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[Original.] i Address to the Soldiers of the First Cavalry ' Brigade. The following, scot us by our correspondent, Albert j is an address to the soldiers of the Ist Cavalry | Brigade, 6th Division, lflth Army Corps, written by Ed- , win \V. Andrews, Chaplain 2d New Jersey Cavalry. Wa ( publish it with pleasure, and commend it ta our rcadara. My Brother Soldiers, of the First Brigade, t Encamped awhile beneath this cooling shnda, I wish you joy while waiting for the word j That calls you forth with carbine and pith sword. t Behold this grove, this grass, the waving treas; How nature smiles, tba sons of man to plane, J j And every prospect, to the eye how fair. The sky, the leaves, the ground, or breathing air The woods ! Aye, "God's first temple," they WST built, 1 All pure and lovely: only man has guilt, 1 Who rests beneath their shade. 0, brothers all, C Reflect how rin hath reigned e'er since the fall. I Though Nature's dress would point us up above 1 To Him who reigns supreme, the tiod of lova, Aud tho' His goodness surely ought to lead t Our souls in penitence to Hint they need; Yet, lore of evil reign within the heart, O, from that evil why so loth to part; And why do you the heavenlv vengeance da-a, And challenge God when e'er you curse and awear. J From birds, or trees, or flowers do you learn Your causeless oaths? 0, quickly turn From curses which would make tho davils blush. To prayer and praise, that do the passions hush. 1 Y'our country calls for man of purest life s To tight her battles in a holy strife: ( Maintain her prestige and historic fame, And shield the honor of bar glorious name ! Such men were worthy to uplift tboeu typos Of future glory—the old Stars and Stripes— To shout: "Hurrah for vietory and the doom Of Treason in tho laud 1" while cannon boom The glory of our arms, and over all it waves— t OVR STARRT FLAG,O'er living or the SLBBPIXO BRAVBS. < ! While hare surrounded by tho charming gove, , Send forth your thoughts to those you ought to love. Ah ! when the storms of battle shall be o'er. And you will homeward ga to fight no more, Shall Father, Mother, who your childhood nursed, Bo grieved to hear that you have learned to curse? ; To talk obscene and taste the drunkard's bowl, i And peril thus, for naught, your priceless soul! t But stop and listen, heed that distant prayer, That comes from Homt so softly through the air 1 1 ••Great God, protect, I pray, my absent son, j That by these sins he may not be undone. Give him to fee! a patriotic thrill, To serve his country with a heart n(l will- To scorn corruption, bribery and shame, And thus preserve his honor and good naaue. 0, keep his life from every foul disgrace, And grant we may not, when w see his face. And gather round, as in the days of yore. As parents, brothers, sisters, then deplore That he fe not, as once he used to be. Upright, and pure, and honaet, frank and free! <>, may he heer the Savior's gentle voice, <0 that with hitu we may ere long vajoiee. Restored into oer arms, both eaved from death And saved from sin. Then shall our latest breath Give praise to Thee. 0 Lord, the ling of kings, Who rulest over Heaven, and earthly things." SHERMAN'S MARCH Journal of an Eye-Witness. A Description of the? Incident*. The Fights on tlie "Way. Thanksgiving—Turkeys Plenty. Destruction of the Ballroads. Talks with the Whites and Blacks- Capture of Fort McAllister. [Correspondence of the N. Y. Evening Post.] NEAR ATLANTA, Oct. 14, 1864. ' The last lew days have been full of excitement and deepest interest- The strategic combinations of General Sherman, which have mystified many aud called forth the anxiety aud curiosity of all, are beginning in part to unfold, revealing a plan of op erations conceived upon the broadest scale which, it is not extravagant to say, has ever been known in military science. IV e begiu to understand now why the army was in our late campaign moved to liome after passing through the ALlatooua hills, instead ol inarchiqg directly on Resaca. Hood at that time was three days march in advance of us. General Sherman knew very well that in no event could Hood be overtaken should he continue to advance, and he much preferred that his swift-footed toe should pass to the left rather than to the right. 11 Hood would have gone east he would have damaged the railroad again near Atlanta, and then kept to the southward, when he would have been in our present trout, offering obstacles serious enough, perhaps, to have defeated the movement now ill pro gress. HOW HOOD WAS BAITED. Sherman" s rapid wheel to the left, through Snake's Creek Cap, forced Hood either to proceed directly south towards Montgomery, or westward. — The conquerer of Atlanta, prodigal in his well-won wealth, offered the golden apple of West Tennessee, with its richly stored cities, as a prize easily gained, with a vista of glorious possibilities opening up in Kentucky, aud it might be, beyoud the line of the i Ohio. Well might the Rebel General gladden his heart with tho anticipations of riot and plunder, and he thought he saw clearly in the immediate future the fulfilment of the promise aud prophecy of his mas ter, that Atlanta should be evacuated iu thirty days, ami the dreaded Shermau, with his Yankee horde following fast in his footsteps, to save the North from iuvasion and pillage. And thus, giving no rest to the uaked, weary feet of his soldiers, he mo ved at once in the direction of Florence, on the Ten nessee river. Meanwhile Sherman had arrived at the foot of the Chatooga valley in pursuit. Retaining his main force at Gayleaviile, throwing out strong recortnois sauces in the direction of the enemy, until, ascer taining beyond a question, that Hood had gulped down the bait, he detached Stanly with the Fourth Corps, sending him to the north towards Bridge port. "Aha," chuckled Hood, "this is as I hoped ; my strategy succeeds." Following the departure of the Fourth Corps the entire army was moved back to A LOCAL AND CENTRAL NEWSPAPER, DEVOTED TO POLITICS, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND MORALS. i Rome : Schofield, with a portion of the Army of ' the Ohio, was at once sent to Chattanooga. These, i with Stanly's troops, furnished General Thomas, who held supreme command, and who had full in structions from General Sherman covering every contingency, with a veteran army of some thirty thousand men, which, with those already in the de partment, and recruits coming into the field, com posed a force sufficient to demolish Hood, if they should meet; an event which will take place at Gen eral Thomas' option, and not at Hood's, if that per son remain much longer at the river's bank, where he has halted his columns, as if doubtful what course next to pursue. It was at this moment that the grand project of onr Captain aiose in uncertain yet gigantic propor tions ; the precise point ot destination was not known, but ail felt certain that it was southward further in the heart of the enemy's country, anil the blood bounded in our veins at the thought. Officers and men met each other with proud and glad faces. Jj,n were impressed with a consciousness of the truth that the march of Union soldiers to the Ocean or the Gulf meant that wa were to take the life blood of the rebellion. I'RKPARA.TIONS FOR THE MARCH. General Sherman had called to him from Atlanta his Chief Quartermaster, General Easton, and Chief Commissary, Colonel Beckwith ; men of great con ceptive and executive capacity, in four days all that Roms contained, of"iick and wounded, stores and machinery, was removed, and the city evacua ted ; a few days more, and the vast amount of pro visions, forage, machinery, stores of all kinds, with the inval ids and incompetents, which had accumu lated at Atlanta and along the railroad, the surplus artillery, baggage and other useless wagons, every thing, in truth, which would impede the celerity of movement of the army, was gathered up and sent safely to the North. On the 12th instant the last train of cars whirled rapidly past the troops moving south, speeding over bridges and into the woods as if they feared they might be left helpless in the deserted land. At Curtisville the last communications with the North were severed with the telegraph wire. It bore the message to General Thomas, "All is well." And so we have cut adrii't from our base of operations, from our line of communications, launching out in to uncertainty at the best; on a journey whose pro jected end only the General in command knows.— Its real fate aud destination he does not know, since that rests with the goodness of God and the brave hearts and strong limbs of our soldiers. The his tory of war bears no similar example, except that of Cortez burning his ships. It is a bold, hazardous undertaking. There is step possible here. As for the army, they do not stop to ask ques tions. Sherman says "Come," and that is the entire vo cabulary to them. A most cheerful feature of the situation is the fact that the men are healthful and jolly as men can be, hoping for the best, willing to dare the worst. Behind us we leave a track of smoke and flame, — Half of Marietta was burned up, not by orders, however ; for the command : j that proper details shall be made lo destroy ail property which can ever be of use to the Rebel armies. Stragglers will get into these places, and dwelling houses are leveled to the ground. In nearly all cases these are the de serted habitations formerly owned by Rebels, who are now refugees. Yesterday, as some of the men were marching towards the Chattahoochee river, they saw in the distance pillows of smoke rising along its banks— the bridges were in flames. Says one, hitching his musket a bit on his shoulder in a free and easy way, "I say, Charley, I believe Sherman has set the riv er on tire." "Keekou not," replied the other, with the same indifference. "If he has, it's ail right." And so they pass along, obeying orders not know ing what is before them, but believing in their lea der. From Kingston to Atlanta the rails have been ta keu up on the road ; tires built about theih, and the iron twisted into alt sorts of curves ; thus they are left, never to be straightened again. The Secesh inhabitants are in agony of wonder at all this queer manoeuvring, it appears as if we iutended evacua ting Atlanta, but our troops are taking the wrong direction for the hopes and purposes of these peo ple. Atlanta is entirely deserted of human beings, ex cepting a few soldiers here and there. The bouses are vacant ; there is no trade or trafie of any kind ; the streets are empty. Beautiful roses bloom in the gardens of fine houses, but a terrible stillness and solitude cover it all, depressing the hearts even of those who are glad to destroy it. In your peaceful home* at the North you cannot conceive how these people have suffered for their crimes. BURNING or ATLANTA. ATLANTA, Night of the loth November. —A grand and awful spectacle is presented to" the beholder in this beautiful city, now in flames. By order, the Chief Engineer has destroyed, by powder and fire, all th storehouses, depot buildings and machine shops. The heaven is one expanse of lurid fire ; the air is filled with flying burning cinders ; build ings covering over two hundred acres are in ruins or in flames ; every instant there is the sharp deto nation of the smothering burning sound of explod ing shells and powder concealed in the buildings, and then the sparks and flame shoot away up into the black and red roof, scattering the cindars tar and wide. These are the machine-shops where have been forged and cast Rebel cannon, Shot and shell, that have carried death to many a brave defender of our nation's honor. These warehouses hare beeu the receptacle of munitions of war, stored, to be used for our destruction. The city, which next to Rich mond has furnished more material for prosecuting the war than any other in the South, exists no more as a means'for the enemies of the Union. A brigade of Massachusetts soldiers are the only troops now left in the town. They will be the last to leave it. To-night I heard the really fine band of the 33d Massachusetts playing "John Brown's soul goes marching on,' r by the lights of the burning, buildings. I have never heard that noble anthem when it was so grand, so solemn, so inspiring. MILLEDGEVILLE, Nov. 24.—We are in full posses sion of the Capital of the State of Georgia, and with out firing a gun in its conquest. On I- riday last the Legislature, which had been in session, hearing of our approach, hastily decamped without any ad journment. The Legislative panic spread amongst the citizens to such an extent as to depopulate the place, except of a few old gentlemen and ladies and the negroes, the latter welcoming our approach with ecstatic exclamations of joy : "Brass de Lord ! tanks be to Almighty God, the Yanks is coine I de day ob jubilee hab arribed !" aud then accompan ied their words with rather embarrassing bugs, which those nearest the sidewalks received quite liberally. General Slocum, with the Twentieth Corps, first entered the city, arriving byway of Madison, hav ing accomplished his mission of destroying the rail roads and valuable bridges at Madison. The fright of the Legislators, as described by witnesses, must have been comical in the extreme. They little im agined the movement of our left wing, hearing first of the advance of Kilpatrick on the extreme right towards Macon, and supposed that to be another raid. What their opinion was when Howard's army appeared at McDonnongh it would be difficult to say ; and their astonishment must have approached insanity when the other two columns were heard from —one directed towards Augusta and the other swiftly marching straight ut on their devoted city. It seemed as if they were surrounded upon all sides except toward the east, and that their doom was sealed. With the certain punishment for their crimes looming up before them they sought every possible means of escape. Private effects, house hold furniture, books, pictures, everything was con veyed to the depot aud loaded iuto the cars until they Were filled and heaped, and the flying people could not find standing room. Any aud every price was obtained for a vehicle. — A thousand dollars was cheap for a common buggy, | and men rushed about the streets iu agony of tear 1 lest they snould "fall victims to the ferocity ot the , Yankees." Several days of perfect quiet passed after this ex odus, when, on a bright sunshiny morning, a regi ment entered the city with a band playing national airs, which music had many a day since been hush ed in the capital of Georgia. BEDFORD, Pa., FRIDAY, JANUARY 0, 1865. WHAT SHERMAN IJID AT MII.LEDGEVIILE. j But few of the troops were marched through the I city. Some two or three regiments were detailed under the orders of the engineers to destroy certain property designated by the the General command ing. The magazines, arsenals, depot buildings, fac tories of one kind and another, with storehouse* containing large amounts of Government property, and some seventeen hundred hales of cotton wore burned. Private houses were respected everywhere even those of noted Rebels, and 1 heard of no in stance of pillage or insult to the inhabitants. One or two of the latter, known to have been in the reb el army, were made prisoners of war, but the Sur geons at the hospitals, the Principal at the Insane Asylum, and others, expressed their gratitude that such perfect order was maintained throughout the city. General Sherman is at the Executive Mansion, its former occupant having with extremely bad grace fled from his distinguished visitor, taking with htm the entire furniture of the building. As General Sherman travels with a menageJa roll of blankets, and haversack fullot hardtack, ) which is as complete for a life out in the open air as in a palace, this dis courtesy of Governor Brown was not a serious con venience. General Sherman's opening move in the present campaign has been successful in the highest degree. At first, moving his army in three columns, with a colnmn of cavalry on his extreme right, upon eccen tric lines, he diverted the attention of the enemy, so that he consentrated his forces at extreme points, Macon and Augusta, leaving unimpeded the progress of the main body. In this campaign—-the end of which does not yet appear —it is not the purpose of the'Geueral to spend his time before fortified cities, nor yet te encumber his wagons with wounded men. His instructions to Kilp&t-ick were to demon strate against Macon, getting within five miles of the city. A FIGHT. The roads each column were to follow were care fully designated, the number of miles each day to be travelled, aad the points of rendezvous were given at a certain date. All of these conditions were ful filled to the letter. Slocum, with the Twentieth Corps, arrived at Milledgeville on the 22d instant, proceeding Davis, with the Fourteenth Corps, one day. On the same day Kilpatrick struck the Macon and Western road, destroying the bridge at Walnut Creek. The day following, Howard, with the Fif teenth and Seventeenth Corps, arrived at Gordon, and began the destruction of the Georgia Central railroad. It was near here that the most serious fight of the campaign occurred to this date. General Wolcot, in command of a detachment of cavalry and a brig ade of infantry, was thrown forward to Griswola ville, towards Macon, for demonstrative purposes merely. The enemy, some five thousand strong, ad vanced upon our troops, who had thrown up tempo rary breastworks, with a section of a battery in po sition. The cavalry fell slowly back on either flank of the brigade, protecting them from attack in flank and rear. The rebels are composed of militia chief ly, although Br portion of Hardee's olu corps was present, having been brought up from Savannah. — With that ignorance of danger common to new troops, the Rebels rushed upon our veterans with tbs greatest fury. They were received with grape •hot and musketry at point blank range, our soldiers firing coolly while shouting derisively to the quiver ing columns to come on, as if they thought the whole thing a nice joke. The rebels resumed the attack; but with the same fatal results, and were soon in full flight, leaving more than three hundred dead on the field. Our loss was some forty killed and wounded, while their killed, wounded and pris oners are estimated to exceed two thousand five hundred. A pretty severe lesson they have re ceived. NEAR TONAILLB STATION, ON THE \ GEORGIA CENTRAL RAILROAD, NOV. 27. j Since writing the above the aruiy has mqved for ward aH string the line. Tne robels seem id bare understood, but too late, that it was not Sherman's intention to make a serious attack upon Macon. — They have, however, succeeded in getting \V heeler across the Ueonee at a point below the railroad bridge. We first became aware of their presence in our from by the destruction of several bridges a cross Buffalo Creek, on the two roads leading to Sandersville, over which were advancing the 1 wen tieth and Fourteenth Corps. We were delayed but a few hours. The passage was also contested by the rebel cavalry under \V heel er. and they fought our front ail the way, and into the streets of Sandersville. The Twentieth Corps had the advance, deploying a regiment as skirmish ers, forming the remainder of a brigade in line of battle on either side of the read. The movement was executed in the handsomest manner, anil was go effectual as n. to .a.pede the march of the col umn in the slightest degree, although the roll of musketry was unceasing. Our loss was not serious —twenty odd killed and womided. As the Twentieth Corps entered the town they were met by the Fourteenth, whose head of column arrived at the same moment. While these two Corps had met with the obstructions above mention ed, the army under Geueral Howard were attempt ing to throw a pontoon across the Oconee at the Georgia Central Railroad bridge. Here they met a force under the command of General \\ ayite, which was composed of a portion of Wheeler's cavalry, militia, and a band of convicts who bad been libera ted from the penitentiary upon the condition that they would join the army. The most of these desperadoes have been taken prisoners, dressed in their State prison clothing.— General Sherman has turned them loose, believing that Governor Brown had not got the full benefits of his liberality. The rebels did not make a remark ably stern defence of the bridge, for Howard was able to cross his army yesterday, and commenced breaking railroad again today, in fact all of the ar my, except one corps, are engaged in tbissame work. Morgan, with his army, was hardly able to reach ; this point when he met General Hardee, who has managed to get around here from Macon. Our I troops struek the railroad at this Station a fewhours after the frightened baud escaped. THANKSGIVING DAY KEPT. We had been told that the country was very poor east of the Oconee, but our experience has been a delightful gastronomic contradiction of the state ment. The cattle trains are getting so large that we find difficulty in driving thein along. Thanks giving day was very generally observed in the army ?he troops scorning chickens in the plentitude of tur keys with which they had supplied themselves. Vegetables of all kinds, and in unlimited quanti ties, were at hand, and the soldiers gave thanks as soldiers may, and as merry as only soldiers can be. In truth, so far as the gratification of the stomach goes, the troops are pursuing a continuous thanks giving. In addition to fowls, vegetables and meats, many obtain a delicious syrup made from sorghum, which is cultivated on all the plantations, and stored away in large troughs and hogsheads. The mills here and there furnish fresh supplies of flour and meal, and we hear little or nothing of["hard tack''—that, terror to weak mastication. Over the sections of country lately traversed, J find very little cultivation of cotton. The commands of" Davis appear to have boen obeyed, and our lurge drove of cattle are turned nightly into the immense fields of ungathered corn to eat their fill, while the graneries are crowded to overflowing with both oats and corn. We have also reached the sand regions, so that the fail ot rain has nO terrors; tho roads are cxcel ent, and would become firmer from a liberal wet j ting. The rise of the rivers will not bother us much j for each army corps has its pontoon, and the ! launching of its boats is a matter of an hour. THE COUNTRY PEOPLE. Frequent occasions occur for conversation with the people, lu the upper part of the State, not ; meeting with any but the poorer, more ignorant class, J. was led to believe that the rich and refined class had fled further south ; but although I have made diligent search for the intelligent, intellectual arristocracy, I have met only with failure and disa pointment. Rich men there are, whose plantations line the roads for miles; men aud'Women who own, or did own, hundreds of slaves, and raised every year their thousand bales of cotton; but their igno- liancc is only equalled by that twin sister of ignorance ft tolerance. I can understand, as I never did be- E>re, why it was that a few persons, who every year epresented the South in Congress, able to wield hat influence as a unit. To be sure the interest of kivery was all-cOrrtrolUng, yet it never would have fought this people to the pitch of civil war, had !i|y received the most common benefits of educa loe. The solemn truth is, thai the Southern peo bfehave never had any conceptions of the nation as I did. They do not know what it is to be an Amer ican. I It must not be supposed that we do not meet many tersons who claim to have been Unionists frpin the jeginning of the war. The vote of Georgia was un joubtedly given by a large majority against seces lon, and most every old man whew he sees his pigs tod poultry killed in his very barn yards and gazes mil mournful eyes upon the wagons that are filled bth his corn, protests that fye always was a Union it seems/hard sometimes to strip such men fj clear of all eatables as do our troops who have tie art cultivated to the most eminent degree, but J General Sherman often says to them: "If it is foe that you are Unionists, you should not have formatted Jeff. Davis to dragoon you, until yf>u are q much his slaves as once the niggers were yor.rg." HOWELL COBlt'S PLANTATION. JJust before his entrance into Milledgeville Gener r Sherman camped on one of the plantations of iowl Cobb. It was a coincidence that a Macon jiper containing Cobb's address to the Georgians $ General Commanding was received the same ay. This plantation was the property of Cobb's sfe, who was a Demar. Ido not know that this fcbb ever claimed any great reputation as a man of jetv and many virtues, but I could not help con testing the call upon his fellow-citizens t j "rise and dfend their liberties, homes, etc., from the step of tk invader, to burn and destroy everything in his tint, assail him on all sides," aud all that, with his ojn conduct here, and the wretched condition of his neroes and their quarters. Pr e fouud his graneries well filled with corn and vjeat, part of which was distributed and eaten by <fo animals and men. A large supply of syrup, jide from sorghum ( which we have lound at near llevery plantation on onr march), was stored in an dt-kouse. This was also disposed of to the sol ders and the poordecrepid negroes, which this hu jane, lihertw-loving Major General left to die in fis place a few days ago. Becoming alarmed, Cobb fait to that place and removed all the able-bodied tules, horses, cows and slaves. He left here some jfty old men—cripples, and women and children— 'ith clothing scarce covering their nakedness, ith little or no food, and without means of procur tg any. We found them cowering over the fire laces of their miserable huts, where the wind hijled through the crevices between the logs, fright oei at the approach of the Yankees, who, they had bet told, would kill them. A more forlorn ne gVik-d set of human beings I never saw. literal Sherman distributed to the negroes with lift Wn hauds the provisions left here, and assured thtntbat we were their friends, and they need not be npid that we were foes. One old man answer ed lift: "1 spose datyou'se true : but massa, vou'se "11 gway to morrow, and anudder white man will com?' He had never known anything but perse ctiti® and fears from the white man, and had been keptt such ignorance of us that he did not dare put tth in any white man. REBEL LIES TO NEGROES. Tli terrorism, which forms so striking a feature ofsliery. has. had marked illustrations ever since we W Atlanta. The negroes were told thatas soon as iwget them into our clutches they were put into j the jnt of the battle, and we killed them if they did it fight; that we threw the women and chil dreifito the Chattahoocbie, and when the buildings . weriiurned in Atlanta, we filled them with negroes to Woasted and devoured by the flames. These a tori, which appear absurd to us, are not too ex tra vaut for the simple, untutored minds of the ne gro, They are easily frightened, and full ot su pva. .on. Inmost any other instance, saeh bloody, tal would have frightened them entirely out of our sia to the woods and other hiding places, but they at t with much earnestness and glee, that "massa ca come dat over we; we kriow'd a heap better. — , \\fo for de Yankees want to hurt black men'? Mas- , s: ites de Yankees, and he's no fren' ter me; so j wem de Yankees bl's frens." Very simple logic thu but it is sufficient for the negroes. (ueral Sherman invites all able-bodied negroes , (o*s could not make the march) to join the col- , uraand betakes especial pleasure when they join j tbarocession on some occasions telling them they areree; that Massa Lincoln has given them their libiv. and that they can go where they please ; thai' tkev earn their freedom they should have it- 1 bifoat Massa Lincoln bad given it to them any- ( ha They all seem to understand that the proe- 1 laftion of freedom had made them free, and I 1 b.i met but few instances where they did not say 1 tli expected the Yankees were coming down • satime or other, and very generally they are 1 pissed with the idea that we are fighting for ■ xhi, aud that their freedom is the object of the < w: This notion they got from hearing the talk of ' tb masters. c Rick in dar," was the angry exclamation of one ofpartv of negroes to anotlier. who was asking touany questions of the officer who had given th permission to join the column. "Stick in dar itll right; we'se gwine along, we'se free. - ' lother replied to a question. "Ohyass, massa, daople hereabouts were heap frightened when daeard you'se coming: dey dusted out yer sud de' DESTRUCTION OF RAILROADS. the way. the destruction of railroads in this caaign has been most thorough. The destruction of ch long lines of road necessarily requires time, wh in an expedition of this kind is valuable in thighest degree. The ordinary method of de stcion was to place the rails across a pile of burn injeepers, their own weight bending tnem. t this does not injure the rail so much but that it ybe heated and straightened again. lustru ms have been made, one is a clasp, which locks uir the rail. It has a ring in the top. into which is erted a long lever; and the rail is thus ripped frtthe sleeper. When the rail has become heated a meh is applied, which fits close over the ends ofe rail ; by turning them in opposite directions thiil is so twisted that even a rolling machine co not bring it back into shape. In this manner htbeen destroyed some thirty miles of rails which la- the city of Atlanta, aud also all the rails on thtugusta aud Atlanta Road from the last named nli to Madison ; and thus far the Georgia Central liq from a few miles east of Macon to Tonville Stin, where I am now writing. NEAR JOHNSON'S, OX THE SOUTH SIDE \ OF GEORGIA RAILROAD, November 29. i have not heard from the army north of the rafed since it left us at Sandersville ; not from Klrick till to-day, and then indirectly through a n4, who reports that the son of his master rode alii way from Louisville in great haste, reporting thVheeler was fighting the \ ankees, who were adkdng on Augusta. General Sherman 3 second stfi this campaign will have been equally success fuih the first, if he is able to cross the Ogeechee toirrow without much opposition. Davis and Ktriek's movement was a blind in order to taeil -kifoc passage over the Ogeechee of the main bepf the army, which for two days past has been mTfog on parallel roads south of the railroad. is far we have reason to believe that the Rebels aijnorant of our principal movement, and are trlling with the fear that Augusta is our objec- ri' ... Patrick is doing the same work which he ac cqishcd with such high honor when covering our rijflauk in the early days of the campaign. His c<in now acts as a curtain upon the extreme left, tilth which the enemy may invain attempt to pifate. He has yet a grander aim iu view. If njeeeds, his name will not only stand at the head • off great cavalry Generals, but it will be uttered ! wlhe prayers and blessings of the wives and 1 cllen of the prisoners whom he may liberate at ' Mi, which is the point he aims for, and where hfbeen incarcerated many thousands of our brave cjdes. Kilpatrick started on the same day that oqmy left Milledgevilfefthe 25th insL I have not mimed the fact before in this diary, for fear that it |it, iu the casualties of war, get into the hands ofj Rebels and interfere with the movement.— • Hjn prosper it, say I. AH day long the nrmy has been moving through magnificent-pi ue woods—the savannahs of the South, as they are termed. I have never seen, and I can't conceive a more picturesque sight than the array winding along through these grand old woods. The pines rise, naked of branches, eighty and ninety teet, and then are crowned with a turft of pure green. The trees are wide apart, so that frequently two trains of wagons and troops in double column are marching abreast. In the distance may be seen a troop of horsemen, some General and hk Staff, turning abou. here and there, their gay uniforms, and red and white flags contrasting harmoniously with the bright, yellow' grass underneath and the deep evergreen. TOUCHING INCIDENTS. The most palhetic scenes occur upon our line of march daily and hourly. Thousands' of negro wo men join the colemn, some carrying household truck; others, and many of thein there are, riio bear the heavy burden of children in their arms, while older boys and girls plod by their sides. All these women i and children are ordered back, heartrending though it may be to refuse them liberty. They won't go.— One begs that she may go to see her husband' and children at Savannah. Long years ago she was for ced from them and sold. Another has heard that her boy was in Macon, and she is "done gone with grief goin'on four years." But the majority accept the advent of the Yan kees as the fulfillment of the millennial prophecies. The "day of jubilee," the hope and prayer of a lifetime, has come. They cannot be made to under stand that they must remain behind, and they are satisfied only when General Sherman tells them—as he does every day—that we shall come back for ! them some time, and that they must be patient until the proper hour of deliverance comes. The other day a woman with a child in her arms was working her way along amongst the teams and crowds of cattle and horsemen. An officer called to her kindly : "Where are you going, aunty ?" She. looked np into his face with a hopeful be seeching look, and replied : "I'se gwine whar yon'se gwine, massa." It was near this place that several factories were burned. It was odd to see the- delight of the ne groes at the destruction of places known to them as task-houses, where they had groaned under the lash. ■ STATION OF THE GEORGIA CENTRAL R. R., 1 November 30. / With the exception of the Fifteenth Corps our army is across the Ogeechee, and without fighting a battle. This river is a line of great strength to tne Rebels, and they might have made its passage a cost ly effort for us, but they have been outwitted and outmanoeuvred. We have heard to-day from Kilpatrick and from Millen. Kilpatrick made a splendid march, lighting Wheeler all the way to Wainsboro', destroying the railroad bridge crossing Briar Creek, between Au gusta and Mifien. It is with real grief that I write that he was unable to accomplish the release of our prisoners. It appears that for some time past the Rebels have been removing onr soldiers from Mil ieu ; the officers have been sent to Columbia, S. C., and the privates further South, somewhere on the Gulf Railroad. We have had very little difficulty in passing the Ogeechee. The Twentieth Corps moved down the railroad, destroying it to the bridge. The Seven teenth Corps covered the river at this point, where, a light bridge was only partially destroyed. It wit, easily repaired, so that the infantry arid cavalry could pass over it, while the wagons and artillery used tne pontoons. The Ogeechee is about sixty yards in width at this point. It is approached ou the northern or western side through swamps, which would be impassable were it not for the sandy soil, which packs solid when the water covers the road, although in places there are treacherous quicksands which we are obliged to corduroy. This evening I walked down to the river. A nov el and vivid sight was it to see the fires of pitch pine flaring up into the mist and darkness, the figures of men and horses looming out of the dense shadows in gigantic proportions. Torch lights are blinking ana flashing away off in the forests, while the still air echoed and re-echoed with the cries of teamsters and the*wild shouts of the soldiers. A long line of the troops marched across the foot-bridge, each sol dier bearing a torch ; their light reflected in quiver ing lines in the swift running stream. rioon the fog which settles like a blanket over the swatnps and forests of the river bottoms, shut down upon the scene, and so dense and dark was it that torches were of but little use, and men were directed here and there by the voice. SHERMAN'S MAXOSUVRES. SCARBORO', GA., Dec. 3. —Pivoted upon Millen the army has swung slowly round from its eastern course, and is now moving in six columns upon par allel roads southward. Until yesterday it was im possible for the Rebels to decide whether or not it was General Sherman's intention to march upon Augusta. Kilpatrick had destroyed the bridge above Waynesboro', and falling back had again advanced, supported by the Fourteenth Army Corps, under General Davis. South of thi3 column, moving east ward through Birdsvilie, was the Twentieth Corps, commanded by General Slocum. Yet further south the Seventeenth Corps, Gen Blair in command, fol lowed the railroad, destroying it as he advanced.— Yv r est and of the Ogeechee the Ffteenth corps, General Osterhaus iu immediate command, but un der the eye of General Howaid, has moved in two columns. Until now Davis and Kilpatrick have been a cover and shield to the real movements. At no time has it been possible for Hardee to interpose any serious obstacle to the advance of the main body of our army, for our left wing has always been a strong arm thrust out iu advance, ready to put in chance" ry any force which might attempt to get within its guard. The Rebel councils of war appear to have been completely deceived, for we hear it reported that Bragg, and Longstreet are at Augusta, with ten thousand men, made up of militia, two or three South Carolina regiments and a portion of Hamp ton's Legion, sent there for one month. It is pos sible, now that the curtain has been withdrawn, aud as it may appear that we are marching straight for Savannah, their Generals, with their ten thousand, may attempt to harass our rear, but they can accom plish nothing but the loss of a few lives, without checking our progress. The work so. admirably performed by our left wing, so far as it has obliged the Rebels in our front constantly to retreat, by threatening their rear, now becomes the office of the Fifteenth Corps, our right wing, on the bank of the river. Its two columns are moving one day's march in advance of the main body of the army, marching down the peninsula be tween the Savaunah and the Ogeechee rivers. The necessity and value of these flank movements —first of the right-wing with Kilpatrick's cavalry, then of Davis and Kilpatrick on the left, and now of How ard ou our right, is because we cannot run over and demolish any and all the Rebel forces in Georgia. They could not for a moment stand before this army upon any ordinary battle ground, but a very small force of infantry or cavalry at a river could delay a column half a day, aud perhaps longer, and as our soldiers have got tired of chickens, sweet potatoes, sorghum, ic., and have been promised oysters on the naif shell, oysters roasted, stewed, &c. —in short, oysters, they dou't care to be delayed. The railroad which has been receiving our inime mediate attention within the last week is altogether the best I have seen in the State, though the rail it self is not so heavy as the T rail on the Augusta and Atlanta road. The rail on the Georgia Central is partially laid with the U, and a portion of light T rail, but it is all fastened to pandlel stringers, which are again fixed to the ties. The station-houses are generally built of brick in the most substantial man ner, The very large depot at Millen was woodeu building of graceful form, ahd admirably made. It made the biggest fire i have seeu since we left At lanta, and delighted the soldiers amazingly. The taste for conflagrations has been so cultivated in this community of late that any srqpll affiafrs attract very little attention. GREAT CORN FIELDS We daily traverse immense eorn fields covering from one hundred to one thousand acres. These were once devoted to the cultivation of cotton, and it is surprising to see how the planters have carried out the wishes or orders of the Rebel Government in this respect. There has been a large amount of cotton destroyed in this campaign, but it must have : wen but a small portion even of the limited crop raised, as the destruction has chiefly been away from I the railroads. As near as I can learn two thirds of this cotton has been sent over the Georgia Ceutral ! Railroad to Augusta byway of Millen; from thence a limited amount has been transported to Wilming ton for trans-Atlantic shipment; the balance vet remains in the vicinity of Columbia, South Caroli na. It is well ascertained that the country west of the Savannah river is expected to furnish 'supplies for the Rebel armies in the West, although corn and beef are sent from this district to Lee s army, but he draws the bulk of his supplies from the States dhst ot the Savannah, and there is no region which i? so prolific as that about Columbia, f have di . gressed thus far from the histoiy of the Georgia campaign, because 1 wish to correct the impression which is so general at the North that the Eastern armies are fed from the Southwest. One thing is most certain, neither the West or East will draw any supplies from the counties in this State traversed by csir army for a longtime to come; Ourwoik has been the next thing to annihilation. THE PRISONERS' FE.V AT MIU.EJT. As mentioned above, this place is five miles above Millen Junction. A space of ground some three hundred feet square, enclosed by a stockade, without any covering whatsoever, was the hole where thou sands of our brave soldiers have been confined for many months past. Exposed to heavy dews, the hiring frosts, the pelting rain, without so snneh as a board or tent even, to protect those poor naked fel lows, who were almost always robbed of their cloth ing when captured. Some of them had adopted a wretched alternative, and dug boles in the ground, into which they crept at times. What wander that we found the evidence that seven hundred and fifty had died there. From what misery did death release them ! I can realize it all now as i could not even when lia teaingto the stories of prisoners who had tied from this hell ; escaped the devils in hot pursuit; foiled the keen scent of the track hounds put upon their path. Here is the uselessly cruel pen where my brothers have been tortured with exposure and star vation. God certainly will visit the authors of all this crime with his terrible lightning. Jeff. Davis knew that the Northern people would see the condi tion of the victims of Belle Island. How fearful must be the treatment oT those who are removed far from the hope of exchange! You at the North may not feel the necessity of retaliation, and may contin ue to clothe warmly, feed plentifully, and comforta bly house the Rebel prisoners, who are happier far than if free with their commands, bat you must not expect those who have and those who may endure these agonies to feel or act with the same extrava gance of generosity. Ogeechbe Church, December 6.— The army for two days past has been concentrating at this point, which is the narrowest part of the peninsula. Gen eral Howard is still on the west side of the Ogee chee, but is within supporting distance, and has am ple means of crossing the river should it be necessa ry, which is not all probable. Kilpatrick has again done noble work. On Sunday last, while marching towards Alexander for the purpose of more thor oughly completing the destruction -of the railroad bridge crossing Briar Creek, he found Wheeler on his way near Waynesbor#. He fought him several times, punishing him severely in each instance, driving his infantry and cavalry before him through Waynesb )ro and beyond the bridge, which was com pletely destroyed. He rejoined the main body of our army then marching southward. KILLING BLOODHOUNDS. A significant feature of this campaign which was not before mentioned ir this diary, received a marked illustration yesterday. Except in a few in stances private residences have not been destroyed. Yesterday we passed the plantation of Mr. St abbs. The house, cotton-gin, press, corn-ricks, stables, everything that could burn was in flames, and in the doouyard lay the dead bodies of several blood hounds, that had been used to track and pull down negroes and our escaped prisoners. And wherever our army has passed, everything in the shape of a dog has been killed. The soldiers and officers are determined that no more flying fugitives, white men or negroes, shafl be followed by track-hounds that come within reach of their powder and ball. DECEMBER 8. —The army has been advancing slowly and surely, but as cautiously as if a strong army were in our front. The relative position of the troops has not materially changed since last wri ting, except that we are all further south. Froni fifteen to twenty miles lies Savanuah, it is to be sup posed, in some perturbation at the certainty of oar approach. If the rebels intend fighting in defence of the city, it will be behind their fortifications, for as yet we have only skirmished with parties of cavalry, and they have not seen the head of our infantry column, and can only judge of our strength through injudicious publications in the newspapers North. It cannot well be conceived by those not in the field operations, the serious injury which ensues upon the publication of the number and contempla ted movements of our armies. In away which it is unnecessary to mention, such injuries have occurred during this campaign. General Howard has just returned from a very suc cessful movement. Fearing that we should detach a force for the purpose of destroying the "Gulf road, which they are now using to its utmost capacity just now, they pushed a force across the Ogeechee. While this body were covered by a strong Hverside line, General Corse, of Allatoona memory, shoved his division between the Little and Great Ogeechee, thirteen miles in advance of the main column to the canal, which runs from the Ogeecbee to the Savan nah river. He bridged the canal, crossed it with) his division, and now holds a position out of which Hood's army could uot drive him. This bold step has forced the rebels to evacuate the line of works stretching from river to river, and they have now fairly sought refuge in the fortifica tions proper of Savannah. All the afternoon we have heard the signal-gun 3 of our gunboats, supposed to be in Ossabaw Sound. My heart thrills with gladness to think that we are within speaking distance of our brethren of the brave navy, and that we are hereafter to act in uni son with, we hope, more purpose than has been the result with most expeditions on the Atlantic eoaSt. The next three days promise to be full of interest, for we shall now seek to establish a base of supplies in connection with our fleet. CLOSING IX UPON SAVANNAH. DECEMBER 9. —We are gradually closing in upon the city. General Howard holds the position gained on the other side of the canal yesterday, and has ad vanced the larger part of his command in its support Portions of our army are now within eight miles of Savannah. General Blair's column lost several officers, and men, some of them by honorable fight ing. as the rebels withstood the advance with perti nacity. One officer and several men were severely wound ed by the explosion of shells and torpedoes buried and concea'ed in the road, which was an attempt at cowardly murder. In the entrance of forts, or in a breach made in a line of works such implements may be "used to defeat the assault, but the laws of war do not justify an attempt of the kind which has been so disastrous to-day. The prisoners were marched over the road, and removed two of these treacherous death-dealing instruments. General Davis is to-night at Cherokee Hill, hav ing crossed the Charleston read, partially destroying the bridge scanning the Savannah. lie bas_also been opposed by the rebels, but, as with the other columns, the opposition only accelerated the pro gress of the troops who hurry forward on the doub le-quick at the sound of the guns, eager to get into the fight. To-morrow we may expect to have con centrated our army so as to form a continous lino about the city. ' DECEMBER 10. —THE army has advanced some six miles to-dav, and have met everyw here a strong line of works, which appear to be held by a large torce ; with 3'J. pound guns in position, their line, although extended, is more easily defended, because of a suc cession of impassable swamps which stretch, across the peninsula. All the openings between these morasses and the roads which leatl through them are strongly fortified, and the approaches have been contested vigorously, but with little loss to us. Gen eral Sherman seems to avoid the sacrifice- of life, and I doubt his making serious attack until* he has Communication with the fleet. {Continued on the fourth page.) Vol 38: No. 3
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