USA > Indiana > History of the Seventy-fifth regiment of Indiana infantry voluteers. its organization, campaigns, and battles (1862-65.) > Part 28
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pile, and then set these piles of ties on fire. The third section would then take the place of the second section, and effectu- ally destroy the heated rails by bending and twisting them, by means of railroad hooks prepared for the purpose, until they assumed the shape of a doughnut. When the hooks were not accessible, we bent and twisted the rails around telegraph poles and trees. When we had once finished our work of destruction, the rails could not be restored to their former shape except by recasting. This was hard work, but several miles of track could be thus destroyed and ruined in an incredibly short time.
On the 18th we marched through the beautiful town of Covington, with our ranks closed up, bands playing and col- ors flying, as if we were on a holiday parade. Leaving the railroad to our left, we marched at daylight of the 19th in a southerly course on a very muddy road and rainy day towards Milledgeville. We were detained here a few hours in the construction of a pontoon bridge across Little River, the enemy having destroyed the bridge.
Here the foraging began in earnest. Through 250 miles of our march, the country we traversed was full of provisions of all kinds. On every plantation was found great abundance of flour, corn, sweet potatoes, yams, vegetables, cattle, hogs, poultry, hams, butter, honey, sorghum molasses, jellies, pre- serves, pickles, etc. The army was to subsist principally upon the products of these plantations, as our wagons hauled nothing but sugar, coffee and ammunition. Sherman's or- ders were that the army should forage liberally on the coun- try; but the work was to be done properly and systematically. For the purpose of gathering these rich products of the plan- tations by which the army was fed, a party of foragers, known among us as "bummers," consisting of twenty men, under a competent officer, was detailed every morning from each Regiment. Two men were generally selected from each Company. These would report to field officers at Brigade and Corps headquarters, aggregating about 1,000 inen. They
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would now start out from camp on foot, well arined, two or three hours earlier than the main body of troops, deploying over the plantations, and moving on lines about six or eight miles away from, and parallel to, the roads on which the main columns of troops were marching. They would keep in supporting distances of each other for fear of capture, which usually meant death. In collecting the forage, the " bummers" would take possession of the wagons, carts, car- riages-whatever vehicles for transportation they could find -and load them with edibles, attach to the loaded vehicles of any description a mule, horse, cow, ox, or pairs of them, as the case might be, and set a darkey on as driver, while each " bummer" himself would mount a mule or horse, which he would also load down with provisions; and thus equipped, the grotesque cavalcade would move to the road on which the Regiments were marching, and join the column as it came along. The forage was then turned over to the Commissary Department of the respective Regiments, and distributed to the men. Half the night was then consumed by cooking
and eating. This was repeated each day and night. This process of foraging was generally attended with considerable danger. At times the foragers were captured and murdered; but there was such a fascination about it, that it was always considered a privilege to be detailed for the purpose.
On the 20th we started at daylight, passing through Shady Dale in a beautiful country. During the next two days the weather was fine, and we made good progress. We encamped on a large plantation owned by Howell Cobb, who, prior to the war, was a Cabinet officer under President Buchanan, and during the war, a General in the Confederate army. Here we found an abundance of beans, corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, hams, poultry and sorghum molasses, all of which we confiscated, as Sherman had given special orders to spare nothing at this place. During our bivouack, we kindled immense fires from the dry fence-rails, which brilliantly illuminated the vast plantation. We cooked, ate, and warmed
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ourselves by these fires far into the chilly night, while the numerous negroes, of all sizes and ages, entertained us witlı plantation songs and dances peculiar to the days of slavery, which we enjoyed very much. In his Memoirs Sherman says: "It was at this very plantation, that a soldier passed me with a ham on his musket, a jug of sorghum-molasses under his arm, and a big piece of honey in his hand, from which he was eating, and, catching my eye, he remarked sotto voce and carelessly to a comrade: 'Forage liberally on the country,' quoting from my general orders. On this occasion, as on many others that fell under my personal ob- servation, I reproved the man, explained that foraging must be limited to the regular parties properly detailed, and that all provisions thus obtained must be delivered to the regular commissaries, to be fairly distributed to the men who kept their ranks." (Vol, 2, p. 181.)
On account of the accumulation of mules, negroes and pro- visions, as we progressed, there was formed a caravan of pack- mules in the rear of every Brigade of the army, and across the back of each mule, which was led by a darkey, hung hams, chickens, bags of cornmeal, camp-kettles, panniers, surgeons' kits, etc., with which the animal was loaded. The writer has seen squirrels and roosters on the backs of these pack-mules -- the latter sometimes crowing lustily. The scene was novel and will never be forgotten.
Starting very early on the morning of the 23d, we marched about twelve miles and encamped in the afternoon near Milledgeville. The weather was quite cool-freezing the ground during the night. The country was rich, and forage was plentiful. We remained in camp all day of the 24th, and visited the State House, which was a large semi-gothic structure, and other public buildings in Milledgeville. It was an old, aristocratic town, with beautifully-shaded streets and quaint-looking houses. The Penitentiary had been burned, and the Arsenal and its contents destroyed by some of our own troops, who had preceded us. It was Thanks- giving Day, and we duly observed it.
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A very unfortunate affair occurred here in the shooting of two negresses (half white) by a member of one of the Regi- inents of our Brigade, while standing upon the balcony of a house viewing our troops marching through the streets. The soldier was arrested for the deed and placed under sur- veillance at Brigade headquarters in charge of the writer of this history. Subsequently it was proven that the shooting was purely accidental, and the inan was released.
On our arrival at Milledgeville, Governor Brown and the members of the Georgia legislature fled ignominiously in great disorder and confusion. We captured Confederate newspap- ers here from which we learned how the Southern leaders viewed our invasion of Georgia territory. They appealed to the citizens of the State to resist us in front, flank and rear- to remove or destroy all provisions in our front so that we inight starve-to apply the torch to all bridges and to place obstructions in all roads before us, and to show us no mercy. The following appeals, as samples, clipped from some of these papers are curious reading now:
November 18, 1864.
To the People of Georgia:
Arise for the defense of your native soil! Rally around your patriotic Governor and gallant soldiers! Obstruct and destroy all the roads in Sher- man's front, flank and rear, and his army will soon starve in your midst. Be confident. Be resolute. Trust in an overruling Providence, and success will soon crown your efforts. I hasten to join you in the defense of your homes and firesides.
G. T. BEAUREGARD.
RICHMOND, November 19, 1864.
To the People of Georgia :
We have had a special conference with President Davis and the Secretary of War, and are able to assure you that they have done, and are still doing, all that can be done to meet the emergency that presses upon you. Let every man fly to arms! Remove your negroes, horses, cattle and provis- ions from Sherman's army, and burn what you cannot carry. Burn all bridges, and block up the roads in his route. Assail the invader in front, flank, and rear, by night and by day. Let him have no rest.
.
JULIAN HARTRIDGE, J. H. REYNOLDS JOHN T. SHOEMAKER,
MARK BLAUFORD, GENERAL N. LESTER, JOSEPH M. SMITH, Members of Congress.
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These threats and appeals were more amusing than alarm- ing to us, as we read them in the captured Southern papers; but our friends at home, from whom we were cut off, were greatly distressed and anxious for our safety, of which we did not learn, until reaching Savannah. General Grant (Memoirs, Vol. 2, p. 366) says: "The Southern papers, in commenting upon Sherman's movements, pictured him as in the most de- plorable condition; stating that his men were starving, that they were demoralized and wandering about almost without object, aiming only to reach the sea-coast and get under the protection of our navy. These papers got to the North, and had more or less effect upon the minds of the people, causing much distress to all loyal persons-particularly to those who had husbands, sons or brothers with Sherman. Mr. Lincoln, seeing these accounts, had a letter written asking me if I could give him anything that he could say to the loyal people that would comfort them. I told him there was not the slight- est occasion for alarm; that with 60,000 such men as Sherman had with him, such a commanding officer as he was could not be cut off in the open country. He might possibly be prevented from reaching the point he had started out to reach, but he would get through somewhere, and would finally get to his chosen destination; and even if worst came to worst, he could return North. I heard afterwards of Mr. Lincoln's saying to those who would inquire of him as to what he thought about the safety of Sherman's army, that Sherman was all right: 'Grant says they are safe with such a general, and that if they cannot get out where they want to, they can crawl back by the hole they went in at.'"
The two Corps-Fourteenth and Twentieth-constituting the left wing under Slocum, were now at the capital of the State, while the other two Corps, Fifteenth and Seventeenth, (right wing) under Howard, were about twelve iniles to the south-west, on the Macon and Savannah Railroad, at Gordon. Howard's wing had threatened Macon via Jonesboro and McDonough, crossing the Ocmulgee River on pontoons at
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Planter's Ferry. On the 22d, Howard was attacked by the enemy under General Smith, near Macon, in which General Walcutt, commanding a Brigade in the Fifteenth Corps, was wounded. Smith, being repulsed, retreated to Macon.
SPECIAL FIELD ORDER NO. 127.
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
In the Field, Milledgeville, Ga., November 23, 1864.
The first movement of this army having proved perfectly successful, and the weather now being fine, the following will constitute the second stage of the campaign, and the movement will commence to-morrow, November 24:
I. General Kilpatrick, with his cavalry command, unincumbered by wagons, will move, via Milledgeville, by the most practicable route east- ward, break the railroad between Millen and Augusta, then turn and strike the railroad below Millen, after which he will use all possible effort to res- cue our prisoners of war now confined near Millen. He will communicate back to the wings of the army, as often as it is safe, any information of roads and the enemy that may be of interest to them.
II. The right wing, General Howard, will move substantially along, but south of the railroad, to a point opposite Sandersville, breaking and destroy- ing in the most thorough manner the railroad and telegraph; at which point further orders will be issued.
III. The left wing, General Slocum, will move directly from Milledgeville to the railroad opposite Sandersville, and at once commence destroying the railroad forward to the Ogeechee.
IV. Great attention should be paid to the destruction of this road, as it is of vital importance to our cause. Besides burning bridges and trestles, the iron should be carefully twisted and warped, so that it will be impossible ever to use it again; to this end the rate of travel will be reduced to ten miles a day.
*
* *
*
VI. The General-in-Chief will accompany the left wing until it reaches Sandersville, when he will join the Army of the Tennessee.
By order of Major-General W. T. Sherman.
L. M. DAYTON, Aid-de-Camp.
The second stage of the campaign had Millen for its objec- tive, one hundred miles to the southeast, at the junction of the Georgia Central and Augusta and. Waynesboro Railroads. The two wings of the army proceeded upon parallel roads in the direction of this point. The right wing proceeded
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along the south side of tlie Georgia Central and Savannah Railroad, while the left wing (ours) marchied along its north side, via Sandersville, Davisboro and Louisville. Kilpatrick swung around north of us with his Cavalry Division, and swooped down suddenly upon Millen, for the purpose of re- leasing the National soldiers imprisoned there.
On the 25th, early in the morning, we crossed the Oconee River at Milledgeville, and, passing the First Division of our Corps, marclied directly east through a piney country about twelve miles, encamping near the village of Buffalo. We reached Sandersville the next day simultaneously with the Twentieth Corps, accompanied by General Sherman. Here we encountered a Brigade of Confederate Cavalry, which our skirmishers soon brushed away. Resuming our march at daylight, on the morning of the 27th, we crossed the West Fork of the Ogeechee River on Fenn's bridge in the afternoon, and encamped five miles beyond. The soil was sandy, and the marching hard. At daylight on the next day, we moved southeast, and, after repairing the bridge on the East Fork of the Ogeechee, which the enemy's Cavalry had burned, we crossed over in the afternoon, and marched to the town of Louisville. The Seventy-fifth Indiana Regiment was sta- tioned in the town during the 29th and 30th, as provost guards, while the balance of the Brigade encamped a couple of iniles east of it. We rejoined our Brigade on the Ist of De- cember. During this time Kilpatrick's Cavalry had en- countered Wheeler's Confederate troopers near Waynesboro, and, ascertaining that the Union prisoners at Millen had been removed elsewhere, Kilpatrick returned to Louisville.
On tlie 2d of December, while our wing moved south from Louisville for Millen, our Division, General Baird command- ing, was detached to accompany Kilpatrick's Cavalry, as a support, against Wheeler's forces. Kilpatrick forced Wheeler back through Waynesboro and beyond Brier Creek, in tlie di- rection of Augusta. In the mean time, our Division fell on the Waynesboro and Augusta Railroad, near Lumpkin's Sta- tion, and completely destroyed several miles of it.
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We were now in the eastern part of the State. One Corps of Howard's wing (Seventeenth) was at Millen, and the other (Fifteenth) was south of it, on the Ogeechee River, opposite Scarboro. One Corps of Slocum's wing (Twentieth) was four miles north of Millen, at Buckhead, and the other Corps (Fourteenth) was on the Waynesboro and Augusta Railroad about ten miles north of Millen at Lumpkin's Station. This ended the second stage of the campaign.
In order to carry out the third stage of our campaign1, which was the last, it was required that the two wings of the army converge upon Savannah-the objective of the entire campaign. The army marched upon four roads essentially parallel to each other. A Confederate Division of Infantry, under McLaws, was in our front, and a Division of Cavalry, under Wheeler, in our rear. The former prudently retreated to Savannah without much resistance, while Kilpatrick's Cavalry, supported by our Division, attended to the latter.
Howard's wing moved on the right of the Ogeechee River, with Blair's Corps following along the railroad. Slocum's wing moved on the left, between the railroad and the Savan- nah River. Our Corps, except our Division on the right, ad- vanced along the north side of the railroad, and the Twen- tieth Corps, on the left, pushed along the bank of the river.
The progress was slow, owing to several days of continuous rains, and marshy country and obstructions of felled trees in the roads.
Our Division, with Kilpatrick's Cavalry, started on the 5th, at sunrise, marched about twenty miles through a bar- ren, piney country, and bivouacked on the left bank of Brier Creek, a few miles from Jacksboro. Here our camps were lit up with the fires of the fragrant pine knots, which created a most agreeable sensation. On the 6th we marched fourteen miles, and moving all day and night, of the 7th, we made twenty-four miles. We were marching with the Cavalry, which had orders to make a strong feint. towards Waynes- boro, and then to cover Slocum's rear, and prevent its moles-
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tation by Wheeler. This was done in a continuous rain, with Wheeler's troopers annoying us from the rear, and obstruc- tions of logs and felled trees, which our pioneers were com- pelled to remove before we could advance, impeding our progress at the front. The soil in Burke and Screven counties, through which we were now passing, was poor and unpro- ductive. Our foragers found nothing except "nigger peas," peculiar to that section of country, and even they were scarce. Our Brigade was in the rear deployed as skirmishers, resisting the enemy's Cavalry. On the 8th, about noon, we had quite a severe scrimmage with this force, in which a member of the Second Minnesota Regiment-George Boyson by name-was mortally wounded. Towards night of the same day, our Division marched over Ebenezer Creek, in Effingham county, on a pontoon bridge, which our ponton- iers had thrown across the creek for the purpose, and our Brigade being the rear guard of the Division, was greatly pressed by the Confederates, while the pontoniers were tak- ing up the bridge. During the next day we marched eight miles, hearing occasionally the reverberations of artillery in the direction of Savannah. On the Ioth, the Seventy-fifth Indiana Regiment guarded the wagon train, and with the Brigade moved upon the Charleston and Savannah Railroad near the river, and destroyed a couple of miles of the road, including a trestle bridge.
The Confederates were now forced within their fortifications at Savannah, and we closed in around them. We found the soil both marshy and sandy, the country almost depopulated, and the rice plantations of the Savannah River and region of the Atlantic Coast in abundance. The army now lived off of rice. On our approach to the city the enemy destroyed most of the rice mills; but our Division saved one of these mills, excepting the machinery for hulling. We contrived various ways of hulling and cooking the rice. The process of hulling generally was by means of rubbing and pounding with the bayonet in our tin cups, and with the crude mortars
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and pestles made by the negroes for the purpose. We ate the rice and gave the straw to our mules and horses for pro- vender.
The two wings of our army were now near the main de- fenses of the city. The right of our Corps joined the left of the Seventeenth at Lawson's plantation beyond the canal, whilst the left of the Twentieth Corps reached to the Savan- nah River. Our wing held the Charleston Railroad and the Savannah River, while Howard's wing held the Gulf Railroad and the Ogeechee River. In this way, Sherman had control of the railroads and rivers forming the main channels of sup- plies to the city ; but a complete investment was not yet made. It was his determination now either to make the investment of the city complete, thereby forcing a surrender by starva- tion, or take the city by assault. Before concluding which method of reduction to pursue, he determined to open com- munication with our fleet in Ossabaw Sound. This could not be done, however, as long as Fort McAllister, on the right bank of the Ogeechee, was in the hands of the enemy between us and our fleet. Hence the Fort was ordered to be taken by assault, and Hazen's Division of the Fifteenth Corps was selected to do it. The Fort was garrisoned by about 250 men in command of a Major Anderson. The Fort was taken about 5 p. m. of the 13th. About fifty of the Confed- erates were killed and wounded, and the balance taken pris- oners, including Anderson. General Hazen's Division lost 92 in killed and wounded.
On the 16th our Brigade, under the command of Colonel Gleason, went on a foraging expedition with all the wagons of the Division. We were out four days. After passing the encampment of the Seventeenth Corps, we marched twenty miles, in the course of which we crossed the Ogeechee River on King's bridge, about fifteen miles southwest of Savannah. This bridge was destroyed by the enemy, but rebuilt by our engineers. Starting at daylight on the 17th, we continued our march in a southwesterly direction from Savannah along
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the Gulf Railroad, until we reached the vicinity of Hinesville, in Liberty county, north of the railroad, where we encamped for the night. Here we found an abundance of sweet pota- toes (yams), which were preferable to the rice diet upon which we had been living. Colonel Gleason divided the Brigade here for foraging purposes. On the morning of the 18th he sent the Eighty-seventh and One-hundred and first Indiana and Second Minnesota, under Lieut .- Col. Bishop, of the last- named Regiment, back to camp with a part of the wagons loaded with provisions. They arrived on the evening of the Igtlı. On their return trip they were shelled by the enemy's Battery from across a flooded rice-field, which made the Bat- tery inaccessible to capture. One man, belonging to the Second Minnesota, was wounded. Colonel Gleason, in con- inand of the Seventy-fifth Indiana and One- hundred and fifth Ohio, took the remainder of the wagons and marched south of the Gulf Railroad to Riceboro, where we encamped-our Regiment bivouacking at Midway Church. We entered upon our return march next morning, with our wagons filled with forage of a miscellaneous character.
The writer of this history, with six men, was commanded by Colonel Gleason to proceed on the morning of our return at I o'clock, in advance of our troops, and reach King's bridge by daylight, with orders to prevent all teams coming out for forage from crossing to the west side of the bridge, until our teams had passed to the east side, as the road on the west side was too narrow for wagons to pass each other. The writer and his men arrived at the bridge on time, and soon became involved in an angry altercation with a Lieutenant- Colonel, who undertook to force his teams across the bridge, regardless of the writer's orders. Suffice it to say that the Lieutenant-Colonel did not succeed in his undertaking.
We all reached our camp at Lawson's plantation, to the left of the Seventeenth Corps, in the afternoon of the 20th. For forty days we had not heard from loved ones at home until now, when an accumulation of letters and provisions
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awaited us in camp, having been sent to us by transports from the fleet lying in Ossabaw Sound.
In the absence of our Brigade to Hinesville and Riceboro for forage, General Sherman had demanded of General Hardee, who was in command of the Confederate forces at Savannah, the surrender of the place, and Hardee had re- fused. But during the night of the very day of our return to camp, Hardee's ariny, of about 10,000 strong, evacuated the city, which was immediately occupied by the Twentieth Corps. General Sherman sent President Lincoln the follow- ing telegram:
SAVANNAH, GA., December 22, 1864. TO HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT LINCOLN, Washington, D. C.
I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about twenty- five thousand bales of cotton.
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.
On the afternoon of the 22d, our Division went into camp a short distance northwest of the city on the Louisville road. For several days our Brigade encamped here in a field near the fortifications of the Confederates in defense of the city. The weather was cool and pleasant, and we were all per- mitted to visit and explore the city.
The first object for which soldiers search, when they are ‘given permission, is something to eat; especially so, when they have been dieting for a fortnight on rice and sweet pota- toes. We soon discovered that the oyster beds below the city for some reason had not been disturbed for a long time. We went down there with teams and returned loaded with several hundred bushels of the delicious bivalves, from which we ate our Christmas dinners.
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