Hazen's advance, under Colonel W. S. Jones, reached a point only half a mile from the fort early in the afternoon, but it was five o'clock before a sufficient force could be brought up and made ready for the assault. Sherman and Howard watched the scene, anxious, and impatient to have the fort taken before dark. A boat from the fleet approached and signalled the question: "Have you taken the fort?" Sherman signalled back, "No; but we shall in a minute;" for Hazen was just ordering the charge. A sharp struggle followed. The works were strong and torpedoes did much damage. But in fifteen minutes all was over. The garrison was captured, and the Stars and Stripes floated over Fort McAllister.
The army and the fleet now joined forces. Howard pressed the work of building roads across the swamps and draining the rice fields. On December 17th, Sherman summoned Hardee, the Rebel commander, to surrender, but Hardee refused. Howard and Slocum brought up their batteries and pressed the army forward, however, and Hardee, after a detachment of Sherman had crossed the Savannah, saw the situation was hopeless; so before his last road was taken he took to flight with his troops and light artillery, leaving his heavy guns and stores behind. At daybreak of December 21st the Union troops occupied the city, and Sherman's official dispatch announcing the event reached Lincoln at Washington on Christmas Day. "I beg to present you," he said, "as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton."
Before this, however, the Nation had been informed of the whereabouts of the "lost army" by means of this dispatch, which was received at the War Department, Washington, on December 14th:
"Hilton Head, S. C, Monday, Dec. 12th, 1864,
"via Fort Monroe, Dec. 14th."To Major-General Halleck, Chief of Staff.
"General:—Captain Duncan, of General Howard's scouts, has just come in from General Howard, having descended the Ogeechee River in a small boat. They left the army on the evening of the 9th. General Sherman's whole army was then within ten miles of Savannah, advancing to attack it. The enemy's works, five miles from the city, were probably attacked yesterday, as heavy firing was heard in that direction.
"Captain Duncan represents the army to be in the best spirits possible, and the most excellent condition. Very little opposition had been met with on the march, as the enemy could not tell what routes were to be taken. The army has lived off the country, and has accumulated a considerable number of horses and cattle. It was also well supplied.
"The following is a copy of the dispatch brought by Captain Duncan:
"'Hdqrs. Army of the Tennessee, near Savannah Canal,
December 9th, 1864."'To the Commander of the United States Naval Forces
in the vicinity of Savannah, Ga."'Sir:—We have met with perfect success thus far. The troops are in fine spirits and General Sherman near by.
"'Respectfully, O. O. Howard, Major-General,
"'Commanding Right Wing of the Army.'"Another dispatch brought by Captain Duncan, directed to the Signal Officer of the fleet, from General Howard's Chief Signal Officer, requests a good lookout to be kept for signals.
"I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. G. Foster,
"Major-General Commanding."
"'Hdqrs. Army of the Tennessee, near Savannah Canal,
December 9th, 1864."'To the Commander of the United States Naval Forces
in the vicinity of Savannah, Ga."'Sir:—We have met with perfect success thus far. The troops are in fine spirits and General Sherman near by.
"'Respectfully, O. O. Howard, Major-General,
"'Commanding Right Wing of the Army.'
Sherman afterward wrote of this great march and its results as follows:
"I was left with a well-appointed army to sever the enemy's only remaining railroad communications eastward and westward, for over one hundred miles, namely, the Georgia State railroad, which is broken up from Fairborn Station to Madison and the Oconee and the Central railroad from Gordon clear to Savannah, with numerous breaks on the latter road from Gordon to Eatonville, and from Millen to Augusta, and the Savannah and Gulf railroad. We have consumed the corn and fodder in a region of country thirty miles on each side of a line from Atlanta to Savannah, as also the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep, and poultry. We have carried away more than ten thousand horses and mules, as well as a countless number of slaves. I estimate the damage done to the State of Georgia at a hundred millions of dollars, at least twenty millions of which has inured to our advantage, and the remainder is simply waste and destruction. This may seem a hard species of warfare, but it brings the sad realities of war home to those who have been directly or indirectly instrumental in involving us in its attendant calamities.
"The behavior of our troops in Savannah has been so manly, so quiet, so perfect, that I take it as the best evidence of discipline and true courage. Never was a hostile city filled with women and children occupied by a large army with less disorder, or more system, order, and good government."