Diary of Orrin Brown—Dec 11, 1864

Diary of Orrin Brown, near the Milledgeville Road, in front of Savannah, Georgia.

Sunday–Dec. 11th

We were on the road this morning at 8 AM, we marched to within 3 miles of the City of Savannah and formed in line of battle along some temporary breastworks on the left of the road, we had not been here long before the rebs threw a charge of grape shot and two shell up the road cutting the limbs off of the trees along the road but doing no damage to us. It rained all the after part of the night and the air is quite cool today and getting cooler toward night. The rebs threw 5 more shots up the road this evening but done no damage. There has been heavy Conanadeing all along the line today.

Gen. Henry Slocum was well satisfied by his troops in the Army of Georgia on their March to the Sea.  The commander of the Left Wing, a veteran of Gettysburg, later wrote in his report to Headquarters (pp.158-59 in the Official Records):

The conduct of the officers and men on the march is worthy of the highest praise. They endured the fatigues of the march with cheerfulness, amid were ever ready, even at the close of a long days march, to use the ax and spade in removing obstructions and repairing roads and bridges.

The result of the campaign proves conclusively the practicability of subsisting large bodies of troops upon the enemys country. After leaving the section of country near Atlanta, which had already been foraged upon by both armies, we experienced no difficulty in obtaining supplies for both men and animals. Even the most unproductive sections along our line of march yielded enough for our support so long as the march could be continued from day to day. It was thirty-four days from the date my command left Atlanta to the day supplies were received from the fleet.

Immediately after the Confederate surrender (to get ahead of ourselves), Slocum commanded the Dept. of the Mississippi.  He returned to New York and was elected to Congress.

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