About 12 m., on the 16th of November, 1864, General Morgan's command led out from Atlanta along the Augusta and Atlanta railroad, following and destroying it as far as Covington; here the division left it, marching through Shady Dale, near Edenton Factory, directly on to Milledgeville, the capital of the State, where it arrived late in the evening of the 22nd. Our march to the capital of Georgia was one of pleasure and plenty; plenty sat smiling on every hand, tauntingly inviting the Yankee boys on. The Eighty-sixth was now in the height of its glory, making itself free in every man's potato patch, poultry yard and smoke house, thus assuring the inhabitants of its sincere regard and thankfulness for their unswerving devotion as enemies. Thus the command passed merrily on in its wild paroxysms of frantic joy, living as sumptuously as kings are wont to live in their marble palaces and wanton luxuries. Time did not drag heavily with us, nor did the ghost of hunger haunt us in our dreams. We laid down at night on a bed of pine boughs with as much composure as if feathers had been at our command. We dared famine to look us in the face, and treated discontent with contempt.
The commonest produce of the country so far was sweet potatoes or yams, and negro beans. These vegetables, with all kinds of meat, afforded high living, and in a plentiful manner. The boys were never under the necessity of carrying much provisions with them; in fact, they scarcely ever carried any in these parts, for when the column stopped for meals they would climb the fence for sweet potatoes, and shoot a shoat for meat. About half an hour before the troops went into camp, firing might be heard in every direction about the column, being caused by the boys shooting porkers and such, for their supper.
There was a great caravan of negroes hanging on the rear of our column when it arrived in Milledgeville, like a sable cloud in the sky before a thunder storm or tornado. They thought it was freedom now or never, and would follow whether or no. It was really a ludicrous sight to see them trudging on after the army in promiscuous style and divers manner. Some in buggies of the most costly and glittering manufacture; some on horseback, the horses old and blind, and others on foot; all following up in right jolly mood, bound for the Elysium of ease and freedom. Let those who choose to curse the negro curse him; but one thing is true, despite the unworthiness they bear on many minds, that they were the only friends on whom we could rely for the sacred truth in the sunny land of Dixie. What they said might be relied on so far as they knew; and one thing more, they knew more and could tell more than most of the poor white population. Milledgeville was occupied by our forces without the slightest opposition on the part of the enemy, there being no enemy of material consequence to contend with, all having gone to Nashville, there to get a complete drubbing.
On the morning of the 24th our division marched through Milledgeville, and passing on through Sandersville, crossed the Ogechee river and Rocky Comfort creek into Louisville, a county seat town, where it remained several days to let the right wing of the army come up on a line. Milledgeville is beautifully situated in the paradise portion of Georgia, the country around being rich, and on the whole, level and fertile. The city itself is laid off with much good taste, the streets being wide and handsome, and the buildings sparsely built along them. The private dwellings, for the most part, were framework, not costly and extravagant, but constructed in plain and wholesome style. The State House, however, was especially grand in its design and material. On leaving this place our forces destroyed many of the public buildings. The Oconee river, which flows along the east side of the capitol, is a narrow, deep stream, and very handsome. Over it was a good wagon bridge, left unhurt by the rebel fugitives. While crossing this bridge all pack animals over one to a company, were taken and appropriated to other use, for by general order only one was allowed to a company, but in spite of orders the boys would cling to their mules, one company having sometimes several span. These creatures were a great help to us in carrying our heavy plunder. On the march from Milledgeville to Sandersville the command was for the first time molested seriously by the cavalry of the enemy. About these times they captured many of our foragers, nineteen of whom it was said were hung on the spot.
The day on which the command entered Sandersville it had its first encounter with the enemy's cavalry, under rebel General Wheeler, which had gotten in our front and attempted to arrest our progress.
But there was no halting on Wheeler's account, for our troops made their way on, he and his getting out of the way. While the division was at Sandersville it gave the country around a healthy forage. A certain wealthy planter living near had five or six score of French or Spanish negroes, with a dwarfish stature and a gabble like so many geese. This planter lived in Savannah in high life, as most wealthy planters do. His possessions would seem changed when next he saw them; his cotton and out-houses, his presses and gins were burned up, his productions taken and plantation gleaned; but he is not alone in his misery, his neighbors are as bad off as himself.
It was amusing to see the slouchy negroes obey the soldiers' orders, for they had to be obeyed. Twenty or thirty of them would run after the same chicken, heading and tripping each other as they went. These, like all negroes, were delighted to see the Yankees waltz in and make old massa "shell out." They would point out where things were concealed, and then! Oh, then! take a regular nigger laugh when the Yanks "went in." However, about noon on the 28th, the command having left Sandersville, arrived on the west bank of Rocky Comfort creek. The bridge over this stream being burnt, it was obliged to wait till late in the evening before a crossing could be effected into Louisville, where it went into camp one mile east of the town.
At this camp, on the evening of the 29th, Colonel Fahnestock took his regiment on picket, and on the next day fought a force of the enemy's cavalry which was making a demonstration on our lines in several places, keeping the pickets on the maneuver most of the day.
At the first alarm of the enemy on the lines of the Eighty-sixth, the Colonel ordered his men to advance to a line two hundred yards to his front and throw up a line of barricades for protection.
While this was being done a constant fire was kept up on the rebels, whose course was soon turned, being compelled to withdraw in confusion across a large cornfield. When they reached the farther side of this field they formed their lines, and also threw up a line of barricades which they held until late in the afternoon, when the regiment charged them away and took possession, and following them up for more than a mile, returned. Though the casualties of the regiment in this day's skirmish were not great, the excitement, nevertheless, ran high. Its loss was four missing or captured. The company loss was as follows: Co. A, two; Co. F, one; Co. K, one.