locality clearly defined within the - limits above designated, the Inspector of Settlements and - Plantations will himself, or by such subordinate officer as he - may appoint, give them a license to settle such island or - district, and afford them such assistance as he can to enable - them to establish a peaceable agricultural settlement. The three - parties named will subdivide the land, under the supervision of - the inspector, among themselves and such others as may choose to - settle near them, so that each family shall have a plot of not - more than forty acres of tillable ground, and, when it borders - on some water channel, with not more than eight hundred feet - front, in the possession of which land the military authorities - will afford them protection until such time as they can protect - themselves, or until Congress shall regulate their title. The - quartermaster may, on the requisition of the Inspector of - Settlements and Plantations, place at the disposal of the - inspector one or more of the captured steamers to ply between - the settlements and one or more of the commercial points - heretofore named in orders, to afford the settlers the - opportunity to supply their necessary wants, and to sell the - products of their land and labor. - - “IV. When a negro has enlisted in the military service of the - United States, he may locate his family in any of the - settlements at pleasure, and acquire a homestead and all other - rights and privileges of a settler as though present in person. - In like manner negroes may settle their families, and engage on - board the gunboats, or in fishing, or in the navigation of the - inland waters, without losing any claim to land or other - advantages derived from this system. But no one, except an - actual settler as above defined, or unless absent on government - services, will be entitled to claim any right to land or - property in any settlement by virtue of these orders. - - “V. In order to carry out this system of settlement, a general - officer will be detailed as Inspector of Settlements and - Plantations, whose duty it shall be to visit the settlements, to - regulate their police and general management, and who will - furnish personally to each head of a family, subject to the - approval of the President of the United States, a possessory - title in writing, giving as near as possible the description of - boundaries, and who may adjust all claims or conflicts that may - arise under the same, subject to the like approval, treating - such titles as altogether possessory. The same general officer - will also be charged with the enlistment and organization of the - negro recruits, and protecting their interests while so absent - from their settlements, and will be governed by the rules and - regulations prescribed by the War Department for such purpose. - - “VI. Brigadier-General R. Saxton is hereby appointed Inspector - of Settlements and Plantations, and will at once enter on the - performance of his duties. No change is intended or desired in - the settlement now on Beaufort Island, nor will any rights to - property heretofore acquired be affected thereby. - - “By order of Major-Gen. W. T. SHERMAN.” - -This was a kind and honorable provision—giving the unfortunate race -just the opportunity which was desired of self-culture and progress. -They do not desire to come north and mix with the white population, but -own themselves, and have a fair opportunity for improvement. - -An “Educational Association” followed, to establish schools for the -freedmen, which should be taught by those of their own people already -possessed of some learning. All were invited to join it by paying three -dollars. The first evening the number of members swelled the fund to -more than seven hundred dollars. Then five hundred children were -gathered together to be formed into schools. Rev. J. W. Alvord was a -leading philanthropist in the work. They were divided into ten schools, -of fifty scholars, and, with a teacher at the head of each, marched in a -procession two by two through the city—a strange spectacle indeed to -all beholders! “The procession marched on till they came to the old -Slave-market—a large building, three stories high. General Geary, who -now commands the city, said they might have this for a school-house. So -they took possession of it, placing the children along the very -platforms where the old slave-traders used to set men and women to be -examined for sale. The fathers and mothers of the children looked on in -wonder to think what a change had taken place; while many wept joyful -tears, and shouted praises to God who had done such great things for -them.” - -But oh, the sad want and suffering of the masses in the conquered city! -All that could be done by General Sherman to alleviate the famine, was -promptly offered. - -The mayor and a few of the citizens had not only a formal meeting to -express loyalty to the Stars and Stripes, so long dishonored there, but -asked for an exchange of rice for other articles of food. For this -purpose a vessel was sent by permission of the commander-in-chief to New -York. That city, Boston, and Philadelphia, immediately took measures to -forward supplies. The accompanying message of the mayor of Boston was a -fraternal and excellent tender of former friendship and a renewal of old -associations. When, on January 19th, the steamship _Rebecca Clyde_ lay -at the wharf with her large cargo of provisions, the mayor thanked the -people of the North for their generosity, and complimented very warmly -the “wise and impartial administration” of General Geary. He said: “He -has restored order out of chaos, and made the people of Savannah feel -that the Northern army has not come among them to ruin or pillage them. -Life and property have been as safe during the Federal occupation as it -ever had been under civil rule.” - -Captain Veale, of General Geary’s staff, replied, assuring the mayor -that the “Federal officers and soldiers had always treated the people of -the South with kindness and forbearance, and hoped that they would soon -again join in one bond of brotherhood for the preservation and welfare -of our common country. He also thanked the mayor for his high eulogium -on General Geary, and assured him that the general’s object was to -promote the welfare of Savannah and make her citizens feel that the -Northern army was not inimical to the South.” - -Savannah in the old Revolutionary days extended her hand in time of -trouble to Massachusetts, whose sons repay the debt of gratitude with -unfeigned delight. - -Such were the events and scenes attending the return of the old flag to -its place in Savannah, never again to be trailed in the dust by -traitorous hands. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - - Major-General Sherman appreciated at Home—A Conflagration—A New - and Bolder Campaign—An amusing Letter from a Rebel—General - Sherman begins his March—Perils and Progress—Branchville and - Columbia—Charleston. - -WITH the advent of the New Year, the friends of General Sherman in his -native State inaugurated a movement to secure a fitting testimonial of -their appreciation of his brilliant achievements. A public meeting was -called at Columbus, Ohio, at which Governor Brough presided, and made -the subjoined remarks: “General Sherman has been identified with our -army from the commencement of the contest. Able and discreet—daring, -yet prudent—ever active and energetic—he has led his forces with -almost universal success. He has been in earnest from the beginning; and -if his life is spared, will so continue to the end. Sharing the -privations and dangers of his army, and, ever consulting and promoting -the comfort and safety of his men, he has acquired their unlimited -respect and confidence. His State should hold him in honor, and the -nation owes him a debt of gratitude. - -“While Ohio should not boast, she should not allow her modesty to make -her entirely oblivious to the merits and greatness of her sons. While -other States are providing solid testimonials for men who have perilled -their lives and fortunes, and distinguished themselves in the cause of -the country, we should not hesitate in similar acts of appreciation and -gratitude toward one of our own citizens who has stood in the foremost -rank in all this contest. On the contrary, we should come to it in the -spirit of zeal and enthusiasm. This movement has been inaugurated by the -people of the city where General Sherman was born—its originators are -gentlemen of high character and integrity—and our people should -cordially meet it with the determination that it shall be promptly and -fully successful, and the testimonial be at once worthy of all the -State, and its noble, patriotic, and distinguished citizen.” - -Lieutenant-General Grant sent the following expressive note to the -committee having the tribute of grateful affection in charge: - - “DEAR SIRS: I have just this moment received your printed letter - in relation to your proposed movement in acknowledgment of one - of Ohio’s greatest sons. I wrote only yesterday to my father, - who resides in Covington, Ky., on the same subject, and asked - him to inaugurate a subscription to present Mrs. Sherman with a - house in the city of Cincinnati. General Sherman is eminently - entitled to this mark of consideration, and I directed my father - to head the subscription with five hundred dollars for me, and - half that amount from General Ingalls, chief quartermaster of - this army, who is equally alive with myself to the eminent - services of General Sherman. - - “Whatever direction this enterprise in favor of General Sherman - may take, you may set me down for the amount named. I cannot say - a word too highly in praise of General Sherman’s services from - the beginning of the rebellion to the present day, and will - therefore abstain from flattery of him. Suffice it to say, the - world’s history gives no record of his superiors, and but few - equals. - - “I am truly glad for the movement you have set on foot, and of - the opportunity of adding my mite in testimony of so good and - great a man. Yours truly, - - “U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.” - -How noble and beautiful such evidence of true greatness, the master -minds of the war-field delighting to honor each other! A frightful -conflagration in Savannah was among the painful incidents of these -winter months, crowded so full of stirring events. The unresting brain -and form of General Sherman had scarcely completed the new order of -things in Savannah, before a still grander campaign in some of its -aspects, one more perilous and decisive in its results on the rebellion, -was planned, and his glad host waiting his word of command to march. -Sherman’s rule of military action is, not to rest while possible motion -promises substantial results. Looking away from Savannah toward South -Carolina, and beyond to Richmond, his masterly genius formed -deliberately the plan of advance, which was kept in his own breast. He -threatened several points at once, so that the enemy could not tell -whether he would strike first with an avalanche of living men, -Branchville, Augusta, Columbia, or Charleston. The “dazzling rapidity” -of his movements always completely paralyzed the foe. To concentrate -after he was fairly in motion, and his immediate object discerned, in -time to successfully stop him, was next to impossible. We have had no -military leader in this intelligent and irresistible celerity of -movement that approaches him. The Secretary of War announced in the -following message to Mr. Lincoln, the fact, that the laurelled chieftain -was again in the war-path over a hostile country, with continuous swamps -and morasses at the very entrance into its perils: - - “FORTRESS MONROE, TUESDAY, _January 17_—10 P. M. - “_To the President_: - - “General Sherman renewed the movement of his forces from - Savannah, last week. The Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps went in - transports to Beaufort on Saturday, the 14th. The Seventeenth - Corps, under Major-General Blair, crossed Port Royal Ferry, and, - with a portion of General Foster’s command, moved on Pocotaligo. - General Howard, commanding that wing of the army, reported on - Sunday, 15th, that the enemy abandoned his strong works in our - front during Saturday night. General Blair’s corps now occupies - a strong position across the railroad, covering all approaches - eastward to Pocotaligo. All the sick of General Sherman’s army - are in good hospitals at Beaufort and Hilton Head, where the - genial climate affords advantages for recovery superior to any - other place. The peace and order prevailing at Savannah since - its occupation by General Sherman, could not be surpassed. Few - male inhabitants are to be seen on the streets. - - “EDWIN M. STANTON.” - -Refer to a large map, and you will perceive at a glance the field of -operations before General Sherman. About half way from Savannah to -Charleston, is Pocotaligo, on the direct railroad—an important place, -which was the object of an expedition soon after Beaufort came into our -hands. Its capture secured General Sherman’s flank from attack in his -progress toward Branchville, a great railway centre, in importance -resembling Atlanta. His advance lay as it did when he approached -Savannah, between two rivers, whose borders were guarded with swamps. -Having carried Pocotaligo Bridge, on the 13th of January, whose strong -garrison had always successfully repulsed us hitherto, the onward march -from Beaufort commenced. General Hatch’s division was already occupying -a “position not far from the bridge, with their guns turned on the -railroad. The Seventeenth Corps crossed Port Royal Ferry on a pontoon -bridge laid by the Engineer Corps, and marched swiftly, but cautiously, -to the railroad. The enemy’s pickets were soon aroused, and attempted -some skirmishing, but were pushed off without trouble. On the 15th, with -the Seventeenth Corps on the left, and Hatch’s troops on the right, -after slight resistance, the railroad was gained, a little south of the -bridge. Our skirmishers dashed lightly ahead, encountered the enemy’s, -who were supported with light artillery, swept them off, gained the -bridge, and a brigade of the Seventeenth charged and carried it, -together with the earthworks at the further end. Several heavy guns, -which the enemy had spiked, fell into our hands; one of the earthworks -carrying seven, and the other five. The great bridge, with the -trestle-work in the swamp on either side, is fully a mile in length. The -enemy, finding he must give up the work he had so long defended, tried -to burn it. But our men were too quick for him and saved it. Our loss -was only about fifty killed and wounded. Lieutenant Chandler, of General -Blair’s staff, was killed while leading a gallant and victorious charge. - -“The enemy’s force consisted of General McLaws’s detachment of Hardee’s -forces; and were pushed out of Pocotaligo, the Seventeenth Corps -occupying the railroad from the Coosawatchie to the Salkehatchie. So -soon as this lodgment was effected, Sherman sent the First and Third -divisions of Geary’s Twentieth Corps, of Slocum’s column, across the -Savannah, so as to hold the railroad continuously from Savannah to the -lines of the Seventeenth Corps. On the 16th, also, the Fifteenth Corps -embarked at Thunderbolt for Beaufort.” - -On the legions swept toward Branchville, more than half way to Columbia, -the capital of South Carolina, and northwest of Charleston. The -threatening front of our army against Charleston at the same moment, -kept occupied and apart Generals Beauregard and Hardee. General -Kilpatrick hung like a thunder-cloud around Augusta, keeping General D. -H. Hill with his troops there, while General Howard’s right wing reached -and cut the railroad below Branchville; General Blair’s Seventeenth -Corps crossed the Salkehatchie, wading waist deep through the current, -defeating the enemy in the very water, and seizing River’s Bridge; and -General Slocum had gone above Branchville, cutting the railroad there. -This was during the first week in February. Sunday night, the 11th, the -enemy finding Branchville hopelessly encircled, cutting the paths of -communication, fled from the town, and the next day our victorious -troops, with flying banners, entered it. - -Over streams, into which they plunged with a shout; through morasses, -building corduroy roads in swamps, destroying railroads for nearly a -hundred miles of a single line, the brave boys had got within reach of -the “tempting prize,” as the Columbia _Guardian_ called it, now seventy -miles distant, and a hundred and forty-three from Augusta, Georgia. - -That paper began to use quite different speech from that addressed a few -weeks before to the “gentle warrior.” He thus discoursed to the people: -“South Carolinians are not to be intimidated by the fulminations of a -brutal foe, and we are mistaken if South Carolinians have forgotten how -to treat the insolence of the hireling.” The same paper said that -Columbia would not even be approached, because Sherman was bent on -Charleston. “To believe it is contrary to common sense, contrary to a -knowledge of Sherman’s character and confessed determination, and -contrary to all military strategy. Possibly a _raid_ may be made here -for the purpose of creating a diversion. It will not find us unprepared. -Long before Columbia falls, we look for a battle and a victory.” -Sherman, however, having left Branchville, was marching over the fine, -high, fertile region northward, where supplies were abundant, and the -country roads excellent. Already he was aiming at Kingsville, where he -would, if successful in his object, at one fell swoop destroy the -Columbia and Charleston Railroad, and the Wilmington and Manchester -Railroad. “That he will succeed in doing this, we have doubts—very -grave doubts; for we know something of the dangerous operations of an -army in the hands of Beauregard.” In order to dissipate the doubts of -some skeptical as to which side the operations of Beauregard would be -dangerous, the same journal announced with pleasure the arrival of that -chieftain and his staff at Nickerson’s Hotel in Columbia. - -General Sherman, in a brief time, cleared away the painful doubts from -the mind of this editor. Taking Kingsville, he commenced a skirmishing -march on Columbia. While the quiet of a pleasant evening was settling -down upon Columbia, a sudden shriek in the air startled the inhabitants. -The signal shells of approach were fired from “Yankee” guns. - -The army then under cover of darkness moved up the river, and in the -morning forded the Saluda and Broad Rivers. While the waters were -surging around the cheerful host, the enemy decided that “prudence was -the better part of valor,” and hastened out of the capital. The female -employés of the treasury department were hurried off to Charlotte, a -panic-smitten company of maidens, young and old; lithographic presses -for the currency were left behind; and a large amount of medical stores -was seized by our troops. General Sherman pressed forward toward -Charlotte after Beauregard, who was completely in the fog respecting the -goal of his antagonist—whether it was Charlotte, North Carolina, a -hundred miles from Columbia, or Florence, South Carolina, ninety miles -away, likewise a railroad centre. The map again will shed light on the -field of this great game of war. The only road remaining for escape from -Charleston was the threatened track to Florence. Meanwhile General -Gilmore’s time to move near the doomed city had come. - -February 10th, General Schemmelfinnig threw his command of about 3,000 -strong across a bridge laid over the creek separating Folly and Cole -Islands from James Island, and fastened with firm foothold upon the -latter, only three miles from Charleston. The Fifty-fourth New York, -acting as skirmishers, encountered the enemy a mile farther, at -Grimball’s, on Stono River, up which the iron-clads _Augusta_ and -_Savannah_, and the mortar schooner _Commodore McDonough_, made their -way to protect our forces on the flank, shelling the rebels. Toward -night General Hartwell advanced with his brigade, the columns double in -front dashing upon the rifle-pits with a shout that assured him of -victory. The bloody struggle was brief. The foe returned to his main -works, leaving less than a hundred of our troops killed and wounded, and -their own, with twenty prisoners, in our hands. This was the first time -these works had been taken by our troops. - -General Potter moved toward Bull’s Bay to cut the railroad north of the -city. General Hatch moved across the Ashepoo, toward the South Edisto. - -General Hardee, with General Sherman, master of Columbia, shutting him -on that side, had been watching with eagle eye the manœuvres of General -Potter, endangering his last highway from the city, and resolved upon -flight. Friday, February 17th, his preparations for it began. In the -night the garrisons of Sullivan’s Island and Point Pleasant withdrew, -just in time to escape General Potter’s advance on the road by Christ’s -Church. For the movements of Hardee had been discovered by General -Schemmelfinnig’s watchful scouts and signal officers, and he barely -slipped from the grasp of his antagonist. The troops in the city marched -out by the Northeastern Railroad on Saturday. Wrote Mr. O. G. Sawyer -from the gates of the city: - -“Shortly after daylight it was discovered that there were no troops in -and about Sumter, or Moultrie, or in the works on James Island. -Lieutenant-Colonel Bennett, of the Twenty-first United States colored -troops, commanding Morris Island, immediately despatched Major Hennessy, -of the Fifty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, to Fort Sumter, in a small -boat, to ascertain whether the fort was evacuated. Major Hennessy -proceeded to Sumter, and soon waved the old Stars and Stripes over the -battered battlements of the work, from which they had been torn down in -April, 1861. The sight of the old flag on Sumter was an assurance that -the enemy had evacuated all their works, and it was hailed by every -demonstration of joy by all, on ship and on shore. Another boat in -charge of Lieutenant Hackett of the Third Rhode Island artillery, was -immediately sent to Fort Moultrie to take possession of that work, and -raise again the national colors upon its parapet. The navy, anxious to -share in the honors of the day, also launched a boat, and strove to gain -the beach of Sullivan’s Island before the army, and an exciting race -ensued between the boats of the different branches of the service. Each -boat’s crew were urged on to the utmost by their respective commanders, -and every nerve and muscle was strained to pull the boats to their -utmost speed. It was a friendly but earnest trial of endurance and -skill. Every man felt that the credit and honor of the service rested on -himself, and redoubled his exertions to attain success. The race was a -close one, the boats being evenly matched; and when one forged a little -ahead it was recognized by the cheers of its friends, who watched with -intense interest the progress of the contest. - -“Finally, after a hard pull and as fast a race as Charleston harbor ever -witnessed, the army boat, under Lieutenant Hackett, reached the shore in -advance. As she touched the officer and crew sprang out on the beach, -through the surf, and rushed for the goal. The parapet was soon gained -and the flag given to the breeze, amid the cheers of the soldiers and -sailors, who had come up a moment or two behind him. The fort was found -completely evacuated, as were all the works on the island. The guns were -all spiked and some of the carriages somewhat damaged. A large quantity -of munitions was found in the magazines, which the enemy had not found -time to destroy. - -“When the flag floated over Moultrie, Lieutenant-Colonel Bennett, Major -Hennessy, and Lieutenant Burr, of the Fifty-second Pennsylvania, started -out for the city, leaving orders to have troops follow. They pulled up -the bay, while the rebel iron-clads and vessels were in flames, and the -city itself was burning at various points. Reaching Fort Ripley, or what -is known as the Middle Ground battery, the flag was displayed over the -work, and waved for a few moments. The party then pushed on to Castle -Pinckney, when the same ceremony of taking possession was observed, and -then the boat was pulled cautiously, but directly, toward the city. No -hostile force was observed, but a large number of negroes and some -whites were congregated on the docks, watching the approach of the -‘Yankee boat.’ Colonel Bennett immediately landed, and ‘Old Glory’ was -displayed again in the city of Charleston, amid the cheers and cries of -joy of the crowd assembled about it. It was a perfect storm of applause, -and outbursts of unfeigned joy and satisfaction. The negroes, with all -their impulsiveness, were equalled by the whites in their exhibition of -satisfaction and pleasure at the great event. They seized the hands of -the officers and men, and wept with excess of exultation and delight. -Such a scene was never dreamed of by the most enthusiastic believer in -the loyalty of a certain portion of the citizens of Charleston. It took -all our men by surprise. - -“On landing it was not deemed advisable by Col. Bennett to advance into -the city, as he was informed that a rebel brigade was still at the -depot, taking the cars, and that a force of cavalry was scouring the -city and impressing men into the ranks and driving the negroes before -them. As he had but nine men with him he confined himself merely to -sending to Mayor Macbeth the following peremptory demand for the -surrender of the city: - - “‘HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES FORCES, } - CHARLESTON, S. C. _Feb. 18, 1865_. } - “‘Mayor CHARLES MACBETH, _Charleston_: - - “‘MAYOR: In the name of the United States Government, I demand - the surrender of the city of which you are the executive - officer. - - “‘Until further orders all citizens will remain within their - houses. - - “‘I have the honor to be, Mayor, - - “‘Very respectfully, your obed’t serv’t, - “‘A. G. BENNETT, - “‘Lieut.-Col. Commanding U. S. Forces, Charleston.’ - -“To this demand Colonel Bennett was subsequently handed, by a committee -from the mayor, consisting of Alderman Gilland and Williams, a letter -which he was about to despatch to Morris Island: - - “‘_To the General Commanding U. S. Army at Morris Island_: - - “‘SIR: The military authorities of the Confederate States have - evacuated this city. I have remained to enforce law and preserve - order until you take such steps as you may think best. - - “‘Very respectfully, your obedient servant, - “‘CHARLES MACBETH, Mayor.’ - -“After a brief interview, in which the aldermen informed Col. Bennett -that the city had been fired by the rebels in various places, and that -the town was threatened by a total destruction, as the firemen were all -secreted, in consequence of the operations of the rebel cavalry, who -were impressing them and driving them from the town whenever found; and -they desired protection from the rebels, in order that the firemen might -perform their duty without fear of being seized. To this application -Colonel Bennett returned to the Mayor the following communication: - - “‘HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, CHARLESTON HARBOR, } - NEAR ATLANTIC WHARF, _Feb. 18, 1865_. } - - “‘MAYOR CHARLES MACBETH: I have the honor to acknowledge the - receipt of your communication of this date. “‘I have in reply - thereto to state that the troops under my command will render - every possible assistance to your well-disposed citizens in - extinguishing the fires now burning. I have the honor to be, - Mayor, very respect fully, &c. - - “‘A. G. BENNETT, - “‘Lieut.-Col. commanding U. S. Forces, Charleston.’ - -“Alderman Williams, who happened to be mounted on a fine horse, rode -back to the Mayor to deliver the communication. He had not proceeded -more than a block or two when he came upon fifty rebel cavalry, who were -watching affairs. They instantly halted the peace commissioner, and -blandly observed that they thought they should be compelled to dismount -him, as they were under the impression that they would take the horse in -the country. He reflected an instant, and then observed, in a careless -way, that perhaps the Yankees, who had just landed five hundred strong, -might object, and he would think of the matter. The announcement of the -arrival of five hundred Yankees was quite enough for the bold troopers. -Without taking his horse or further palaver, they wheeled, and rode -wildly up Meeting Street, announcing the approach of the Yankees to all -stragglers, and there was instantly a great commotion and a hurrying off -trains. Meanwhile the fires were spreading with great rapidity, and -threatened to sweep over the city, until fifty men from Morris Island -reënforced Colonel Bennett’s little handful of men, when he instantly -moved up into town with twenty-five men, sending small detachments to -take charge of the public buildings and depots. His march up Meeting -Street was one continued ovation. Crowds thronged the streets and -cheered, hurrahed, waved handkerchiefs, and in other ways manifested -their delight at the arrival of our troops, and at the sight of the old -flag, borne ahead of the little company of colored troops. The officers -were mounted on horses, borrowed for the occasion, and could hardly keep -their saddles, so many enthusiastic individuals, of both sexes, were at -the same time shaking them by the hand, catching hold of their garments, -hugging their horses, and welcoming them in other violent styles. -Charleston never witnessed such a scene before, or echoed so loudly to -the cheers for ‘President Lincoln,’ the ‘Stars and Stripes,’ the ‘Yankee -army,’ and other patriotic subjects, as it did on that memorable day. -One would suppose that the people had gone mad with joy. It was a -universal outburst of joy, and the little band of Yankees moved on with -all the _éclat_ of most honored friends, instead of successful enemies -and conquerors. Was this, indeed, the hotbed of treason; the very home -of disloyalty and rebellion? None would have dreamed of it had they -witnessed the reception of our flag and troops that day. It was the most -wonderful display of loyalty and patriotism.” - -And thus, after all the terrific cannonading of four years, with the -sufferings and death of the long siege, the “accursed city” fell without -a battle for its possession. When the Confederate and Palmetto flags -were raised on the walls of Fort Sumter in place of the dishonored -banner of freedom, in the spring of 1861, the boastful Mayor of -Charleston made a flaming speech, declaring that they should wave there -forever!—that Southern independence was secure, and her career of glory -begun. He assured the enthusiastic people, that if their ensigns were -struck down they would be trailed in “a sea of blood!” We may leave him -to his meditations while we join in the shouts of victory. - -Standing on the walls of Sumter, look away in the direction of General -Sherman’s march. From Atlanta to the shattered fortress, in this -campaign “our great victories were almost bloodless, and therefore the -more joyous and the more memorable. Branchville fell by manœuvre, not by -the costly price of heroic troops. The turning of Branchville was the -signal for the evacuation of Charleston, and its capture was the capture -of Charleston. It was as if Sherman, sixty two miles distant from -Hardee, had sent him a telegraphic message to vacate the premises, and -the notice was obeyed without question. - -“Ordinarily, one would have supposed that the streams which crossed -Sherman’s path at every step would have been successfully contested. But -he appears to have passed them without a day’s delay at any one. Of such -vital importance was time to both parties—to the one, that he might -make his combinations and concentrations; to the other, that he might -break them—that no sacrifice would have seemed too great on the enemy’s -part to ensure delay. But, at the very first show of resistance at a -river crossing, our advance, not waiting for support, would dash into -it, waist deep, with loud cheers, while the rest of the column hurried -to flank the position above and below, and invariably in a few hours the -enemy was in hot retreat. - -“Indeed, the enthusiasm of our troops, with Sherman as a leader, has -known no bounds. They felt themselves invincible, and have laughed at -obstacles. Sixty or seventy thousand troops is a large force for such -operations, but larger ones have miserably failed. It is large enough, -however, when directed by genius and inspired by enthusiasm. On the -other hand, the enemy has fled from Sherman’s path as from that of a -pestilence. His troops feel that there is little use in opposing our -columns, and go as quickly as possible to the rear. The unprejudiced -topographer, speculating upon the probable location of that mysterious -region, ‘the last ditch,’ would hitherto have assigned it to South -Carolina. But the ‘great flanker’ has, in fact, flanked that famous -ditch, and it has been evacuated through fear of enfilading. Day after -day, the theatrical bills of the Confederacy announce ‘one more and -positively the very last ditch;’ and still the comedy is played. -Branchville, Columbia, and Charleston fell, but we see no Derry, no -Saragossa, no Puebla, in their defence. Lame and impotent conclusion -indeed from such bravado of prologue! The chance of becoming the -sepulchre of the Confederacy will be taken from South Carolina.” - -But let us walk over Charleston after its occupation by our troops. The -flames shoot up on every hand, and the firemen rush to the centres of -conflagration. Thousands of bales of cotton and many buildings are -consumed, amid the frantic distress of the people, who are principally -the poorer classes, left in the wake of retreat. The depot of the -Northeastern Railroad became the arena of new horrors. - -“In this building a quantity of cartridges and kegs of powder had been -stored by the rebels, and as they had not time to remove it they left it -unprotected. A number of men, women, and children had collected to watch -the burning of a quantity of cotton in the railroad yard, which the -rebels had fired, and during the conflagration a number of boys, while -running about the depot, had discovered the powder. For the fun of the -thing, and without realizing the danger they incurred, they began to -take up handfuls of loose powder and cartridges and bear them from the -depot to the mass of burning cotton on which they flung them, and -enjoyed a deal of amusement in watching the flashes of the powder and -the strange effects on the cotton as it was blown hither and thither by -the explosion of the cartridges. Quite a number of boys soon became -engaged in this dangerous pastime, and speedily the powder running from -their hands formed a train upon the ground leading from the fire to the -main supplies of powder in the depot. The result is easily conjectured. -A spark ignited the powder in the train, there was a leaping, running -line of fire along the ground, and then an explosion that shook the city -to its very foundations from one end to the other. The building was in a -second a whirling mass of ruins, in a tremendous volume of flame and -smoke. A report rivalling Heaven’s artillery followed, and then a -silence ensued that, made every one tremble and hold his breath. The -cause of the tremendous explosion soon became known, and a rush was made -for the scene of the catastrophe. Such a sight is rarely witnessed. The -building was in ruins, and from the burning mass arose the agonizing -cries of the wounded, to whom little or no assistance could be rendered -by the paralyzed spectators. Many, wounded by the flying fragments of -the building were removed from the additional danger of the fire, but -those in the depot or immediately about it were irretrievably lost. One -by one was reached by the furious flames, the supplicating voices and -the fearful, agonizing groans, that appalled the stoutest heart, died -away and ceased, and charred remains only were left by the devouring -element as it moved on to new victims, who soon passed amid that horrid -scene from life to death. Language cannot adequately describe the -terrible nature of the scene. The cries for aid and rescue from the -wounded within fell upon willing ears, but nothing could be done to -assist them or even to alleviate the final pangs. The flames, like a -fabled monster, strode on, licking up every thing inflammable, and -enveloping its victims in its fiery and deadly embrace. Fortunately the -sufferings of the unfortunate creatures were not prolonged. The work was -done quickly, and soon every voice was silenced, every moan hushed, and -every spirit gathered to its Maker. The horrors of the scene will never -fade from the minds of those who were so unfortunate as to witness it. -Over one hundred and fifty are said to have been charred in that fiery -furnace, and a hundred men were wounded more or less seriously by the -explosion or were burned by the fire.” - -Then came the destruction of the rebel fleet. Very fittingly the -_Palmetto State_ first flew into fragments with a loud report, which -signalled well the fate of the home of secession, and over it soon swept -the free waves. The _Chicora_ and _Charleston_ followed in the work of -ruin. Cotton, rice, tobacco, locomotives, etc., fell into our hands. - -“The reports of the Charleston editors that the city experienced but -little damage from our shells, like nearly all others emanating from the -same source, were essentially false. It requires no very extended -examination in the lower streets of the city—those near the bay—to -satisfy the most sceptical of the fact that our shells were working most -serious injury to the town, and that the continuance of the bombardment -would make it a mass of ruins, as it had already rendered it untenable -to the most courageous resident. But two persons resided in -‘Shell-town,’ as some wag named that portion of the city east of the -two-mile post, visited by our shells, and they clung to their firesides -with a tenacity of purpose that the most demonstrative and aggressive -Parrott shell failed to relax. Though their beds were torn to pieces -while they were engaged in their domestic affairs—both being -females—by impertinent shells, and their culinary affairs seriously -damaged by projectiles, their roofs perforated, and ventilators put in -front of their dwellings, they would not move, but endured the -bombardment with a coolness and equanimity rarely found. Even the rebel -officers, who ordered them away from the dangerous ground, failed to -call a third time to ascertain whether or not the order had been obeyed. -They lived through the entire bombardment, became accustomed to the howl -of the rushing shell and its sharp explosion, and paid no rent, although -the buildings they occupied suggested heavy rents. Now that quiet and -safety are insured they propose to repair and live comfortably once -more. - -“On landing you observe that the wharves are in a very dilapidated -condition, that tell very plainly that they have not been much in use -the past four years. The palmetto logs that form the cribs are covered -with grass, and the planking is much decayed, full of man-traps, and -about worthless so far as cartage is concerned. Advancing up the rickety -docks, you come to a parapet of sand, over which peer the muzzles of -heavy guns, bearing down the channel, for home defence; then around or -over the batteries into the silent streets, covered with the _débris_ -from shattered stores and dwellings, and bearing at points a tolerably -good crop of grass—the same kind of grass that was to have sprung up in -the streets of New York when King Cotton exercised his potent sway. Not -a building for blocks here that is exempt from the marks of shot and -shell. All have suffered more or less. Here is a fine brown-stone bank -building, vacant and deserted, with great gaping holes in the sides and -roof, through which the sun shines and the rain pours, windows and -sashes blown out by exploding shell within, plastering knocked down; -counters torn up, floors crushed in, and fragments of mosaic pavement, -broken and crushed, lying around on the floor, mingled with bits of -statuary, stained glass and broken parts of chandeliers. Ruin within and -without, and its neighbor in no better plight. Here a great shell has -struck the chimney and crushed a large portion of the roof in; then -exploding, distributed its fragments through the ceilings, and burst out -great patches of brick and mortar, which now lie on the pavement below, -untouched since they fell. Every imaginable portion of buildings have -been damaged by our fire, and not a single house in this portion of the -town has escaped. Not a building is occupied, save by the brave women to -whom I have already referred, and the front doors or windows gape open, -through which you may gaze upon battered offices, demolished stores and -counting-rooms in ruin, where commerce once dwelt and active business -men pursued their respective vocations unmolested and undisturbed. The -churches, St. Michael’s and St. Philip’s, have not escaped the storm of -our projectiles. Their roofs are perforated, their walls scarred, their -pillars demolished, and within, the pews filled with plastering or -fragments of mural tablets, which were to perpetuate the memory of some -good man long asleep in the grave-yard near by. You may count up a round -number of shell-holes in their steeples, and many upturned monuments in -their grave-yards. War is cruel, and the howling projectile that takes -its start four miles and a half away is indifferent whether it ploughs -up the marble that affection has placed over the remains of long buried -worth, or crashes into the political halls where treason is plotted or -crime against humanity is conceived. The cold iron has been no respecter -of property in Charleston. The good and bad, rich and poor, criminal and -saint—if there be any of the latter here—have received visits from the -Parrott projectiles, and keenly felt the justice of the visitation.” - -February 19th, Charleston was placed under martial law. Some of the -regulations had a peculiar interest in the reference made to _colored_ -officers; a condition of things in that most _southern_ of the cities of -the South, in its love of the “peculiar institution,” the wildest -reformer did not dream of four years ago. - -General Sherman disdained the display of success on entry into South -Carolina, and remained on the hostile territory surrounded with mystery, -caring only, in his own language, to do “a man’s share” in suppressing -the frightful revolt. On February 19th, he was at Winsboro, thirty miles -north of Columbia, on the railroad leading to Charlotte. The first -telegram from him was dated at Laurel Hill, North Carolina, March 8th, -saying: “We are all well, and have done finely.” - - - - -[Illustration: MAP OF CAROLINAS] - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - - Wilmington—Peace Commissioners—General Sherman’s Statesmanship— - His Characteristics—Interesting Recollections of General - Sherman—His pure Character. - -THE able General Schofield has been successful in the Department of -North Carolina. Wilmington was compelled to strike the Confederate flag, -and “Cavalry Sheridan” sent Early’s troops “whirling” from his path -whenever they measured swords on the battle-field. - -With light spreading toward the zenith from every part of the horizon of -our land, the first spring month is passing away. The rebellion grows -weak and furious, hastening to the overthrow for which all true freemen -have prayed, and which despots great and small have only feared. - -While General Sherman was on his way to Richmond, piercing the Carolinas -with his lines of march and driving the rebel armies from his path, two -important events transpired outside of martial movements. One was the -sending of “peace commissioners” from Richmond, early in February, who -were met near General Grant’s headquarters by the President and -Secretary Seward, and whose conference left the question of peace where -it was before, in the hands of Generals Grant and Sherman. The other -memorable event was the passage of the Constitutional Amendment by -Congress, forbidding, after its approval by three-fourths of the States, -involuntary servitude, excepting for crime, throughout the land. It was -an occasion of intense interest in the national Capitol, followed by -similar scenes in the loyal North, giving to the celebration of -Washington’s Birth Day an importance in connection with the recent -victories which was never known before, nor is it likely to have again. - -General Sherman has from the beginning of the war shown those great -qualities of generalship rarely combined, even in successful commanders. -His genius reminds us of Napoleon Buonaparte in the comprehensive -appreciation of the entire field of action and the exact issue, in high -military culture, in the daring campaigns which have given him a -preëminence among the few who stand alone in their unquestioned mastery -of the art of war and ability to meet its largest responsibilities, and -in a statesmanship equal to his military attainments. - -Whatever question in the complicated interests of the stirring times he -touches, it finds a clear and decisive answer. He has studied history, -and the principles which lie at the foundation of the Republic. He is -not cruel, but believing war to be simply an engine of destruction to -secure an ultimate good which can be reached by no peaceful means, his -policy is the legitimate working of that engine. He would wield it with -no tears of false philanthropy that would protract the appeal to its -sanguinary settlement of difficulties, nor with the vacillation that -would spare the enemy present suffering and secure a greater amount of -sorrow in the future. Loyal, patriotic, and modest, he has kept his eye -on the national ensign through untold labors and perils, amid detraction -and the rivalries of a mean ambition, holding the rein upon his -war-horse with a warm but unrelaxing grasp. - -With a highly nervous temperament and manner, he is always calm and -self-possessed in action. Genial and sincere his troops admire and love -him, and are ready to follow him to the bosom of a boundless wilderness -thronged with foes, or into the swamps waist deep to storm a fortress -beyond. - -Since this biography was written some pleasant reminiscences of General -Sherman have appeared in the Leavenworth _Conservative_, of Kansas, -which, on account of their interesting character, are here added to his -life: - -“Citizens of Leavenworth will remember that there stood on Main Street, -between Delaware and Shawnee, in 1857, 1858, and 1859, on the ground now -occupied by handsome brick buildings, a shabby-looking, tumbling, -cotton-wood shell. It was occupied, on the ground floor, by Hampton P. -Denman, ex-mayor, as a land agency office. The rooms above were reached -by a crazy-looking stairway on the outside, up which none ever went -without dread of their falling. Dingy signs informed the curious that -within was a ‘law shop,’ kept by Hugh Ewing, Thomas Ewing, Jr., W. T. -Sherman, and Daniel McCook. Those constituted the firm known here in the -early part of 1859 as Ewing, Sherman, & McCook. All were comparatively -young men. All were ambitious; the one who has gained the greatest fame, -perhaps, the least so of the associated lawyers. The Ewings had the -advantage of high culture, considerable natural abilities, cold, -impassive temperaments, and a powerful family influence to aid their -aspirations. Hugh Ewing was but little known hereabouts, though -acknowledged to be a brilliant and versatile genius by his intimates. -‘Young Tom,’ as the other scion is familiarly called, has always been a -prominent and influential man. - -“The third member of the firm fills to-day one of the proudest pages in -the history of our land. His name and fame take rank with the greatest -of earth. All conspire to do him honor. Aliens bow to his genius, and -enemies show the extent of their fears of its power by the virulence of -their hate and its manifestations. W. T. Sherman never mingled in our -public affairs. He lived among us for several months, having some landed -interests here. An outlying part of our city plat is marked on the maps -as ‘Sherman’s Addition.’ Prior to entering upon the practice of law in -this city, he lived for some time in the vicinity of Topeka, upon a farm -of one hundred and sixty acres, which we believe he still owns. His -neighbors tell of his abrupt manner, reserved, yet forcible, speech and -character. Previous to residing in Kansas, Sherman lived in California, -where, as a miner, banker, and lawyer, he made and lost a large fortune. -A graduate of West Point, he had previously held a captain’s commission -in the Topographical Engineer Corps, and, in pursuance of duty, had made -several important surveys and explorations, the reports of which had -been duly published by Government. They relate principally to routes for -the Pacific Railroad. - -“A good story is told of Sherman’s experience as counsel, and of his -dissolution of partnership to take the position held by him when the war -broke out—that of President of the Military College of Louisiana. - -“While in the practice of the law here, Sherman was consulting partner, -having an almost insurmountable objection to pleading in court. He is -accorded the possession, as a lawyer, of thorough knowledge of legal -principles; a clear, logical perception of the points and equity -involved in any case. He could present his views in the most direct -manner, stripped of all verbiage, yet perfectly accurate in form. He was -perfectly _au fait_ in the authorities. - -“But to return to our story. Shortly after the reception of the offer -from the Governor of Louisiana in relation to the college, Sherman was -compelled to appear before the Probate Judge—Gardner, we believe. The -other partners were busy, and Sherman, with his authorities and his case -all mapped out, proceeded to court. He returned in a rage two hours -after. Something had gone wrong. He had been pettifogged out of the case -by a sharp, petty attorney opposed to him, in a way which was disgusting -to his intellect and his convictions. His _amour propre_ was hurt, and -he declared that he would have nothing more to do with the law in this -State. That afternoon the business was closed, partnership dissolved, -and in a very short time Sherman was on his way to a more congenial -clime and occupation. The war found him in Louisiana, and despite of his -strong pro-slavery opinions, found him an intense and devoted patriot. - -“We met him here, and though but slightly acquainted, have remembered -ever since the impression he left on our mind. He sphered himself to our -perception as the most remarkable intellectual embodiment of force it -had been our fortune to encounter. Once since, we met him in our lines -before Corinth, where he had command of the right wing of Halleck’s -magnificent army. The same impression was given then, combined with the -idea of nervous vitality, angularity of character, and intense devotion -to what he had in hand. Sherman is truly an idealist, even unto -fanaticism, though, in all probability, if told so, he would abruptly -retort back an unbelieving sarcasm. He outlines himself to our memory as -a man of middle stature, nervous, muscular frame, with a long, keen -head, sharply defined from the forehead and back of the ears. His eyes -have a bluish-gray cast, and an introverted look, but full of -smouldering fire. His mouth is sharp and well cut; the lower part of the -face powerful, but not heavy. His complexion fair, and hair and beard of -a sandy-red, straight, short, and strong. His temperament is nervous -sanguine, and he is full of crotchets and prejudices, which, however, -never stand in the way of practical results. The idea, or rather object, -which rules him for the time, overrides every thing else. Round the -mouth we remember a gleam of saturnine humor, and in the eyes a look of -kindness which would attract to him the caresses of children. - -“Such are the impressions left on our mind by the only military educated -member of this legal quartette—all of whom have held commissions as -Generals in our army.” - -I shall give you, reader, from the pen of a friend, the Rev. Mr. Alvord, -a pioneer in the religious army-work, who has been much with General -Sherman, the best pen-picture of him which has appeared, and which has -never before been published: “Tall, lithe, almost delicately formed. If -at ease stoops slightly; when excited, erect and commanding. Face stern, -savage almost; yet smiling as a boy’s when pleased. Every movement, both -of mind and body, quick and nervous. A brilliant talker, announcing his -plans, but concealing his real intention. A graceful easy rider, when -leading a column looking as if born only to command. Approachable at -times, almost to a fault, again not to be approached at all. - -“I saw him in a grand review at Savannah. His position was in front of -the Exchange on Bay Street. The Twelfth Corps was to pass before him; he -rode rapidly to the spot, almost alone, leaped from his horse, stepped -to the bit and examined it a moment, patted the animal on the cheek, -then adjusted his glove, looked around with an uneasy air as if in want -of something to do; catching in his eye the group of officers on the -balcony he bowed, and commenced a familiar conversation, quite -unconscious of observation by the surrounding and excited crowds. -Presently music sounded at the head of the approaching corps. Quick as -thought he vaulted to the saddle and was in position. There was peculiar -grace in the gesture of arm and head which did not weary, as for an hour -he returned the salutes of every grade of officers. Reverence was added -as the regimental flags were lowered before him. The more blackened and -torn and riddled with shot they were, the higher the General’s hat was -raised and the lower his head was bent in recognition of the honored -colors. Every soldier, as he marched past, showed that he loved his -commander. He evidently loved his soldiers. - -“I saw him in his princely headquarters at Charles Green’s, on New -Year’s Day. Many were congratulating him. He was easy, affable, -magnificent. Presently an officer with hurried step entered the circle -and handed him a sealed packet. He tore it open instantly, but did not -cease talking. Read it, still talking as he read. Commodore Porter had -despatched a steamer, announcing the defeat at Fort Fisher. - -“‘Butler’s defeated!’ he exclaimed, his eye gleaming as it lifted from -the paper. ‘_Fizzle—great fizzle!_’ nervously, ‘knew ’twould be so. I -shall have to go up there and do that job—eat ’em up as I go and take -’em back side.’ Thus the fiery heart exploded, true to loyalty and -country. - -“I entered the rear parlor and sat down at the glowing grate. He came, -and leaning his elbow upon the marble mantel, said: ‘My army, sir, is -not demoralized—has improved on the march—Christian army I’ve -got—soldiers are Christians, if anybody is—noble fellows—God will -take care of them—war improves character. My army, sir, is growing -better all the while.’ - -“I expressed satisfaction at having such testimony, and the group of -officers who stood around could not suppress a smile at the General’s -earnest Christian eulogium. - -“Such is W. T. Sherman. A genius, with greatness grim and terrible, yet -simple and unaffected as a child. The thunderbolt or sunbeam, as -circumstances call him out. - -“On the march from Atlanta his order was ‘No plunder by the individual -soldier;’ but his daily inquiry as he rode among them would be, ‘Well, -boys, how do you get along? like to see soldiers enterprising; ought to -live well, boys; you know I don’t carry any thing in my haversack, so -don’t fail to have a chicken leg for me when I come along; must live -well boys on such a march as this.’ The boys always took the hint. The -chicken leg was ready for the General, and there were very few -courts-martial between Atlanta and Savannah to punish men for living as -best they could. - -“When McAllister fell, he stood with his staff and Howard by his side, -awaiting the assaulting column. ‘They are repulsed,’ he exclaimed, as -the smoke of bursting torpedoes enveloped the troops; ‘must try -something else.’ It was a moment of agony. The strong heart did not -quail! A distant shout was heard. Again raising his glass the colors of -each of the three brigades were seen planting themselves simultaneously -on the parapet. ‘The fort is ours,’ said he, calmly. He could not -restrain his tears. ‘It’s my old division,’ he added. ‘I knew they’d do -it.’ - -“‘How long, General,’ said a Southron, ‘do you think this war will last; -we hear the Northern people are nearly exhausted?’ ‘Well, well,’ said -he, ‘about six or seven years of this kind of war, then twenty or -twenty-five of guerrilla, until you are all killed off, then we will -begin anew.’ - -“A wealthy planter appealing to his pity, ‘Yes, yes,’ said he, ‘war is a -bad thing, _very_ bad, cruel institution—very cruel; but you brought it -on yourselves, and you are only getting a taste of it.’ - -“The English ex-consul asked him for protection and a pass on the ground -of his neutrality and that of his country. ‘Don’t talk to me,’ said -Sherman, ‘of your neutrality, my soldiers have seen on a hundred battle -fields the shot and shell of England with your queen’s mark upon them -all, and they _never_ can forget it. Don’t tell me you couldn’t leave -before I came; you could send out your cotton to pay Confederate bonds -and bring cannon in return—don’t tell me you couldn’t get away -_yourself_.’ - -“The consul stood abashed, and awkwardly bowed himself from his -presence. - -“Such is his treatment of rebels. He receives no apology nor has any -circumlocution. He strikes with his battalions; he strikes with every -word he utters, whether from pen or lips. The secessionists of Georgia -and South Carolina believe he’ll do what he threatens. - -“Said the rebel colonel who had placed the torpedoes in the Savannah -River, when ordered to take them up, ‘No! I’ll be d——d if I do any -such drudgery.’ - -“‘_Then you’ll hang to-morrow morning_; leave me,’ said the stern -commander. The torpedoes were removed. - -“In this way, by his words, his manner, his personal presence, his -threats with their literal execution, and the swift and utter -destruction in the track of his army on their late march, he has struck -terror to all hearts. Though thoroughly secretive, he is strangely -frank. - -“‘Give me your pass, General?’ said I; ‘I’ll meet you again on your -march.’ - -“‘You don’t know where I am going,’ said he, with emphasis. - -“‘I think I do, General, if I can catch you.’ - -“‘_Where?_’ - -“‘At Charleston.’ - -“‘I’m not going to Charleston.’ - -“‘Then, at Wilmington.’ - -“‘I’m not going to Wilmington.’ - -“‘I’ll see you, I think, in Richmond.’ - -“‘I’m not going to Richmond. You don’t know where I’m going. Howard -don’t know.’ - -“But he gave me the pass; I, at least, know where he was not going. - -“The country may well honor and admire General Sherman. His personal -presence is an army of itself. His army is duplicated by the spirit with -which he inspires it. Such a man wields destiny. God will guide his way. -May He sanctify him. We shall hear more of him hereafter.” - -General Sherman’s character from childhood has been above reproach, and -his honor unsullied. His amiable wife is a member of the Roman Catholic -Church, while he, as has been intimated, usually attends the Episcopal -service. Besides the death of his son recorded in these pages, within a -year he has lost a child he had never seen—born while he was in the -smoke of battle; the young spirit went to heaven before the father’s eye -could rest on its earthly greeting to him through the smile of infancy. - -But a nation sympathizes with him in his sublime self-denial and his -griefs, and in the language of our beloved President, “follows him with -its prayers.” - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber note: - -Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. - -Where multiple spellings occur, majority use has been employed. - -Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors -occur. - -Some illustrations were moved to facilitate page layout. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE AND MILITARY CAREER OF -MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN*** - - -******* This file should be named 51999-0.txt or 51999-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/1/9/9/51999 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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