a degive of cheerfumess unsurpassed. A ittle lööse in foraging, me things they ought not to have done," yet, on the whole, they the wants of the army with as little violence as could be expected, Loss as I calculated. Some of these foraging parties had encounters my which would in ordinary times rank as respectable battles. of our troops in Savannah has been so manly, so quiet, so perfect, as the best evidence of discipline and true courage. Never was - filled with women and children, occupied by a large army with or more system, order, and good government. The same general spirit of confidence and good feeling pervades the army which it ded me especial pleasure to report on former occasions.

self of this occasion to express my heartfelt thanks to Admiral I the officers and men of his fleet, as also to General Foster and for the hearty welcome given us on our arrival at the coast, and ly and prompt co-operation in all measures tending to the result

with a map of the country through which we have passed; reports Howard, General Slocum, and General Kilpatrick, and their respectively, with the usual lists of captured property, killed, I missing, prisoners of war taken and rescued; as also copies of all ating the campaign; all of which are respectfully submitted by Your obedient servant,

l William T. Sherman's report of the campaign of the Carolinas. HEADQUARTERS MILITARY Division of the Mississippi,

Goldsboro', N. C, April 4, 1865.

I must now endeavor to group the events of the past three months h the armies under my command, in order that you may have as rstanding of the late campaign as the case admits of. The reports commanders will enable you to fill up the picture.

tofore explained how, in the progress of our arms, I was enabled he west an army under Major General George H. Thomas, of ngth to meet emergencies in that quarter, while in person I other army, composed of the 14th, 15th, 17th, and 20th ilpatrick's division of cavalry, to the Atlantic slope, aiming he grand theatre of war in Virginia by the time the season would ry operations in that latitude. The first lodgement on the coast Savannah, strongly fortified and armed, and valuable to us as a with its navigable stream inland. Near a month was consumed ing the army, and in making the proper disposition of captured other local matters; but by the 15th of January I was all ready

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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR.

to resume the march. Preliminary to this, General Howard, commanding the right wing, was ordered to embark his command at Thunderbolt, transport it to Beaufort, South Carolina, and thence by the 15th of January make a lodgement on the Charleston railroad, at or near Pocotaligo. This was accomplished punctually, at little cost, by the 17th corps, Major General Blair, and a depot for supplies was established near the mouth of Pocotaligo creek, with easy water communication back to Hilton Head.

The left wing, Major General Slocum, and the cavalry, Major General Kilpatrick, were ordered to rendezvous about the same time near Robertsville and Coosawhatchie, South Carolina, with a depot of supplies at Pureysburg, or Sister's ferry, on the Savannah river. General Slocum had a good pontoon bridge constructed opposite the city, and the "Union causeway" leading through the low rice-fields opposite Savannah was repaired and "corduroyed," but before the time appointed to start, the heavy rains of January had swelled the river, broken the pontoon bridge, and overflowed the whole "bottom," so that the causeway was four feet under water, and General Slocum was compelled to look higher up for a passage over the Savannah river. He moved up to Sister's ferry, but even there the river with its overflowed bottoms was near three miles wide, and he did not succeed in getting his whole wing across until during the first week of February.

In the mean time General Grant had sent me Grover's division of the 19th corps to garrison Savannah, and had drawn the 23d corps, Major General Schofield, from Tennessee, and sent it to re-enforce the commands of Major Generals Terry and Palmer, operating on the coast of North Carolina, to prepare the way for my coming.

On the 18th of January I transferred the forts and city of Savannah to Major General Foster, commanding the department of the south, imparted to him my plans of operation, and instructed him how to follow my movements inland by occupying in succession the city of Charleston and such other points along the sea-coast as would be of any military value to us. The combined naval and land forces under Admiral Porter and General Terry had on the 15th of January captured Fort Fisher and the rebel forts at the mouth of Cape Fear river, giving me an additional point of security on the sea-coast. But I had already resolved in my own mind, and had so advised General Grant, that I would undertake at one stride to make Goldsboro', and open communication with the sea by the Newbern railroad, and had ordered Colonel W. W. Wright, superintendent of military railroads, to proceed in advance to Newbern, and to be prepared to extend the railroad out from Newbern to Goldsboro' by the 15th of March.

On the 19th of January all preparations were complete and the orders of march given. My chief quartermaster and commissary, Generals Eaton and Beckwith, were ordered to complete the supplies at Sister's ferry and Pocotaligo, and then to follow our movement coastwise, looking for my arrival at Goldsboro', North Carolina, about March 15, and opening communication with me from Morehead City.

On the 22d of January I embarked at Savannah for Hilton Head, where I held a conference with Admiral Dahlgren, United States navy, and Major General Foster, commanding the department of the south, and next day proceeded to Beaufort, riding out thence on the 24th to Pocotaligo, where the 17th corps, Major General Blair, was encamped. The 15th corps was somewhat scattered-Woods's and Hazen's divisions at Beaufort, John E. Smith marching from Savannah by the coast road, and Corse still at Savannah, cut off by the storms and freshet in the river. On the 25th a demonstration was made against the Combalice ferry and railroad bridge across the Salkehatchie, merely to amuse the enemy, who had evidently adopted that river as his defensive line against our supposed objective, the city of Charleston. I reconnoitred the line

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in person, and saw that the heavy rains had swollen the river so that water stood in the swamps for a breadth of more than a mile, at a depth of from one to twenty feet. Not having the remotest intention of approaching Charleston, a comparatively small force was able, by seeming preparations to cross over, to keep in their front a considerable force of the enemy disposed to contest our advance on Charleston. On the 27th I rode to the camp of General Hatch's division of Foster's command, on the Tullafuiney and Coosawhatchie rivers, and directed those places to be evacuated, as no longer of any use to us. That division was then moved to Pocotaligo to keep up the feints already begun, until we should with the right wing move higher up and cross the Salkehatchie about Rivers's or Broxton's bridge.

On the 29th I learned that the roads back of Savannah had at last become sufficiently free of the flood to admit of General Slocum putting his wing in motion, and that he was already approaching S.ster's ferry, whither a gunboat, the Pontiac, Captain Luce, kindly furnished by Admiral Dahlgren, had preceded him to cover the crossing. In the mean time three divisions of the 15th corps had closed up at Pocotaligo, and the right wing had loaded its wagons and was ready to start. I therefore directed General Howard to move one corps, the 17th, along the Salkehatchie, as high up as Rivers's bridge, and the other, the 15th, by Hickory Hill, Loper's Cross-roads, Anglesey post office, and Beaufort's bridge. Hatch's division was ordered to remain at Pocotaligo, feigning at the Salkehatchie railroad bridge and ferry, until our movement turned the enemy's position and forced him to fall behind the Edisto.

The 17th and 15th corps drew out of camp on the 31st of January, but the real march began on the 1st of February. All the roads northward had for weeks been held by Wheeler's cavalry, who had, by details of negro laborers, felled trees, burned bridges, and made obstructions to impede our march. But so well organized were our pioneer battalions, and so strong and intelligent our men, that obstructions seemed only to quicken their progress. Felled trees were removed and bridges rebuilt by the heads of columns before the rear could close up. On the 2d of February the 15th corps reached Loper's Cross-roads, and the 17th was at Rivers's bridge. From Loper's Cross-roads I communicated with General Slocum, still struggling with the floods of the Savannah river at Sister's ferry. He had two divisions of the 20th corps, General Williams, on the east bank, and was enabled to cross over on his pontoons the cavalry of Kilpatrick. General Williams was ordered to Beaufort's bridge by way of Lawtonville and Allandale, Kilpatrick to Blackville via Barnwell, and General Slocum to hurry the crossing at Sister's ferry as much as possible, and overtake the right wing on the South Carolina railroad. General Howard, with the right wing, was directed to cross the Salkehatchie and push rapidly for the South Carolina railroad at or near Midway. The enemy held the line of the Salkehatchie in force, having infantry and artillery intrenched at Rivers's and Beaufort's bridges. The 17th corps was ordered to carry Rivers's bridge, and the 15th corps Beaufort's bridge. The former position was carried promptly and skilfully by Mower's and Giles A. Smith's divisions of the 17th corps, on the 3d of February, by crossing the swamp, nearly three miles wide, with water varying from knee to shoulder deep. The weather was bitter cold, and Generals Mower and Smith led their divisions in person, on foot, waded the swamp, made a lodgement below the bridge, and turned on the rebel brigade which guarded it, driving it in confusion and disorder towards Branchville. Our casualties were one officer and seventeen men killed, and seventy men wounded, who were sent to Pocotaligo. The line of the Salkehatchie being thus broken, the enemy retreated at once behind the Edisto at Branchville, and the whole army was pushed rapidly to the South Carolina railroad at Midway, Bamberg, (or Lowry's Station,) and Graham's Station. The 17th corps, by threatening Branchville, forced the enemy to burn the railroad bridge and Walker's bridge