Chapter XXIII: Front Matter (23)

General Slocum had struck the Charleston railroad near the bridge, and thus severed the connection between Charleston and Savannah. He invested the latter city on the right and front, the left of the Twentieth corps extending to the river. Here some of the foragers discovered the steamer Water Witch, captured from the Union fleet, moving up, which was soon recaptured and burned.

Howard now swung into line, bringing the Seventeenth corps on the right centre, and placing the Fifteenth in reserve, to open communication with the Union fleet, which purpose was effected by Captain Duncan, chief of Howard’s scouts.

Major-General Kilpatrick had reconnoitred Fort McAllister, and, by a rapid movement to Kilkenny Bluff, also succeeded in communicating with the fleet. He solicited permission to attack the fort, which was very prudently refused.

THE CAPTURE OF FORT MC ALLISTER, GA.
DECEMBER 13, 1864.

The railroad bridge called King’s Bridge, across the Ogeechee, leading to the fort, had been burned by the rebels, and was now reconstructed in an incredibly short time. On the 13th of December the Second division of the Fifteenth corps, under the command of Brigadier-General Hazen, crossed the bridge to the west bank, with orders to carry Fort McAllister by assault. This work was a strong enclosed redoubt, manned by two companies of artillery and three of infantry, in all about two hundred men, and mounting twenty-three guns, _en barbette_, and one mortar. General Hazen deployed his division about the fort, with both flanks resting upon the river, posted his skirmishers behind the trunks of trees whose branches had been used for abattis, and, about five P. M., assaulted the place with nine regiments at three points.

General Sherman witnessed the assault from a rice-mill on the opposite side of the river, and had the satisfaction of perceiving, at the same moment, a United States gunboat in the distance, which, shortly afterward, responded to his signal from the mill. Hazen had brought no artillery, for the ground was too swampy to sustain it, and he placed his reliance on the dash and bayonets of his men. All the guns of the fort opened upon his single line as it advanced. At the same time, the torpedoes, which had been buried plentifully in all the approaches to the position, began to explode, killing and Wounding more than the guns. The assailants had first to surmount the thick abattis, which they had no sooner done than they poured into the fort a fire so deadly as to silence its guns. A ditch, bristling with spikes, was the next fearful obstacle to overcome. The Union soldiers scrambled out of this, and clambered into the fort in swarms. A terrible, close, crowded conflict now ensued. The garrison fought desperately; many of the men were bayoneted at their guns, and the officers for a time refused to surrender. But the Union troops continued to pour in on all sides, and the fort was soon after surrendered to the victors.

On the following day the rebel prisoners were compelled to remove all the torpedoes about the fort. The Union loss in this gallant affair was twenty-three killed and eighty-two wounded; that of the enemy fourteen killed, twenty-one wounded, and one hundred and ninety-eight soldiers and thirteen officers made prisoners.

An important advantage gained by the capture of Fort McAllister was the opening of communication with the supply ships which the government had prudently held in readiness for the wants of Sherman’s army.

THE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH.
DECEMBER 21, 1864.

The Union lines now closely encircled Savannah. Its supplies were cut off, and the Federals were night and day working themselves closer to the city. Some thirty-pound Parrott guns were landed from the fleet, and placed in position, and preparations were made for assaulting the enemy’s works on all sides. On the 17th of December General Sherman demanded of Lieutenant-General W. J. Hardee the surrender of Savannah, and, on the following day, an answer was returned by Hardee refusing this demand, coupled with an assertion of his ability to hold his position for an indefinite time. He sustained this boast by opening a wasteful and furious bombardment, with shot and shell, on the Union lines.

The next night, the 20th of December, Hardee evacuated Savannah. He ferried his men quietly across the river, and escaped by the Union causeway, carrying with him all the able-bodied negroes, under guard, into South Carolina.

General Geary was the first to discover the movement, and to enter the deserted works. Mayor Arnold rode out and surrendered the city to him. General Geary was afterward entrusted with the command of Savannah, and afforded general satisfaction to its citizens, who were well pleased with the moderation and equity of his administration.

General Hardee had burned the shipyard and a rebel ram there which was nearly completed. The iron-clad floating battery, Georgia, was sunk by her commander, and the iron-clad Savannah, after indulging in some wanton firing upon the captured city, was blown up, the explosion visiting the city like an earthquake.

The Union loss during the siege of Savannah did not exceed six hundred. One hundred and forty-five cannon, one thousand prisoners, thirty thousand bales of cotton, and immense quantities of ammunition and supplies, and much valuable property were captured, which, as the city was virtually taken before it was surrendered, were regarded by General Sherman as the undoubted prizes of the government for which he and his army had toiled and fought so long.

* * * * *

Sherman’s grand march to the sea was accomplished. Its mysterious strategy and alarming boldness were now elucidated and justified by the event. The rebels had been perplexed and distracted by the movement. The feint on Macon first misled the enemy, and, afterward, Sherman’s constant menace against Augusta divided the forces which might have been united against him, and kept the Georgians in the most demoralizing suspense and terror, which allowed the Union army to sever and burn at its leisure the enemy’s only remaining railroad communications eastward and westward, for hundreds of miles—namely, the Georgia State railroad and the Central railroad from Gordon to Savannah, with numerous other portions of it. The army passed over forty-two of the finest grain-growing counties of the State, consuming their corn and fodder, sweet potatoes, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, appropriating ten thousand or more horses and mules, burning all their bridges, cotton gins, all public buildings of service to the enemy, and bringing away a countless number of slaves. “I estimate,” says General Sherman, “the damage done to the State of Georgia and its military resources at one hundred million dollars, at least twenty million dollars of which has inured to our advantage, and the remainder is simple waste and destruction. This may seem a hard species of warfare, but it brings the sad realities of war home to those who have been directly or indirectly instrumental in involving us in its calamities.”

GRAND NAVAL COMBAT IN MOBILE BAY.

CAPTURE OF FORTS MORGAN, POWELL, AND GAINES.
AUGUST 5–23, 1864.

Admiral Farragut, who had anchored off Mobile Bay for more than a month, awaiting reinforcements and military cooperation, at length saw the day approach on which he was prepared to undertake the most dangerous if not formidable naval combat that history has ever recorded.

At the head of Mobile Bay, nearly thirty miles from the Gulf of Mexico, lies the city of Mobile. Dauphin’s Island lies at the mouth of the bay, and almost closes the entrance, having a narrow strait on either side. The western channel affords but five feet of water, and is therefore not navigable for heavy vessels. The eastern strait channel has a depth of twenty feet. The entrance to the bay is guarded by two strong forts. The principal defence is Fort Morgan, which is built on a low, sandy point opposite Dauphin’s Island, and four miles from it. The rebels had blockaded the whole passage between Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island with tiers of piles, chains, and torpedoes, leaving a channel of fifteen hundred yards in width for the blockade-runners, which flowed directly under the guns of the fort.

Opposite Fort Morgan, on Dauphin Island, is Fort Gaines; and about a mile distant from the latter structure was Fort Powell.

Early in August, Admiral Farragut’s fleet was reinforced by two iron-clads from James river, and two from the Mississippi.

Soon after sunrise on the morning of the 5th of August, signals were given to all the fleet, and at twenty minutes to six the gunboats and monitors were underweigh, moving up the bay.

The vessels were lashed side by side in couples, for better protection, and in order to assist each other when any became disabled. Chains and sand bags were laid on the decks over the machinery, to resist a plunging fire; while sheet chains and other protective material were hung on the sides of the vessels. The first object of the Admiral was to pass the forts, inflicting as much damage to them as possible in the transit, and then to engage and overcome the rebel gunboats, and the formidable ram which lay in the inner waters. The attacking fleet comprised fourteen wooden vessels, and four iron-clad monitors.

About seven o’clock the leading vessels came under fire from Fort Morgan, and the rebel gunboats anchored under the guns of the fort; while the Federal vessels, advancing in as close order as safety permitted, replied with their rifled bow guns, and as soon as the range permitted, with their formidable broadsides, driving the rebels from their guns, and breaching the walls of their defences. The Admiral was lashed in the main-top of his flagship, the Hartford, from which exposed situation he had a good view of the battle, and communicated his orders through speaking tubes.

At half-past seven the leading Monitor, the Tecumseh, struck a torpedo, which exploded with terrific and fatal force, and the staunch vessel, overcome by the terrible concussion, sank in the vortex, engulfing her brave commander, Captain T. A. M. Craven, and all but ten of her crew. This remnant was picked up while struggling in the water by a boat from the Metacomet, under a storm of shot and shell. The fate of the Tecumseh did not check the advance of the fleet, for all the brave sailors in the squadron well knew that they were exposed to the same frightful fate, and had entered the combat prepared to encounter the danger. The flagship Hartford, with the Metacomet lashed to her port side, now took the lead, and, boldly followed by the remainder of the squadron, passed the forts without serious damage, and were out of range in an hour’s time.

The Hartford was now assailed by the rebel ram Tennessee; a most formidable vessel upon which the rebels confidently relied for the destruction of the whole Federal fleet, should they succeed in passing the forts, and avoiding the dangerous obstructions. The Confederate gunboats Morgan, Gaines, and Selma, also courageously took part in the combat, but were soon disposed of by the Union vessels as they came up. In half an hour the Selma was a prize to the Metacomet, and the Gaines had ran ashore under the guns of Fort Morgan, while the Morgan had escaped to the city docks.

The iron-clad Tennessee, bearing the flag of Admiral Buchanan, maintained a fierce and sanguinary combat with the heavier Union vessels for nearly two hours. This vessel was one hundred and eighty feet in length, sheathed with iron plates, five inches in thickness, of narrow plates, strongly bolted, and backed by two feet of solid oak. She was armed with a powerful ram, and had two ports on either side, closed by iron shutters turning upon a pivot. The wooden ships defiantly encountered the Tennessee, although her armor was impervious to their guns, while the iron-clads grappled fiercely with their formidable antagonist. The Manhattan, with one of her fifteen-inch shot, broke through the armor of the Tennessee, and a monitor shot disabled the steering gear, and thus rendered her helpless. At ten o’clock she surrendered. Twenty officers and about one hundred and seventy men were captured in this vessel, and ninety officers and men in the Selma. The capture of these two vessels terminated the glorious battle of the 5th of August. On the following day one of the iron-clads shelled Fort Gaines with such effect that Colonel Anderson the commander sent a communication to Admiral Farragut offering to surrender. General Granger, commanding the United States military forces then investing Mobile, was sent for, and the terms of capitulation were signed by the respective parties on board the Hartford.

On the night of the 5th of August, Fort Powell was attacked, and blown up, the guns falling into the hands of the naval commander. From this time onward movements were in preparation for attacking Fort Morgan, and on the 22nd of August, with day-dawn, a bombardment was opened from the shore batteries, the Monitors and ships inside, and the vessels outside the bar. At six A. M. on the 23d, a white flag was displayed by the rebels, and at two o’clock the fort was unconditionally surrendered to the navy and army of the United States by General Page, the commander.

The capture of Forts Powell, Gaines and Morgan, and the destruction of the rebel fleet, gave the navy possession of the bay, and closed the port to all ingress or egress of blockade runners. This was all that was contemplated. Possession of the city of Mobile could not make the blockade more effectual, and without a sufficient cooperating land force, which could not then be spared to take and hold the place, further demonstration was not advisable.

To obstruct naval operations, the bay had been strewn with torpedoes, and as late as the 13th of September, Rear Admiral Farragut wrote the department that he was still engaged in removing them. One hundred, it was reported, had been placed in the bay by the rebels.

SHERMAN’S MARCH FROM SAVANNAH TO GOLDSBORO’, N. C.
JANUARY TO MARCH, 1865.

The city of Savannah, and the forts around it, were, on the 18th of January, 1865, transferred to General Foster, who commanded the Department of the South, and General Sherman once more pushed forward—this time to reach Goldsboro’, in North Carolina, and open communication with cooperating forces from that point. The capture of Charleston was incidental to this campaign; but was left to General Foster’s command. The order to march was given on the 19th of January. Savannah was garrisoned by a division of the 19th Army corps, under General Grover, while General Schofield’s corps, the Twenty-third, was sent to reinforce Generals Terry and Palmer, who were operating on the coast of North Carolina.

Sherman’s march lasted about two months, and was attended by skirmishes and small battles, but was never checked; and, in the end, was thoroughly successful in accomplishing its intended purpose. The condition of the rivers, swollen by thaws and rains, at first caused the army some trouble. But all obstacles were speedily overcome.

An engagement at Rivers’ Bridge, on the 3d of February, was the earliest fighting of moment. The point was carried with the loss of one officer and seventeen men. The troops engaged were a division of the Seventeenth corps, under Generals Thomas and Smith. Heavy skirmishing took place, at Blackville, Williston and Aiken, between General Kilpatrick’s cavalry, and the rebel cavalry of Wheeler.

On the 12th of February, General Sherman was at Orangeburg, where there was some fighting. By this time he had isolated Branchville and Charleston, so that the rebels would probably be obliged to evacuate those places. His next blow was aimed at Columbia. This beautiful city is one hundred and twenty-eight miles from Charleston. The rebels, under Hampton, abandoned it on the 16th, having first fired a large quantity of cotton which was there accumulated. On the 17th it was surrendered to General Sherman, who, in anticipation of the occupation of the city, had issued to General Howard orders concerning the conduct of the troops. These were to destroy absolutely all arsenals and public property not needed for his own use, as well as all railroads, depots, and machinery useful in war to an enemy, but to spare all dwellings, colleges, schools, asylums, and harmless private property. But, as it turned out, before one single public building had been fired by order, the smoldering fires, set by Hampton’s orders, were kindled by the wind, and communicated to the buildings around. About dark they began to spread, and got beyond the control of the troops, and raged until about four A. M., when the wind subsiding, the flames wore subdued. “I was up nearly all night,” says General Sherman, “and saw Generals Howard, Logan, Woods, and others, laboring to save houses and protect families thus suddenly deprived of shelter, and of bedding and wearing apparel. I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire, but on the contrary claim that we saved what of Columbia remains unconsumed. And without hesitation I charge General Wade Hampton with having burned his own city of Columbia, not with a malicious intent, but from folly and want of sense in filling it with lint, cotton, and tinder.” During the 18th and 19th, the arsenal, railroad depots, machine shops, foundries, and other buildings were destroyed by detailed working parties, and the railroad track torn up down to Kingsville and the Wateree bridge, and up in the direction of Winnsboro’.

The next principal point was Cheraw, which was entered, after a toilsome march, on the 3d of March. Charleston had, meanwhile, been evacuated by General Hardee, on the 18th of February, and many guns and much ammunition had been conveyed thence to Cheraw. These were now captured by General Sherman, who also broke up the railroad as far as Darlington, and the branch road from Florence to Cheraw. He then pushed on to Fayetteville, which he occupied on the 11th of March. The enemy, broken into small detachments, were all the while retiring before Sherman’s advance, but at the same time were harassing him by occasional dashes. One of these, made by Hampton, on the 9th, led to a brisk engagement between his forces and Kilpatrick’s cavalry, in which the latter were victorious. But the rebels, fearing for Raleigh, now endeavored to concentrate in Sherman’s front. Beauregard’s troops, from Columbia, Cheatham’s from the West, the garrison of Augusta, and Hardee’s from Charleston, were to be speedily massed together, under the command of General J. E. Johnston. General Sherman’s plan was to feign an attack on Raleigh, but really to push on to Goldsboro’. One obstacle in his path was Hardee, who, with twenty thousand men, had made a stand between Cape Fear river and South river. General Williams, with the Twentieth corps, was thereupon ordered to dislodge Hardee and capture the position. The result was the

BATTLE OF AVERASBORO’.
MARCH 15–16, 1865.

This fight commenced about noon, and lasted till night. Skirmishing continued all night, and on the morning of the 16th, the battle was renewed, with great fury. Severe fighting took place during the day, without satisfactory results. The enemy held his position, although suffering heavy loss. Everything indicated the presence of Hardee’s whole army corps. He evacuated the line, during the night of the 16th, however, and fell back to Averasboro’, pursued by Ward’s division of the Twentieth corps. His dead and wounded were left on the field, and abandoned along the road to Averasboro’. General Ward pressed up to Averasboro’, holding the plank road in front, while the balance of the command moved off to the right, across Black river, on the Goldsboro’ road, now uncovered. The National loss in this fight was four hundred and forty-six in the Twentieth corps, one hundred and eight in the Fourteenth, and one hundred and seventy-one in Kilpatrick’s command—total, seven hundred and thirty-seven. The number of rebels, buried on the field, and paroled wounded, was three hundred and twenty-seven—exclusive of those they carried off, and the unhurt prisoners captured by the Unionists.

The advance of General Sherman was immediately continued, in an easterly direction from Averasboro’, along the Goldsboro’ road. General Johnston had suddenly moved from Raleigh, and concentrated his entire force at a village called Bentonsville, on this road, eighteen miles from Averasboro’, intending to fall on Sherman’s left flank and overwhelm it, before the arrival of its cooperating column. But the Union commander, anticipating such a movement, was wholly prepared for it.

A battle ensued at Bentonsville, the Union line being complete and strong, and the rebels on the defensive, in intrenchments.

BATTLE OF BENTONSVILLE.
MARCH 20, 1864.

At noon the enemy left his works and advanced on Jeff. C. Davis’ two divisions. Buell and Hobart were overwhelmed, and pressed back through the woods more than a mile and a half. Vandeveer’s, Mitchell’s, Fering’s and Cogswell’s brigades, on the right, fought stubbornly and desperately, and lost but little ground. There was temporary confusion, and a rout was imminent. Five batteries of artillery were massed at a point where a hospital had been established in the morning, the balance of Jackson’s division, Twentieth corps, were placed on the left, and a new line formed. During the day five grand charges were made by the enemy, massed, but each was repulsed. They succeeded in capturing three guns of the Nineteenth Indiana battery, but only two were taken off. There was desperate fighting all day, the musketry firing being very heavy. Although they gained considerable ground on the left during the day, the rebels retired to their main line, when night fell, leaving the greater part of their dead and wounded on the field.

The rebel loss was twenty-five hundred in killed and wounded. Seven hundred were captured. The Twenty-sixth Tennessee regiment was captured entire, colors and all, with a large part of the Twelfth Louisiana.

The National loss was quite severe, being estimated at sixteen hundred and forty-three. During the temporary confusion caused by the furious charge on Carlin’s division, the Unionists lost about two hundred and fifty prisoners.

This was the last important battle in which General Sherman was engaged. General Schofield had entered Goldsboro’ on the 21st, and General Sherman’s forces, immediately after the fight at Bentonsville, advanced to that place.

On the 25th the Newbern railroad was completed, and the army was receiving its supplies from that base. Between the 27th and 30th General Sherman had visited City Point, and conversed with the President and General Grant, for the arrangement of the final campaign of the war, and had returned to Goldsboro’.

THE OCCUPATION OF CHARLESTON, S. C.
FEBRUARY 18, 1865.

General Sherman’s advance, as has already been noted, isolated Charleston, and caused its evacuation by General Hardee. The rebels abandoned the city on the night of the 17th of February, and the National forces occupied it next day. General Foster, suffering from wounds and ill health, had, meantime, been relieved by General Gilmore, and it was by the forces of this officer and of Admiral Dahlgren, that the far-famed cradle of the rebellion was finally occupied.

The following was General Gilmore’s dispatch, announcing the capture of the city:

“CHARLESTON, S. C., February 18, 1865.

“Major-General HALLECK, Chief of Staff:—

“GENERAL—The city of Charleston and all its defences came into our
possession this morning, with about two hundred pieces of good
artillery and a supply of fine ammunition.

“The enemy commenced evacuating all the works last night, and Mayor
Macbeth surrendered the city to General Schemmelfinnig at nine o’clock
this morning, at which time it was occupied by our forces.

“The cotton warehouses, arsenals, quartermaster’s stores, railroad
bridges and two iron clads were burned by the enemy. Some vessels in
the ship yard were also burned.

“Nearly all the inhabitants remaining behind belong to the poorer
class.

“Very respectfully,
“Q. A. GILMORE, General Commanding.”

* * * * *

The rebel movement of evacuation commenced on the night of Friday, the 17th, the garrison of Sullivan’s Island and Point Pleasant quietly withdrawing and retreating over the road by Christ’s Church, just in time to escape Potter’s advance cutting them off. The troops in the city moved out on the northeastern railroad, as did the garrison on James Island, which was finally evacuated on Saturday morning.

Shortly after daylight on Saturday, 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 dispatched 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 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 on ship and 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.

The army boat, under Lieutenant Hackett, reached the shore in advance. As she touched, the officer and crew sprang off 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 guns were all spiked, and the carriages somewhat damaged. A large quantity of munitions was found in the magazines, which the enemy had not time to destroy.

When the flag floated over Moultrie, Lieutenant-Colonel Bennett, Major Hennessy, and Lieutenant Burr, of the Fifty-second Pennsylvania, started for the city, giving 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 Federal flag was displayed over the work. 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 seen, although 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 the United States flag 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.

Colonel Bennett, on landing, immediately demanded the surrender of the city, which was formally yielded by the mayor, Charles Macbeth, who asked protection for the firemen, who were being impressed by the retreating rebels, who had fired the city in several places. Colonel Bennett promptly promised the assistance of his troops, to save the city from conflagration. His first step was to rescue the arsenal, which the rebels had prepared for blowing up.

The firemen got out their apparatus, and devoted themselves to the extinguishment of the fires now raging with violence at various points in the city. They were aided by the Union troops, who now began to arrive in numbers, and, after a long struggle, the flames were checked, but not until many buildings had been destroyed. A large quantity of cotton, probably two thousand bales, was destroyed, together with a considerable amount of supplies.

The worst feature of the conflagration had, however, occurred in the morning—being the blowing up of the Northeastern railroad depot. 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. 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, enjoying the dangerous amusement of watching the flashes of the powder and the strange effects on the cotton, as it was blown hither and thither. 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. The building was, in a second, a whirling mass of ruins, in a tremendous volume of flame and smoke. The cause of the terrific 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. Over one hundred and fifty are said to have been charred in that fiery furnace, and a hundred men were wounded more or less by the explosion or were burned by the fire.

From the depot the fire spread rapidly, and, communicating with the adjoining buildings, threatened destruction to that part of the town. Four squares, embraced in the area bounded by Chapel, Alexander, Charlotte, and Washington streets, were consumed before the conflagration was subdued. Everything in the houses was destroyed with them. Another fire on Meeting street, near the Court House, destroyed five buildings. This was set on fire by the rebels, with a view of burning Hibernian Hall and the Mills House. It did not succeed, although it destroyed the five buildings alluded to. One or two other fires also occurred, destroying several buildings each. A large number of smaller conflagrations occurred, burning government storehouses, &c.

A large quantity of rebel property and material of war was captured at Charleston. The city was immediately put under martial law, and, in a very short time, under the energetic administration of General Gilmore, was restored to order, and, to some extent, favored with the blessings of peace. The poor people here were found to be in a very destitute and mournful condition; but they were speedily relieved by the United States authorities.

GENERAL SCHOFIELD’S MARCH TO GOLDSBORO’.

BATTLES OF KINSTON, N. C.
MARCH 7–10, 1865.

While General Sherman was marching from Fayetteville toward Goldsboro’, General Schofield was approaching the same point, from the direction of Newbern and Wilmington. The rebels, under Hoke, attempted to dispute his passage, however, and made a stand near Kinston. Skirmishing began between the armies on the 7th of March, which resulted in the rebels being driven, by Colonel Classen’s command, to their intrenchments at Jackson’s Mills, four miles east of Kinston. General Cox was in command of the National forces, under supervision of General Schofield, whose headquarters were at Newbern; but General Schofield was in the field in person, during most of the time of these Kinston battles.

On the morning of the 8th, the enemy made a sudden charge upon the left wing of the Union line, and captured the Fifteenth Connecticut and the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts. The men, however, fought with great bravery, and only yielded to overpowering numbers, when their ammunition was exhausted. Lieutenant-Colonel Bartholomew and Major Osborne, commanding the regiments above mentioned, were captured by the rebels.

To partially compensate for these losses, Colonel Savage, of the Twelfth New York cavalry, afterwards made a detour toward the rear of the enemy with a portion of his command, capturing between fifty and one hundred rebels. The same afternoon, also, an attack was made upon the Union right, occupied by the First division, commanded by General Innes N. Palmer; but it was repulsed without difficulty and without serious loss of life.

The National line on the 8th was in front of Jackson’s creek, at one point on which (Jackson’s Mills,) the rebels had their strongest position. Colonel Malloy with the First brigade, Second division, successfully opposed the enemy in the afternoon. No communication existed at this time between the First and Second divisions.

Between three and four o’clock, General Ruger came up and filled the interstice between the First and Second divisions. This gave a new life to the entire line, and Colonel Malloy made a charge upon the rebel rifle pits, partially regaining the ground he had formerly occupied. At this, night came on and the action ceased.

Thursday morning, the 9th, Malloy fully regained his original position and continued to hold it. The enemy charged upon him three times in the forenoon, and were each time easily repulsed, with some loss of life and a small loss of prisoners to them. The afternoon was mostly occupied with light skirmishing along the whole line. About two hundred rebel prisoners were taken during the day.

All through the evening of the 9th, and the night and morning of the 9th and 10th, the enemy were persistent in their attacks. They had evidently learned that Couch was coming up overland to join Cox. This, of course, necessitated a furious and speedy onset upon Cox, in order to annihilate him before Couch should arrive. But the wave was sent bounding back, time after time, and finally, on the morning of the 10th, as they attempted another flank movement, the Unionists took a large number of prisoners, which discouraged the enemy from further assaults.

On the morning of the 11th, General Couch’s troops came up and formed a junction with those of General Cox. The rebel troops then retired across the Neuse river.

On the 15th the Mayor of Kinston, with a delegation, came out and formally surrendered the city. The National troops immediately took possession of the place, and fortified themselves within and around it. The rebels had destroyed their ram Neuse, and as much material of war as they could, prior to their hasty retreat: but valuable captures of guns and ammunition were made by the National forces. The losses, on the Union side, in these engagements has been stated at about two thousand. The rebel loss was heavier. Two thousand rebel prisoners were captured. From Kinston, the rebels having fallen back, and concentrated to oppose Sherman at Bentonsville, General Schofield pushed on to Goldsboro’, which he entered on the 21st. Here the junction was effected between his troops and those of Sherman—as already stated—and from this point the advance was made, which ended the campaign in the Carolinas.

THE SIEGE OF PETERSBURG, VA.

The siege of Petersburg began with a desperate assault, on the evening of the 15th of June, made by Major-General Smith’s troops, against the first line of the rebel works, two miles from the city. This assault was followed up on the 16th, 17th and 18th, and resulted in the capture of the enemy’s outer line of works. The Ninth, Eighteenth, and Second corps were engaged, and the Union loss was very heavy—not far, indeed, from ten thousand men.

The charge on the afternoon of the 15th was made with great gallantry, by the troops under General Smith, many of whom were negroes. The Thirteenth New Hampshire, the Eighth Connecticut, and the Ninety-second and One hundred and eighteenth New York, also participated in this formidable action, which, prosecuted in the face of artillery fire, was excessively difficult and perilous.

On the 16th, the assault commenced at daybreak, General Birney taking the initiative, by driving the rebels out of two lines of rifle pits, and taking many prisoners. Colonel Eagan, of General Birney’s division, was wounded in this charge, as also were Lieutenant-Colonel Lewis, of the One hundred and tenth Pennsylvania regiment, and Lieutenant-Colonel Warner, of the Fortieth New York. About half-past five o’clock in the afternoon, the assault was followed up by a tremendous charge of Hancock’s men. The battle lasted three hours and was desperate and destructive. The Union line was formed thus: General Smith’s corps, the Eighteenth, was on the right; General Hancock’s, the Second, was in the centre, and General Burnside’s, the Ninth, on the left. All the troops fought well. Miller’s brigade, of the central division, especially distinguished itself. The Union loss was about two thousand, killed and wounded. At about eight o’clock the assault was suspended, the National forces holding the advanced position which they had conquered.

General Hancock, suffering much from a wound received at Gettysburg, was now relieved of duty, and General Birney assumed command of the Second corps. The Eighteenth corps, General Smith, was removed to Bermuda Hundred, and its place supplied by the 5th, General Warren. General Burnside directed the assault, on the morning of the 17th, and it was commenced by General Griffin’s brigade, who made an impetuous dash forward, capturing six guns and four hundred prisoners, including sixteen officers. General Ledlie’s division made another charge in the afternoon, capturing a portion of the rebel fortifications. General Burnside then began to shell Petersburg, being distant about a mile and a half from the city, but did not long continue the bombardment.

About nine o’clock in the evening of the 17th, the rebels made a sally, to recover the position they had lost, and a severe hand-to-hand fight ensued. The First Michigan regiment, sharpshooters, sustained the brunt of the attack, and, at the outset, captured two hundred and forty prisoners. But the flank column of the enemy, pushing out to the left, suddenly charged into the Union works, which the enemy at the same time shelled from the front, and so drove out the brave Michiganders. The color-sergeant of this regiment, dreading capture, buried his flag in the intrenchments. The rebels held the line they had taken, until about two o’clock at night, when they abandoned it. On the morning of the 18th, the Michigan regiment marched in and took possession, the color-sergeant disinterring his flag. The National loss was about one thousand.

The operations of the 18th were particularly directed against a rebel line of works near the railroad from Petersburg to Suffolk. Wilcox’s division was assigned the duty of taking these fortifications, and was supported by Colonel Curtin’s brigade of Potter’s division, General Ledlie’s troops acting as a reserve. There was a good deal of skirmishing in the morning, but the general advance was not ordered till noon. Portions of the Eighteenth corps, together with the Sixth, Second, Ninth, and Fifth, were engaged in this day’s assault. The fighting was of the most desperate character in all parts of the field. Up and down ravines, over ditches, and breastworks, under a destructive fire of artillery and musketry, the brave soldiers of the Union forced and fought their way. Desperate and continued charges were made throughout the afternoon and evening; but with no material success. The slaughter, on both sides, was tremendous.

“The scenes in our hospitals,” says a contemporary correspondent, in closing an account of these four bloody days before Petersburg, “during the past few nights, have been of the most ghastly character. Day and night our surgeons have been engaged in the sad duties of their profession. There are not tents enough for the wounded; and numbers of the poor fellows are stretched beneath the trees, awaiting their turn upon the operating tables.”

Sunday, the 19th of June, witnessed a lull in this bloody strife. The enemy’s artillery did, indeed, belch forth now and then—meeting with prompt response—and there was some skirmishing. A rebel charge made at nightfall, on the Union centre, was repulsed. General Butler’s forces also repulsed an attack, made by Longstreet, at Bermuda Hundred. The rebels had, by this time, reached a clear understanding of General Grant’s position and design, and were actively opposing him at every practicable point.

The Siege of Petersburg and of Richmond now began in good earnest—the quiet, steady circumvallation, that is, of the rebel citadels and armies—and it was never relaxed, until the rebellion had fallen. Many important incidents marked its continuance and progress—battles, skirmishes, success and failure, brave deeds and sad losses. It will be the province of this narrative, within a brief compass, to touch upon the most important of these incidents.

An effort to destroy the railroad between Petersburg and Weldon was made on the 21st of June, and resulted in a battle at Davis Farm, in which the Unionists, under General Barlow, were defeated, with a loss of about a hundred men. On the 22d the same effort was repeated, in a more formidable manner, and a yet fiercer battle ensued, in which the rebels made many prisoners, while the National troops gained no material advantage. More fighting took place on the 23d, the 24th and the 25th.

EXPLOSION OF PLEASANTS’ MINE, AND BATTLE BEFORE PETERSBURG.
JULY 29, 1864.

On the 25th of June, at the suggestion of Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants, work was commenced with a view to the destruction of one of the most important of the rebel works before Petersburg, by mining. The work to be blown up was situated about two thousand yards from Petersburg. The mine was started in the side of a ravine, and was constructed of the customary shape—about four feet wide at the base, between four and five feet high, and sloping towards the top. Near the entrance was a ventilating shaft. Many of Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants’ men, the Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, were accustomed to mining, and so the labor was prosecuted with skill and ease, as well as energy. As it advanced, the tunnel was sloped upwards. At length, when the desired point was reached, the miners were twenty feet beneath the rebels. Wings were then constructed, so that the fort might be subterraneously encircled. Eight chambers, separated from each other by sand-bags, and charged with four hundred tons of powder, completed this device for blowing up the enemy. Wooden pipes and hose connected the mine with the besiegers without.

Soon after midnight, on the 29th of July, the assaulting force—the Ninth and Eighteenth corps, the Second and Fifth being held in reserve—were massed and ready. Generals Ledlie, Wilcox, Potter, and Ferrero were to lead the charge. At half-past three o’clock, A. M., on the morning of the 30th, the fuse was lighted. But the dampness of the gallery extinguished it. Much delay ensued. Daylight came; then sunrise. At last, at a few minutes before five o’clock, the fuse was successfully lit, and the mine exploded. The scene was awfully exciting and impressive. At first the earth heaved and trembled; then the whole mass, fort, guns, caissons, soldiers, and all surged upward like a tornado into the air. The next moment there was a yawning pit, a hundred feet long and half as wide, in which ruins were commingled, ghastly and terrible; and, all along the line, the guns from the National works simultaneously brayed out the fury of war. A charge was immediately made by a brigade of General Ledlie’s division, which rushed through the gap, and then paused to form for an assault on the enemy’s interior line. But the rebels, recovering from their dismay and consternation, immediately rallied, and now poured in an enfilading fire upon the captured fort. Presently, however, the divisions of Potter, Ledlie, and Wilcox charged together, in the face of a most terrific fire, which was no less severe on their flanks than in their front. Their effort was grandly made, but the fire was too severe, and they finally wavered and fell. The colored division, under General Ferrero, was next hurled forward, but only to meet the fate of its predecessors. Ultimately, the National troops were penned up in the fort which they had taken, and were obliged to endure the concentrated fire of the enemy. Squads of them, however, succeeded in making their escape. The rebels made several charges upon the fort, but were bravely repulsed. In this plight the soldiers of the Union remained until noon, a steady cross fire being kept up over every yard of the space between the fort and the Federal lines. At noon a general retreat was ordered, in which many contrived to get away; but, at two o’clock, being destitute of ammunition, those who remained surrendered to the enemy. The National loss was five thousand; that of the rebels, who fought in intrenchments, was, of course, much smaller.

THE DUTCH GAP CANAL.

There is, in the James river, a large bend, forming a peninsula, the connecting neck of which is less than half a mile wide. This land is known as Farrar’s Island. General Butler, on the 10th of August, 1864, commenced the work of severing this projection from the main land by constructing what is memorable as the Dutch Gap Canal. The object of the canal was to enable the Unionists to save a circuit of six miles of the river, filled with obstructions, and to flank the enemy’s batteries at Howlett House. General Butler’s troops worked at this canal, with continued pertinacity and skill, for many months, being frequently subjected to the danger of rebel shells, and obliged to take frequent refuge in holes in the ground. But, in the end, the work proved a failure. It afforded much material for criticism, however, at the time, and for not a little merriment, among the Unionists as well as the rebels. Had it succeeded, it would have materially strengthened General Grant’s lines, and lessened the tediousness and toil of the siege.

THE WAR SUMMER OF 1864.

During the continuance of the siege of Petersburg and Richmond, a call was made by the President of the United States, for five hundred thousand additional troops. The call was dated July 18th. A draft was subsequently ordered, and was made. Later in the summer, General Grant wrote the following letter, which concisely sums up what was then the true condition of affairs in the country:

“HEADQUARTERS ARMIES OF THE UNITED STATES, }
CITY POINT, VA., August 16th, 1864. }

“To Hon. E. B. WASHBURNE:

“DEAR SIR—I state to all citizens who visit me that all we want now to
insure an early restoration of the Union is a determined unity of
sentiment North. The rebels have now in their ranks their last man.
The little boys and old men are guarding prisoners, guarding railroad
bridges, and forming a good part of their garrisons for intrenched
positions. A man lost by them cannot be replaced. They have robbed the
cradle and the grave equally to get their present force. Besides what
they lose in frequent skirmishes and battles, they are now losing from
desertions and other causes at least one regiment per day.

“With this drain upon them the end is not far distant, if we will only
be true to ourselves. Their only hope now is in a divided North. This
might give them reinforcements from Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, and
Missouri, while it would weaken us. With the draft quickly enforced
the enemy would become despondent, and would make but little
resistance. I have no doubt but the enemy are exceedingly anxious to
hold out until after the Presidential election. They have many hopes
from its effects.

“They hope a counter revolution; they hope the election of the Peace
candidate. In fact, like ‘Micawber,’ they hope for something to ‘turn
up.’ Our Peace friends, if they expect peace from separation, are much
mistaken. It would but be the beginning of war, with thousands of
Northern men joining the South because of our disgrace in allowing a
separation. To have ‘peace on any terms,’ the South would demand the
restoration of their slaves already freed; they would demand indemnity
for losses sustained, and they would demand a treaty which would make
the North slave-hunters for the South. They would demand pay for the
restoration of every slave escaping to the North.

“Yours, truly, U. S. GRANT.”

BATTLES ALONG THE WELDON RAILROAD.

The summer of 1864 was exceedingly hot; and, for that reason, the enterprise of military life somewhat flagged with the besiegers of the rebel citadel. Yet many skirmishes, and several heavy engagements, took place; and the rebels were watched with unceasing vigilance, and were pressed wherever a point of attack seemed to offer the chance of gaining desirable advantage. On the 14th, 15th, and 16th of August there was some fighting in the vicinity of Deep Bottom, the Union loss being between four and five hundred men. This engagement was brought on for the purpose of distracting the enemy’s attention from the other extreme of operations and to draw his forces partially away from Petersburg. The feint succeeded; and, the Weldon railroad being left exposed, the Fifth corps advanced, on the 18th of August, and took possession of Reams’s Station, surprising a body of the enemy that was guarding it, but losing, in the incidental fight, about three hundred men. The track was torn up for about one mile. Next day, the 19th, the rebels made a furious attack upon the National forces holding Reams’s Station, and a bloody battle ensued. The Union line, being extended to a great length, was quite thin in the centre. It had been hoped that the rebels would not discover this weakness; but they did, and their first charge broke through and divided the Union forces. The conflict that followed was characterized by the most desperate bravery. Reinforcements arriving—the First and Second divisions of the Ninth corps—the rebels were finally repulsed. The most notable feature of this fight was, that, in the course of events, it became necessary to train the Union artillery upon a struggling mass of patriots and rebels, and sacrifice friends as well as foes, in order to hold the position originally taken by the Fifth corps. This position was held; but the rebels recovered the railroad as far as Yellow Springs. The loss, on the Union side, including prisoners, was three thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine.

THE BATTLE OF REAMS’S STATION.
AUGUST 28, 1864.

A desperate battle was next fought, on the 28th of August, a little southward of Reams’s Station. It was brought on by an effort, on the part of the enemy, to break and disperse the Second corps, under General Hancock, posted at that point. The attack was made at about half past five in the afternoon, against Hancock’s centre, by the rebels under Wilcox: and against his left, by the rebels under Heth. It was met with great bravery, and vigorously resisted; but at length the enemy succeeded in breaking the line opposed to them. Happily, no permanent advantage was gained by this turn of fortune to the rebels. A portion of General Gibbon’s division was brought forward to repair the damage done to the National line. The enemy then fell upon General Hancock’s extreme left, but were severely repulsed by a dismounted cavalry force, under General Gregg, who handled his men with great skill—the cavalry, on their part, behaving with the utmost gallantry. At different points along the line the fighting continued briskly until dark, when the battle ended in the enemy’s signal defeat. The rebels then withdrew, leaving their dead and wounded on the field. Many prisoners were captured from the divisions of both Heth and Wilcox, and the enemy’s loss was very heavy. The National loss in killed and wounded did not exceed twelve hundred.

Few battles of this war have been more determined or sanguinary than this one. In his official report, General Hancock says: “This has been one of the most desperate fights of the war, resembling Spottsylvania in its character, though the numbers engaged gave less importance to it.” The field of battle, when the conflict was over, has been described as hideously and repulsively awful to look upon. Such scenes as these, throughout the whole civil war, bore eloquent testimony to the bravery and noble self-sacrifice of the gallant men who laid down their lives in defence of their country.

BATTLE OF CHAPIN’S BLUFF.
SEPTEMBER 28, 1864.