SHERMAN’S ADVANCE FROM ATLANTA.

665

as? R

GENERAL SHEIiMAN SENDING HIS LAST TELEGRAM BEFORE CUTTING THE WIRES AND ABANDONING ALLCOMMUNICATION WITH THE NORTH. FROM A SKETCH MADE AT THE TIME.

suffered greatly. We marclied our divisions on parallel roads when we couldfind them; but sometimes, using rails or newly cut poles, made our roadsthrough swamps and soft ground, employing thousands of men. Arriving atthe Oconee, Osterhaus found a wooded valley, with lagune bridges and anarrow causeway, on his road. A division of Hardee’s, who himself hadleft Hood and gone to Savannah to command what Confederates he couldhastily gather, had marched out to meet us and was intrenched on the eastbank. Artillery and infantry fire swept our road. Osterhaus, excited by theshots, came to me shaking his head and asking how we would get any further.“ Deploy your skirmishers more and more till there is no reply,” I said. Hedid so. A half mile above he was able to send over among the cypresses abrigade in boats. The Confederate division gave way and fled. Then shortlyour bridge was laid on the main road and we marched on. Blair, who hadreturned from his furlough before we left Atlanta , crossed and kept the leftbank of the Ogeechee, and Sherman usually accompanied him. Blair’s knowl-edge and hospitality attracted him. So the armies went on meeting an in-creased resistance, but were not much delayed till we got to the Savannah

VOL. IV. 43