USA > New Jersey > Reminiscences of the war, comprising a detailed account of the experiences of the Thirteenth regiment New Jersey volunteers in camp, on the march, and in battle > Part 15
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"At daybreak on the morning of the 19th, by order of General Williams, commanding the Twentieth Corps, Colonel Carman threw the Third Wisconsin, the Second Massachusetts. and the Thirteenth New Jersey regiments, under Colonel Hawley, to the South Carolina shore. These troops landed without opposition, and advancing to Izzard's mill, skirmished into a good position. The enemy ex- pressed his appreciation of the position which he had lost, by charging with his cavalry to regain it, but suffered repulse. During the afternoon and evening, Colonel Car- man sent forward the remaining regiments of his brigade. and assumed command at Izzard's mill. His position was a strong one for defense, but the ground before him pre- sented marked obstacles to an advance. His front was a rice plantation, traversed by canals and dykes, the fields being overflowed to the depth of eighteen inches. To move forward under these circumstances, it was necessary to follow the dykes, and these were easily defended. Dur- ing the night he intrenched his line, which extended from the Savannah river, on the right, two and a quarter miles, to an inlet near Clyesdale creek.
"The next morning, in obedience to orders from General Jackson, his Division commander. Colonel Carman detailed twelve companies under Colonel Hawley, and directed in person a reconnaissance to determine the relation of his line to Clvesdale creek. This creek was reached, with loss of one man. Works were then constructed for a regiment ; two companies were left to hold them, and with the re-
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mainder of the force an effort was made to reach the Charleston road. This movement had been anticipated by the enemy, and a strong force had been thrown before Car- man. As he could not advance without crossing a canal under fire, he withdrew, but remained sufficiently near the road to observe the passage of vehicles of all descriptions, in motion toward Charleston. During the afternoon he was shelled by a gunboat. and at 4 p. M. he was reinforced by three regiments. He was so near the enemy's pontoon bridge, at Savannah, that from 7 p. M. to 3 A. M. he could distinctly hear the retreating army crossing upon it. This noise was also heard by Gen. Geary from his position below Hutchinson's Island. These facts were duly reported.
" Thus, under the mantle of darkness, during a moonless and windy night, General Hardee withdrew his entire force along the front of a brigade of the investing army. The ap- proach of this brigade to his only line of retreat may have hastened his withdrawal : but his final haste, whatever its immediate cause. was his salvation, and his stay at Savan- nah for ten days with such possibilities in his rear, vindi- cates him from the charge of abandoning his post before there was absolute need."
On the 21st we were ordered back to the Georgia shore. The weather was cold and it was with considerable diffi- culty we succeeded in reaching Argyle Island. as the only means of crossing the river was by the barges and flatboats previously spoken of. The negroes on the Island packed up their household goods into large bundles, which the women " toted" on their heads, and waited their chance to be ferriel across to the Georgia shore. The cold was intense, and all were anxious to get off as soon as possible. About nine o'clock at night Companies F and G were ordered to take passage on a large scow and ferry them- selves across. After all were on board we pushed the boat by means of large poles up stream against the tide for nearly a mile when we grounded on a sand bar. The tide was running out swiftly an I the water was quite low. We
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returned to the Island and waited there for about an hour when a second attempt was made to cross with no better result. After repeated futile attempts to reach the Georgia shore we went back to the Island and built large fires around which we thronged until daylight, when the crossing was effected. During the day the rest of the Brigade got safely over and we then marched for Savannah. halting about two miles west of the city and doing picket duty in the enemy's abandoned breastworks. The follow- ing table of the number of miles travelled by the Twentieth Corps on this march, is from Harper's History of the Rebellion :
Atlanta to Decatur 7 Miles
Decatur to Rockbridge 14
Rockbridge to Sheffield 13
Sheffield to Social Circle 14 66
Social Circle to Rutledge 7
Rutledge to Madison. 9
Madison to Eatonton. 20
Eatonton to Milledgeville 21
..
Milledgeville to Hebron. 18
Hebron to Sandersville .. 10 66
Sandersville to Davisboro 10
Davisboro' to Louisville 12
..
Louisville to Millen 30
6.
Millen to Springfield 40
Springfield to Savannah 30
Atlanta to Savannah 255 Miles
About 7,000 negroes followed the army through to the coast. and Gen. Slocum estimated that as many more joined the Federal columns, but through weakness or old age were unable to hold out to the end. Over 10.000 horses and mules were captured on the march. A large quantity of cotton. estimated at about 20.000 bales, was destroyed
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before reaching Savannah. As regards the provisions cap- tured, the estimate given is almost incredible, including 10,000,000 pounds of corn, and an equal amount of fodder. Gen. Slocum reports the capture of 1,217,527 rations of meat, 919,000 of bread. 483.000 of coffee. 581,534 of sugar, 1,146,500 of soap and 137,000 of salt. During the campaign (Slocum's report) 119 miles of railroad were destroyed, scarcely a tie or rail. a bridge or culvert, on the entire line being left in a condition to be of use again. At Rutledge, Madison, Eatonton. Milledgeville. Tennille and Davisboro'. machine shops, turn-tables, depots, water-tanks and much other valuable property was destroyed. The quantity of cotton destroyed is estimated by Gen. Slocum's subordi- nate commanders at 17,000 bales. A very large number of cotton-gins and presses were also destroyed. The whole number of casualties in the march did not exceed 1,000 in killed and wounded. With Savannah were captured 25,000 bales of cotton and 200 guns with large quantities of ammu- nition.
On the 22d of December Gen. Sherman entered the city and established his headquarters in the house of a Mr. Charles Green, an English resident. He at once de- spatched the following message to the President :
SAVANNAH, Ga., Dec. 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.
This message reached the President on Christmas Eve and was at once made public, creating universal joy through out the North. On the 24th of December we received the news of the Battle of Nashville in which Gen. Thomas had
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almost ruined Hood's army. Congress. promptly recog- nized the great importance of the work of the campaign by passing the following resolution :
Joint resolution tendering the thanks of the people and of Congress to Major-General William T. Sherman, and the officers and soldiers of his command, for their gallant conduct in their last brilliant movement through Georgia.
Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of the people and of the Congress of the United States are due and are hereby tendered to Major-General William T. Sherman, and through him to the officers and men under his command. for their gallantry and good conduct in their late campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and the triumphal march thence through Georgia to Savannah, terminating in the capture and occupation of that city ; and that the President cause a copy of this joint resolution to be engrossed and forwarded to Major-General Sher- man.
Approved, January 10th, 1865.
By order of the Secretary of War. W. A. NICHOLS, Assistant Adjutant-General.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Savannah-Scenes in the City-An Old Slave's Story-Marching Orders -A Southern Rain Storm-Return to Savannah.
T he last ten days of the campaign had taxed our powers of endurance to the utmost. Though communication had been established with our fleet outside by the cap- ture of Fort McAllister on the 13th of December, and rations of hard tack, coffee, sugar and salt were received a few days later. we were kept on half rations. A few days before the capture of the city we were without food of any kind, and a man named Murphy, of our mess, succeeded in purloining a few ears of hard corn somewhere. which was all we had to eat for two days. The country for miles around Savannah had been drained of everything eatable by our foragers, and had it not been for the rice and rice straw obtained on Argyle Island, men and animals would have starved. On the 22d of December we moved inside of the abandoned works of the enemy and began the erec- tion of permanent quarters. On Friday. December 30th, the corps was reviewed by Gens. Sherman and Slocum. We marched through the principal streets of the city. and were agreeably surprised to see the sidewalks lined with citizens, while the windows and balconies of the houses were thronged with ladies. On the Ist of January I re- ceived a New Year's present in the shape of an order from Division headquarters detailing me again as clerk to the
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General Court Martial, which had been ordered to meet in Savannah. I at once proceeded to the city and was as- signed quarters in the railroad company's building, near the depot. After depositing my gun and equipments in the room, I started out for a walk through the city.
The first object of interest was a parade of the Fire Department composed wholly of blacks. The firemen were uniformed in the usual old-fashioned style-large leather hats and red flannel shirts-except that the front of their shirts were profusely decorated with rows of white buttons. The engines were highly polished and trimmed with flowers, wreaths and flags. The hose carriages were drawn by boys with a man over them as foreman. A novel feature of the parade was the music. There were no bands in the procession. The foreman chanted one line of a song, and the men all responded in chorus, the tune resembling the old song of
Viva la, viva la, viva la, la, Viva la, viva la, viva la, la, Viva la, viva la, viva la. la, Viva L'America.
The citizens of Savannah, unlike those of other captured Southern cities, were disposed to be pleasant and sociable, as a consequence no unpleasant feeling was engendered. Though the streets were filled with soldiers all of them were on their good behavior and not a complaint, so far as I know, of either insult to persons or injury to property was ever reported. I strolled down to the Pulaski monu- ment, of which I had heard considerable, and found it to be a very handsome piece of work. It stood near the Court House and was enclosed by an iron railing, if my memory serves me right. The monument was about twenty feet in height. On one side of the base, cut in relief, was a repre- sentation of the death of the heroic Pole. He was on horseback, the animal's hind feet being planted firmly in the ground, the forelegs being raised in the air. On the
13
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opposite side of the base was a warrior, dressed in the cos- tume of a Knight of the olden time, with helmet and visor. The Knight was sitting down on a heap of stones, on the right hand side of which was a finely carved figure of a woman representing the Goddess of Liberty. Between the Knight and the woman was a marble slab bearing this in- scription :
To the Heroic Pole Who fell mortally wounded fighting for American Independence, at the Siege of Savannah, 9th Oct., 1779.
Above this was an eagle grasping an American shield in one talon, while in the other he held another shield on which. was carved the Polish arms. Above all was a fine statue of the Goddess of Liberty.
There was a great deal of suffering among the citizens of Savannah, and their wants being made known several boat loads of provisions, &c., were sent to the city by the gen- erous hearted people of the North. Everything was very dear just at this time. Oranges were selling at 30 eents a piece; apples, small and of poor quality, 20 cents each ; oysters, $5.00 a bushel ; common caps, $10.00 each ; pota- toes, 82 a peek, and butter $1.50 a pound. The feeling was almost universal that our greenbacks were no - better than Confederate money, but the desire of the people to get hold of them soon created a lively competition and prices fell considerably.
The rooms first selected as the place wherein to hold the sessions of the Court were deemed insufficient for the pur- pose and a change was made to the Court House, a large. dismal. dreary-looking structure. On the opposite side of the street was a large park, in which cannon balls of dif forent sizes were heaped in pyramidal form. The Pulaski House, the largest hotel in the place, was visible, some dis-
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tance to the right, through the deep foilage of the trees. The streets of Savannah are regularly laid out crossing each other, at right angles. At many of these intersections were small parks, each enclosed by a fence. These parks, as well as the sides of the streets, are lined with shade trees ; and I suppose it is because of the abundance of these beautiful trees that Savannah received its name of "The Forest City."
The old trouble of getting rations and having them cooked was renewed when I went to the city. Heretofore I had suceeded very well, but in so large a place as Savan- nah, I was in great doubt what to do. I could not do my own cooking, as there was no place either in or about the Court House where a fire for that purpose could be made, and even if there was I had no wood, unless I should de- stroy the seats in the Court room, a suggestion I once seriously thought of acting upon. The officers of the Court were able to iness together, and had means sufficient to live at the hotel or with private families. The Judge Advocate received extra pay for his services, while the clerk had no perquisites of any kind and was subjected to the meinest annoyances. I detested the work because of this ever-recurring difficulty, but unfortunately I was not my own master. I finally mustered up sufficient courage to approach a modest-looking dwelling a few doors from the Court House on a side street, and to my great relief the proposition I submitted about " board " was accepted. I at once procured a requisition on the Division Commissary for five day's rations and had to go nearly three miles to get them. One day, learning that a hundred hands were wanted down to the wharf, I saw the husband of the colored woman who cooked for me and asked him if he bad employ. ment. He said he had, and then remarked :
"You've got plenty of cotton, here, sah ?"
"Oh, yes," I replied. " I suppose there is enough cotton
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here, if sold and the money equally divided, to give every man in Sherman's army $500."
" Yes, sah ; I've no doubt of it, sah. There's the ware- house on Bay street, that I had charge of-belongs to Mr. Baston, my old master, sah-and another one this side of the Exchange, and the warehouse down there as you gwine down the Bay, all of these I took care of, sah. I don't know how many thousand pounds you have got. These all belonged to Mr. Boston. They was packed from cellar to garret just as tight as could be. Mr. Boston was gettin' to be the biggest man in this yere place. He sold more cotton than any man here, and being in the Custom House, sah, he was likely to be the likeliest man in the place. But he's dead now. You see, he was one of the fust men to go wid the rebels, and he's all the time talking about licking the norf. He took all de money, sah, that he used to do up and send to the United States, he sends it to the Con federate States. He said you's couldn't fight on land, you's couldn't ride a hoss, and you's was only good on de water. Oh, sah, all dey wanted was for you's to come down yere, and I don't know how many tousand of you's dey was gwine to kill. But when you's captured Port Royal, massa. he gets skeered. He sends all his foiks Lack in de country, takes all his niggers away, and wanted me to go too, yes. sah : but I wouldn't go. He told me, sah, de Yankees would kill me, sah ; dat dey would take me and harness me, make me haul wood and brick, and when I stopped for bein' tired, a man wid & bayonet would jab me ; and when I was good fur nuthin doy would sell me to Cuba and get gold for me. I told him dat I didn't care. I'd rather de Yanks would kill me dan for them to do it. When you's take Fort Pulaski, he gots so skeered; he sends his folks all off again and he wanted me to go again, but, sah, I wouldn't go. And when you's all come down dis way and takes Atlanty, he gits Akeered agin. He sends his folks all off a third time and strys yere alone, and he gets so frightened dat he took sick and died right off. Ho was afeared of you un's, sah.
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"You see I've been working ten years for Massa Boston; yes, sah. Dis last New Year just makes ten years, and when he bought me he paid five hundred dollars for me, and in six years I pays him de five hundred dollars and buys myself off. Den he was to keep me and pay me for my work ; yes, sah. And after working hard for him all de week, what do you think he gives me for my board ? One dollah a week! yes, sah. Dat $500 was just stole from me, for when Massa Boston died, Mr. Hunter, William Hunter -he lives just two hundred yards down here, sah, -he and his wife gets up a scheme to sell me, sah. Dey hated to see a free nigger in de street, and day knowed dat Mr. Boston tried to get me away in de country so I could be sold agin, and dey wanted to make money out o' me. Mr. Hunter knows dat I was an industrious and hard workin' man, and he tells me one day that I must either find a new master or I must go to de trader's office and have a value placed on me. In a couple of days he axed me had I a master, and I told him no. Den he made me go to Mr. Wylly's, a nigger broker, to see what I was worth. I went to Mr. Wylly's and told him dat Mr. Hunter sent me dere for him to place a value on me. He asked me my age and. I told him I was 56. He den valned me at fifteen hundred. dollars Confederate money, and Mr. Hunter thought that wasn't enough, so he sent me to Blunt & Dawson's, another nigger broker's, and see what dey valued me at. I went to Blunt & Dawson's and told Mr. Blunt I was sent by Mr. Hunter to Mr. Wylly's to have a value placed on me and he thought I was worth fifteen hundred dollars Confederate money, and Mr. Hunter den sent me here. You see, I was complainin' den, too. I was sick. He asked me my age and I told him 56, and when he sow what was de matter with me he valued me at fifteen hundred dollars.
"I had two friends vere, white gentlemen, dey come from: Yankee land. One was Mr. Gaummell. You see I wouldn't. trust dese yere Southerners, for dey are bound to cheat you. Dere is as much difference between you Yankee
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: people and dese Southerners as dere is between cheese and chalk. Well, I tells Mr. Gaummell how dey was doin' wid me, and, you see. Mr. Gaummell knew all about me, so he goes and sees about it. Den he tells me to get de fifteen hundred dollars-and I had it: it was nearly all de money I had-so I counts de fifteen hundred dollars Confederate money, and Mr. Gaummell goes wid me to Mr. Dawson's. and tells Dawson to make out a bill of sale for me. He did so and Mr. Gaummell pays de fifteen hundred dollars and gets a receipt for me, and buys a book and has it put in dere, and he gives me de book and I got it now, yes, sah. I splained it to General Geary all about it, and de fust time I see dat old rascal Hunter I mean to talk to him of his dirty meanness."
The old man's story interested me, and I have given it in his own language as written at length in a letter dated Savannah. the 25th of January. 1865.
During my absence from the Regiment, it had moved into the city and encamped in Warren Square. Habersham street. On the 17th of January marching orders were re ceived. The Court adjourned. and the next day I started to rejoin the Regiment which had moved to the South Carolina side of the Savannah river on a rice plantation. The Thirteenth New Jersey and the Sixty-first Ohio Reg :- ments had been detailed to guard and assist the wagon train. The roads were in a very poor condition and we had to corduroy them for some distance. The Division was about fitteen miles in advance of us at Hardeeville. . 1 heavy rain storm set in on the 19th. The bottom seemed to have fallen out of the roads entirely. Men. as they marched. sank down almost to their knees : mules and wagons could make no headway. A cold north-east wind added to our discomfort, and a whole day was spent in getting the first half-dozen teams safely across the river and parked. The rest of the wagons turned and went back to Savannah. It rained hard all night, and in the morning the roads had entirely disappeared ; nothing was to be seen but a vast
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sheet of muddy water, a spongy, treacherous looking mass, through which nothing could possibly move. The rice plantation on which we were encamped was filling rapidly with water. The tops of a few half-submerged wagons were visible some distance off and the prospect of ever getting out of the mire was rather gloomy. The Fifteenth Corps wagon train which left Savannah on the 19th also met with misfortune. Ten wagons were completely sub- merged and several mules were drowned. The rest of the train was ordered back to Savannah. Our position was getting more and more disagreeable every moment, as the water kept rising continually and we were liable to be flooded out without ceremony. Lieut. Col. Harris de- spatched a messenger to the city with instructions to ascer- tain what he should do, and in a short time orders were received to march back to Savannah. We at once packed up and just as we started the heavens again opened and the rain descended, soaking us through and through. We reached the old camp on Warren Square and at once raided on the neighboring yards for the boards which the people in the vicinity had taken away when we moved. They made a great noise about our trespassing on their premises : that they had bought the wood and paid for it, &c .. but the men paid no attention to their frantic protests and at once bogan the rebuilding of the camp. The sol- diers really felt little sympathy for them. Vessel after vessel of provisions had arrived at Savannah, and the goods had been distributed generously among the citizens. The soldiers bought freely of the people the biscuits, cakes, pies, &c .. which they offered for sale, exacting the most exorbitant rates. The citizens were really desirous of selling their goods cheap, but they could not understand why they should sell to us any cheaper, for our paper money. than they did to the Confederates for their's. They thought they had "come down " in price a good deal as it was by offering a dozen biscuit for a dollar.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Carolina Campaign-Crossing the Savannah River-The March to Blackville, S. C .- The Burning of Columbia-An Unimpeded March Through South Carolina-The Battle of Averysboro, N. C. -Our Last Fight-Heroic Conduct of the Thirteenth at Benton- ville-Gen. Hawley Compliments the Regiment-Arrival at Golds- boro, N. C.
S hortly after the Regiment arrived at Savannah, Colonel Carman was granted a leave of absence, Lieut .- Colonel Harris retaining the command of the Regiment. We remained in camp on Warren Square about ten days when marching orders were again received. As soon as it became known in the neighborhood that we were to move in a short time, the people in the vicinity began to grow more sociable. They bewailed our hardships and exposures and were very sorry that we were compelled to go on another severe cam- paign, &e. Of course we knew what all this meant, and based the price of boards upon the rates charged us for bread. biscuit, trust, and so forth. The market price for full length boards was established at $10 each, and though we endeavored to dispose of the whole camp at that rate, we found no buyers. The crowd of interested citizens increased largely day by day in the hope of getting the best of us by : grand rush upon the camp when we should form in line to march. When at last imperative orders to
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move were received, we turned over our camp stock to the soldiers of the Nineteenth Corps, who had arrived in the city and were in search of material out of which to con- struct stockades for their tents.
We broke camp in Savannah on the morning of the 27th of January, 1865, and formed in line on Habersham street at half-past eight o'clock. We accompanied our Corps train, in charge of Capt. Whittlesey, and after a march of about eleven miles encamped for the night. The next day we passed through Springfield, the county seat of Effing- ham county. The town had been burned and nothing of it; remained but a few charred timbers and great heaps of ashes. We halted here for half-an-hour when we resumed our march and at dusk went into camp. On the 29th we reached a spot within three miles of Sister's Ferry where we encamped. We were temporarily assigned to the Sec- ond Brigade, Second Division of the Twentieth corps, our own Division being in South Carolina. We remained at Sister's Ferry about a week, when we again broke camp and started to join our Division. As we crossed the river a familiar object to most of the members of the Thirteenth came to view, namely, the steamboat . Naushon " of Coney Island and "Fishing Banks" fame, which lay at anchor near the pontoon bridge. The presence of that steamer away down on the Savannah river awakened pleasant memories. The road on the South Carolina side was in a horrible condition and we were kept hard at work "cor- duroying " for nearly five miles. The road was through a low, marshy country, and our wagon train experienced con- siderable difficulty in getting through it. The next day we passed through what had been Robertsville. Only one building, a church, remained intact. The other houses had been burned. The march to Blackville was a repetition of our Georgia campaign. Foragers were detailed to scour the country for provisions. and though a large portion of the army had already gone though this section of the coun- try, we found plenty of pork, bacon, corn meal and poultry.
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