Capt. Harlock
Posts: 5358
Joined: 9/15/2001 From: Los Angeles Status: offline
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150 Years Ago Today: Near Savannah, it was time for the Northerners to make contact with the supply fleet. Union cavalry had scouted the area, and found the inlet of the Ogeechee a few miles to the southwest. It was protected by the well-built Fort McAllister, but there were less than 250 men garrisoning the place. Sherman had decided to make his breakthrough there. by Hal Jespersen at en.wikipedia - Transferred from en.wikipedia(Original text : own work). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 I gave General Hazen, in person, his orders to march rapidly down the right bank of the Ogeechee, and without hesitation to assault and carry Fort McAllister by storm. I knew it to be strong in heavy artillery, as against an approach from the sea, but believed it open and weak to the rear. I explained to General Hazen, fully, that on his action depended the safety of the whole army, and the success of the campaign. Kilpatrick had already felt the fort, and had gone farther down the coast to Kilkenny Bluff, or St. Catharine's Sound, where, on the same day, he had communication with a vessel belonging to the blockading fleet; but, at the time, I was not aware of this fact, and trusted entirely to General Hazen and his division of infantry, the Second of the Fifteenth Corps, the same old division which I had commanded at Shiloh and Vicksburg, in which I felt a special pride and confidence. --Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman Sherman was not entirely correct about the fort being weak against a land approach. General William B. Hazen (below) and his men had no light task in front of them, for the Rebels had a good set of defenses in place. A number of cannon had been diverted from the seaward side and now covered the fort's rear. Numerous trees had been felled and set in pace as obstacles. And abouve all, the approach had been generously mined with "land torpedoes". But the Yankees had numbers and experience on their side. I rode with my staff down the left bank of the Ogeechee, ten miles to the rice-plantation of a Mr. Cheevea, where General Howard had established a signal-station to overlook the lower river, and to watch for any vessel of the blockading squadron, which the negroes reported to be expecting us, because they nightly sent up rockets, and daily dispatched a steamboat up the Ogeechee as near to Fort McAllister as it was safe. On reaching the rice-mill at Cheevea's, I found a guard and a couple of twenty-pound Parrott guns, of De Gres's battery, which fired an occasional shot toward Fort McAllister, plainly seen over the salt-marsh, about three miles distant. Fort McAllister had the rebel flag flying, and occasionally sent a heavy shot back across the marsh to where we were, but otherwise every thing about the place looked as peaceable and quiet as on the Sabbath. About 2 p.m. we observed signs of commotion in the fort, and noticed one or two guns fired inland, and some musket-skirmishing in the woods close by. This betokened the approach of Hazen's division, which had been anxiously expected, and soon thereafter the signal-officer discovered about three miles above the fort a signal-flag, with which he conversed, and found it to belong to General Hazen, who was preparing to assault the fort, and wanted to know if I were there. On being assured of this fact, and that I expected the fort to be carried before night, I received by signal the assurance of General Hazen that he was making his preparations, and would soon attempt the assault. The sun was rapidly declining, and I was dreadfully impatient. At that very moment some one discovered a faint cloud of smoke, and an object gliding, as it were, along the horizon above the tops of the sedge toward the sea, which little by little grew till it was pronounced to be the smoke-stack of a steamer coming up the river. "It must be one of our squadron!" Soon the flag of the United States was plainly visible, and our attention was divided between this approaching steamer and the expected assault. When the sun was about an hour high, another signal-message came from General Hazen that he was all ready, and I replied to go ahead, as a friendly steamer was approaching from below. Soon we made out a group of officers on the deck of this vessel, signaling with a flag, "Who are you!" The answer went back promptly, "General Sherman." Then followed the question, "Is Fort McAllister taken?" "Not yet, but it will be in a minute!" Almost at that instant of time, we saw Hazen's troops come out of the dark fringe of woods that encompassed the fort, the lines dressed as on parade, with colors flying, and moving forward with a quick, steady pace. Fort McAllister was then all alive, its big guns belching forth dense clouds of smoke, which soon enveloped our assaulting lines. One color went down, but was up in a moment. On the lines advanced, faintly seen in the white, sulphurous smoke; there was a pause, a cessation of fire; the smoke cleared away, and the parapets were blue with our men, who fired their muskets in the air, and shouted so that we actually heard them, or felt that we did. Fort McAllister was taken, and the good news was instantly sent by the signal-officer to our navy friends on the approaching gunboat... --Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman The storming of the fort cost the Union 134 casualties, and the "land torpedoes" had taken as much of a toll as Rebel muskets and cannon. The Southerners had put up a stout defense, however, taking 71 casualties out of a 230-man garrison. Some of the ounumbered Confederates had continued fighting until their weapons were wrenched from their hands. Sherman still had a great many things to do. He inspected the captured fort, careful to avoid the mines that were still being cleared, and then took a boat out to the Union vessel they had signaled to. On board, Sherman learned that the Southerners had been boasting that they had his army blocked and starving. He called for pen and paper, and wrote messages "giving the true state of affairs" to various people such as U. S. Grant, fleet commander John Dahlgren, and the Secretary of War. ON BOARD DANDELION, OSSABAW SOUND, December 13, 1864--11.50 p.m. To Hon. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.: To-day, at 6 p. m., General Hazen's division of the Fifteenth Corps carried Fort McAllister by assault, capturing its entire garrison and stores. This opened to us Ossabaw Sound, and I pushed down to this gunboat to communicate with the fleet. Before opening communication we had completely destroyed all the railroads leading into Savannah, and invested the city. The left of the army is on the Savannah River three miles above the city, and the right on the Ogeechee, at King's Bridge. The army is in splendid order, and equal to any thing. The weather has been fine, and supplies were abundant. Our march was most agreeable, and we were not at all molested by guerrillas. We reached Savannah three days ago, but, owing to Fort McAllister, could not communicate; but, now that we have McAllister, we can go ahead. We have already captured two boats on the Savannah river and prevented their gunboats from coming down. I estimate the population of Savannah at twenty-five thousand, and the garrison at fifteen thousand. General Hardee commands. We have not lost a wagon on the trip; but have gathered a large supply of negroes, mules, horses, etc., and our teams are in far better condition than when we started. My first duty will be to clear the army of surplus negroes, mules, and horses. We have utterly destroyed over two hundred miles of rails, and consumed stores and provisions that were essential to Lee's and Hood's armies. The quick work made with McAllister, the opening of communication with our fleet, and our consequent independence as to supplies, dissipate all their boasted threats to head us off and starve the army. I regard Savannah as already gained. Yours truly, W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.
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< Message edited by Capt. Harlock -- 12/13/2014 3:18:56 PM >
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Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers? --Victor Hugo
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