Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete
army, but in a short time fill our wagons for another start. I
feel certain, from the character of the fighting, that we have got
Johnston's army afraid of us. He himself acts with timidity and
caution. His cavalry alone manifests spirit, but limits its
operations to our stragglers and foraging-parties. My marching
columns of infantry do not pay the cavalry any attention, but walk
right through it.
I think I see pretty clearly how, in one more move, we can
checkmate Lee, forcing him to unite Johnston with him in the defense
of Richmond, or to abandon the cause. I feel certain, if he leaves
Richmond, Virginia leaves the Confederacy. I will study my maps a
little more before giving my positive views. I want all possible
information of the Roanoke as to navigability, how far up, and with
what draught.
We find the country sandy, dry, with good roads, and more corn and
forage than I had expected. The families remain, but I will
gradually push them all out to Raleigh or Wilmington. We will need
every house in the town. Lieutenant Dunn can tell you of many
things of which I need not write. Yours truly,
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN THE FIELD,
COX'S BRIGADE, GOLDSBORO', NORTH CAROLINA, April 5,1865
Major-General George H. Thomas, commanding Department of the
Cumberland.
DEAR GENERAL: I can hardly help smiling when I contemplate my
command--it is decidedly mixed. I believe, but am not certain,
that you are in my jurisdiction, but I certainly cannot help you in
the way of orders or men; nor do I think you need either. General
Cruft has just arrived with his provisional division, which will at
once be broken up and the men sent to their proper regiments, as
that of Meagher was on my arrival here.
You may have some feeling about my asking that General Slocum
should have command of the two corps that properly belong to you,
viz., the Fourteenth and Twentieth, but you can recall that he was
but a corps commander, and could not legally make orders of
discharge, transfer, etc., which was imperatively necessary. I
therefore asked that General Slocum should be assigned to command
"an army in the field," called the Army of Georgia, composed of the
Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps. The order is not yet made by the
President, though I have recognized it because both, General Grant
and the President have sanctioned it, and promised to have the
order made.
My army is now here, pretty well clad and provided, divided into
three parts, of two corps each--much as our old Atlanta army was.
I expect to move on in a few days, and propose (if Lee remains in
Richmond) to pass the Roanoke, and open communication with the
Chowan and Norfolk. This will bring me in direct communication
with General Grant.
This is an admirable point--country open, and the two railroads in
good order back to Wilmington and Beaufort. We have already
brought up stores enough to fill our wagons, and only await some
few articles, and the arrival of some men who are marching up from
the coast, to be off.
General Grant explained to me his orders to you, which, of course,
are all right. You can make reports direct to Washington or to
General Grant, but keep me advised occasionally of the general
state of affairs, that I may know what is happening. I must give
my undivided attention to matters here. You will hear from a
thousand sources pretty fair accounts of our next march. Yours
truly,
W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.
[LETTER FROM ADMIRAL DAHLGREN]
SOUTH ATLANTIC SQUADRON
FLAG-SHIP PHILADELPHIA, CHARLESTON, April 20, 1865
Major-General W. T. SHERMAN, commanding Armies of the Tennessee,
Georgia, and Mississippi.
Mr DEAR GENERAL: I was much gratified by a sight of your
handwriting, which has just reached me from Goldsboro'; it was very
suggestive of a past to me, when these regions were the scene of
your operations.
As you progressed through South Carolina, there was no
manifestation of weakness or of an intention to abandon Charleston,
until within a few hours of the fact. On the 11th of February I
was at Stono, and a spirited demonstration was made by General
Schimmel-pfennig and the vessels. He drove the rebels from their
rifle-pits in front of the lines, extending from Fort Pringle, and
pushed them vigorously. The next day I was at Bull's Bay, with a
dozen steamers, among them the finest of the squadron. General
Potter had twelve to fifteen hundred men, the object being to carry
out your views. We made as much fuss as possible, and with better
success than I anticipated, for it seems that the rebs conceived
Stono to be a feint, and the real object at Bull's Bay, supposing,
from the number of steamers and boats, that we had several thousand
men. Now came an aide from General Gillmore, at Port Royal, with
your cipher-dispatch from Midway, so I steamed down to Port Royal
to see him. Next day was spent in vain efforts to decipher-finally
it was accomplished. You thought that the state of the roads might
force you to turn upon Charleston; so I went there on the 15th, but
there was no sign yet of flinching. Then I went to Bull's Bay next
day (16th), and found that the troops were not yet ashore, owing to
the difficulties of shoal water. One of the gunboats had contrived
to get up to within shelling range, and both soldiers and sailors
were working hard. On the evening of the 18th I steamed down to
Stono to see how matters were going there. Passing Charleston, I
noticed two large fires, well inside--probably preparing to leave.
On the 17th, in Stono, rumors were flying about loose of
evacuation. In course of the morning, General Schimmelpfennig
telegraphed me, from Morris Island, that there were symptoms of
leaving; that he would again make a push at Stono, and asked for
monitors. General Schimmelpfennig came down in the afternoon, and
we met in the Folly Branch, near Secessionville. He was sore that
the rebs would be off that night, so he was to assault them in
front, while a monitor and gunboats stung their flanks both sides.
I also sent an aide to order my battery of five eleven-inch guns,
at Cumming's Point, to fire steadily all night on Sullivan's
Island, and two monitors to close up to the island for the same
object. Next morning (18th) the rascals were found to be off, and
we broke in from all directions, by land and water. The main
bodies had left at eight or nine in the evening, leaving
detachments to keep up a fire from the batteries. I steamed round
quickly, and soon got into the city, threading the streets with a
large group of naval captains who had joined me. All was silent as
the grave. No one to be seen but a few firemen.
No one can question the excellence of your judgment in taking the
track you did, and I never had any misgivings, but it was natural
to desire to go into the place with a strong hand, for, if any one
spot in the land was foremost in the trouble, it was Charleston.
Your campaign was the final blow, grand in conception, complete in
execution; and now it is yours to secure the last army which
rebeldom possesses. I hear of your being in motion by the 9th, and
hope that the result may be all that you wish.
Tidings of the murder of the President have just come, and shocked
every mind. Can it be that such a resort finds root in any stratum
of American opinion? Evidently it has not been the act of one man,
nor of a madman. Who have prompted him?
I am grateful for your remembrance of my boy; the thought of him is
ever nearest to my heart. Generous, brave, and noble, as I ever
knew him to be, that he should close his young life so early, even
under the accepted conditions of a soldier's life, as a son of the
Union, would have been grief sufficient for me to bear; but that
his precious remains should have been so treated by the brutes into
whose hands they fell, adds even to the bitterness of death. I am
now awaiting the hour when I can pay my last duties to his memory.
With my best and sincere wishes, my dear general, for your success
and happiness, I am, most truly, your friend,
J. A. DAHLGREN.
[General Order No. 50.]
WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE
WASHINGTON, March 27, 1865
Ordered--1. That at the hour of noon, on the 14th day of April,
1885, Brevet Major-General Anderson will raise and plant upon the
ruins of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, the same United States
flag which floated over the battlements of that fort during the
rebel assault, and which was lowered and saluted by him and the
small force of his command when the works were evacuated on the
14th day of April, 1861.
2. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from
Fort Sumter, and by a national salute from every fort and rebel
battery that fired upon Fort Sumter.
3. That suitable ceremonies be had upon the occasion, under the
direction of Major-General William T. Sherman, whose military
operations compelled the rebels to evacuate Charleston, or, in his
absence, under the charge of Major-General Q. A. Gilmore,
commanding the department. Among the ceremonies will be the
delivery of a public address by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.
4. That the naval forces at Charleston, and their commander on
that station, be invited to participate in the ceremonies of the
occasion.
By order of the President of the United States,
EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.
[General Order No. 41.]
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH
HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA, April 10, 1865
Friday next, the 14th inst., will be the fourth anniversary of the
capture of Fort Sumter by the rebels. A befitting celebration on
that day, in honor of its reoccupation by the national forces, has
been ordered by the President, in pursuance of which Brevet Major-
General Robert Anderson, United States Army, will restore to its
original place on the fort the identical flag which, after an
honorable and gallant defense, he was compelled to lower to the
insurgents in South Carolina, in April, 1861.
The ceremonies for the occasion will commence with prayer, at
thirty minutes past eleven o'clock A.M.
At noon precisely, the flag will be raised and saluted with one
hundred guns from Fort Sumter, and with a national salute from Fort
Moultrie and Battery Bee on Sullivan's Island, Fort Putnam on
Morris Island, and Fort Johnson on James's Island; it being
eminently appropriate that the places which were so conspicuous in
the inauguration of the rebellion should take a part not less
prominent in this national rejoicing over the restoration of the
national authority.
After the salutes, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher will deliver an
address.
The ceremonies will close with prayer and a benediction.
Colonel Stewart L. Woodford, chief of staff, under such verbal
instructions as he may receive, is hereby charged with the details
of the celebration, comprising all the arrangements that it may be
necessary to make for the accommodation of the orator of the day,
and the comfort and safety of the invited guests from the army and
navy, and from civil life.
By command of Major-General Q. A. Gillmore,
W. L. M. BURGER, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Copy of Major ANDERSON's Dispatch, announcing the Surrender of Fort
Sumter, April 14, 1861.
STEAMSHIP BALTIC, OFF SANDY HOOK
April 10, 1861, 10.30 A.M. via New York
Honorable S. Cameron, Secretary of War, Washington
Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four hours, until the
quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire,
the gorge-walls seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by
flames, and its door closed from the effect of heat, four barrels
and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no