Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 2

It was before Sherman and Slocum had reached Milledgeville. In a letter I remarked: “To-morrow I will have everything substantially at Gordon. Our marches at first (from Atlanta), until we reached Ocmulgee, were very pleasant, having good roads and good weather. Since then our roads have been very heavy, and the rain continuous. We have found the country full of provisions, and thus far have drawn very little upon our rations. We have destroyed (as instructed) a large amount of cotton, the Planters' Factory, a pistol factory, and a mill at Griswold; the latter three by Kilpatrick.”

Now, referring to Captain Duncan's enterprise ten miles ahead of us and toward our left front, I said: “The Mayor of Milledgeville surrendered the town, the capital of Georgia, formally to Captain Duncan and a few scouts.” Then, speaking of some cavalry that went from Blair's headquarters or mine to support the scouts, I wrote: “After Duncan's capture a company of the First Alabama Cavalry entered the town with Captain Duncan and destroyed the depot and some seventy-five or one hundred boxes of ammunition and the telegraph office. Duncan had returned to me, meeting me at Gordon; and so I sent him back again November 22d with a fuller report of our late battle to be delivered to General Sherman.”

After receiving full news and causing Kilpatrick with his cavalry to cross over to the left, Sherman from Milledgeville issued instructions for further movements November 23d. It was in this communication that he ordered Kilpatrick to use all possible effort to rescue our prisoners of war confined near Millen. In the accomplishment of this the cavalry failed.