ARMY OPERATIONS. 



143 



afternoon of the 15th marched into Atlanta. 

 On the latter day, the 15th and 17th corps 

 went into camp two miles south of the city, and 

 the 20th corps inarched out to a position some- 

 what further east. On the 7th, while the latter 

 corps alone garrisoned Atlanta, a brigade of 

 rebel cavalry which had been watching their 

 opportunity, made a dash at the defences, but 

 were easily driven off. They nevertheless con- 

 tinued their demonstration which they called 

 the "Siege of Atlanta" for several days, until 

 constrained by the approach of the main Federal 

 army to retire. The several corps having been 

 newly supplied with clothing and such equip- 

 ments as were necessary from the depots in 

 Atlanta, and every thing valuable to the Govern- 

 ment removed, the torch was, on the evening of 

 the 15th, applied to the store houses, machine 

 shops and depot buildings, the most substantial 

 of which had previously been mined. For many 

 hours the heavens were lighted up by the 

 flames of this vast conflagration, which was 

 rendered more awful by the roar of exploding 

 shells and magazines, and, by dawn of the 16th, 

 all that was valuable of the city which, next 

 to Richmond, had furnished more material for 

 prosecuting the rebellion than any other in the 

 South, lay in ashes. As far as was possible, 

 private property was spared, and the city ren- 

 dered of no immediate use to the enemy. 



The army being now concentrated and ready 

 to march, Gen. Sherman caused the following 

 order to be promulgated : 



HEAIMJCAETEES Mrm-AEY DIVISION or THE Mis- ) 

 SISSIPPI. IN THE FIELD, KINGSTON, GA., Nov. 6th. 1S&L f 

 Special Fidd Orders So. 119. 



The General Commanding deems it proper at this 

 time to inform the officers and men of the 14th, 15th, 

 17th, and 20th corps, that he has organized them into 

 an army for a special purpose, well known to the 

 War Department and to Gen. Grant. It is sufficient 

 for you to know that it involves a departure from our 

 present base, and a long and difficult march to anew 

 one. All the chances of war have been considered 

 and provided for, as far as human sagacity can. All 

 he asks of you is, to maintain that discipline, patience, 

 and courage which have characterized you in the 

 past, and hopes through you to strike a blow at our 

 enemy that will have a material effect in producing 

 what we all so much desire his complete overthrow. 

 Of all things, the most important is that the men, 

 during marches and in camp, keep their places, and 

 not scatter abroad as stragglers and foragers, to be 

 picked up by a hostile peopTe in detail. IT is also of 

 the utmost importance that our wagons should not 

 be loaded with any thing but provisions and ammu- 

 nition. All surplus servants, non-combatants, and 

 refugees, should now go to the rear, and none should 

 be encouraged to encumber us on the march. At 

 some future time we will be enabled to provide for 

 the poor whites and blacks who seek to escape the 

 bondage they are now suffering under. 



With these few simple cautions in your minds, he 

 hopes to lead yon to achievements equal in irr;:or- 

 tflnce to those of the past. 



By order of Gen. W. T. SHERMAN. 



L. M. DAYTON, Aide-de-Camp. 



On Xov. 16th the whole army marched east- 

 ward in four columns, the two under Slocum, 

 with which was Gen. Sherman, following the 

 railroad toward Augusta, while the right whig, 



under Howard, moved along the Macon and 

 Augusta road. Each wing had cavalry moving 

 on its flanks. Whether the immediate objective 

 was to be Augusta or Macon, or both, it was 

 no part of the Federal general's plan to divulge. 

 To perplex the enemy and divide his forces by 

 pretended demonstrations on places widely sep- 

 arated, he judged would be most likely to en- 

 sure him a speedy and uninterrupted march, to 

 the coast. 



Gen. Howard's command, of which the 15th 

 corps formed the right wing, followed the 

 the railroad as far south as Jonesboro, where 

 the mounted troops of Iverson essayed to 

 make a stand, but were quickly dispersed by 

 Kilpatrick. Thence the column moved east 

 through McDonough and Jackson to the Oc- 

 mulgee, which it crossed at Planter's Factory, 

 and passing south, through Monticello and 

 Hillsboro, and between Milledgeville and Clin- 

 ton, on the 22d struck the Georgia Central 

 Railroad, with its left wing at Gordon, twenty 

 miles east of Macon ; the right wing being ex- 

 tended westward toward Griswoldville. In 

 conjunction with the operations of this column 

 the greater part of the Federal cavalry, under 

 the immediate command of Gen. Kilpatrick, 

 made a detour on the extreme right, through 

 Griffin and Forsyth, toward Macon, within 

 five miles of which place he was ordered to 

 demonstrate. The rebels at first believed this 

 to be another raid on a large scale ; but learn- 

 ing of the approach of Gen. Howard's column 

 they made haste to concentrate at Macon all 

 their available troops, consisting of some cav- 

 alry under Wheeler, a small body of regulars, 

 and several brigades of militia. They still re- 

 mained in ignorance of Gen. Slocum's movement 

 in the direction of Augusta, but believed Ma- 

 con to be the main objective point of Gen. Sher- 

 man. On the 20th about eight hundred Fede- 

 ral cavalry, with four cannon, made a feigned 

 attack on East Macon, two miles east of the 

 city, which though resulting in little loss on 

 either side, very effectually accomplished its 

 purpose of deceiving the enemy. At one 

 period of the tight a rebel battery was cap- 

 tured in a daring charge by the Federal troops, 

 who, however, having no means of carrying 

 off the guns, were obliged to relinquish them 

 to the enemy. The Federal cavalry finally 

 retired in the direction of Griswoldville after 

 destroying several miles of railroad east of 

 Walnut Creek. 



Upon striking the Georgia Central Railroad, 

 on the 22d, the loth and 17th corps immedi- 

 ately began to destroy the track and the road 

 bed between Gordon and Griswoldville in that 

 thorough manner in which previous experience 

 had rendered the troops adepts. It was while 

 this work was going on that the most serious 

 battle of the campaign up to this date took 

 place. A brigade of infantry, with a section 

 of artillery and some cavalry, under Gen. Wai- 

 cot, forming the extreme right wing of the 

 15th corps, had been thrown forward to 



