Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Documents and Narratives, Volume 9.
Frank Moore, Ed.

[87] position. The services of this brigade were afterward found not to be required. At dusk, my command was encamped on good dry ground, between the two portions of Monteith Swamp. Weather, to-day, was fine, roads were excellent. Distance, six miles.

siege of Savannah.

December 10.--Order of march in the corps to-day, First, Third, and Second divisions, the trains of the entire corps being guarded by my troops. My command moved at ten A. M., on the direct road to Monteith Station. This road is broad, solid, and perfectly level. We passed the two redoubts captured last evening, and reached Monteith Station on the Charleston Railroad, ten miles from Savannah, at noon. Here the troops preceding me had destroyed considerable of the track. Having nooned, I moved toward Savannah on the Augusta road, the advance of the Fourteenth corps coming in on that road and reaching Monteith as I left it.

The advance of our corps having found the enemy behind their fortifications about three miles from Savannah, I received orders to encamp for the night near the five-mile post. The trains came forward and parked in the woods in the vicinity of the troops. Distance to-day, ten miles.

December 11.--At seven A. M., Barnum's brigade was sent to reconnoitre between the Augusta road and Savannah River to ascertain exactly the enemy's position in that direction. The duty was quickly performed, and their entire line was developed to the river, where my skirmishers drove the enemy from an advanced work into their main line, capturing a few prisoners. At ten A. M., my other brigade were brought up, and my line was established along an old rice-field dyke, myself (Barnum's brigade) resting on the river bank, my right (Pardee's brigade) extending toward the Augusta road, while Jones's brigade was massed in reserve in rear of Barnum's. Toward night the left of the First division moved forward, and connected with my right. Sloan's battery reported to me during the afternoon, and took position on the river bank near Jones's brigade. My front line was concealed by the woods, with the exception of my left, which lay in open ground within two hundred and fifty yards of a large work on the river bank, in which the enemy had seven heavy guns. In front of my entire line were open fields affording a full view of the intrenchments held by the enemy. Immediately in front of these intrenchments were extensive rice-fields, flooded with water, and between the fields in my front and these flooded rice-fields was a canal twenty-five feet wide and five or six feet deep, which also was filled with water.

The sluice-gates to these fields were all under control of the enemy, as was also the mouth of the canal, between which and my position was the large advanced work before mentioned as being in front of my left. Besides this one, the enemy had in my front three other works mounted with heavy guns in their main line across the flooded rice-fields. These guns all opened upon us, keeping up a steady fire throughout the day, but causing very few casualties. No reply was made by my artillery, but my skirmishers were advanced as far as possible, and annoyed the enemy considerably. Opposite my left, in the Savannah River, was the upper end of Hutchinson's Island, which extends from there down opposite the lower part of the city of Savannah. This island contains about nine hundred acres in rice-fields, and on the upper end of it is a large rice-mill. A great number of negroes had been left there. On discovering our troops, a few of them crossed in canoes. Captain Veale, Aid-de-Camp of my staff, taking one of these canoes, went alone to the island, and, guided by a negro, walked nearly its entire length, reconnoitred the enemy's position along the river, and returned safely, bringing valuable information.

December 12.--My troops strengthened their breastworks during the night, so as to resist the enemy's heavy shot. A steady artillery fire was kept up by the enemy all day, causing a few casualties. I had Hutchinson's Island reconnoitred again, but found only a few of the enemy's scouts there.

December 13.--The usual constant artillery fire was kept up by the enemy, their gunners improving in practice. They had posted some sharp-shooters in the upper story of a house, near their advanced fort, on the river bank. These sharp-shooters annoyed the left of our line considerably. Among the casualties to-day was Lieutenant Ahreets, Adjutant of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth New-York volunteers, and Acting Assistant Inspector-General Twentieth corps, who was killed instantly by a shot from that house, while engaged in reconnoitring our lines. Last night the enemy landed some troops on Hutchinson's Island, and captured a few of our men who had gone there for forage and supplies. To prevent such a recurrence, Major Hoyt, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth New-York volunteers, was sent to the island to-day, with a detachment of forty-seven men, to hold the upper part of it. This evening he was reinforced with one hundred men, and the whole were placed under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth New-York volunteers. A sunken battery was made to-day on the bank of the river, near Jones's position, and was occupied by the four three-inch rifled guns of Sloan's battery. These guns commanded the approaches up and down the river, also ranging across Hutchinson's Island, toward the South-Carolina shore. The supplies of food and forage in our trains being mostly exhausted, our troops were now subsisting upon fresh beef, coffee, and rice. Large quantities of the latter had been obtained upon the plantations in this vicinity, and a large rice-mill on the Colerain plantation, three miles up the river from my line, was kept constantly at work. Forage for our animals was obtained from rice-straw and from the cane-brakes. There was also tolerable grazing in the woods. An advanced line of pits for my skirmishers and