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which mounted six 7-inch guns, and burned one hundred and fifteen thousand bales of cotton, fifteen locomotives, and two hundred and fifty cars; also a large quantity of other property used by the enemy, such as an arsenal, manufactory of small-arms, four cotton factories, three paper-mills, military and naval founderies, a rolling-mill, machine-shops, one hundred thousand rounds of artillery ammunition, and a vast amount of stores.
The Confederates burned the
Chattahoochee, another of their iron-clad gun-boats, then lying twelve miles below
Columbus.
In the mean time,
La Grange had pushed on to
West Point,
where he found a strong bastioned earth-work, mounting four guns, on a commanding hill, named
Fort Tyler, in honor of its then commander, who built it, and had in it a garrison of two hundred and thirty-five men, including officers.
It was surrounded by a dry ditch, twelve feet wide and ten deep, and commanded the approaches to the bridge which crossed the
Chattahoochee River, and the little village of
West Point.
This work
La Grange assaulted on three sides, with his men dismounted, at a little past one
o'clock of the day of his arrival; but he was held in check, on the border of the ditch by a galling fire of grape and musketry from the garrison.
This was soon silenced by his sharp-shooters bringing their skill to bear upon the
Confederate gunners, which kept them from duty while his men cast bridges across the ditch.
Over these they rushed at the sound of the bugle, swarmed over the parapets, and captured the entire garrison, with the guns, and about five hundred small-arms.
General Tyler and eighteen of his men were killed, and twenty-seven were wounded.
At the same time the Fourth Indiana Cavalry dashed through the village, drove the
Confederates from their works at the bridges, and took possession of those structures.
After destroying nineteen locomotives and three hundred and forty-five loaded cars at
West Point,
La Grange crossed the river, burned the bridges behind him, and moved on
due east toward
Macon, in Georgia.
On the same day,
Minty's (late
Long's) division moved from
Columbus for the same destination, and
Upton's marched the next day.
Minty, accompanied by
Wilson, arrived at
Macon on the 20th, when the Confederate forces there surrendered without resistance; and
Wilson was informed by
Howell Cobb, of the surrender of
Lee to
Grant, and the virtual ending of the war. Hostile operations were then, suspended, in accordance with an arrangement between
Sherman and
Johnston, which we shall consider presently.
