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THE MARCH TO THE SEA

From Cartersville we sent north all of our sick, those that were not considered able to march, and all of our surplus baggage. We were to march into the enemy's country with just what we had and what little we could gather up in the country, and nothing more. Supplies could not be sent to us, no matter who much we needed them, and no one could know our wants and sufferings save Sherman and his army. We were for a time at least to be lost to the world.

Some of our northern newspapers said we would be utterly destroyed by the enemy, but Sherman and his army were not dismayed, ad they had heard that kind of stuff before. Letters were mailed to our dear ones at home; some sent valuables and keepsakes, and told them they would not hear from us again until we opened communication by the sea.

At this place an accident occurred that deprived the 26th Missouri of two valuable officers - Captain John T. Crowe and Lieutenant James T. Berry, Regimental Quartermaster. An upper porch gave way and these two officers fell to the ground, and were so severely injured that they were sent back. With regrets they departed from us on the last train going north.

Sherman had moved his army by easy marches back to the neighborhood of Smyrna camping ground, sent all

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surplus artillery and baggage to Chattanooga, put Kilpatrick's cavalry force in the best possible condition, ordered Corse, at Rome, to burn everything that could be of service to the enemy, and, at the same time destroy all the railroads in and around Atlanta, and finally ordered all the garrisons north of Kingston to fall back to Chattanooga, taking with them the public property and railroad stock, and the rails from Resaca, saving the latter for future use. A historian says, "he thus rapidly and effectually cut himself clear from the outer world, and stripped himself for the race."

"Rome was first burned; and a thousand bales of cotton, two flour mills, two tanneries, a foundry, machine shops, store-houses and bridges were set on fire, making a fearful conflagration. The soldiers, seeing the work of destruction commenced, applied the torch to the private dwellings, and soon the flames leaped and roared through the murky atmosphere, lighting up the nightly heavens with a lurid glare, and flooding field and mountain in flame."

"A few days after, Atlanta shared the same fate. The Michigan engineers were detailed to effect its destruction. A foundry, worth half a million of dollars, was first in a blaze, then an oil refinery, followed by a freight ware house in which were stored several bales of cotton. The depot, turning-tables, freight sheds, and stores around, were soon a fiery mass. The heart was burning out of beautiful Atlanta."

"A stone ware-house was blown up by a mine. Quartermasters ran away, leaving large stores behind. The men plunged into the houses, broke windows and doors with their muskets, dragging out armfuls of clothes, tobacco, and whiskey which was more welcome than all the rest. The

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men dressed themselves in new clothes and then flung the rest into the fire."

"At a distance the city seemed overshadowed by a cloud of black smoke, through which, now ant then, darted a gushing flame of fire, or projectiles hurled from the burning ruin."

"The sun looked, through the hazy cloud, like a blood-red ball of fire; and the air, for miles around, felt oppressive and intolerable. The Tyre of the South was laid in ashes, and the 'Gate City' was a thing of the past."

"On the 12th of November, Sherman stood detached from all its communications ready to move. His army was composed of four corps; the Fifteenth and Seventeenth, constituting the right wing, under Major General O. O. Howard; the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, constituting the left wing, under Major General H. W. Slocum, making an aggregate strength of sixty thousand infantry, with one cavalry division of five thousand and five hundred men, under Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick, and the artillery reduced to the minimum, one gun per one thousand men."

"The whole force was moved rapidly, and grouped about Atlanta on the 14th November."

Rations were loaded in wagons and consisted of bread or hard tack, coffee, sugar, beans, salt, etc., and meat in beef cattle to be driven, and were called "rations on the hoof." The hoof rations our boys would frequently refer to in a very jocular manner. Before we got to the sea our crackers had a good many "skippers" in them, and when the boys saw them crawling about, they would shout: "Here's you rations on the hoof!"

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Saturday, November 12th, 1864, our Division marched from Cartersville, Ga., passing through Ackweth and camped for the night three miles beyond said place, distance fifteen miles. Sunday, 13th, marched fifteen miles. Monday, 14th, marched sixteen miles and camped one mile west of Atlanta. Tuesday, 15th, marched sixteen miles. Wednesday, 16th, marched seventeen miles. Thursday, 17th, marched at 6 a.m., passed through Jackson, Ga. and made about twenty-three miles. Friday, November 18th, marched at 6 a.m., crossing the Oconee river on pontoons; made about six miles. Saturday, November 19th, marched at 6 a.m.; made thirteen miles. Sunday, November 20th, marched at 7:30 a.m. and made fifteen miles. Monday, November 21st, marched at 7 a.m. Tuesday, November 22nd, marched at 12m. Reached Gordon, Ga., at 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 23rd, remained in camp at Gordon, Ga. Thursday, November 24th, changed camp about one-half mile. Friday, November 25th, marched to Irvington, thirteen miles. Saturday, November 26th, marched at 8 a.m. on the road to Oconee river, making about thirteen miles. Sunday, November 27th, marched at 8 a.m., and when were nearing the crossing of the Oconee river, we heard very brisk firing on our front and we supposed that our advance was having an engagement with the enemy on the opposite side of the Oconee river, who were trying to prevent our crossing, and of course the 26th Missouri boys felt inspired with thoughts of following the example of Alexander the Great and his army by plunging into the river, swimming across and whipping the enemy. To our surprise, and perhaps satisfaction, when we reached the river there was no enemy in sight, but we found the troops in our

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front were shooting a large number of worn out and crippled mules and horses. In this campaign it was the policy to leave nothing behind that the enemy could use against us.

Our departure from Atlanta had occasioned a tremendous sensation all over the Confederacy. The Georgia legislature had ordered a levy "en masse" of all the citizens of the state, and General Beauregard had followed with a volley of "General Orders," commanding the people to destroy all their property, to prevent our troops getting the benefit of it. The Southern papers, were full of hysterical shrieks – "we are drawing the Yankees into the swamps; when we get them far enough in, we will destroy every one of them." We had heard of the "drawing them on" business before. In fact, from 1861-1865 the Southern papers were continually telling their readers how Beauregard and Bragg and Johnson (though always victorious, according to their accounts) were always retreating, "just to draw the Yankees on!" Less frequently we captured one of our Northern papers, full of surmised, hopes and fears. It seems strange to us now, what importance was attached in the North to the operations of Wheeler’s Cavalry, and the little squad of Georgia Militia, who once in a while got in our front, and pretended to fight "just a little." As a general thing the Bummers licked them before the head of the column got up.

In all this chaos of rebel doubt and uncertainty, the only man who showed the slightest signs of military ability or practical good sense, was General Hardee. He rapidly moved the Georgia Militia southwest to Albany, and after marching them sixty miles to Thomasville, took them into Savannah, (by way of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad,)

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where he set them to work building entrenchments and cutting the dikes of the canals, in order to flood the rice swamps surrounding the city. At the same time Wheeler’s Cavalry (Confederate) was ordered to get in Sherman’s front, and delay by all means in his power, the advance of our army. As he was not even able to hold Kilpatrick in check, the ridiculousness of such an order reminds us of Ben Butler’s laughable reply to some little fellow who tried to interrupt him while speaking in Congress. Old ‘Ben" just turned that "cock-eye" on him, and simply said, "Shoo fly!" and that’s what our army said to Wheeler. We left Gordon after a couple of days’ delay and crossed the Oconee on the 26^th near Ball’s Ferry, easily driving off a brigade of rebel cavalry who were attempting to prevent our crossing.

As one of the principle objects of this march was to break up the railroad communication between the east ant west Gen. Sherman made arrangements to have it thoroughly done. It was taken up in turn by the right and left wings, (as their routes brought them nearest the railroad) and from Griswoldville, near Macon, to Savannah, but little was left undestroyed. Generally a corps was detailed for the work, and as it was always one of the "center corps" (having a full corps marching on each flank,) it was safe from attack, excepting from front or rear. It was customary to divide the work as follows: The leading division marched without train, other than ammunition, and were always prepared to deploy in line of battle if necessary. The rear division protected and assisted the train, kept up stragglers and guarded the rear. The center division, with such further assistance as the length of the march rendered necessary, deployed along the track, on ground that had previously

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Been assigned by the Chief Engineer equally to each brigade, and in turn, each regiment had marked off to it the amount of track it was expected to tear up, and as soon as arms were stacked they went at it. The troops had supplied themselves, from some railroad section house, with a set of tools which answered the purpose admirably. They had picks and claw bars and a number of light sledges. They also had provided several blocks of "iron wood," or some similar hard wood, about four inches square. It was an easy matter to draw the spikes of the first rail on each side of the track up to the old fashioned "chair," where the rails joined. The rail was then raised by strong arms until the block could be put under it, close to the "chair." Then the rail was dropped, and the leverage on the block drew out the "chair," and nearly all the spikes on the next rail. The spikes were knocked out of the "chair," and the rails rolled to each side of the road bed. Other detachments pulled up the ties, placing them in piles, built up like a cob house, and fence rails, pine knots, or anything that would act as kindling wood, was placed inside the piles, and the rails laid flat on every other pile and a fire started under that pile. This process would be repeated until all the track assigned to the regiment was torn up, when the boys would proceed to boil their coffee on the red hot rails, and eat their dinner, if the had any.

About this time the Engineer Corps detail would come along and complete the work. Their tools were very simple, consisting of a broad, flat hook and two or three links of a strong chain, ending with a round ring. Making the hook fast to the flange, they carried the links first under and then over the rail. A stout handspike was inserted in the open

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ring, and strong men, one at each end, twisted in opposite directions. As the rail was red hot about two-thirds of its length, it looked like a stick of twisted candy when we were through with it, and was of no further use for railroad purposes. The engineers then lighted the fire in the other pile, which had been left unburned for their comfort, and passed on with their work. There were other methods in vogue, such as wrapping the hot rails abut trees, twisting them together in long links, etc. The cavalry rarely did more than turn the track over and set fire to the ties, which accounted for their raids being of so little value in this line. The job most thoroughly despised, was train and rear guard duty. The wagons went along "steady by jerks" all day, and the unfortunate rearguard was lucky if it reached camp before nine p.m., very tired and thoroughly disgusted. The division that was rear guard one day was always "in advance" the next, this latter position being considered by far the most desirable. Our road, after leaving Gordon, ran mostly along ridges covered with large pitch pine trees, and was always good, excepting when crossing creeks or branches. There were plenty of pine knots lying around, and our camps at night were brilliant with the lightwood illumination, and generally very musical, especially if the foragers had brought in a good supply of apple-jack or peach brandy. Frequently whole divisions would march through the forest carrying these lighted pine knots, and it produced a novel and weird spectacle never to be forgotten.

General Sherman took great interest in the destruction of the railroad, and as he rode along the line watching the work, and looking like anybody excepting the commanding General, the boys, who always hailed him as "Uncle Billy,"

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had a great many remarks to make as to our destination. He always took everything good naturedly, but I never heard of any one getting any information on that subject.

When one, more daring than the rest, remarked, "I guess Grant is waiting for us at Richmond, Uncle Billy," he only laughed, and suggested "a little more twist on that rail."

We crossed the river on a pontoon bridge, and Monday, November 28^th, marched at 7 a.m., making about eighteen miles. Tuesday, November 29^th, we passed through a beautiful country abounding in forests, but made no roads and marched about sixteen miles. Wednesday, December 1^st, started at 8 a. m. and marched through an unsettled pine region, interspersed with numerous swamps and sloughs, and only made about seven or eight miles. Friday, December 2^nd, marched through a settled country, but like the day before we encountered many swamps and mires which prevented us from marching but a few miles. Saturday, December 3^rd, we remained in camp. Sunday, December 4^th, marched at 6:30 a.m., and when some of the enemy’s cavalry appeared in our front, we formed in line of battle, threw forward a line of skirmishers, fired a few shots and the enemy soon disappeared. Tuesday, December 6^th, remained in camp on Frank Brannon’s plantation. Wednesday, December 7^th, started at 9 a.m. and found the roads very bad most of the way. Considerable rain fell in the forenoon, and in consequence marched only nine or ten miles. Thursday, December 8^th, remained in camp. Friday, December 9^th, started at 6:30 a.m., crossed the Ogeechee river and canal, making about fifteen miles. Sunday, December 10^th, marched at 6 a.m. on the canal road toward

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Savannah, and when within about three miles of that place we encountered the enemy’s pickets. During the afternoon and night out troops were engaged in throwing up breastworks.

On Sunday, December 11^th, at six in the morning, we got four guns in position and commenced shelling the enemy, which was vigorously returned. At 8 a.m. we moved three miles to the rear, remaining until 7 p.m., when we made another move of six miles, running the enemy’s batteries at night.

One incident, I may recall, as showing General Sherman’ prompt method of dealing with what he considered violations of the laws of war. When nearing the city it was found that the main road at a certain point had been planted with torpedoes, and several of our men were killed and wounded. General Sherman promptly ordered the prisoners to be brought to the front, and forced them at the point of the bayonet, to march in advance of the troops until the danger was passed. He then paroled an officer and sent him through the lines with a message of such a character that this act was not repeated.

During the whole march we had fared sumptuously on the good things brought in by our foragers, and had lacked for nothing. Sweet potatoes and chickens were "ripe," and I am sure we thought those hams, cured with but little salt, were the nicest we had ever eaten. General Sherman had so timed his movement that the corn was all in the crib, and no time need be lost in gathering it. In all directions we found great stacks of corn fodder (the blades and tops alone) bound up in bundles like sheaf oats, and making the nicest of forage for our animals. The quartermaster would

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seize the numerous mills along the route, and delaying the rear division a little, would grind the best of meal for the use of our troops.

The boys developed various ingenious methods to get the corn out of the crib. A favorite plan was to drive a wagon up close to the crib side, and raise the wagon cover on that side. Boards were then knocked off the side of the crib, and a line of men, lying on their backs, would draw their feet up and kick the corn into the wagon, filling it in less time than it takes to write it. By repeating this process through the other side of the crib, its contents were speedily placed in our wagons, and on its way to the mill. In fact, one day a line of empty wagons was seen to draw out of the marching column, which were so speedily loaded in this manner that they were able to get back without losing their place in the line.

So much has been written of the actions and appearance of the "Bummers" that there could probably be nothing new or interesting added, but the 26^th Missouri contingent to that most enterprising corps, were fully alive to their duties, and if anything eatable, or drinkable or rideable, got away from them, no one ever heard of it.

The Bummers became more daring as they gained experience, and were really more valuable than cavalry in protecting our front and flank. At one point, before we reached Millen, the troops met considerable resistance from Wheeler’s Cavalry at the crossing of a little creek, and had deployed to support the skirmishers. Suddenly a great commotion was seen among the enemy, and they broke back on the run.

After crossing a wide swamp, we came to a small

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Village about two miles further on, and found the main street filled with burning wagons. The citizens said that the Bummers flocked in from all directions, drove off the guard, plundered the wagons of whatever they wanted, and burned the rest. When the Confederate cavalry got back half an hour later, not a man was in sight. If you happened to see a long line of men, deployed like skirmishers, marching across a field, with guns reversed, and at every step jabbing the bayonet in the ploughed ground, they were not "crazy" they were only hunting buried provisions, or other valuables.

Strenuous endeavors were made to capture them, (the Bummers) whenever we laid down the pontoons to cross a stream, but they would either build a bridge of their own, or swim their stock over, and as a matter of fact, they were not gotten rid of until at Goldsboro, N. C., the "Grand Commander" handed in his resignation to General Sherman in person. His identity was never fully established, but there is no manner of doubt that he was a power, generally for good, in the army.

Monday, December 12^th, we moved seven or eight miles around towards Fort McAllister. We were out of hard tack for a few days but had plenty of sugar, coffee, salt, and beef on the hoof, and here we found any quantity of unhulled rice, but our boys pounded or ground the hull off in wooden mortars. With the rice thus prepared, we boiled it with our beef, which ate very well, although it was not very rich as the beef had marched with us from Atlanta to the sea. We were now near the sea shore and seven miles from Fort McAllister. We could see one or two of our vessels in the distance, on the sea, lying at anchor, but the enemy were in possession of Fort McAllister, which was

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garrisoned by about two hundred men, and had an ornament of three ten-inch, three or four eight-inch Columbiads, and two thirty-two pound Parrots, in all twenty-four guns.

The second division of our corps, the 15^th, was detailed to capture Fort McAllister, and as J. T. Headley, the historian, gives an interesting account of the battle, it is here reproduced:

"Sherman now began to close gradually had steadily in upon the city. But he had no siege guns, for only field artillery could be taken in the long and difficult march across the state of Georgia. The former he must get up from the fleet in Ossabaw Sound or the city could not be taken. But Fort McAllister, that had twice repulsed an attack by our iron-clads, commanded the entrance of the Ogeechee river, effectually preventing the ascent of our vessels. Its capture, therefore, was indispensable to success. It is singular that the enemy did not see this and strengthen its garrison and defenses landward. But thinking the great danger was from the fleet, they left a garrison of less than three hundred men to hold it."

"Sherman, aware of this, resolved by one bold stroke to seize it, and the gallant Hazen was selected with his tried division to carry it by assault. This division, the 2^nd, was Sherman’s old division of the 15^th Corps, which was the corps he spoke so proudly of after the battle of Missionary Ridge. When he sent word to his old favorite division that he expected them to take Fort McAllister, they were as delighted, says an officer, as though ‘he had sent them a wagon load of brandy.’"

"On the 12^th, Sherman sent for Hazen and told him

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what he wanted him to do. In a half-hour this gallant officer was off with his division, and by night reached King’s bridge, ten miles from the fort. The next morning he kept till within a mile of it, when he halted. Selecting nine regiments with which to make the assault, he moved them forward to within six hundred yards of the works. The fort stood on the right bank of the Ogeechee, just where the firm land and sea-marsh join. Between him and it, stretched an open space more than a third of a mile wide, planted thick with torpedoes and swept by artillery, across which in broad daylight, the storming force must march before they could reach the ramparts. These were surrounded by a heavy abbatis, and beyond it was a deep ditch, along which were driven high, strong palisades. Sherman was well aware of the desperate nature of the undertaking, and designed to have the fleet co-operate in the attack, so as to draw off a part of the hostile force from Hazen. He had gone down the river with Howard, and was at this time standing on the top of a rice mill, three miles off, on the opposite side of the stream, anxiously watching for the appearance of the expected gunboat, for he had not heard from the fleet since Colonel Duncan set off to communicate with it. At length he saw the smoke of a steamer seaward and exclaimed, ‘See, Howard, there is the gunboat.’ In a short time its signal waved, ‘Is Fort McAllister ours?’ ‘No,’ was the answering signal from the rice mill. ‘Can you assist?’ ‘Yes,’ was the reply. ‘what shall we do?’ The thunder of the guns from the fort announcing that the struggle had commenced, rendered a reply unnecessary."

"Hazen had sent forward some sharpshooters to within two hundred yards of the fort to clear the parapets while he

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got his lines in position. This was attended with a good deal of difficulty on the right, where the marsh was soft, and crossed by a lagoon, and caused Hazen much solicitude. He saw this signal flying from the top of the rice mill, three miles away: ‘The fort must be taken at all hazards, tonight!’ and yet the sun was then almost touching the rim of the western horizon. He knew that Sherman and Howard were both watching him through their glasses, that Savannah was the stake at issue, and hence could not but feel the fearful responsibility under which he was to fight the coming battle. His anxiety was depicted on his grave countenance, yet every lineament was fixed and stern as fate itself. At length he saw his line in position, when he called the nearest bugler to him, and ordered the ‘Attention.’ The prolonged warning notes swept along the waiting line and died in faint echoes over the sea. ‘Sound it again,’ he exclaimed, and again the well known strain stirred every heart and called the foe to the ramparts. ‘Sound it again!’ cried Hazen in sterner accents, and for the third time the appealing notes swept in soft cadences over the plain, making each soldier clutch his musket with a firmer grasp. Now, shouted Hazen, in tones that made the bugler start, ‘Sound the forward!’"

"The shrill, rapid notes shook the excited line as a sudden wind-gust the tree tops, and the next moment, with a loud and ringing cheer, it bounded forward. In an instant the guns of the fort opened, sweeping all the level space the brave fellows must traverse, with a horrible fire. Breasting this without flinching, they came upon the torpedoes, buried in the sand, that exploded to their tread, sending men, mangled and torn, into the air. Heedless of these, as of the

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fire in front, the kept unhesitatingly on their terrible way, moving on the double-quick, until, at length, they reached the abattis. Pulling this apart by main strength, they stormed through it and reached the ditch. Seizing the strong palisades here, the wrenched them fiercely out, and making a gap, poured through it with loud shouts, and mounted the parapets."

"Sherman stood on the rice-mill watching all this through his glass, with emotions that can but faintly be imagined. As the blue line swept steadily onward, he exclaimed, ‘How grandly they advance! Not a waver!’ With his eye still glued to that unwavering line, he, in a few seconds again exclaimed, ‘Look, Howard! See that flag in the advance; how steadily it moves! Not a man falters. Grand, grand!’ After a short pause he cried, ‘The flag still goes forward; there is no flinching there.’ But in a few seconds, he said, in an altered tone, ‘Look, it has halted! They waver.’ But as the smoke lifted a moment he almost shouted, ‘No, it’s the parapet. There they go again, right over it! See, there is a flag on the works! Another! Another! It’s ours! The fort is ours!’"

"The firing ceased; the rebel flag came down; the stars and stripes went up; the glass dropped, and a smile lighted up his features, for he well knew what a shout was going up from those smoking, bloody ramparts – and exclaiming, ‘Savannah is ours,’ he seized a slip of paper, and wrote a dispatch to the Government, closing with, ‘I regard Savannah as already gained.’ Calling one of his aids, he said, ‘Captain, have a boat ready, I must go over there.’ Swift rowers were soon pulling him across the river, and just at dark he walked into the fort, his face aglow with enthusiasm

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and seizing Hazen by the hand, overwhelmed him with praises, as well he might, for Hazen had captured Savannah for him, and thus made his Georgia campaign the decisive movement of the war."

Our cracker line was not yet open. The approach by the sea was also laid with torpedoes, which took a few days to remove.

On Wednesday, December 14^th, I visited Fort McAllister in company with General Green B. Raum and others. We went most of the way in a yawl on the big Ogeechee river, and secured some relics from the fort.