736 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



feated and compelled it to retreat. Our loss in the 

 engagement was about 600. The enemy's loss was 

 much greater. On the 18th the combined forces of 

 the enemv, under Joe Johnston, attacked his ad- 

 vance at fientonville, capturing three guns and driv- 

 ing it back upon the main body. General Slocum, 

 wn*o was in the advance, ascertaining that the whole 

 of Johnston's army was in the front, arranged his 

 troops on the defensive, intrenched himself and 

 awaued reenforcements, which were pushed forward. 

 On the night of the 21st the enemy retreated to 

 Smithfield, leaving his dead and wounded in our 

 hands. From there Sherman continued to Golds- 

 boro', which place had been occupied by General 

 Schofield on the 21st (crossing the Neuse River ten 

 miles above there, at Cox's bridge, where General 

 Terry had got possession and thrown a pontoon 

 bridge on the 22a), thus forming a junction with the 

 columns from Newbern and Wilmington. 



Among the important fruits of this campaign was 

 the fall of Charleston, South Carolina. It was evacu- 

 ated by the enemy on the night of the 17th of Feb- 

 ruary, and occupied bv our forces on the 18th. 



On the morning of the 31st of January General 

 Thomas was directed to send a cavalry expedition, 

 under General Stoneman, from East Tennessee, to 

 penetrate South Carolina well down toward Colum- 

 bia, to destroy the railroads and military resources 

 of the country, and return, if he was able, to East 

 Tennessee by way of Salisbury, North Carolina, re- 

 leasing our prisoners there, if possible. Of the feasi- 

 bility of this latter, however, General Stoneman was 

 to judge. Sherman's movements, I had no doubt, 

 would attract the attention of all the force the enemy 

 could collect and facilitate the execution of this. 

 General Stoneman was so late in making his start 

 on this expedition (and Sherman having passed out 

 of the State of South Carolina), on the 27th of Feb- 

 ruary I directed General Thomas to change his 

 course, and ordered him to repeat his raid of last 

 fall, destroying the railroad toward Lynchburg as 

 far as he could. This would keep him between our 

 garrisons in East Tennessee and the enemy. I re- 

 garded it not impossible that in the event of the 

 enemy being driven from Richmond he might fall 

 back to Lynchburg and attempt a raid north through 

 East Tennessee. On the 14th of February the fol- 

 lowing communication was sent to General Thomas: 



CITY POINT, VA., February 14, 1865. 



General Canby Is preparing a movement from Mobile Bay 

 against Mobile and the Ulterior of Alabama. His force will 

 consist of about 20,000 men, besides A. J. Smith's command. 

 Tho cavalry, you have sent to Canby will be debarked at 

 Vicksburg. it, with the available cavalry already in that 

 section, will move from there eastward, in cooperation. 

 Hood's army has been terribly reduced by the severe pun- 

 ishment yon gave it in Tennessee, by desertion consequent 

 upon the'ir defeat, and now by the withdrawal of many of 

 them to oppose Sherman. (I take it a large portion of the 

 infantry has been so withdrawn. It is so asserted in the 

 Richmond papers, and a member of the rebel Congress said a 

 few days since in a speech, that one-half of it had been 

 brought to South Carolina to oppose Sherman.) This being 

 true, or even if it is not true, Canby's movement will attract 

 all the attention of the enemy, and leave the advance from 

 j'our stand-point easy. I think it advisable, therefore, that 

 you prepare as much "of a cavalry force as you can spare, and 

 hold it in readiness to go south. The object would he three- 

 fold : first, to attract as much of the enemy's force as possi- 

 ble to insure success to Canby ; second, to destroy the enemy's 

 line of communications and military resources; third, to de- 

 stroy or capture their forces brought into the field. Tusca- 

 loosa and Selma would probably be the points to direct the 

 expedition against. This, however, would not be so impor- 

 tant as the mere fact of penetrating deep into Alabama, 

 Discretion should be left to the officer commanding the ex- 

 pedition to go where, according to the information he may 

 receive, he will best secure the objects named above. 



Now that your force has been so much depleted, I do not 

 know what number of men yon can put into the field. If not 

 more than 5,000 men, however, all cavalry, I think it will be 

 sufficient It Is not desirable that you should start this ex- 

 pedition until the one leaving Vicksburg has been three or 

 four days out, or even a week. I do not know when it will 



start, but will inform you by telegraph as soon as I learn. If 

 you should hear through other sources before hearing from 

 me, yon can act on the information received. 



To insure success, your cavalry should go with as little 

 wagon train as possible, relying upon the country for sup- 

 plies. I would also reduce the number of guns to a battery, 

 or the number of batteries, and put the extra teams to the 

 guns taken. No guns or caissons should be taken with less 

 than eight horses. 



Please inform me by telegraph, on receipt of this, what 

 force you think you w'ill be able to send under these direc- 

 tions. U. 8. GEANT, Lientenant-General. 



Major-General G. H. THOMAS. 



On the 15th, he was directed to start the expedi- 

 tion as soon after the 20th as he could get it off. 



I deemed it of the utmost importance, before a gen- 

 eral movement of the armies operating against Rich- 

 mond, that all communications with the city, north 

 of James River, should be cut off. The enemy hav- 

 ing withdrawn the bulk of his force from the Shenan- 

 doah Valley and sent it south, or replaced troops 

 sent from Richmond, and desiring to reenforce Sher- 

 man, if practicable, whose cavalry was greatly infe- 

 rior in numbers to that of the enemy, I determined 

 to make a move from the Shenandoah, which, if suc- 

 cessful, would accomplish the first at least, and pos- 

 sibly the latter of these objects. I therefore tele- 

 graphed General Sheridan as follows : 



CITY POINT, VA., February 20, 18651 p. M. 



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

 will have no difficulty about reaching Lynchburg with a 

 cavalry force alone. From there you could destroy the rail- 

 road and canal in every direction, so as to be of no further use 

 to the rebellion. Sufficient cavalry should be left behind to 

 look after Mosby's gang. From Lynchburg, if information 

 you might get there would justify it, you could strike south, 

 heading the streams in Virginia to the westward of Danville, 

 and push on and join General Sherman. This additional 

 raid, with one now about starting from East Tennessee un- 

 der Stoneman, numbering four or five thousand cavalry, one 

 from Vicksburg, numbering seven or eight thousand cavalry, 

 one from Eastport, Mississippi, ten thousand cavalry, Canby 

 from Mobile Bay, with about thirty-eight thousand mixed 

 troops, these three latter pushing for Tuscaloosa. Selma, and 

 Montgomery, and Sherman with a large army eating out the 

 vitals of South Carolina, is all that will be wanted to leave 

 nothing for the rebellion to stand upon. I would advise you 

 to overcome great obstacles to accomplish this. Charleston 

 was evacuated on Tuesday last 



U. S. GEANT, Lieutenant-General. 



Major-General P. H. SHEKIDAN. 



On the 25th I received a despatch from General 

 Sheridan, inquiring where Sherman was aiming for, 

 and if I could give him definite information as to the 

 points he might be expected to move on this side of 

 Charlotte, North Carolina. In answer, the following 

 telegram was sent him : 



CITY POINT, VA., February 25, 1865. 



GENERAL: Sherman's movements will depend on the 

 amount of opposition he meets with from the enemy. If 

 strongly opposed, he may possibly have to fall back to 

 Georgetown, S. C., and fit out for a new start I think, how- 

 ever, all danger for the necessity of going to that point has 

 passed. I believe he has passed Charlotte. He may tako 

 Fayetteville on his way to Goldsboro'. If you reach Lynch- 

 burg, you will have to be guided in your after movements bv 

 the information you obtain. Before you could possibly reach 

 Sherman, I think you would find him moving from Goldsboro' 

 toward Raleigh, or engaging the enemy strongly posted at 

 one or the other of these places, with railroad commxinica- 

 tions opened from his army to "Wilmington or Newbern. 

 U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. 



Major-General P. H. SHERIDAN. 



General Sheridan moved from "Winchester on the 

 27th of February, with two divisions of cavalry, num- 

 bering about 5,000 each. On the first of March he 

 secured the bridge, which the enemy attempted to 

 destroy, across the middle fork of the Shenandoah, 

 at Mount Crawford, and entered Stauutou on the 2d, 

 the enemy having retreated on Waynesboro*. Thence 

 he pushed on to Waynesboro', where he found the 

 enemy in force in an intrenched position, under Gen- 

 eral Early. Without stopping to make a reconnois- 

 sance, an immediate attack was made, the position 



