William Boynton, Sherman's Historical Raid

[212] Slocum had run up against Johnston's whole army. I sent back orders for him to fight defensively, to save time, and that I would come up, with reenforcements, from the direction of Cox's Bridge, by the road which we had reached near Falling Creek Church. The country was very obscure, and the maps extremely defective.

By this movement I hoped General Slocum would hold Johnston's army facing west, while I would come on his rear from the east. The Fifteenth Corps, less one division (Hazen's), still well to the rear, was turned at once toward Bentonville; Hazen's division was ordered to Slocum's flank; and orders were also sent for General Blair, with the Seventeenth Corps, to come to the same destination. Meantime the sound of cannon came from the direction of Bentonville.

The night of the 19th caught us near Falling Creek Church; but early the next morning the Fifteenth Corps, General C. R. Wood's division leading, closed down on Bentonville, near which it was brought up by encountering a line of fresh parapet, crossing the road and extending north toward Mill Creek.

After deploying, I ordered General Howard to proceed with due caution, using skirmishers alone, till he had made junction with General Slocum, on his left. These deployments occupied all day, during which two divisions of the Seventeenth Corps also got up. At that time General Johnston's army occupied the form of a V, the angle reaching the road leading from Averysboro to Goldsboro, and the flanks resting on Mill Creek, his lines embracing the village of Bentonville.

General Slocum's wing faced one of these lines, and General Howard's the other; and, in the uncertainty of General Johnston's strength, I did not feel disposed to invite a general battle, for we had been out from Savannah since the latter part of January, and our wagon trains contained but little food. I had also received messages during the day from General Schofield, at Kinston, and General Terry, at Faison's Depot, approaching Goldsboroa; both expected to reach it by March 21. During the 20th we simply held our ground, and started our trains back to Kinston for provisions, which would be needed in the event of being forced to fight a general battle at Bentonville. The next day (21st) it began to rain again, and we remained quiet till about noon, when General Mower, ever rash, broke through the rebel line on his extreme left flank, and was pushing straight for Bentonville and the bridge across Mill Creek. I ordered him back to connect with his own corps, and, lest the enemy should concentrate on him, ordered the whole rebel line to be engaged with a strong skirmish fire.

‘I think I made a mistake there, and should rapidly have followed Mowers' lead with the whole of the right wing, which would have brought on a general battle, and it could not have resulted otherwise than successfully to us, by reason of our vastly superior numbers; but at the moment, for the reasons given, I preferred to make junction with Generals Terry and Schofield, before engaging Johnston's army, the strength of which was utterly unknown. ’