Life of Wm. Tecumseh Sherman. / Late Retired General. U. S. A.

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

"With that ignorance of danger common to new troops, the Rebels rushed upon our veterans with the greatest fury. The rebels made the attack, but with most fatal results and were soon in full flight, leaving more than three hundred dead on the field. Our loss was some forty killed and wounded, while their killed, wounded and prisoners are estimated to exceed two thousand. A pretty severe lesson they have received."

The whole army moved on, and three days later reached Tennille Station, on the Georgia Central Railroad. Continuing his story, the correspondent wrote on November 27: "General Sherman was with Slocum at Milledgeville. The rebels seem to have understood, but too late, that it was not Howard's intention to make a serious attack upon Macon. They have, however, succeeded in getting Wheeler across the Oconee at a point below the railroad bridge. We first became aware of their presence in our front by the destruction of several small bridges across Buffalo Creek, on the two roads leading to Sandersville, over which were advancing the 20th and 14th Corps.

"We were delayed but a few hours. The passage was also contested by the rebel cavalry under Wheeler, and they fought our front all the way, and into the streets of Sandersville. The 20th Corps had the advance, deploying a regiment as skirmishers, forming the remainder of a brigade in line of battle on either side of the road. The movement was executed in the handsomest manner, and was so effectual as not to impede the march of the column in the slightest degree, although the roll of musketry was unceasing. Our loss was not serious, twenty odd killed and wounded.

"As the 20th Corps entered the town they were met by the 14th, whose head of column arrived at the same moment. While these two corps had met with the obstructions above mentioned, the army under General Howard were attempting to throw a pontoon across the Oconee at the Georgia Central Railroad bridge. Here they met a force under the command of General Wayne, which was composed of a portion of Wheeler's cavalry, militia, and a band of convicts who had been liberated from the penitentiary upon the condition that they would join the army.

"The most of these desperados have been taken prisoners, dressed in their State prison clothing. General Sherman has turned them loose, believing that Governor Brown had not got the full benefits of his liberality. The rebels did not make a remarkably stern defense of the bridge, for Howard was able to cross his army yesterday, and commenced breaking railroad again to-day. In fact, all of the army, except one corps, are engaged in this same work. Morgan, with his army, was hardly able to reach this point when he met General Hardee, who has managed to get around here from Macon. Our troops struck the railroad at this station a few hours after the frightened band escaped.

"We had been told that the country was very poor east of the Oconee, but our experience has been a delightful gastronomic contradiction of the statement. The cattle trains are getting so large that we find difficulty in driving them along. Thanksgiving Day was very generally observed in the army, the troops scorning chickens in the plentitude of turkeys with which they have supplied themselves.

"Vegetables of all kinds, and in unlimited quantities, were at hand, and the soldiers gave thanks as soldiers may and were merry as only soldiers can be. In truth, so far as the gratification of the stomach goes, the troops are pursuing a continuous thanksgiving.

"In addition to fowls, vegetables, and meats, many obtain a delicious syrup made from sorghum, which is cultivated on all the plantations, and stored away in large troughs and hogsheads. The mills here and there furnish fresh supplies of flour and meal, and we hear little or nothing of 'hard tack'—that terror to weak mastication. Over the sections of country lately traversed I find very little cultivation of cotton. The commands of Davis appear to have been obeyed; and our large droves of cattle are turned nightly into the immense fields of ungathered corn to eat their fill, while the granaries are crowded to overflowing with both oats and corn.

"We have also reached the sand regions, so that the fall of rain has no terrors, the roads are excellent, and would become firmer from a liberal wetting. The rise of the rivers will not bother us much, for every army corps has its pontoon, and the launching of its boats is a matter of an hour.

"Just before his entrance into Milledgeville, General Sherman camped on one of the plantations of Howell Cobb. It was a coincidence that a Macon paper, containing Cobb's address to the Georgians as general commanding, was received the same day. This plantation was the property of Cobb's wife, who was a Demar.