in distant quarters, which were gradually undermining the life of the rebellion and destroying its military and commercial resources. During this period General Grant had, step by step, pushed his lines of circumvallation steadily westward, closing the rebels' communications by the Weldon railroad, and gaining a position by which he could seriously threaten the Southside railroad. On the 9th of November, General Sherman issued his orders for a new military campaign through Georgia, the objective point being Savannah, as a new base on the seaboard. Having given instructions relative to the march, General Sherman assembled his forces at Atlanta. He sent the sick, wounded and surplus stores to Chattanooga, and then dismantled the railroad to that point. He then destroyed all the storehouses, depot buildings and machine shops, and all public property which might be made available by the rebels for the purposes of war. He put his army in motion in two divisions, the right wing, under General Howard, left Atlanta on the 12th of November, followed on the 14th by the left, under General Slocum. The divisions marched on parallel lines following the two railroads that traversed the State. The most strenuous efforts were made by the rebels to check the march of the Union army, but the efforts were fruitless and of no avail.

On the 22d of November, General Slocum's division reached Milledgeville in seven days from Atlanta-ninety-five miles. Here the army remained three days. Large numbers of horses and mules, and large quantities of provisions of various kinds were obtained on the march, and the army fared sumptuously every day. During the march the cavalry roamed throughout the adjacent counties, destroying the railroads in every direction, meeting with no serious resistance. From Milledgeville, the armies moved to Millen, a distance of seventy-five miles, in eight days. The object in the moderate movements of the army was to give time to destroy the railroads in every direction. From Millen to Savannah, seventy-nine miles, General Sherman made rapid marches, reaching, on the 9th of December, the canal which connects the Ogeechee with Savannah river at a point ten miles west of the city. Communications were immediately opened with Admiral Dahlgren's fleet in Port Royal harbor, in which General Howard said:

"SIR-We have met with perfect success thus far. The troops are in fine spirits and near by. Respectfully, A. O. HOWARD,

Major-General, commanding right wing of the Army." This was the first intelligence direct from Sherman's army, and it completely dispelled all fears and doubts as to the complete success of the campaign. On the 10th, General Sherman advanced to within five miles of Savannah, and immediately made preparations for the capture of Fort McAllister, which was the key to the city from the interior. Accordingly a

division of the 15th corps, under General Hazen, was sent forward on the 13th, and the fort was taken by an assault and surrendered, with its entire garrison and stores. The Union loss was ninety, killed and wounded.

General Sherman, with his army, was twenty-seven days marching from Atlanta to Savannah. The distance was over three hundred miles. His loss during the famous march in the entire command was sixty-three officers and men killed, three hundred and forty-five officers and men wounded and two hundred and fifty-nine men missing. On the 14th of December, the city was closely invested, and General Sherman was in full communication with the fleet under Admiral Dahlgren, who was prepared to bring all his available force to operate in connection with the army. General Hardee, the rebel commander in the city, anticipating an assault, and feeling confident that it could not be successfully resisted, after burning the navyyard, and blowing up the rebel ironclad vessels on the morning of the 20th, with the main body of his forces, escaped from the city by crossing the river to the causeway and marched towards Charleston on the causeway road. On the morning of the 21st, the city was occupied by a division of the Union army, and the captures included eight hundred prisoners, one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery, thirteen locomotives, one hundred and ninety cars, three steamers, thirty thousand bales of cotton and a large quantity of ammunition and other material of war. On the 22d, General Sherman sent the following message to the President:

"SAVANNAH, Ga., December 22, 1864.

"TO EIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT LINCOLN-I beg leave to present to you as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.”

The President returned thanks for the gift, but more particularly to the General and his brave soldiers and officers for their operations in obtaining and securing the gift.

At a meeting of the citizens of Savannah, called by the Mayor, the 27th of December, to take into consideration matters pertaining to the present and future welfare of the city, it was largely attended, and the following resolution, with others, was adopted: "That we accept the situation, and in the language of the President of the United States, seek to have peace by laying down our arms and submitting to the National authority under the constitution."

General Grant wrote to Sherman December 18th: "I congratulate you and the brave officers and men under your command on the successful termination of your most brilliant campaign. I never had a doubt of the result. When apprehensions for your safety were expressed by the President, I

assured him that with the army you had, and with you in command of it, there was no danger that you would reach salt water in some place. But I should not have felt the same security-in fact I would not have intrusted the expedition to any other living commander."

We now turn to the rebel operations in Tennessee. General Hood, after being forced by General Sherman back from the Union arıny's line of communications from Chattanooga to Atlanta, prepared for his advance into Tennessee in accordance with instructions, and with the intention, as announced by Jefferson Davis, of inflicting a serious blow, which would aid the rebel cause. It was several weeks before Hood began his advance, when General Thomas withdrew his forces to Franklin, eighteen miles south of Nashville. General Schofield was in command at Franklin, his forces consisting of General Stanley's 4th and General Cases 23d corps, and a few regiments recently mustered into the service. On the 30th of November, General Schofield occupied Franklin and formed his line of battle, both flanks resting on the Harpeth river. The rebels moved to the attack at 4 P. M. The first assault was made on Wagner's brigades, who maintained the contest until they were overpowered and fell back in confusion, losing eight guns. The center line was broken, and ruin seemed certain, when General Opdyke, commanding the first brigade of Wagner's division within the works, seeing what was taking place, without orders from his superior, gave the order to his command, "First brigade, forward to the works," he leading his brigade. He forced the rebels back and restored the Union line. On the day after the battle, General Stanley wrote to General Thomas, stating that the charge of Opdyke with his brigade saved the army from a serious defeat. The rebels made four distinct attacks to regain their advantage, but Opdyke held his position, and they were repulsed with fearful slaughter. They continued their attempts until midnight, when Schofield withdrew the Union forces. The Confederate loss was estimated at six thousand, among them Generals Cleburn, Gist, Adams, Stahl and Granbury were killed; Brown, Carter, Maingault, Quarles, Cockeral and Scott were wounded and Gordon captured. The Union loss was twenty-three hundred. The battle at Franklin was a most important one in securing victory to the Union forces in Tennessee. On the night after the battle, General Schofield withdrew his forces within the defenses of Nashville. The enemy followed and planted their troops within sight of the city, throwing up a line of intrenchments, extending on each flank to the Cumberland river. For two weeks both armies stood confronting each other. The weather soon became intensely cold, and Hood's army suffered much in consequence. At length, on the 15th of December, General Thomas assumed the offensive and commenced a series of attacks on the

.

enemy, which were followed up for two successive days without cessation, and resulted in the disastrous defeat of the Confederate army. Their line of defense hopelessly broken, they fled in confusion through Brentwood Pass, pursued by the 4th corps. This was continued until darkness prevented further pursuit. The retreat of the rebels continued beyond the Tennessee river. The pursuit was followed up by the Union forces until the 25th of December, when General Thomas ordered the pursuit to cease. The results of the Tennessee campaign were summed up and reported. The Union loss in killed and wounded, sixty-one hundred, and eight hundred missing. The rebel loss, twenty thousand killed, wounded and prisoners, and sixty-eight pieces of artillery captured. This statement would imply a loss of one-half of Hood's army, mustered for the invasion of Tennessee. The close of the year found Tennessee freed from the presence of a rebel army, and the invasion from which so much had been expected by the enemy turned into a disastrous flight. The retreat of Hood into Mississippi was followed by his removal from his command at his own request. For the first time in the war a great rebel army had been annihilated. General Grant might well say, "Thomas has done magnificently." This was his habit. He never lost a battle. He saved the Union army at Chickamauga. He was said to be slow. The rebels thought he was very sure.

During the first six months preceding January 1, 1865, the success of the Union arms in all directions had inspired hope and confidence, amounting to almost a certainty, that the days of the rebellion were nearly numbered. Grant had planted his army in the rear of Richmond, and held Lee and his army with a grip that could not be broken. Sheridan had destroyed Early's army in the valley of the Shenandoah. Sherman had made his victorious march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from there to Savannah.. Thomas had defeated Hood and sent him back to Mississippi, with the loss of half of his army, and the remainder of his forces utterly demoralized. Price had been routed, defeated and driven out of Missouri. General Canby was operating for the capture of Mobile, and the ports of Charleston, Savannah and Mobile were efficiently closed against the introduction of supplies for the Confederacy.

In the Confederacy, were discontent, discord, and a despairing call for help which could not be misunderstood. In their despair they were ready to call upon the negroes for help. The commanding General demanded this measure as seemingly the only recourse for the salvation of the Confederacy. It was a mourful call, a call to the slaves to rivet again the chains which had been broken. But the call for help was like the call of one in despair with no help at hand.

CHAPTER XLVIII.

PASSAGE OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT-ABOLISHING SLAVERY.

The most important measure passed by Congress at its thirty-eighth session, or at any previous session, was the passage of the amendment to the constitution abolishing slavery in all the States, by the decisive vote of one hundred and nineteen to fifty-six. This bill, it will be remembered, passed the Senate at the previous session, but failed to receive the requisite twothirds vote in the House. At the meeting of Congress in December, the President, in his message to that body, had recommended and urged its passage during the session. The bill was as follows:

"Be it resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following articles. be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall be valid to all intent and purposes as a part of said constitution, namely:

"Article XIII, Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

"Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

In the House, January 6, 1865, Mr. Ashley of Ohio called up for debate and legislative action the foregoing constitutional amendment, the motion being on its reconsideration. The debate was opened by Mr. Ashley of Ohio, and was continued through the sessions of the House on January 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 26th, by the following members: Hons. Orth of Indiana, Schofield, Thayer and Stevens of Pennsylvania, Cole and Higby of California, Yeaman, Cravens and Smith of Kentucky, Morrell and Woodbridge of Vermont, Odell, Morris and Herrick of New York, Kasson and Grinnell of Iowa, Farnsworth of Illinois, Smithers of Delaware, Jenckes of