The New York Herald Newspaper, December 28, 1864, Page 1

THE NEW Y¥ WHOLE NO. 10,349. SHERMAN. THE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. HOW HARDEE LEFT. Api of the Savannah Press to the “ Magnanimous Fee,’”? Former- vy the “Vile Yankees.’’ OUR OCCUPATION OF THE CITY. WHAY WAS FOUND THERE. THE MARCH THROUGH GEORGIA. Movements of the Left Wing of the Grand Army. Additional Particulars and Incidents from Another Herald Correspondent. His Account Written on the Back of Rebel Bank Bills. About a Million of Dollars Used Up in This Way. KILPATRICK’S OPERATIONS SCENES OF THE CAMPAIGN, A Portion of Sh:rman’s Force Moving Tewards the Altamaha River, dew Rte ae SHERMAN’S FORCES IN MOTION. Secretary Stanton to Major General Dix. Was Derarruenr, Wasnineron, Dec, 27—10 P. ua} Major General Dix, New York:— The following extract from a Richmond paper @f to-day has been forwarded to the Department by General Grant:.— An eMelal despatch from Geceral Beauregard, dated December 25, and received yesterday, states that General Hardee reports that a force of the enemy’s infantry, artillery and cavalry bas moved from Savannah towards Altamaha river. General Hardee has made a proper @igposition to check the column. Its object is probably te destroy the Savannah, Albany and Gulf Railroad, its ‘depots, ko. The Department has not received from Savannah ny reports, except the telegrams of General Sherman and General Foster, already published. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. TEE CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. Mr. EB. D. Westfali’s Despatches. Savanwan, Ga, Dec. 21, 1864. Bardee evacuited this city last night; and Geary’s ivision, of the Twentieth army corps, entered this morn- fog. The enemy abandoned all his heavy artillery, am- anition and stores, but escaped with the loss of eight Bundred mon, who were on portions of the line remote from the river. Although the capture of Fort MoAllister on the 16th pominally opened communication with the fleet of supply sbips waiting for Sherman in Ossabaw Sound, no supplies ‘were landed at Kiogsbridge before tho 19th. This was ‘Owing to the unknown and difficult channel of the @rooked Ogeechee, rather than to rebel obstructions— al of which were removed soon after the fort was captured. The establishing of a base at Kings- bridge, twenty-eight miles from the sound, on the 19th @ December, may, therefore, be considered the opening @f the siege Of Savannah. From this base to the leit, General Slocum’s headquarters, thg distance was @ighteon miles; but, by the construction of a double corduroy road through tbe swamps and over the planta. tion dykes, refreshment after Iabor was secured to the men who expected to do the bloudy labor. Tum SITUATION ON THE 10T, ‘The lino as established around Savannah extended from a point on the Savannah river three and a half miles from the city to Dr, Cheever’s plantation on the Ogeechee, ffieen miles from town, The distance from Jelt to right around the lines by the only practicable route was nearly thirty miles. The Twentieth corps held the extreme left, with one brigade of Geary’s @ivision on Hutchinson’s Island—of whieh 1 gbail spedk horeafter. Next in line came the Fourteenth corps; then a gap of five or six miles cov- ered only by plokets, because no living thing, except amphibious things, could go either way to that neighbor- hood. The left of the Seventeenth rested on this dark Swamp. Before them, avd before the Fifteenth corps, the flooded rice fields only intervened to protect the @momy. These were absolutely impassable. A mile ecross these artificial lakes, in some places twenty feet @eop, you might soo the rebol line, and watch the flash @f their guns. Here the artillery practice was liveliest. One aivision of the Fifteenth corps (Hazen’s, the victors @ MoAllister) lay around that earthwork, avd on the south side of the Ugeches, THE ONLY APPROACTIRS to the rebel line which confronted ours wore by the river road, the Charleston Railroad, the Central Railro ‘and the wagon road which ran beside tt, All these wore elevated, and ran straight as arrows throught the swampa, On the wagon roads the enemy had old thirty-two pound. ers—pavy guns rifled—bowling sixty pound round shot down tho straight causeways at overybody who showed Dimself. A single horseman would draw their fire, On the railronds they employed platform cars to transport guns up close to our lines, let drive, aud got back. Ex cept on the left musketry did jivtie harm, and for that matter canponading did not do much, The bayonet, uo @hought of, grew rusty in tho salty miss. HUTOMINSON’S 18LAND, ‘This fs a low rice island, perhaps four miles long and ene mile broad, in the Savannah river, opposite our Jett, 34 possesses tho additional advantage of boing opposite abe enemy, too for its lower point is opposite the city, fust above the causeway ferry, Our troops ccoupied the porthera portion of the island soon after woe got in pos! tion here; but a wide canal, which divides it about» mile and & half from its lower point, prevonted our flank- ing tho robols out of their mainland fortifications at the outsat, They soon discovered the importance of Hutch. tason's §Islaod, and swung troops over there fe hold it, Tho South Carolina shore opposite the island is low and swampy, an alligator ‘wilderness, except where the Union causoway rab rorgh it to the Charleston Railroad, thirty miles above, Oarairy. camounted, fovght on the Both Carolina shoro, aad were very jealous of Unwnists who attempted te pace the soil of the Palmetto State, The negroes of the Graad Army were quartered on the upper end of Hutchisson’s, subdsieting themselves on rice. all the mille—and there ‘were four or five—were kept at work for the benent of the army. This, theo, was the ‘‘situation’” ow the 19tb, ‘whee the bread Degen to come in, aud there were 20 further fears that the army would be obliged to abandon #. Kilpatrick was scouting down the country below $& Catherine's and Ki!xenny, and reported no enemy. ‘4 SUCRET ‘Soon after we reached the front of Savannah, Captaia ‘Viele, of General Geary’s staff, went alone dewo Rutchin- ‘ton’s Island, and viewed the rear of the enomy’s works, Be found several hundred negroes there, who hailed him as if be were a demi god. Benedictions and sweet pota- wes were showered upon bim; these benighted slaves, realizing only that he was a ‘‘¥ankee,’’ prayed to bim and sang bymas, He. could only bring fowr or five of theni-away, though all wanted to come. Captain Viele reported that the enemy’s works could be_fianked from Aunt poiat,and J fancy that if the town bad not heen surrendered as 1b was, tb would have bees taken je this | | way. . Bg +, IRDA OF TL Ou, : ; Almost. the first ‘supplies’ landed frem the steamers whieh came up the Ogeechee were six, shirty-pounder poh Rodman batteries of the Twensiet® corps could throw shell tuto the city on the left, thems wicked birds could not be needed there. They were placed in bautery im Genera) Corse’s (Fifteenth corps) division front, and im front of the Fourteenth corps, There was plenty of ammunition with them, and things began to look biue for the people of Savannah, ‘THR INPAYPRY CRAWLING UP. General Sherman had intimated to division command. ore that the first one of them to enter the city should be military governor, I do not know whetner this caused any extra shedding of blood; but 16 worked the troops up as fast as they could crawl, Men would build little platforms on bogs, advancing them every night, or craw! out in the ewamp along dead trees. In thisway many men of Ward’s, Geary’s end Jackson's divisions, who were in the woods, approached within pistol range of the rebel works, and made it dim. cult for them to work the old navy guas and platform cars any more. I doubt not that if Hardee had been foolish enough to wait, our fellows would have buried them- selves uoder the rebel earthworks by inches, or gone over with a rush, as at McAllister. GRNERAL SEERMAN DEMANDS THE SURREWDRR OF #AVANNAN. On the 16tn. inst, Genera) Sherman addressed a note to Lieutenant Geceral W. J. Hardee, &0., demanding the surrender of Savannah and al! {t contained to the govern- ment he represented. General Sherman joocosely con- cluded his message with a quotation from Hood’s demand for the surrender of Dalton last sammer—that about ‘00 prigoners being taken in case of refasal,’’ Until the Delawareand Gyiph got up, Geveral Shermen bad only one kind of “irony” at bis command. He informed Hardee that be had the city closely igested, and thaé it could not hope to hold out. Hardee replied on the 17tb that be was tm daily communication with big government; that he had plenty of supplies and men,and could held out for an indefinite period, Thea preparations went on to beat a change of sentiment into the Lieutenant Gene ral’s head. ‘THR REDELS GTRAL OUT. On the afternoon of the 20th the rebel ram “Bavannah moved up the Savannah river, near the lower point of Hotchingon’s Island, and commenced a furious fre on our jeft. Their batteries all along the line did she same thing. Under‘ cover of this fre Hardee crossed “hie men by steamboats, small boats, rafts, &ec., to the South Caro. lima. shore, and-escaped up the union causeway, The@a- ‘vanpah kept up het fire until some of our men got Yato the city, I am told. Our batteries dig not waste much Smmusition in replying to thie fire, and it did no of consequence. By this morning they had nearly | HUEY BLOW UP TEER RA Abont half past ten on the night of the 20th those who were on General Foster’s boat, at Fort Pulaski, and thore who were anywhere within twenty-five miles of Savag- th, noticed a column of fame shoot hundreds of feet into the air, followed by a tremor in the earth and sir, and a dull, boeming sound, This was noticed at Hilton Head, fifty eight miles away. The rebels bad blown up their floating battery Georgia,an unwieldy monstee, moored near the obstructions in the Savannah river above Fort Jackson. The explosion was soon followed by the red flame from the buroing Navy Yard. Late last night they blew up the ram Savannah Tho Savannah was a better ship for offensive operations, I am teld each carried eight heavy guns. . FOSTER AND SHERMAN, General Foster’s boat, the Canonicus, detained at Fort Pulaeki during the night of the 20th by the explosion and the fire at the Savannah Navy Yard, was the first to get up tothe city. oeter, like Sherman at McAllister, aida’t care for torpedoes; he ‘‘must go up there.’’ ‘ihe Canonieus ran up to the obstructions, where, accerding to all information, the torpedoes had been placed s# s00n as Colonel Mulford ceased his exchange operations, bo were lowered and a couple of the dangerous ‘*kegs”’ re. moved from the path. There were undoubtedly others there, or near at band, but the boat fortunately escaped them. General Foster met General Sherman in Savannah at half-past ten; an hour afterwards despatches were ready, tho Christmas gift from Sherman invoiced, and General Foster returned the way be came—quite as daring a feat as facing a cannon in active operation, any soldier who leaped over the torpedoes at Fort McAllister will tell you, THR CAPTURES IN SAVANNAT, Nearly one thousand rebels have already reported as prisoners, and more are coming in from hiding places. Some of these are willing prisoners; othors are laggerds, who were too slow for Hardee’s ferry, One hundred and fifty guns, heavy and light, with a vast quantity of am- muition, fell into our hands. The steamers Beauregard, General Lee and a nameless little one, all good harbor boats, wore taken undamaged. A cigar shaped torpodo boat was saved from the burning savy yard, She wes nearly ready for service. Thirty-two thousand bales of cotton, much of it superior quality, 1am told, are stored tu warehouses about town. Twelve locomotives and two hundred cars are among the spoils, and no indifferent amount of rebel provisions. THR CITY IN 173 PRISTINE BEAUTY. Altbough the appotnted time was not afar off, General ‘Sberman had net opened any of his batteries with intent to injure the city of Savannah, Consequently the city was intact, and the contrast with Atlanta was noticed by the soldiors as they entered the pretty streets, They realized what the ‘bull-headativeness’’ of hood Drought upon the iatter perverse city. Savannah is em- phatically a city of classes, Squares for the residences of the ‘‘apper ten’? have aquares removed from them whereon are located the residences of the grand class, None of those Ane residences were punctured by shot or shell, and the efficient provost guards of Genera! Geary will keep their Interiors safe from the tread of vandals, Their spoons, table and bed linen are safe as they would be in the strongest of strong bores. 80 much the Savanoah people gain by living on the seacoast. The morcantile shops aro all close’ this mornivg; report speaks of considerable amounts of wealth concealed bebind their doors. The citizens keep in doors. The Diatant stories of Union rapacity and cruclty published in Southern papers have had their effect. So long ag they cr jupport themsclyes I think no military orders will disturb thom, SAVANNAN'S DEFRNCES, The principal defences of the town from attack by water were the obstructions fn the river and Forts Jack- fon, Leo and Bartow, Wo bad been told that Fort Bartow was truly @ formidable work, but tho event proved “they say” liars, Bartow and Leo were very fair earthworks, and Jackson a rusty old United States fort. Some of tho guns they mounted wore spiked, Dat they cau be reciaimed for use, The main ship chan- net has long been stopped ap by piles; the south channel was used till rocentiy by Colonel Mulford fm exchange business, go they had left ® gap in the wood work, Just before ttiey loft some torpedoes were sunk in this gap, but they wore taken up by General Foster's boat without their doiog harm to avy one, It will probably require a ‘Wook to open the main ship channel to Savannah, The land fortifications, although mounting beavy guns, could have been eneily carried bad it not been for the flooded Tice felds and swamps. ‘THR CITIZENS OF PAVANNATT, Tho story is that many of the citizeos here are Union Peoph, They are very apathetic today, ho toflax of Joroegs [rom Central Veoraia made such a crowd Jo tue city that bouse room could wot } ‘were on short commons of food, living us 0m the streets. The rebel army, it is eald, was ' Dilee with provisions, The captures of negrosm | Bwell the grand total of slaves freed by Sherman’s to nearly twenty tboveand. . ‘DON OFNceRs. Quite » number of Union officers, who Rave at differen®, times escaped from and Charleston, were fousd in Savannab. They to good treatment in Sec by many families. It ie thoughy Hardes'took bis twenty thousand Country tomand Columbia, Ho will bardiy coop ‘Op im Charlestes eo pear. Some ant that he will give river, That offesr ‘The California, Captain Godfrey, e béard Major Gray, bearer of-despatches North. 1 shorten up this despatch by a quetation of the only artl- cle to-day’s Savannah Repwivcan. army, which took place shag open, ‘and General no doubt to'day take pos- stem such ed as will insure safety to persons as wellas Property. Lat our conduct be such as to win the admiration of a magnanimous foc, and give no ground for complaint er harsh treatment on the part of him who will for an inde- Smite period hold possession of our city. 5 In oar city there are, as jn other communities, a large Proportion of poor and needy families, who, jn the present Situation of afaire, brought about by the rrivations ef war, will be throwo upon the bounty of their more fortunate neighbors, Deal with them kindly, ere: ry the unfor- thropy*and benevolence, and let ti Dearth of ‘upate not be deserted by your friendly aid. The article isa beautiful specimer of the expression 00 paper of ‘‘ahject. dignity.” ‘THe REBEL NAVAL FORCE, Commodore Hunter, termed by thé enlisted men of ‘Winegar’s Buffalo Battery a ‘cowardly old cuss,” bas gone up the Savanaah river with a couple of gunboats of light dréeght, ‘@ cavalry, Hardee's infantry and Hunter's ‘‘ffeet”’ combined are «formidable obstacle to Sherman’s mareh on Augusta with water-transportation ‘YANKBS PRISONERS, . Tbe enlteted men. captured from the Yankees at dif. ferent periods duriug the war. (abused and starved hor. nibly at b Re since) have been remeved to some point on the Gulf Raliroad, between eighty and ove hun. dred miles from Savannah, Mobile or Macon will pro ext resting place, if Kilpatrick does not of Savannah tbe, @ Column on the Lefe Win: MILLaDGeyiLLe, Ga, , Nov. 23, 1864. On the morning of November 9 I scot a despateh to the rap, giving as much information as could with pro- Priety be given regarding the destruction and evacuation of Atlanta, aod the inauguration of a new and startling campaign through Georgia; for it was froely canvassed and speculated upon by officers of the Twentieth corps long before that date, and had come to be generally be lieved that the army was going to Macon, to Augusta, to Andersonville, to Mobile, to Savannah, to Charleston, to dozen other objective points,as the exuberant fancy the American warrior dictated. Beyond the fact that wo were going somewhere—the paying and clothing of troops, sending sirplus stores avd artillery to the rear, &c., potated to that—all was speculation. The enemy specu- lated as @e did, locating Sherman’s destination as far north as Nashville; crowed considerably ovor food's masterly movement in forcing Sherman to evacuate At- Janta, believed so implicitly to its success that they came In on the morning of the 8th of Novembor, got whipped and went out—an account of which I sent you THE HURNING OF ATLANTA. Aulanta commenced burning on the night of Friday, the 1th of November, although the authorized destruction of Public buildings did not begin till the 16th, The fire broke out in a block of cheap tenement houses on Decatur street, near the edge of the town, where eight buildings wore destroyed. Within an hour large fires wore burn, ing in five other loealities, and the eager watchers iv the camp began tothink tbat the last days of the Gate City bad come. The fire engines bad been loaded on cars for trans, portation to Chattarooga, and it was some time bofure they could be brought to work against the flames, which threatened the destruction of the entire soutbern portion of the city, The patrol guard was doubled, and orders issued to them to shoot down any person seen firing buildings, before the masses of the troops watching the fierce blazes could be convinced that the time for destruction bad not come. Twenty-two build: ings, principally dwelling houses, re burned by incendiaries that Frid«y night, anda dense cloud of smoke hung over the town when the sun rose. Soldiers bad labored faithfally during the hight to save what they would have gladly destroyed if the destruction had been sanctioned by order. Next morning Gor ! Slocum offered a reward of $500 for the detection of any soldier engaged in the Incetidiarism, but no traces of the perpe. trators wore discovered. The fires of Friday night were mubsequently declared to be the work of some soldiers exasperated at the murder of acomrade. Saturday was aquiet day, yet there was a groat tremor among the fow people who remained in Atlanta when they remombero d be ere re of the soldiers about the burning of the oy! THE DESTRUCTION OF BTORES. Sunday, the 13th of November, the Fourteenth, Fif- teenth and Seventeenth corps commenced the march from K ton and Marietta, where they had been restin, ten days, towards Atlanta, tearing ap the track ned Durning as they came, The last train over the Atlantic and Weatero Ratiroad wont north Saturday night. Ac counts of the destruction of Rome, Marietta and Kingston, Cartersville, Acworth and the rest have undoubted! boen published by you long before this, and 1 will not Attempt @ desoription of the devastation of those places bere, When | tel! you that Union coffee encks, crackor boxes, pork barrell, sugar barrels, clothing, boxos and bales of blankete were burst open and strewn about there, [ree for every Yankee coldier to come and take, you will realize the reckless disregard of rebel property. All that was left of govermment stores when the ralirond clored business was either given to the troops for transporta- tion or barned, A million of dollars worth of property was destroyed in Marietta alone, A long lino of light, Ike an aurora, Sunday night, marked the burning of the rajlroad and the Chattahoochee bridge from the river to the northwest as far as we in Atianta could eee. The railroad from th® Ktowah to Atlanta will be useless while this war laste, Sonday morning, the Fifteenth and Seventeenth corps marched through Atlanta and camped two miles out on the Jonesboro road, ‘The Fourteenth corps crosaed the Chattahoocnee and took up the pontoon brid and General Sherman's army had empbaticatly * crawied into a hole and taken the hole tn after it."’ PLOTHNG OUT A cry A few email fires occured in Atlanta on Sunday night and during the forenoon of Monday, but they croated no Particular excitement, sif€e the Michigan Mecbantes and Engineers had already commenced work ob the raiiroad Everything io the way of destruction was now authorized, and not to be wondered at, The , With levers made for the purpose, overturned length after length of rail, piled wp piio after pile of ties, and burned and twisted rails without number. On Mari Otta street Winship’s fron four dry and machine sbopa— property worth hundreds of thousands of dotlara—took fro and was destroyed, an oll refloery noar by conught from the flying aparks, aod was soon in & force biazo; noxt followed a (roight warehouse, in which wore stored fity or sixty bales of cotton; Shore tho ongincers worked under a boavy cloud NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1864. aes i y z fair way for being ou red ball through the cloud of smoke that overbuog Atlanta as I looked baek trom the fortificatiods on the Decatur road. BXTENT OF 16% DEBTRUCTION. The Atlanta of to-day destroyed ‘and Georgia losses tow ven to ful in ae: EE MARCH OF THE LEFT WING FROM ATLANTA TO MILLEDGEVILLE. In order that the movement through Georgia of Sher- man’s left wigg (which I bave been detailed to accom. ) may be traced easily on a mapof eet Sree, to indicate the march and military labor of cach PRICE FOUR CENTS. y poked him in the ribs, rattled his bead from side to side, asking bim it to jine.”? Others smelt of the col- ver the doctor’s accounts. jouse ard Calaboose, where slaves were by Lieuienant J. thom psoo , of the Third division, under ‘oes about town said ‘a heap o’ niggers 4 trophy. The stone jail, in which it was said some Ya keo priseners had once been vonfined, was burned. The by thig time become so importunate ‘or loa that it wae unpleasant to stay in town, Gen. um ordered the troops througn, and marched out b: the Eatonton road, with bands playing and colors flying. ‘The long column marched rapidly down the road towards | ce sera distant forty miles, and we now knew we a visit the capital of the Southern Empire State. The vigiiance of Generala Slocum and Williams could Bob provent the soldiers from entering many private dwel ses ond oot, & few citizens of Madison bad an im- Se Of the Yankee after we left. The brutal ‘tog one-armed man who does the slavi prin for Madison must have been busily employed (or a few days settling ap vid scores with the darkies who were so glad tosee us. He said ho would. ‘TO THE CAPITAL. Saturday and Sunday the march was continued with little of incideat to note. Mr. Hill, one of the peace commigsioners to Atlanta, whose plantation lay on the h to Eatonton, suffered the loss of over a bundred ef cotton, through take; for cotton was wherever found, y often without in- bert about the owners, Sunday morning we reached ntoo, the terminus of a branoh railroad from Mil- ledgevillo, The depot, a new wooden building, replacit one burned by Stoneman, was burned, with seventy. fi bales ef cotton on the platform. The slave calabeose her ison. Till now we bad been At Katonton we suffered under a i ‘nine miles from Milledgevilfe, over the worst road we had yet encountered. flakes of snow fell into the camp on Little rive The red clay roads, moistened by the rain, were terribly slippery. GRaRY’s DRTOU The Second division, Brigadier General John W. Geary’s command, jo't us at Madison on the morning of he 19th, and marched, unencumbered by baggag ‘wagons, to Buck Head station, ten miles cast from Madi- sop, on the Georgia Raliroad, All the railroad buildings Uhat wing separately: to note the route | were destroyed. and two miles of the track torn up the ovetroetions it men with, the work it accom. and burned. Thence Geary marctied to the Uconee river, |, and where there ai tase tail, moved Out on the Decatur road on the morning of the 16th of November, upnoticed and unopposed. ibe ‘three divisions were ‘nearly thirteen thousand strong, with a train of more than six hundred wagons, occupying, when stretched out on the march, nearty eight miles of road, The advance division, Geno. rai Jackson’s, pulled out at seven o’clock A. M , and the campaign been ‘The first day’s movement was slow. The column would move a few hundred yards and balt for ten Minutes or more, waiting for some halting mule team to pull across a slough in the road = The troops were noisy and hilarious, the road was broad and good, the nignt was bright and warm. I came up with General Ward and staf just alter midnight, sleeping on their borses, night in the sime manuer. lighted the road bebind them, burning fences aud de: werted boures the path betore them. They wa'ked ten miles in this along an avenne bounded by fire, and reached the camp of the two advance divisions at seven o'clock. General Ward’s troo;s wero gilest as mico whea they laid down for an hour’s rest on Wed: es day morning The country through which the corps bad pagsed wos familiar to most of the Twentieth corps, they bad foraged thirty miles in this direction while they were camped in Atiants, We found but few occupied ferm bouses, and the unoccupied ones were burved iu mere wantonness. WEDNESDAY, NovEMrER 16. Jackson’s division, again in adyavce, moved out promptly at eight o'clock, taking the road througn the serub oaks past Stone Mountain, We were moving in a northeasterly course, and the distance to Augusta was again freely discussed among the men. #TONE MOUNTAIN, 8 singular pile of rock, vast aud baro, a landmerk visible for sixty miles in this level country, was passed carly in the day. The column passed near its base = The infantry cvlamn went into camp three mi'es from the village of Soriat Circle of ten miles, We had crossed Yellow ri Stream, twenty or thirty fect wide, or a good bridge, which might fave been cusily destroyed,irom which we inferred there was no enemy in front of the column, We were approaching the Georgia 0% again, Tieutenant Colonel Hughes, with the Ninth II! ois mounted infantry, detailed to cover the advance of the Twentieth corps, dashed into Soc! dark, and nearly succeeded in capturing a train of cars, Failing ip this, he contented himself with burning the depot and coming beck to camp witb a rebel surgeou and $2,700 in rebel money. The presence yf ti rain at cle proved that Superintendent Yonge, at Au. guste, was one rebol who did not know of tho Yanke advance into Georgia. THURSDAY, NOVEMBRR 17—SOCIAL CIRCLE, The column marched through Social Circle without @ halt, passing in review bofore a coupie of hundred dirty white women and superanpuated negroes, ho bung upon the dilapidated fences of the v: rhe Circle {8 a collection of wooden dwollings, low ‘and cheap, planted in squares, after the manner of delpbia, are no churches in the village sure; if there schoo! houses there I migjudge the effect of those institutions upon @ village population There wore no stores to ransack, but | wituessed as I rode (brough between the rows of housés some speci mens of ‘living off the country,” whi oyes for that which was to coms. Wo were co! ‘country where the Twentieth corps had not and the soldiers darted about quite Ji Decessaries § of life. Two or thi failroad track, between Social Circle and Rut. ledge, were ‘estroyed und frection of Geu- eral Goary whenever the i Jed his column to the ratiro: The other divisions aad the Fourteenth corps were expected to comp! he work. The day's march was bronght to a close near the Uleofanhachee riyer— uncommonly despicabe siream for so bigh sounding a bame. privay, NovEMMRR 18, division, in advance, reached Ratiedge village road station about mn o'clock ja of the 18th, pearance than the Circle. house and turning table were the most property in the place, 80 they were destro; once. Agsmall warehouse, in which was stored @ con siderable quantity of ‘corn and wheat, was also burned, after tha negroes sod poor white wo men had carriod away ali they coud. Wo wero now travelling through =a co of fino farme, where forage plenty, and the animals of the Twentieth corps were rapidiy recovering from the swept tte country three or four miles on the column, and tall black columne of smo they had been, At ail she largo pinntatio: lots of cotton were found. In no one under my eye were there more (han twegty-live bal the cotton hou 1 lots wore javariably burt and only im raro instances were tho prossea and git hort commons of Atianta, Foraging parties | hor side of houses spared Nearly three hundred pales of cotton | wore destroyed during the day’s march, Eight miles | above Madioon wo passed Mr. Lane's place, the | Proprietor of which had gone to Auguata upor loarning Of the presence of Yankeos at Rutledge. The femaies of | thotamily, including an eldorly lady from New fave Cte, rabidly dis ¢ leit in charge of the premis and stock of decrepit negroes. kverytbing ediblo was removed by the (roope without a bait of the columa. Lieutenant Howgate employed au aged African lady to | cook biscuits for us; but they were lapped up by the | Datch after batch, Vil we tired of Honey was taken, bled up cattle driven off, The pla Hore we learued that tho Yankee column was thougut to ata, that we were expected avon to turn b We reached & coay spot two miles | trom tho vil of Maditon that night, Toe cavairy visited the town and burned the depot and express oftice be a foraging ty From All Cirele before | | a | | on | imposiaz, } that murder, row | House | seize monket | Macon, three dolore they slep' THR PRATTIPS VILLAGE | Madiaon, IN GRORGIA, the county svat of AMorgan gouuty, is really | Atlanta with bho Fourteenth and fifteen miles from Madison, and burned the raiir: Dridge over that stream. The (Oconee brik was fice structure, twelve hundred feot in length. division Ane Nenat! banks of the river to Heed's ee w VLepman’s tannery and shoe factory, where three hundred cords of bark and a large stock of leather were destroyed, with tho balance of the Denman property. During the march of Geary’s columa upwards of (our hundred bales of cotton were burned. General Geary:found he could not cross Little river and reach Milledgevilie by the route he was pureuin ‘80 he joined the main column and crossed 0 the pontoor ‘The Second division was gove two days on this trip, and damaged the confederacy to the amount of several mil Hons of dollars, PRODUCTIVENESS OF THR COUNTRY. We were In the heart of the best cluster of counties In Georgia. Supplies were plenty at every plantation bouse by the roadside. Stacks of corn forder—there are no meadows and no bay—corn houses filled with the gathered crop, hundreds of bushels of eweet potatoes in ground bolos, cattle, sheep, hogs aud pouiry adt sibitum. ‘The weak mules in the trains of tho Twentieth corps fattened rapidiy under this plethora of good things ‘or them, The planters bad invariably secreted their horses end mules iu thickets miles from the road, but they were juvariably found and coufiseated by our armed hunters, Large numbers of fine horses and sleek mules were Drought in aud put in gervice. KATONTON BRANCH RAILROAD, The branch of the Ce:tral Railroad running from Mil ledgeville to Eatonton, twenty-two miles, is, Or wos, a very sbaamy built concern, not avaiiabie for a heavy trafic it was laid with the od fashioned strap iren,and appeared much worn. Not so much attention was pa {o its destruction, although it was cut in several j1ces, Tt had been ei used in getting the crops of this rich section to market No roiling stock was found upon It, OUR HARDY NORTHERN Wi¥KE, About flve miles out from Miiledgeville we struck the tfal residence of Mr. Jordan, said to be ut bie placier in that section. Mr. Jordan had no time torem bis valuable (urniture, paiutings, plate, he burriediy tock himeelf away from vanelog vaudels }robably one bundred dollars worth of portable property the premises in charge of the overs Allen, who was very glad to meet eo many New York, where he formerly reside rusted to his oare by his empl y new and ingenious system of strategy. seiecting officers from the advance brigade, hi received them with open arms and stalling counte: proposing a drivk aud a guard for his premises {a @ breath. He brought forth brandy, rich and fruity, six teco years old w y. As pillaging was coutrary k and tile were easily kept the Mr. friends from save the property potatoes and such to the extent of their incl Alien gucceeded In drivking through (our or Ove brigades, till be reached that of Colonel H. A. Barnum. Colonel B. bailing (rom the towa of Syracus . ¥., wbere the properties of mixed drinks « the subject of searching study. After sipping a littie breudy and war limbs be the fire—for there” was an nipping air’’—Colonel B. proposed = th should join bim in a clase of ff bardy Northe ,” pourin out from his private flask tumbler full ol twenty shilling commissary whiskey. Allon tossed it off, with b om pl kk: at the beverage only lacked tion upon grape cul. ture of five minutes duration made Allen the most gib ring, Scrovling idiot ever seen, He keeled over on tho carpet, and in broken sentences begged for his live, aud delivered up bis keys. The officers lifted him on the Bola, decently composed bis limbs, and left bim dead druvk, with threo or four brigades yet to p wards learned the houre was not disturbed, THE ARMY AT MILI RUG Shortly before noon on Tuesday, the our advance reached Milledgeville, Hughe: formed at the edge of the city, coverin, With orders to permit no soldier to enter. cum and stad rode 1p a few minutes later, mecting A deputatinn of citizens, headed by the Mayor, who formally surrendered the town, earnestly requesting that pri property might be respected. The ceremony of accepting tho surrender was not very General 8. merely aesuring tho deputation not at the head of bond of desperadoos; ery, arson and kindred crimes nosd not itement among the citisene cavalry werd that be wi foared. Tho id subs! | adva bavoers unfurled and all their bands playing national ‘en minu later the Stars aod Stripes of the Third Wiecousin regiment were floativg from the St OUR CAPTURES AT MILLRDORVILLR. Governor Brown, after vainly urging the legislators to wd de end their homes with hin, f! to 74 before we came to Milledgevilio, 8 we Ho abandoned bis house so hur ave and ot capture bin, rieviy that the carpets were cut (rom the floors t the time peceesary to pull the tacks, Two fendred Wirty sick rebols in a hospital; two thou dred staud of arms, besides pikes, bowie kniv ments aud olotbiie of consider: luo, @ ton and a bail of powder, were among t artivies seized, HCENTIARY. At night some lawieas soldiers, a(ter releasing the fow convicts confined there, set Gre to tho prison house among the penite buildings, and ft was burned to (he ground, Twelve ofvodors against Georgia civil law- io {uoay siriped warorm—lost themselves at once in the burly burly, 1 atterwords saw oneman [taliaa, 1 god—who had been in for * awiting 9 2 on the ding along with the colume vor rt vid army ‘ The workshops of ti atiary Were not de The hulapee of Tw gt ia Milledgeville passed without incident CONCENTRATION OF TROOPS, Wodnosday morping tbe Fourteenth army corps en tered town, and Kilpatrick's cavalry camped two miles Ont. General Sherman, who had been travelling (rom al Kilpatrick, met General Slocum at the Mil Hotel, Carterswere cstablished (here The compe wing could be seen from tae > The movement of Kilpatrick’s 10 left indicated an advance in tl were rumma, Paper being rigidly scrutinized, u political bistory of Carel mpaper, prin nominations, a tent fv ben's twen! none m signed. Miltione@ot doit change witbia such easy grasp, was too ‘ant or the eupiainy of the boys, 20 — one eommenced providing bimeecif. quantities of this money afterwards circulated in Shaan stratum of Georgisn society im exchange for ol Being rather abort of decent paper on which to write thie communication, I have the honor to forward it to on the back of the rebel « my million of dollars ia this way already, with my task only bali fuished. I have plenty, howe THR RECONSTRUCTION OF THR STATE, Pursuant to a call extensively oi hundred loyal chizens of « sion ia bine and brass, met luesday afternoon, to ‘he State of Georgia, Organization was eifected by the election of Colonel J. C. Robinson (Ohio) Presiient, Lieutenant Cosel H CO. Rogers (Slocum’s staff) Clerk; Captain W. W. Mosely, of New York, was appointed Sergeant.at-Arms, to assist the P.ges—Majors Gwindos, Crane, Lieutenant Foglish and Harper's Weekly Davie—in laying members on and under the table. The usual wranzle in contesting seats ensued, successful contestants were sworn, and a Committee on Federal Relations appoint consisting of Colonels Wat- king (N. Y.), Carman (N. J. (Ohio), Ewing (loyal East Ten: Tetired. Pending their return: was on the floor, Colonel Bar dict, regaled the Convention with a copious flow pid rhetoric. The Committee on Federal Relations turned, and, after a noisy debate, in which e mem- ‘ver who could edge in a word participated, set of resolutions. 1 gota full report ef tbe pr: but a regard for space compels me to cut it, The of the resolutions were:— 1. That the ordinance of secession was Sighty indie creet and injudicious and ought to be d: 2. That aforesaid ordinance is “‘e damp ? ane always was. + Ea aforesaid ordinance be repesied amd abro- o 4. That Sherman’s solumn will play the devil with the ordinince and the State itself. Being submitted to the army, these were ratified, and Georgia was in the Union once more. The remainder of Wedaesday was spent at Mill vile sity. and the Dight passed without any noticable | cident, tbe ane arsenal and the destruction of all lt eoa- tain 4 PIECE OF FiNKeRE. In the edge of town was « cotton factory of six sete of macbinery, with a thousand bales of stock on hand, quke @ valuable property, in complete runuiog order. The pledging that the stock machinery beoedt the rebel government, and that alt would be made to get the cotton into loyal states. Gen. Sherman said he was aware that bis bond would pot be worth the paper it was written on after bis troops erossed the Ocoueo, but he knew it would be advertised far and near that “Sherman was pot destroying cotton to punish individuals, ‘Dut to damage the resources of the c. mlede- racy.’ owners bonded this property for half a milion of doltara, sbould G ‘THE COTTON CROP, 4 Cotton does not appear to be the speciality of farmers to Central Georgia; at lewt they have not planted extensively this year, 1 saw no large feldsoft the staple, and except in village warehouses no more thaa tairty oF forty bales in any ove lot, BAPPING THE FOUNDATION OF THE CONFEDERACY. Somehow or other faragers, scouts aud stragglers sidered it their bounden duty to destroy pot only cotton they found in their travels, oon e. Dresece con- invariably firtsg his cotton property. The presenea of Yanks io . very locality could be detected by vast — Diack smoke arising from the burning piles. course it ie impossible to arrive at the exact number of bales destroyed, but it may be safely stated that there are none left. Four thousand bales ia not too large an estimate for the work of the Tweetieth corps alone, The Lowell men of the Seovnd and Thirty- third Massachusetts Volunteers wept as they passed along. HORSES, CATTLE, BARRP AND nOGR. There were hogs in every ‘place,’ Horses and rope were only to be bad after vigilant search. Horued cattle an: sbeop were found on all the large plaotat) pa, Upwards of eigbt hundred horses and mules were added to our means of traneportation on the march, All the mules were serviceable, and many o' the horses were really valuable animals; and all this pick ng after Stoneman’s raid, Garrard’ raid, Wheeler's operations, and a ball dozeq other drawbacks to successful horse and mule breeding. Of horned cattle and sheep wbout thirty daye’ extra rations were driven into Milledgeville. T have sinee seen advertisements from planters back in the country who formerly owned fifty or sixty head of horses and mules, now desiri:g to purchuge anything in the line of horse flesh that could stand alone, LIVING OFY THE COUNTRY, This operation is undoubtedly tho very beat way to make , war (elt nan enemy's country. To describe at leogth the multitude of ways in which an army cap not only ‘live’? off the country, but grow wealthy during the process, would 1ejuire more priotiog than the Patent Oftice ever dreamed of. ‘To draw the line between cap- turing and stealing, when permission Is given troops to take everything which will sustain life Or assist mil operations, would puzzle the keenest practi tiouer, litte idiosyncracies ag taking the last chicken, the last cur of corn or bixde of corn fodder, the last sweet potato, the iast peaaut, the last pound of and the last ae from the bouse of @ poor weman (color vot cousidered) come under the head of legitimate business, debate ought to come upon such points a the spoons, bed clothing, crockery ware, OF a: ticles of wearing apparel. Mon with pockets balg: out with silver and gold coi, private soldiers with pensive siceping paraphernalia, mules decked with gaudy irepping’, saddle Diankets of Goo cheniie, or Brussels Car- poting, gives some color to such stories us are told abou th jangiog up an old cuss three or four times to make tim shell out,” to the statement tbat Generals Sherman's, Slocum’s, Williams’ aod all orders about entering bouses were not closely regarded, Soch things cannot be avoided. An army passes slong a road, A planter’ house stands by the wayside, without @ hailg the whele premises are overrun as if by ani the heads of bum barrels are koock jo and tin cupsfull Out, beehives are knocked Jo pieces, and wild grabs are made for the last Mew uded “comb,” sweet potato caches are broken jo, and the contents packed to pockets, in handkerchiefs, many- thing that will bold that esculent; bogs are bayoneteds quartered with the hair on and hung on the ends of mun kets to biced; chickens, geese, turkeys, &c., knocked over with sticks, aod strung io gsriands around Becks of sweaty warriors. This is the work of men who cannot stop their march to racsack. 1 “mule” brigade and the “bammers’” follow im course of time, when the “loot bunting’ mences, if ever, A column ten miles ‘nag generally furnishes men enough to Premises clean, Frequently fine houses are found deserted, ‘Ibis i8 considered prima facie evidence tha@ their owvers are rebels, and tho furniture is speed! made to appear like the dobris of a May ‘‘moving.”” get at the music in pianos more cantly, the tops are Tift off and tho strings pounded with sticks; funny ‘fare got out of mrrors moulded into contrariety with butts of muskets. This paragraph is long encugh. Gon. erai Sherman’s army bas so far lived off the country, lived woll, as soldiers should live if the lmd If the people along the line of march baye suffered loan || has been the fortune of a war they voted for, The policy of our Commanding General hos been to take nothing but that which would benoit the enemy, The balance of the evils are but natural conseqzeaces of a military expedi- tion like thie, MARCH OF THE LEFT WING FROM MILe LEDGEVILLE TO SAVANNAH. cacrens Leet Wire, } Four Mies row Savansair, Dec. 12, 180: The Twentieth corps left the capital on the mors of the 24th, crossed the Oconee, aad ‘lived into & forest of few pives, relieved only ac intervals by plantations, The left wing still threatened Avguala, and reports came ig that the enemy were hurrying troops to that point. Tha two corpa were gor across the Uconee o night and rsviile, Wasbingten county, 4's division, Fourteenth corps, re veo bridge on the morning of tha took parallel ro Easte’s brigade, guard, burned the 0 25th. me Friday afternoon, hn, at Bodalo creek, I heard th drat shot ‘fired In anger.’ The rond crossed a wit wanp, formed by the wators of the creek, over pl et RENE! BULLET. bridges. Theso had been burued py the bela, a few bours before. A regiment of Yan- keo infantry was sent scrogs to clear thy pposite bank, after which t noer# of the Twentiat corps, under directions frém Poe and Liewtenan’ Ludiow, engineers, speedily rod the damage by pontoons and sroy. Within four miles of Sander need again, the enemy, four hundre Curman’s brigude, 9 Sandersville, art Hore Cok Hogbeas y dashet ahead aad toto but were fo with a foes of one man killed, (Angugta newRpay e the a largo body of federal cayale! 6."") Tho fothatey line of CONTINVED ON EIGHTH PAGR ville, wheo