AKMY OPERATIONS. 



Church ; and at daylight, the right wing, Gen. 

 Howard, less the necessary wagon guards, was 

 put in rapid motion on Bentonville." 



It appears that on the advance of the head 

 of Gen. Slocum's column from his camp on the 

 night of the 18th, it first encountered Dibbrell's 

 cavalry, hut soon found its progress hindered 

 by infantry and cavalry. The enemy attacked 

 his advance and gained a temporary advantage 

 capturing three guns of Gen. Carlin's division, 

 and driving the two advanced brigades back on 

 the main body. Gen. Slocum at once deployed 

 the two divisions of the 14th corps of Gen. 

 Davis, and brought up on their left the two 

 divisions of the 20th corps of Gen. Williams. 

 These were placed on the defensive, and a line 

 of barricades prepared. Gen. Kilpatrick also 

 massed his cavalry on the left. In this position 

 six assaults were made on the left wing by Gen. 

 Johnston, with the combined forces of Gens. 

 Hoke, Hardee, and Oheatham. During the 

 night ensuing, Gen. Slocum got up his wagon 

 train with its guard of two divisions, and Gen. 

 Hazen's division of the 15th corps, which en- 

 abled him to make his position impregnable. 

 Gen. Johnston had moved by night from Smith- 

 field, with as little incumbrance as possible, 

 for the purpose of overwhelming the left wing 

 before it could be relieved. The right wing, in 

 its advance to the aid of Gen. Slocum, found 

 the cavalry of the enemy watching its approach 

 without being able to offer any serious resist- 

 ance until the head of the column encountered 

 a considerable body behind a barricade, at the 

 forks of the road near Bentonville, about three 

 miles east of the battle field of the previous 

 day. The cavalry were quickly dislodged, and 

 the intersection of the roads secured. As the 

 15th corps advanced, Gen. Logan found that 

 the enemy had thrown back their left flank, 

 and constructed a line of parapet connecting 

 with that toward Gen. Slocum, in the form of 

 a bastio'n, with its salient on the main road to 

 Goldsboro ; thus interposing between Gen. Slo- 

 cum with the left wing on the west, and Gen. 

 Howard with the right wing on the east, while 

 the flanks rested on Mill Creek and covered the 

 road to Smithfield. Gen. Howard proceeding 

 cautiously soon made strong connection with 

 Gen. Slocum on the left, and at 4 p. M. of the 

 20th a complete and strong line of battle con- 

 fronted the enemy in his intrenched position, 

 which put Gen. Johnston on the defensive, 

 with Mill Creek and a single bridge in his rear. 

 Gen. Sherman having nothing to gain by a 

 battle, now pressed the enemy steadily with 

 skirmishers alone, using artillery on the wood- 

 ed space held by him, and feeling the flanks of 

 his position, which were covered by swamps. 

 On the next day, the 21st, a steady rain pre- 

 vailed, during which Gen. Mower with his di- 

 vision, on the extreme right, had worked well 

 to the. right around the enemy's flank, and 

 nearly reached the bridge across Mill Creek, 

 which was the only line of retreat open to Gen. 

 Johnston. Fearing the enemy might turn upon 



Gen. Mower with all his reserves, to over- 

 whelm him, and perhaps yield his parapets for 

 the purpose, Gen. Sherman ordered a general 

 attack by his skirmish line, from left to right. 

 Meanwhile Gen. Mower was able to regain his 

 connection by moving to his left rear. During 

 the night ensuing the enemy retreated toward 

 Smithfield, leaving his pickets to fall into Gen. 

 Sherman's hands, with many dead unburied 

 and wounded in his field hospitals. At day- 

 break pursuit was made two miles beyond Mill 

 Creek. The loss of the left wing about Benton- 

 ville was reported at 9 officers and 145 men 

 killed, 51 officers and 816 men wounded, and 

 3 officers and 223 men missing; total, 1,247. 

 Of the enemy, 167 dead were buried, and 338 

 made prisoners by the left wing. The loss of 

 the right wing was 2 officers and 35 men killed, 

 12 officers and 289 men wounded, and 1 officer 

 and 60 men missing; total, 399. Of the ene- 

 my, 100 dead were buried and 1,287 made 

 prisoners by this wing. The total loss of Gen. 

 Sherman, exclusive of the cavalry, was 1,646. 



The result of this affair gave to Gen. Sher- 

 man full .possession of Goldsboro, with the two 

 railroads to "Wilmington and Beaufort, on the 

 coast. The 22d was passed in burying the 

 dead and removing the wounded at Benton- 

 ville, and on the next day all the troops moved 

 to the camps about Goldsboro, there to rest and 

 receive supplies of food and clothing. 



During this march Gen. Sherman's army 

 passed over an average breadth of forty miles 

 of country, from Savannah to Goldsboro, and 

 consumed all the forage, cattle, hogs, sheep, 

 poultry, cured meats, corn meal, &c. It was 

 stripped so bare as to make it necessary for the 

 enemy to send provisions from other quarters 

 to feed the inhabitants. It caused the abandon- 

 ment by the enemy of the whole sea-coast from 

 Savannah to Newbern, with the forts, dock- 

 yards, gunboats, &c. The real object of the 

 march, says Gen. Sherman, " was to place this 

 army in a position easy of supply, whence it 

 could take an appropriate part in the spring 

 and summer campaign of 1865." 



"While General Sherman had been marching; 

 through South and North Carolina, General 

 Grant was completing his preparations for the 

 final conflict with General Lee. He considered 

 it to be of the utmost importance before a gen- 

 eral movement of Meade's forces, that all com- 

 munication with Richmond, north of the James 

 River, should be cut off. The enemy had with- 

 drawn the bulk of their force from the Shenan- 

 doah valley to strengthen themselves in the 

 South, and General Grant desiring to reenforce 

 Sherman, especially with cavalry, determined 

 to make a move from the Shenandoah, which 

 might accomplish the first, if not both these 

 objects. He therefore sent the following de- 

 spatch to General Sheridan : 



CITY POINT, VA., February 20, 1865 1 p. M. 

 GENERAL : As soon as it is possible to travel, I think 

 you will have no difficulty about reaching Lynchburg 

 with a cavalry force alone. From there you could 



