The palmetto herald. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1864-1864, December 22, 1864, Image 2
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BY 8. W. MASON AXD CO.
PORT ROYAL, THURSDAY. DEC. 22. 1SU.
SHERMA TV .
Gen. Foster, on Friday last, opened a
line of supplies to Sherman's army, on
the Ogeeche? river. There was but little
trouble found in navigating the river, up
to a point several miles above Fort Mc
Allister, plenty ot water Demg louna tor
vessels of ordinary draft. Beyond that
point, with a skilful pilot, the tortuous
nature of the channel seemed to be the
9 only obstacle to its free navigation, and
that was readily obviated by competent
wheelsmen.
No trouble was experienced until the
U. 8. Revenue Steamer Nemaha, Capt
Warner, Gen. Foster's flag-boat, had
reached the bridge of the Savannah and
Gulf Railroad, which angles the Ogeeehee,
about twenty-four miles above Fort McAllister,
by the river, and about twelve
by land. Here it was discovered that the
bridge had been partially destroyed by
fire, and Vhe draw through which vessels
passed, entirely rained, and the -passage
way obstructed by the debris of the draw
bridge.
Gen. Foster immediately ordered the
steamerlsland City to remove the obsrruct
ons, by drawing oat the piles in order to
enlarge the passage wt y, and to tow away
the piles. This work was accomplished
in an hoar and-a-half by Capt. Ketch man,
of the Island City, who personally superintended
^the work, and added bis own
* manual aid to carry out the order. His
energy, skill and faithful devotion to the
work before him soon accomplished the
desired object, and the Island City immediately
thereafter passed through the
fnllmDaH hff fth* \pmdha And nro
ceeded up the river to King s bridge, on
the Savannah and Darien state turnpike.
At King's bridge, the Engineers ot
Howard's wing, were found constructing
extension docks at which the stores
to be sent to the army were to be landed,
i The work has been completed before
this, and bountiful supplies have reached
Sherman's forces. To Gen. Foster s untiring
energy, and the magnetic influence
of his presence, which seemed to
control all with whom he had to direct,
and his ardent seal in effecting the great
work before him, are due the honor of
the accomplishment of the great result of
opening to Gen. Sherman an ea-?y, secure
Mid short line, through which he could
draw all his needful supplies. His efforts
received the well-merited tribute of Gen.
Sherman's and Gen. Howard's praise and
thanks.
Our limited space will not permit us to
given det tiled account of Gen. Sherman's
magnificent and triumphal march from
Atlauta t.) Savannah. It was so full of
s range a ul interesting incidents, that it
would require a hundred columns to re1
tie one-half of them. We shall, therelore,
confii e ourselves to a narration of a
few of them.
The march was practically unobstructed
by the enemy. They attempted at vari
^ ?t A aUaaW kin (VMAimklO Kut irif K_
UU3 uiues u;uinAui9|?v^iw?) vim
oat tiie slightest success. A brigade or j
two of militia, aud a number of Wheeler s
cavalry would make a stand behind an '
intrench men t, and contest our advance, j
The skirmishers would advance, reinforc- :
ed by the reserve, a charge would be
sounded by the bugles, a rush would fol- |
low, and amid the rattle of musketry aud
the -reports of field pieces, the ground
would be pwept over by our gallant sol- j
diers, with deafining yells, and the work j
would be carried, the enemy hastily retreating
in coutusion. These little tights
resulted in no check to our advanciug
columns. The head of the column would
halt to enable it to close up, and before
that object was accomplished, the ad-1
vauce guard would have cleared the way,
and the column would be in motion
again. The resistance w;aa most 1
(eeble and absurd. So it was, when fallen
trees, or burned bridges, obstructed j
-? J rrt.. ? 1 1
IUK imi. I lie piuuccia uaj uiCMcu i
away the impediments, belore the columu I
had closed up, and no stoppage was experienced
by any column. They moved,
like the sweep of the sea, grandly aud irresistably
on.
The M icon fi ?ht was the only one entitled
to the name of a battle. A brigade
from the left wing had been detached to
make a diversion on Macon while the
main force was p;issing. It marched up
to the defences of the city, made a mock
attack, and proposed, after the design
had been carried out, to fall back. The
enemy supposing our forces had lieen defeated,
sallied out, two divisions of-milUf*
string, to overwhelm our little force.
They were met by a stubborn and successful
resistance. Three charges were
made ou our unwavering lines, and completely
repulsed; and the enemy,. disheartened
by defeat, fell back into their
ihtrenchments, and left the field oui
possession. Three hundred dead fell
into our hands, and a number of wounded.
The enemy lost about twelve bun-,.
dred nun in the effort to gobble up a
brigade. Our l(*w was less than three
hundred. After the rebels retreated our
forces retired, the main farce having passed
in quiet and safety.
In one other fight between Kil gat rick,
and the rebel cavalry under Wheeler,
the latter was soundly flogged, and
went off flying, like a whipped child.
His boasts or tnrasmng ivupatncK are
based oo Ms fertile imagination, and not
on anything he accomplished on any fit-hi
on which lie confronted the gallant " Yankee."
Slocum's grand wing had not; during
the entire march, a single brigade in
line of battle, the skirmishers proving
strong enough to overcome auy force in
their tront, and not an infantry regiment
encouutered Wheeler ? cavalry, notwithstanding
that doughty chieftain asserts in
his sensational official reports, that he
whipped Kilpatrick's cavalry and Jeff. C.
Davis' 14th corps together!
The annihilation of Sherman's army
did not come off according to programme,
and the Savannah editors will soon learn
that all their prophecies were mere leather
and nnineila. J
Notwithstanding the long and arduous
march, Sherman's brave soldiers
came through in the best of spirits.
They wanted for nothing on the route,
except in the last days, when hard-tack
would not have been unacceptable.? 1
Poultry of all kinds turned their fat j
brown sides up on the wooden platters, I
to the eyes of the soldiers of the grand !
army, and sweet potatoes, rich cakes,
and corn-bread adorned every table. It i
was a holiday "march, and whetted the i
appetites of the troops for a bit of a light
with Johnnie Reb, when they should
meet him. They feel strong enough to
take anything in their route, and we believe
they will do it.
Gen. Sherman lias taken Argvle Island i
and King's Island on the savauuau mver, ;
three or four miles above the citv, and
can easily shell the city if necessary. '
The city is now completely invested, and j
its fall may be predicted at any moment. !
THE LATEST FROM SHERMAN.
We are informed that General Slier- j
man, after having closely inv. st^d tne
city of Savannah, scut a day or two since
to Gen. Hardee a summons for the surrendcqpf
the city and the forces therein. |
Gen. Hardee, according to the report,
sent a refusal, stating that the city was ,
not covered by our guns, and that lie
was in daiy comtn micati > n with his
government. The Mayor and municipal,
authorities of the city had united in a re- j
quest to Gen. Hardee that the city should i
be surrendered, lu order to save it and ;
% '
spare the effusion of innocent blood.
Hardee declined to accede to the re ju *st !
at the civil authorities, and has deter- i
mined to assume the responsibility for !
the loss of property and life that must
necessarily ensue from a bombardment,
or an assault that will finally give us
possession of the city. T.ie question of
the capture of the town is settled by the
investment of the city by Gen. Shermvi,
and the time is not tar off when its poswill
full Intft rmr ltiinils Events
occjonn* ???? ?w?? ?*??" .
are rapidly culminating in every portion j
of the grand theatre of war, and it takes j
do seer to predict after a contemplation 1
of the recent victories of Thomas over 1
Hood in Tennessee; of Canby in the
Gulf and Mississippi; the successful operations
in North Carolina and in Virginia
; aud the grand contest atWilmington,
together with the successes of Sherman,
that the rebellion is receiving its last aud
fiuisbing blows. God grant that the end
may be near, and that the old flag, as the
symbol of our government and a free
people, may float over every portion of
the country.
visit of gen. sherman to hi f. ton head
On Tuesday morning last Gen. Sherman
arrived here in company with Admiral
DaFUgren, on the flag ship. He
gp"Ht the day with Qeu. Foster, and in
the evening returned to the Ogeechee.
His arrival was noticed by a general
display of flags, by cheers from admiring
crowds as he passed, and in the evening
by a general illumination of stores,
houses and offices. These demonstra
tious were resjwmded to by rockets from
the flag ship after the General bail gone
on board.
AX KX PLOSION.
Last evening, between band 10 o'clock,
a tremendous explosion was heard in the
direction of Savannah. It was proceeded
by a brilliant light, which illuminated the,
whole heavens in that direction. We
have not yet the solution of the phenomena.
LATER FROM SH ERA AX.
Savannah Captured 1
This (Thursday) morning we have the
gratifying news that Savannah is ours.
The information comes in an official
note from Mi^jor Strong, of Gen. Foster's
staff, and is consequently reliable.
No particulars accompany the announcement.
We suspend the printing of our regular
edition to insert this pleasing intelligence,
reserving the full details for our next issue.
Tuk Stkamkr Gkskral S iik km an, of
Whitney & Hathaway''8 line between New
York and Hilton Head, arrived here on
Monday, having left New York on the
18th. She is a tine steamer, and brought
down quite a number of passengers. The j
Melville is shortly expected here.
Promotion.?Lt.-Gol. W. T. Bennett, '
of the 102(1 U. S. G. T, has been com-1
missioned Colonel of the 33d I". S. C. T. j
U!a fw'un/la u?!ll l\o rr!n/l ItfjuV nf
IIman > uiirmn mu uv iv u* v?
? ..
liis well-deserved promotion.
C. Savillk <fc Co, Proprietors of tbe
Palmetto Herald Store, have Harpers
for January, ami a large assortment of
new books, stationery, fancy gxxls, ?&p.
Tiioy have, also, Tun Palmetto Hkhald |
always for .-ale.
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GEJT. HATCH'S COMMAND.
We have no additional news of importance
from Gen. Hatch's command
that we can properly publish. It is believed
that trains do occasionally pass
over the road, but with great caution
and not much regularity. We have a
battery of light rilled guns within about
"<>0 yards of the road ou our right, another
swamp battery on our left which
commands a cu vert ou the road, and
our 30-pdr. Parrotts in a go >d position
A t lfief- arwimita hfi l bppn vi-rv
little firing lince the Dth, and wo have
had but ooe or two casuahi -a.
The retail papers have quite bombastic
accounts of the fighting, but one or two
of them are inquiring how it is if Gen.
Hatch was whipped at Honey Hill as
badly as represented by Gen. Smith, he
succeeded in getting an advanced and
better position, nearer the railroad, a day
or two after, and holding it.
DINNER TO ESCAPED UNION
OFFICERS.
We mentioned last week the escape of
the following Union officers lrom Columbia,
and their safe arrival here:
Major 0. S. San ford/ 7th Conn. Vols;
n?. l) o r*i.j 1..1 TT a A mt . (.
v iijh o, o. liiurr, idi v. u.
J. B. Dennis, 7th Conn. Vols.; ('apt.
James Belger, 1st R. I. Battery; Capt.
C. II. Nichols, Gth Conn. Vol's.; Capt.
John F. Randolph, 12:$d Ohio Vols..
Capt. M. W. Wall, GiUli N. Y. Vols.;
Capt. G. D Ilan, r?th Penn. Cav. Lieut;
Chas. M. Granger, fc'8th N. Y. Vols..
Lieut. Geo. W lfeiulriek. Battery K. ."? h
Mich. Art.; Lieut. Wm. Caulkina, 104th
III. Vols.; Lieut. John Eagan, 1st U S.
Art.; Lieut. John Lagan, 1st U. S Art;
Lieut. Gil more, 7;>th N. Y. Vols.; Lieut.
Watson.
Capt. Dennis is a brother of Mi. C. W.
Dennis and Capt. Oscar A. Dennis, of No.
4 Merchants' Row. On Friday evening
last those gentlemen gave a diuneriu
honor of the escaped officers, at the Palmetto
Restaurant, Xo. lit 1-2 Merchants'
Row.
The escaped officers were all present,
with souk1 sixty invited guests, including
aliout a dozen latlii a.
The dinner was prepared in elegant,
substantial style, by Mrs. Higgins.
After justice had been done to it, the
escaped officers were introduced to the
company by the hosts, and gave an account
of their imprisonment and escape.
Then toasts were given, songs were sung,
witty sentiments culled forth brisk repartee,
and the season was oue of general
enjoyment.
It was a noticeable fact that at this
dinner six Dcuuis brothers ail met together
for the first time in ten years.
They have all been in the service, either
in the army or navy.
The officers were very much pleased
with their entertainment. They went
North by the Fulton to join their iommands
alter brief furloughs.
THE *5TI( OHIO.
Editor of the Palmetto Her ail:
Sip. Iu your issue of Dec. !?, in
speaking of Gen. Hatch's operations at
Deveaux' Neck, S. C., you said the *>StU
Mass ci>t a swath through the woods to
give our artillery fair play upon the liiiil
road. This is a intake, and although
the 55th Mass. l*>re its part, and that
bravely, when ordered into any engagement.
it is nothing more than just that
other brave men should receive their due
meed of praise lor what they have done. \
By the task of cntting the woods away **
fell to the lot of the 25th Regt. Ohio Vet.
Vol. Inf., and in the action that succeeded,
the 25th Ohio was engaged about two
hours, and so hot was the fighting that
several regiments in reserve took the
cartridges from their boxes and sent
them to the 25th Ohio. bcin^ ordered so
to do by General Potter. G.
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