To this President Davis replied:
I have long realized the importance of such action as you suggest, but necessities elsewhere have prevented action in accordance with our wish. I have held several conferences with General Lee on the subject, and will have another, showing him your letter and telegram.
To the governor's petition was added that of W. F. De Saussure, Andrew Crawford, W. H. Scarborough, Daniel Ravenel and many other citizens, declaring: "It is absolutely necessary to have at least one well-organized corps besides Hardee's on the coast, about which the half-trained citizens may rally. Otherwise, however brave and determined, their efforts will amount to nothing." On the latter, President Davis indorsed: "The question presented is one which General Lee can best judge." The indorsement of General Lee was:
I have sent all the troops from this army that can be spared. The army of Tennessee is ordered to South Carolina, and a part of it arrived. If the citizens of Georgia and South Carolina will fill up its ranks, it will be able to protect the country.
General Hardee, then at Charleston, on the 27th, was advised to make "silently and cautiously all necessary preparations for the evacuation of Charleston, should it become necessary." General McLaws was instructed to assume command of all troops between the Savannah river and Pocotaligo, including the cavalry command of General Wheeler at Hardeeville, and the forces at Honey hill and on the Tulifinny and Coosawhatchie and vicinity, then under General Taliaferro.
Beauregard was at his request relieved of the general command of the department on the last day of 1864. His presence was required at Montgomery and with the army of Tennessee. He instructed General Hardee that while the fall of Charleston would be a terrible blow to the Confederacy, the loss of its garrison would be still more fatal, and that preparations should be made for evacuation as well as for defense.
On January 19th, General Butler's cavalry division was ordered to South Carolina, and Gen. D. H. Hill was put in command at Augusta, Ga. The greatly depleted corps of S. D. Lee, Stewart and Cheatham, army of Tennessee, were on their way to reinforce General Hardee. These troops were reported destitute of clothing, but their indomitable spirit remained, and the people of the Carolinas were cheered by their approach. On the 28th, Gen. Wade Hampton reported for duty in defense of his State, soon after was given command of Butler's and Young's (Iverson's) cavalry divisions, and later of all the cavalry in the Carolinas. Conner's brigade, from the army of Northern Virginia, arrived in this month, and on the 31st, General Hardee's army was organized as follows:
McLaws' division, composed of Conner's brigade, Colonel Kennedy; the Georgia brigade (reserves) of Col. John C. Fiser; the Georgia brigade of Col. G. P. Harrison, including a detachment of the First South Carolina cavalry; Col. W. M. Hardy's North Carolina brigade; another brigade of Georgia reserves, and six batteries of artillery.
Taliaferro's division, composed of Brig.-Gen. Stephen Elliott's brigade—parts of First and Second artillery, serving as infantry, under Lieut.-Col. J. A. Yates; First cavalry, State cadets, and a company of the siege train, under Lieut.-Col. W. A. Walker. Rhett's brigade—First artillery, Maj. Ormsby Blanding; Third artillery, Col. William Butler; First militia, Col. J. Griffin; Nineteenth cavalry, Capt. M. J. Kirk; Young's cavalry; artillery, Capt. E. L. Parker, and part of Thirty-second Georgia. Not brigaded: Lusk's company First cavalry, six companies Second artillery, Fifteenth artillery battalion, Maj. J. J. Lucas; South Carolina siege train, Col. Edward B. White; Eighteenth militia, Col. John E. Carew; Gist Guards artillery, Lieut. T. G. Boag; company Palmetto battalion; Tupper's militia artillery, and several companies of Georgia artillery.
Maj.-Gen. Ambrose R. Wright's division, composed of Mercer's brigade—Capt. A. P. Brown's company First cavalry; First, Second, Sixth and Seventh reserves, Brig.-Gen. A. G. Blanchard; batteries of Capts. M. Rickenbaker, Charles Daniell, W. L. DePass, W. K. Bachman; Capt. J. D. Kay's reserve cavalry, and several Georgia commands. Robertson's brigade—Second, Third and Fourth militia, Col. A. D. Goodwyn; batteries of Capts. H. M. Stuart, F. C. Schulz, F. W. Wagener, J. R. Mathewes, C. E. Kanapaux, G. H. Walter; Stono scouts, Capt. J. B. L. Walpole; Wilkins' cavalry company reserves.
Wheeler's cavalry corps included the brigades of Anderson, Hagan and Crews, in Allen's division; of Dibrell, Ashby and Harrison, in Humes' division; and of Ferguson, Lewis and Hannon, in Iverson's division.
Brig.-Gen. J. H. Trapier's brigade, detached, was composed of Ward's battalion reserves, Capt. L. A. Grice; Capt. J. J. Steele's cavalry company, and the artillery companies of Capts. F. Melchers and Mayham Ward.
Brig.-Gen. J. K. Jackson's brigade, also detached, included the First foreign battalion, Lieut.-Col. J. G. Tucker; Fourteenth militia, Col. D. R. Barton; Capt. A. J. Frederick's company militia; Capt. W. E. Charles' battery.
The post at Columbia was commanded by Lieut.-Col. R. S. Means, including a post guard under Capt. R. D. Senn, and provost guard under Capt. D. H. Hamilton for the care of prisoners of war.
On February 2d, a conference was held at Green's Cut station, Ga., at which Generals Beauregard, Hardee, D. H. Hill and G. W. Smith were present. It was estimated that the forces available to meet Sherman, Lee's corps of the army of Tennessee having arrived, and Cheatham's and Stewart's being on the way, had the following effective strength: Hardee's command, regular infantry, 8,000; militia and reserves, 3,000; light artillery, 2,000; Butler's cavalry division, 1,500; total, 14,500. Militia and reserves under Generals Smith and Browne, 1,450. Wheeler's cavalry, 6,700. Army of Tennessee: Lee's corps, 4,000; Cheatham's corps, 3,000; Stewart's corps, 3,000; artillery, 800; total, 10,800. Grand total, 33,450. On account of the absence of most of the army of Tennessee, it was deemed inadvisable to give battle at the important point of Branchville; but it was determined to hold the Combahee as long as possible, while Hardee should fall back on Charleston, and Wheeler on Columbia. Lee's corps was ordered to Branchville, where Conner's brigade was already stationed.
General Sherman, meanwhile, was preparing to march northward through the Carolinas, with Savannah as his base. His army was organized in two wings, the right, under Gen. O. O. Howard, composed of the corps of John A. Logan and Frank P. Blair; the left, under Gen. H. W. Slocum, of the corps of Jeff C. Davis and A. S. Williams. The average strength of each corps was 13,000 men, and the cavalry, under Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, was about 4,000 in number. This, with the artillery, made up an aggregate effective strength, officers and men, of 60,000.