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003 - Chapter 21 The March To The Sea From Atlanta To Savannah November And December 1864 Part 1 · Shermans Memoirs March to the Sea and Columbia Burning

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  Speaker 1: Section two of Sherman's March to the Sea and the
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  Speaker 1: Burning of Columbia, South Carolina, from his memoirs by William
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  Speaker 1: to COMESA. Sherman. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Section two, Chapter twenty one, The March to the Sea
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  Speaker 1: from Atlanta to Savannah, November and December eighteen sixty four,
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  Speaker 1: Part one. On the twelfth of November, the railroad and
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  Speaker 1: telegraph communications with the rear were broken, and the army
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  Speaker 1: stood detached from all friends, dependent on its own resources
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  Speaker 1: and supplies. No time was to be lost. All the
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  Speaker 1: detachments were ordered to march rapidly for Atlanta, breaking up
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  Speaker 1: the railroad en route, and generally to so much damage
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  Speaker 1: in the country as to make it untenable to the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: By the fourteenth all the troops had arrived at or
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  Speaker 1: near Atlanta, and were, according to orders, grouped into two wings,
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  Speaker 1: the right and left, commanded respectively by Major j Generals O. O.
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  Speaker 1: Howard and H. W. Slocombe, both comparatively young men, but
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  Speaker 1: educated and experienced officers fully competent to their command. The
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  Speaker 1: right wing was composed of the fifteenth Corps Major General P. J.
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  Speaker 1: Osterhouse commanding and the seventeenth Corps major General Frank P.
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  Speaker 1: Blair commanding. The left wing was composed of the fourteenth
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  Speaker 1: Corps major General Jefferson C. Davis commanding, and the twentieth
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  Speaker 1: Corps Brigadier General A. S. Williams commanding. The fifteenth Corps
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  Speaker 1: had four divisions commanded by Brigadier Generals Charles R. Woods, W. B. Hazen,
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  Speaker 1: John E. Smith, and John M. Gorse. The seventeenth Corps
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  Speaker 1: had three divisions, commanded by Major General J. A. Mower
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  Speaker 1: and brigadier Generals M. D. Leggett and Giles A. Smith.
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  Speaker 1: The fourteenth Corps had three divisions commanded by Brigadier Generals W. P. Carlin,
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  Speaker 1: James D. Morgan, and A. Baird. The twentieth Corps had
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  Speaker 1: also three divisions, commanded by Brigadier Generals N. J. Jackson,
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  Speaker 1: John W. Garry, and W. T. Ward. The Cavalry division
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  Speaker 1: was held separate subject to my own orders. It was
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  Speaker 1: commanded by Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick and was composed of
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  Speaker 1: two brigades commanded by Colonels Eli H. Murray of Kentucky
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  Speaker 1: and Smith D. Atkins of Illinois. The strength of the army,
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  Speaker 1: as officially reported is given in the following tables and
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  Speaker 1: shows an aggregate of fifty five thousand, three hundred and
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  Speaker 1: twenty nine infantry, five thousand and sixty three cavalry, and
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  Speaker 1: eighteen hundred and twelve artillery, in all sixty two thousand,
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and four officers and men. The most extraordinary
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  Speaker 1: efforts had been made to purge this army of non
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  Speaker 1: combatants and of sick men, for we knew well that
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  Speaker 1: there was to be no place of safety save with
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  Speaker 1: the army itself. Our wagons were loaded with ammunition, provisions,
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  Speaker 1: and forage, and we could ill afford to haul even
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  Speaker 1: sick men in the ambulances. So that all on this
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  Speaker 1: exhibit may be assumed to have been able bodied, experienced soldiers,
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  Speaker 1: well armed, well equipped, and provided as far as human
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  Speaker 1: foresight could, with all the essentials of life, strength, and
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  Speaker 1: vigorous action. The two general orders made for this march
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  Speaker 1: appear to me, even at this late date, so clear, emphatic,
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  Speaker 1: and well digested, that no account of that historic event
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  Speaker 1: is perfect without them, And I give them entire even
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  Speaker 1: at the seeming appearance of repetition. And though they called
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  Speaker 1: for great sacrifice and labour on the part of officers
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  Speaker 1: and men. I insist that these orders were obeyed as
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  Speaker 1: well as any similar orders ever were by an army
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  Speaker 1: operating wholly in an enemy's country, and dispersed as we
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  Speaker 1: necessarily were during the subsequent period of nearly six months.
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  Speaker 1: Special Field Orders Number one hundred and nineteen, Headquarters, Military
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  Speaker 1: Division of the Mississippi in the Field, Kingston, Georgia, November eighth,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen sixty four. The General Commanding deems it proper at
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  Speaker 1: this time to inform the officers and men of the fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth,
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  Speaker 1: and twentieth Corps that he has organized them into an
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  Speaker 1: army for a special purpose well known to the War
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  Speaker 1: Department and to General Grant. It is sufficient for you
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  Speaker 1: to know that it involves a departure from our present
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  Speaker 1: base and a long and difficult march to a new one.
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  Speaker 1: All the chances of war have been considered and provided
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  Speaker 1: for as far as human sagacity can. All he asks
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  Speaker 1: of you is to maintain that discipline, patience, and courage
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  Speaker 1: which have characterized you in the past, and he hopes
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  Speaker 1: through you to strike a blow at our enemy that
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  Speaker 1: will have a material effect in producing what we all
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  Speaker 1: so much desire his complete overthrow of all things. The
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  Speaker 1: most important is that the men during marches and in
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  Speaker 1: camp keep their places and do not scatter about as
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  Speaker 1: stragglers or foragers, to be picked up by a hostile people.
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  Speaker 1: In detail, it is also of the utmost importance that
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  Speaker 1: our wagons should not be loaded with any thing but
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  Speaker 1: provisions and ammunition. All surplus servants, non combatants and refugees
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  Speaker 1: should now go to the rear, and none should be
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  Speaker 1: encouraged to encumber us on the march. At some future
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  Speaker 1: time we will be able to provide for the poor
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  Speaker 1: whites and blacks who seek to escape the bondage under
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  Speaker 1: which they are now suffering. With these few simple cautions,
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  Speaker 1: he hopes to lead you to achievements equal in importance
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  Speaker 1: to those of the past. By order of Major General W. T. Sherman, L. M. Dayton,
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  Speaker 1: Aide de camp, Special Field Orders Number one hundred and
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  Speaker 1: twenty Headquarters Mill Terry Division of the Mississippi in the Field, Kingston, Georgia,
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  Speaker 1: November ninth, eighteen sixty four one. For the purpose of
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  Speaker 1: military operations, This army is divided into two wings, viz.
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  Speaker 1: The right wing Major General O. O. Howard Commanding, composed
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  Speaker 1: of the fifteenth and seventeenth Corps, the left wing Major
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  Speaker 1: General H. W. Slocum commanding, composed of the fourteenth and
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  Speaker 1: twentieth Corps. Two. The habitual order of march will be,
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  Speaker 1: wherever practicable, by four roads as nearly parallel as possible,
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  Speaker 1: and converging at points hereafter to be indicated in orders.
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  Speaker 1: The cavalry Brigadier General Kilpatrick commanding will receive special orders
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  Speaker 1: from the Commander in chief. Three. There will be no
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  Speaker 1: general train of supplies, but each corps will have its
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  Speaker 1: ammunition train and provision train distributed habitually as follows. Behind.
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  Speaker 1: Each regiment should fire follow one wagon and one ambulance behind.
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  Speaker 1: Each brigade should follow a due proportion of ammunition wagons,
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  Speaker 1: provision wagons and ambulances. In case of danger, each core
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  Speaker 1: commander should change this order of march by having his
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  Speaker 1: advance and rear brigades unencumbered by wheels. The separate columns
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  Speaker 1: will start habitually at seven a m and make about
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  Speaker 1: fifteen miles per day, unless otherwise fixed in Orders. Four.
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  Speaker 1: The army will forage liberally on the country during the march.
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  Speaker 1: To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good
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  Speaker 1: and sufficient foraging party under the command of one or
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  Speaker 1: more discreete officers, who will gather near the route traveled
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  Speaker 1: corn or forage of any kind, meet of any kind, vegetables,
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  Speaker 1: corn meal, or whatever is needed by the command, aiming
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  Speaker 1: at all times to keep in the wagons at least
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  Speaker 1: ten days provisions for his command and three days four forridge.
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  Speaker 1: Soldiers must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants or
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  Speaker 1: commit any trespass, but during a halt or camp they
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  Speaker 1: may be permitted to gather turnips, potatoes, and other vegetables,
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  Speaker 1: and to drive in stock in sight of their camp.
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  Speaker 1: To regular foraging parties must be entrusted the gathering of
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  Speaker 1: provisions and forage at any distance from the road traveled
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  Speaker 1: six to core commanders alone is entrusted the power to
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  Speaker 1: destroy mills, houses, cotton, gins, et cetera, and for them.
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  Speaker 1: This general principle is laid down. In districts and neighborhoods
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  Speaker 1: where the army is unmolested, no destruction of each property
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  Speaker 1: should be permitted. But should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march,
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  Speaker 1: or should the inhabitants burn bridges obstruct roads or otherwise
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  Speaker 1: manifest local hostility. Then army commanders should order and enforce
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  Speaker 1: a devastation more or less relentless, according to the measure
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  Speaker 1: of such hostility. Six. As for horses, mules, wagons, et cetera,
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  Speaker 1: belonging to the inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate
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  Speaker 1: freely and without limit, discriminating, however, between the rich, who
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  Speaker 1: are usually hostile, and the poor and industrious, usually neutral
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  Speaker 1: or friendly. Foraging parties may also take mules or horses
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  Speaker 1: to replace the jaded animals of their trains, or to
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  Speaker 1: serve as pack mules for the regiments or brigades. In
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  Speaker 1: all foraging of whatever kind, the parties engaged will refrain
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  Speaker 1: from abusive or threatening language, and may, where the officer
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  Speaker 1: in command thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts,
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  Speaker 1: but no receipts, and they will endeavor to leave with
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  Speaker 1: each family a reasonable portion for their maintenance. Seven Negroes
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  Speaker 1: who are able bodied and can be of service to
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  Speaker 1: the several columns may be taken along. But each army
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  Speaker 1: commander will bear in mind that the question of supplies
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  Speaker 1: is a very important one, and that his first duty
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  Speaker 1: is to see to those who bear arms. Eight the
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  Speaker 1: organization at once of a good pioneer battalion for each
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  Speaker 1: army corps, composed, if possible of negroes, should be attended to.
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  Speaker 1: This battalion should follow the advance guard, repair roads and
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  Speaker 1: double them, if possible, so that the columns will not
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  Speaker 1: be delayed after reaching bad places. Also, army commanders should
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  Speaker 1: practice the habit of giving the artillery and wagons the road,
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  Speaker 1: marching their troops on one side, and instruct their troops
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  Speaker 1: to assist wagons at steep hills or bad crossings of streams.
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  Speaker 1: Nine Captain O. M. Poe, Chief Engineer, will assign to
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  Speaker 1: each wing of the Army a pontoon train fully equipped
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  Speaker 1: and organized, and the commanders thereof will see to their
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  Speaker 1: being properly protected at all times. By order of Major
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  Speaker 1: General W. T. Sherman L. M. Dayton, aide de camp,
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  Speaker 1: the greatest possible attention had been given to the artillery
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  Speaker 1: and wagon trains. The number of guns had been reduced
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  Speaker 1: to sixty five, or about one gun to each thousand men,
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  Speaker 1: and these were generally in batteries of four guns each
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  Speaker 1: each gun. Caisson and forges was drawn by four teams
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  Speaker 1: of horses. We had in all about twenty five hundred
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  Speaker 1: wagons with teams of six mules to each, and six
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  Speaker 1: hundred ambulances with two horses to each. The loads were
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  Speaker 1: made comparatively light, about twenty five hundred pounds net, each
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  Speaker 1: wagon carrying in addition the forage needed by its own team.
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  Speaker 1: Each soldier carried on his person forty rounds of ammunition,
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  Speaker 1: and in the wagons were enough cartridges to make up
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  Speaker 1: about two hundred rounds per man, and in like manner,
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  Speaker 1: two hundred rounds of assorted ammunition were carried for each gun.
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  Speaker 1: The wagon trains were divided equally between the four corps,
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  Speaker 1: so that each had about eight hundred wagons, and these,
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  Speaker 1: usually on the march, occupied five miles or more of road.
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  Speaker 1: Each corp commander managed his own train, and habitually the
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  Speaker 1: artillery and wagons had the road, while the men, with
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  Speaker 1: the exception of the advance and rear guards, pursued paths
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  Speaker 1: improvised by the aid of the wagons, unless they were
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  Speaker 1: forced to use a bridge or causeway in common. I
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  Speaker 1: reached Atlanta during the afternoon of the fourteenth and found
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  Speaker 1: that all preparations had been made. Colonel beckwith Chief Commissary
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  Speaker 1: reporting one million, two hundred thousand rations in possession of
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  Speaker 1: the troops, which was about twenty day supply, and he
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  Speaker 1: had on hand a good supply of beef cattle to
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  Speaker 1: be driven along on the hoof of forage. The supply
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  Speaker 1: was limited, being of oats and corn enough for five days,
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  Speaker 1: but I knew that within that time we would reach
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  Speaker 1: a country well stocked with corn, which had been gathered
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  Speaker 1: and stored in cribs, seemingly for our use by Governor
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  Speaker 1: Brown's militia. Colonel Poe, United States Engineers of my staff
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  Speaker 1: had been busy in his special task of destruction. He
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  Speaker 1: had a large force at work, had leveled the Great Depot,
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  Speaker 1: round house and the machine shops of the Georgia Railroad,
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  Speaker 1: and had applied fire to the wreck. One of these
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  Speaker 1: machine shops had been used by the rebels as an arsenal,
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  Speaker 1: and in it were stored piles of shot and shell,
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  Speaker 1: some of which proved to be loaded, and that night
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  Speaker 1: was made hideous by the bursting of shells, whose fragments
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  Speaker 1: came uncomfortably near Judge Lyon's house, in which I was quartered.
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  Speaker 1: The fire also reached the block of stores near the depot,
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  Speaker 1: and the heart of the city was in flames all night,
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  Speaker 1: but the fire did not reach the parts of Atlanta
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  Speaker 1: where the court House was or the great mass of
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  Speaker 1: dwelling houses. The march from Atlanta began on the morning
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  Speaker 1: of November fifteenth, the right Wing and Cavalry following the
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  Speaker 1: railroad southeast towards Jonesboro and General Slocombe, with the twentieth
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  Speaker 1: Corps leading off to the east by Decatur and Stone
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  Speaker 1: Mountain toward Madison. These were divergent lines designed to threaten
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  Speaker 1: both Mason and Augusta at the same time, so as
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  Speaker 1: to prevent a concentration at our intended destination or objective, Millageville,
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  Speaker 1: the capital of Georgia, distant southeast about one hundred miles.
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  Speaker 1: The time allowed each column for reaching Millageville was seven days.
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  Speaker 1: I remained in Atlanta during the fifteenth with the fourteenth
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  Speaker 1: Corps and the rear guard of the Right Wing to
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  Speaker 1: complete the loading of the trains and the destruction of
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  Speaker 1: the buildings of Atlanta which could be converted to hostile uses.
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  Speaker 1: And on the morning of the sixteenth started with my
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  Speaker 1: personal staff. A company of Alabama Cavalry come out. Lieutenant
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  Speaker 1: Snelling and an infantry company commanded by Lieutenant McCrory, which
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  Speaker 1: guarded our small train of wagons. My staff was then
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  Speaker 1: composed of Major L. M. Dayton, aide de camp and
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  Speaker 1: acting adjutant. General Major J. C. McCoy and Major J. C.
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  Speaker 1: Audenried aides. Major Ward Nichols had joined some weeks before
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  Speaker 1: at Galesville, Alabama, and was attached as an acting aide
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  Speaker 1: de camp. Also, Major Henry Hitchcock had joined at the
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  Speaker 1: same time as judge advocate. Colonel Charles Ewing was Inspector general,
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  Speaker 1: and Surgeon John Moore medical director. These constituted our mess.
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  Speaker 1: We had no tents, only the flies, with which we
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  Speaker 1: nightly made bivouax with the assistance of the abundant pine boughs,
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  Speaker 1: which made excellent shelter as well as beds. Colonel L. C.
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  Speaker 1: Easton was chief Quartermaster, Colonel amos beckwith Chief Commissairey, Colonel O. M.
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  Speaker 1: Poe Chief Engineer, and Colonel T. G. Baylor Chief of Ordnance.
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  Speaker 1: These invariably rode with us during the day, but they
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  Speaker 1: had separate camp and mess at night. General William F.
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  Speaker 1: Barry had been Chief of Artillery in the previous campaign,
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  Speaker 1: but at Kington. His face was so swollen with Erysipolis
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  Speaker 1: that he was reluctantly compelled to leave us for the rear,
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  Speaker 1: and he could, not, on recovering, rejoin us till we
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  Speaker 1: had reached Savannah. About seven a m. Of November sixteenth.
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  Speaker 1: We rode out of Atlanta by the Decatur Road, filled
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  Speaker 1: by the marching troops and wagons of the fourteenth Corps,
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  Speaker 1: and reaching the hill just outside of the old Rebel works,
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  Speaker 1: we naturally paused to look back upon the scenes of
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  Speaker 1: our past battles. We stood upon the very ground whereon
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  Speaker 1: was fought the bloody Battle of July twenty second, and
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  Speaker 1: could see the copse of wood where Macpherson fell. Behind
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  Speaker 1: us lay Atlanta, smokeing and in ruins, the black smoke
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  Speaker 1: rising high in the air and hanging like a pall
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  Speaker 1: over the ruined city. Away off in the distance on
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  Speaker 1: the macdonnough Road was the rear of Howard's column, the
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  Speaker 1: gun barrels glistening in the sun, the white topped wagon
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  Speaker 1: stretching away to the south, and right before us the
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  Speaker 1: Fourteenth Corps marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look
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  Speaker 1: and swinging pace that made light of the thousand miles
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  Speaker 1: that lay between us and Richmond. Some band, by accident
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  Speaker 1: struck up the anthem of John Brown's soul goes marching on.
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  Speaker 1: The men caught up the strain, and never before or
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  Speaker 1: since have I heard the chorus of glory, Glory, hallelujah,
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  Speaker 1: done with more spirit or in better harmony of time
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  Speaker 1: and place. Then we turned our horses heads to the east.
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  Speaker 1: Atlanta was soon lost behind the screen of trees and
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: became a thing of the past. Around it clings many
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  Speaker 1: a thought of desperate battle of hope and fear that
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  Speaker 1: now seemed like the memory of a dream. And I
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  Speaker 1: have never seen the place since. The day was extremely beautiful,
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  Speaker 1: clear sunlight, with bracing air, and an unusual feeling of
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: exhilaration seemed to pervade all minds, a feeling of something
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  Speaker 1: to come, vague and undefined, still full of venture and
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  Speaker 1: intense interest. Even the common soldiers caught the inspiration, and
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  Speaker 1: many a group called out to me as I worked
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  Speaker 1: my way past them, Uncle Billy, I guess Grant is
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: waiting for us at Richmond. Indeed, the general sentiment was
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  Speaker 1: that we were marching for Richmond, and that there we
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  Speaker 1: should end the war, but how and when? They seemed
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  Speaker 1: to care not, nor did they measure the distance, or
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: count the cost in life, or bother their brains about
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: the great rivers to be crossed and the food required
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: for man and beast that had to be gathered. By
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: the way, there was a devil may care feeling pervading
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  Speaker 1: officers and men that made me feel the full load
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  Speaker 1: of responsibility for our success would be accepted as a
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  Speaker 1: matter of course, whereas should we fail, this march would
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  Speaker 1: be a judge the wild adventure of a crazy fool.
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  Speaker 1: I had no purpose to march direct for Richmond by
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  Speaker 1: way of Augusta and Charlotte, but always designed to reach
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  Speaker 1: the sea coast first at Savannah or Port Royal, South Carolina,
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  Speaker 1: and even kept in mind the alternative of Pensacola. The
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: first night out we camped by the roadside near Lithonia
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Stone Mountain. A mass of granite was in plain view,
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: cut out in clear outline against the blue sky. The
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  Speaker 1: whole horizon was lurid with the bonfires of rail ties,
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: and groups of men all night were carrying the heated
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: rails to the nearest trees and bending them around the
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  Speaker 1: trunks Colonel Poe had provided tools for ripping up the
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  Speaker 1: rails and twisting them when hot. But the best and
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: easiest way is the one I have described of heating
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  Speaker 1: the middle of the iron rails on bonfires made of
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: the losties, and then winding them around a telegraph pole
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: or the trunk of some convenient sapling. I attached much
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  Speaker 1: importance to this destruction of the railroad, gave it my
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  Speaker 1: own personal attention, and made reiterated orders to others on
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  Speaker 1: the subject. The next day we passed through the handsome
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: town of Covington, the soldiers closing up their ranks, the
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  Speaker 1: color bearers unfurling their flags, and the band striking up
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  Speaker 1: patriotic airs. The white people came out of their houses
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: to behold the sight, spite of their deep hatred of
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: the invaders, and the Negroes were simply frantic with joy.
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  Speaker 1: Whenever they heard my name, they clustered about my horse,
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  Speaker 1: shouted and prayed in their peculiar style, which had a
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  Speaker 1: natural eloquence that would have moved a stone. I have
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: witnessed hundreds, if not thousands, of such scenes, and can
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: now see a poor girl in the very ecstasy of
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: the Methodist's shout, hugging the banner of one of the regiments,
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  Speaker 1: and jumping up to the feet of Ga Jesus. I
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: remember when riding around by a by street in Covington
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: to avoid the crowd that followed the marching column, that
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: some one brought me an invitation to dine with the
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: sister of Sam Anderson, who was a cadet at West
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: point with me, but the messenger reached me after we
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: had passed the main part of the town. I asked
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: to be excused and rode on to a place designated
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: for camp at the crossing of the Olcathouichee River, about
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: four miles to the east of the town. Here we
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: made our bivouac, and I walked up to a plantation
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: house close by, where were assembled many Negroes, among them
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: an old, gray haired man of as fine a head
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: as I ever saw. I asked him if he understood
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: about the war and its progress. He said he did,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: that he had been looking for the Angel of the
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: Lord ever since he was knee high, and though we
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: professed to be fighting for the Union, he supposed that
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: slavery was the cause, and that our success was to
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: be his freeom. I asked him if all the Negro
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: slaves comprehended this fact, and he said they surely did.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: I then explained to him that we wanted the slaves
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: to remain where they were, and not to load us
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: down with useless mouths which would eat up the food
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: needed for our fighting men, that our success was their
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: assured freedom, that we could receive a few of their young,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: hearty men as pioneers, but that if they followed us
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: in swarms of old and young, feeble and helpless, it
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: would simply load us down and cripple us in our
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: great task. I think Major Henry Hitchcock was with me
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: on that occasion and made a note of the conversation.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: And I believe that old Man spread this message to
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: the slaves, which was carried from mouth to mouth to
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: the very end of our journey, and that it in
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: part saved us from the great danger we incurred of
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: swelling our numbers so that famine would have attended our progress.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: It was at this very plantation that a soldier passed
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: me with a ham on his musket, a jug of
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: salgrim alasses under his arm, and a big piece of
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: honey in his hand, from which he was eating and
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: catching my eye, he remarked, Soto voce and carelessly to
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: a comrade, forage liberally on the country. Quoting from my
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: general orders. On this occasion, as on many others that
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: fell under my personal observation, I reproved. The man explained
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: that foraging must be limited to the regular parties, properly detailed,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: and that all provisions thus obtained must be delivered to
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: the regular commissaries to be fairly distributed to the men
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: who kept their ranks. From Covington, the fourteenth Corps Davis's,
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: with which I was traveling, turned to the right for
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: Millageville via Shady Dale. General Slocumbe was ahead at Madison,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: with the twentieth Corps, having torn up the railroad as
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: far as that place, and Thence had sent Geary's division
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: on to the Okney to burn the bridges across that sea.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: When his corps turned south by eatonton Fort Millageville, the
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: common objective for the first stage of the march. We
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: found abundance of corn, molasses, meal, bacon, and sweet potatoes.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: We also took a good many cows and oxen, and
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: a large number of mules. In all these, the country
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: was quite rich, never before having been visited by a
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: hostile army. The recent crop had been excellent, had been
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: just gathered and laid by for the winter. As a rule,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: we destroyed none, but kept our wagons full and fed
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: our teams bountifully. The skill and success of the men
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: in collecting forage was one of the features of this march.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Each brigade commander had authority to detail a company of foragers,
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: usually about fifty men, with one or two commissioned officers
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: selected for their boldness and enterprise. This party would be
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: dispatched before daylight with the knowledge of the intended day's march,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: and camp would proceed on foot five or six miles
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: from the route traveled by their brigade, and then visit
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: every plantation and farm within range. They would usually procure
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: a wagon or family carriage, load it with bacon, corn meal, turkeys, chickens, ducks,
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: and everything that could be used as food or forage,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: and would then regain the main road, usually in advance
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: of their train. When this came up, they would deliver
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: to the brigade commissary the supplies thus gathered by the way.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Often would I pass these foraging parties at the roadside,
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: waiting for their wagons to come up, and thus amused
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: at their strange collections mules, horses, even cattle, packed with
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: old saddles and loaded with hams, bacon, bags of cornmeal,
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: and poultry of every character and description. Although this foraging
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: was attended with great danger and hard work, there seemed
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: to be a charm about it that attracted the soldiers,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: and it was a privilege to be detailed on such
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: a party. Daily they returned mounted on all sorts of beasts,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: which were at once taken from them and appropriated to
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: the general use. But the next day they would start
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: out again on foot, only to repeat the experience of
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: the day before. No doubt many acts of pillage, robbery,
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: and violence were committed by these parties of foragers, usually
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: called pummers. For I have since heard of jewelry taken
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: from women, and the plunder of articles that never reached
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: the commissary. But these acts were exceptional and incidental. I
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: never heard of any cases of murder or rape. And
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: no army could have carried a long sufficient food and
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: forage for a march of three hundred miles, so that
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: foraging in some shape was necessary. The country was sparsely settled,
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: with no magistrates or civil authorities who could respond to requisitions,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: as is done in all the wars of Europe, so
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: that this system of foraging was simply indispensable to our success.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: By it, our men were well supplied with all the
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: essentials of life and health, while the wagons retained enough
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: in case of unexpected delay, and our animals were well fed. Indeed,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: when we reached Savannah, the trains were pronounced by experts
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: to be the finest in flesh and appearance ever seen
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: with any army Habitually, each corps followed some main road,
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: and the foragers, being kept out on the exposed flank,
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: served all the military uses of flankers. The main columns
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: gathered by the roads traveled much forage and food, chiefly meat, corn,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: and sweet potatoes, and it was the duty of each
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: division and brigade quarter master to fill his wagons as
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: fast as the contents were issued to the troops. The
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: wagon trains had the right to the road always, but
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: each wagon was required to keep closed up so as
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: to leave no gaps in the column. If for any
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: purpose any wagon or group of wagons dropped out of place,
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: they had to wait for the rear, and this was
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: always dreaded, for each brigade commander wanted his train up
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: at camp as soon after reaching it with his men
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: as possible. I have seen much skill and industry displayed
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: by these quarter masters on the march in trying to
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: load their wagons with corn and fodder by the way
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: without losing their place in column. They would, while marching,
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: shift the loads of wagons so as to have six
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: or ten of them empty. Then, riding well ahead, they
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: would secure possession of certain stacks of fodder near the
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: road or cribs of corn, leave some men in charge,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: then open fences and a road back for a couple
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: of miles, return to their trains, divert the empty wagons
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: out of column, and conduct them rapidly to their forage,
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: load up, and regain their place in column without losing distance.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: On one occasion I remember to have seen ten or
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: a dozen wagons thus loaded with corn from two or
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: three full cribs, almost without halting. These cribs were built
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: of logs and roofed. The train guards by a lever
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: had raised the whole side of the crib a foot
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: or two. The wagons drove close alongside, and the men
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: in the cribs, lying on their backs, kicked out a
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: wagon load of corn in the time I have taken
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: to describe it. In a well ordered and well disciplined army,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: these things might be deemed irregular, but I am convinced
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: that the ingenuity of these younger officers accomplished many things
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: far better than I could have ordered. And the marches
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: were thus made, and the distances were accomplished in the
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: most admirable way. Habitually, we started from camp at the
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: earliest break of dawn and usually reached camp soon after noon.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: The marches varied from ten to fifteen miles a day,
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: though sometimes on extreme flanks it was necessary to make
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: as much as twenty, but the rate of travel was
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: regulated by the wagons, and considering the nature of the roads,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: fifteen miles per day was deemed the limit. Pontoon trains
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: were in like manner, distributed in about equal proportions to
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: the fork or, giving each a section of about nine
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: hundred feet. The pontoons were of the skeleton pattern, with
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: cotton canvas covers. Each boat with its proportion of bulks
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: and cheeses constituting a load for one wagon. By uniting
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: two such sections together, we could make a bridge of
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: eighteen hundred feet enough for any river we had to traverse.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: But habitually, the leading brigade would, out of the abundant timber,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: improvise a bridge before the pontoon train could come up,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: unless in the cases of rivers of considerable magnitude such
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: as the ukmolgi okonee Uguchi, Savannah, et cetera. End of
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Section two,