the single purpose of her service and her interests. True patriotism is shown by acts and thoughtful devotion to public interests. Nothing but shattered health against which you have been struggling during the whole campaign, has taken you unwillingly from the army-and not till long after every friend thought it a duty to yourself that you should go-and I hope, and reverently pray the Disposer of all events that in His wisdom you may be restored to the greatest of all blessings. "But it is not of the performance of your public duties that I desired to speakof that your military record, and the opinion of all your associates of the staff will testify. There is a warmer and nearer tie which has been your guide in our official intercourse, which fills the heart as I write, and makes the pen tame in utterance. The truest and most unselfish personal friendship-your country first-myself next -yourself last was the chart of duty to you. That your devotion to duty and friendship is most gratefully appreciated by me-and your sentiments of personal regard fully reciprocated-why need I write? That we shall be divided, except by space, is impossible, and I shall always be happy to subscribe myself, CHAPTER XXI. ONWARD FROM SAVANNAH. JANUARY, 1865—COLUMNS IN MOTION-GRANT AND SHERMAN-LOGAN-RIGHT WING— THE regiments of Sherman's army obtained such rest as they might until January 15, 1865, when the columns were again set in motion, this time heading northward. Lieut. Gen. Grant had sent orders to Sherman to embark his troops and carry them to James River to give direct aid in the overthrow of Richmond and Lee. Sherman represented the difficulties of such transportation and promised to get them sooner and in better condition where Grant wanted them, beside destroying the.enemy as he went. Grant yielded to his request to be permitted to march them thither by land; Goldsboro being the first objective point. Logan had returned from the North and, relieving Osterhaus, had assumed command of the 15th Corps which greeted him with enthusiasm. The right wing moved thus: the 17th Corps by transports from Humboldt to Beaufort, and thence marched to the Charleston and Savannah railway near Pocotaligo. The chaplain of the 64th Illinois thus describes the skirmish at this station : "With Captain J. I. Reynolds commanding we moved out from Beaufort on the 13th of January, buoyant and confident. Marching toward Pocotaligo we were opposed and found it held by a small rebel force who, as we approached, was heard to say, 'Ah! there they come,' 'they are Foster's niggers.' Whiz, bang, comes the shell, our boys drop on seeing the flash and are up unharmed and on with double fury. The thing is repeated but on go the boys in blue. A rebel officer looks through his glass and is heard to say 'I'll be if they ain't Sherman's soldiers. Then and there was hurrying to and fro. An officer moves up the road and disappears, it grows dark and our troops entrench and hear movements of wagons and troops all night, at daybreak the enemy is gone, the fort is ours. "We plant the stars and stripes there and change the name to Poke-em-till-i-go in honor of the plan of the rebel general in leaving a small force to hold us at bay till he could get out of the way. “We remained there several days to complete an outfit or a farther movement, but in the meantime we were not idle.” Logan's Corps went partly by transports and partly by land; Slocum was instructed to move the left wing as follows: Kilpatrick was to move with his mounted force against Coosawhatchie, South Carolina, on the Charleston and Savannah railway and Robertville on the Columbia road. Williams, in command of Jackson's and Geary's divisions of the 20th corps, marched to Hardeeville, on the Charleston railway where it was in communication with Howard's command at Pocotaligo. Heavy rains, however, isolated these divisions from the rest of the wing and they were compelled to move up toward Sister's Ferry. General Sherman says: "On the 18th of January I transferred the city and forts of Savannah to MajorGeneral Foster, commanding the department of the South, imparted to him my plans of operation, and instructed him how to follow my movements inland by occupying in succession the city of Charleston and such other points along the sea coast as would be of any military value to us. The combined naval and land-forces under Admiral Porter and General Terry had, on the 15th of January, captured Fort Fisher and the rebel forts at the mouth of Cape Fear River, giving me an additional point of security on the sea coast. But I had already resolved in my own mind, and had so advised General Grant, that I would undertake at one stride to make Goldsboro and open communication with the sea by the Newbern railroad, and ordered Col. W. W. Wright, superintendent of military railroads, to proceed in advance to Newbern and to be prepared to extend the railroad out from Newbern to Goldsboro by the 15th of March. "On the 22d of January I embarked from Savannah for Hilton Head, where I held a conference with Admiral Dahlgren, U. S. N., Maj.-Gen. Foster, commanding the Department of the South, and next proceeding to Beaufort." Awaiting the subsidence of swollen streams and the concentration of his force the grand advance began on the first of February, though some of the divisions had moved out of camp the day previous. Says General Sherman : "All the roads northward had been for weeks held by Wheeler's cavalry, who had by details of negro laborers felled trees, burned bridges, and made obstructions to impede our march. But so well organized were our pioneer battalions and so strong and intelligent our men that obstructions seemed only to quicken their progress. Felled trees were removed and bridges rebuilt by the heads of columns before the rear could close up. On the 2d of February the 15th corps' (Logan's) reached Loper's cross-roads and the 17th was at River's Bridge. From Loper's cross-roads I communicated with General Slocum, still struggling with the floods of the Savannah at Sister's Ferry. He had two divisions of the 20th corps, General Williams on the east bank and was enabled to cross over on his pontoons the cavalry of Kilpatrick. General Williams was ordered to Beaufort's Bridge by way of Lawtonville and Allandale, Kilpatrick to Blockville via Barnwell and Gen. Slocum to hurry the crossing at Sister's Ferry as much as possible and overtake the right wing on the South Carolina railroad. General Howard with the right wing was directed to cross the Solkehatchie and push rapidly for the South Carolina railway at or near Midway. The enemy held the line of the Salkehatchie in force, having infantry and artillery intrenched at River's and Beaufort's Bridge. The former position was carried promptly and skillfully by Mower's and Giles A. Smith's divisions of the 17th corps, on the 3d of February, by crossing the swamp nearly three miles wide with water varying from knee to shoulder deep. The weather was bitter cold and Generals Mower and Smith led their divisions in person on foot, waded the swamp, made a lodgment below the bridge and turned on the rebel brigade which guarded it driving it in confusion toward Branchville. Ourcasualties was one officer and seventeen men killed and seventy men wounded. The line of the Salkehatchie being thus broken, the enemy retreated at once behind the Edisto at Branchville, and the whole army was pushed rapidly to the South Carolina railroad at Midway, Bamberg (or Lowery's Station) and Graham's Station." The 17th corps forced the rebels to burn two important railway bridges over the Edisto. On the 16th the railway was cut at Baubrey and at Midway, and the whole army worked at destroying the road and cutting the rebel army in twain, one wing being at Branchville and Charleston, the other at Aikin and Augusta-each expecting "the vandals" who were cutting their way between them marching to their destination, resistless as destiny. On the 11th Kilpatrick brought up his cavalry to threaten Augusta, with orders not to be drawn into a battle. He managed to avoid it but had some serious skirmishing at Blackville, Williston and Aikin. At this point Brevet Brig-General Atkins was in advance with the 2d brigade, 92d Ill. mounted infantry and 9th Michigan cavalry and confronted Wheeler's massed force. The General made a gallant fight but was compelled to fall back to Kilpatrick's main line, near Johnston Station. On the 13th Kilpatrick moved toward the South Edisto. On the 9th the 55th Ill.-of proud record-did good service crossing the South Edisto above Holman's Bridge, to strike the enemy's flank. To secure the crossing, the men made their way over floating logs and fallen trees, until they reached a miserable swamp through which they waded near a mile before striking solid ground, but they did their work and secured their position despite the enemy. While the left wing continued railroad destruction west of Branchville, Sherman, with the right, moved against Orangeburg. The 17th Corps, on the 12th, found a rebel force in front of Orangeburg Bridge, but routed it, and crossed the bridge though partly consumed. The whole corps was in Orangeburg by 4 P. M. destroying the road. It wrecked it as far as Lewisville, and compelled the enemy to burn the bridges across the Congaree. Hardee now saw whither Sherman was heading, and evacuated Charleston, and retreated to Florence. General Gilmore's men occupied the cradle of the rebellion on the 18th, and made it rock with their shouts. And now for Columbia. The 17th Corps marched gaily along the State road; Logan's corps crossed the North Edisto at Schelling's bridge, and moved by a county road, entering the State road at Zeigler's. February 15th Logan found the enemy in strong position at a bridge crossing the Little Congaree, with a tete-du-pont on the south side, while on the north was a sturdy fort, defended with artillery commanding the bridge. Stone's brigade was ordered into a cypress swamp, to the left, to turn the left flank of the tete-du-pont ; the 111th was in the skirmish line-the cypress was threaded, the flank turned, the bridge seized, though partly in flames, and the fort captured. The bridge was repaired for the passage of artillery, and |
