1863

West Virginia and Nevada.

283

dead from starvation by the way." Still Thomas telegraphed : "I will hold fast till we starve." It was evident that something must be done at once and quickly. Re-enforcements under Hooker were therefore rushed by rail to the aid of the troops, and Grant was ordered to take the command. General Sherman, who had distinguished himself under Grant at the West, was also called to Chattanooga.

43. On the morning after his arrival Grant decided upon a plan of action. Accordingly, while Sherman began the attack in the valley, Hooker and Thomas advanced to drive the Confederates from the mountains. "All day long there had been a misty rain. The clouds which had hovered over Lookout mountain during the morning, gradually settled into the valley; and it was only from the roar of the battle, and the occasional glimpse that the troops in the valley could catch of the lines and standards that they knew of the strife and its progress. It was a battle above the clouds." All the strong positions of the Confederates were taken, and Bragg's army was completely routed (Nov. 23-25).1

44. The people in the western counties of Virginia were, from the beginning of the war, entirely opposed to secession. They not only refused to obey the secession ordinance passed by their legislature, but they took early measures West to effect a separation from the old State, and ob- Virginia tain admission as a State into the Union. Their and Nevada. efforts were crowned with success, the State being admitted in 1863, under the name of West Virginia. Nevada, the thirty-sixth member of the Union, was admitted the next year. This was originally a part of the territory acquired from Mexico by the treaty of 1848. Its mineral wealth led to its

1 General Longstreet, who had been sent by Bragg against Knoxville, was repulsed by Burnside. In Missouri and Kansas, guerrilla bands, cooperating with the regular Confederate forces, carried on the work of plunder and destruction. A bold raid was made into Indiana and Ohio by the partisan ranger Morgan; but he was pursued day and night for a distance of nearly seven hundred miles, and his band were killed, сарtured, or scattered. Morgan himself was taken prisoner.

rapid settlement and increase in population. It was named from the mountain range on its west, called the Sierra Nevada.

FOURTH YEAR OF THE WAR.

45. Early in the year (1864), Sherman marched from Vicksburg across the State of Mississippi, and destroyed the railroad system centering at Meridian. On his return march,

Red river crowds of fugitive slaves-from four to seven expedition. thousand in number-flocked to his army to make their escape. "They varied in age from one month to one hundred years. Some were on foot, some on horseback,

some in ox-carts. Some were clad in their ‘Sunday best,' the cast-off clothes of their masters. Of the women, some had bandana handkerchiefs twisted in turban fashion round their heads, or were decorated with scraps of ribbon and fantastic finery of every conceivable hue. These simple people believed that the day of Jubilee,' of which they had so often sung in their hymns and begged for in their prayers, had come at last." Sherman's troops were hurried to the aid of Banks, who, with the co-operation of Porter's fleet, was preparing to conduct an expedition against Shreveport, on the Red river. This, however, met with a series of disasters, which caused its entire failure. The vessels, in consequence of a fall in the river, were saved from capture and destruction only by the construction of a dam a mile long across the stream, by means of which the boats were enabled to go over the falls. The loss of men and material in this expedition was very great (March and April).2

1 In February the Union forces sustained a disastrous defeat at Olustee, Florida. The absence of troops to aid Banks in the Red river expedition, induced the Confederates, under General Forrest, to make a raid into Tennesse and Kentucky. Union City was captured. An attack upon Fort Pillow (April 12th), was bravely resisted; but, at last, the place was carried by assault, and three hundred of its defenders, mostly colored troops, were massacred.

2 Sherman, himself, took no part in the Red river expedition.

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Sherman's Campaign.

285

46. All eyes were now turned to Grant, as the best and most successful of the Union generals; and the President conferred on him the command of all the forces of the United States, under the title of Lieutenant-General.1 Final plan This appointment produced several changes in the of operations. army. Sherman succeeded Grant in the command at Chattanooga; but Meade, under Grant, retained the command of the Army of the Potomac. Both these armies were to act in concert, the one against Atlanta,' the other against Richmond. "Every thing unimportant was to be abandoned, and the two centers of power-the army of Lee in Virginia and that of Johnston in Georgia--were to be assailed at the same time, and assailed incessantly, regardless of the sea

47. 66 On the 4th of May, the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan, and Grant, sitting on a felled tree, telegraphed to Sherman to advance." Sherman's progress was disputed, but in vain. He won battles, outflanked his Sherman's opponent, drove him from one position after campaign. another, till, in July, he had nearly reached Atlanta. The Confederate government, becoming dissatisfied with, what was called, "Johnston's retreating policy," because he had "failed to arrest the advance of the enemy," put General Hood in command. This general, however, met with still greater disaster. His furious assaults upon the Union army were repulsed with heavy loss; and, at last, when Sherman began to surround Atlanta, and had again defeated a large division of his army, he abandoned the city. "Atlanta is

66

1 An act of Congress was passed in February, 1864, providing for the appointment of a Lieutenant-General to command all the armies of the Union, an honor which had never previously been conferred on any other than Washington, Scott being only such by brevet. President Lincoln immediately nominated General Grant for the office, and the nomination was confirmed on the 3d of March.

2 Atlanta was a great railroad center, and had immense magazines, workshops, and stores, all of the greatest importance to the Confederate government. Hence this city became one of the chief objective points of the war at this time.

ours, and fairly won," telegraphed Sherman to Washington, and Lincoln wrote him a letter of thanks (Sept. 2).

48. Finding that Hood had gone northward, with the design of destroying the com

munications of the Union army, instead of pursuing him, Sherman sent Thomas to defend Tennessee, while he, himself, resolved to march through Georgia to the coast. At Nash

Battle of ville, Hood was deNashville. feated by Thomas in a terrific battle of two days (Dec. 15, 16). The Confederate army was pursued day and night, and annihilated.

Of

GENERAL SHERMAN.

believed to be very slow, but in Hood's army it was felt that he was fearfully sure."

66

Sherman's

the sea.

49. Breaking away entirely from his northern communications, Sherman commenced (Nov. 15) his ever memorable march to the sea-coast. Passing through Georgia, and living upon the country as he advanced "which abounded march to in corn, sweet potatoes, and meats," he successively occupied the State capital and other large towns. "In a continuous line the army would have stretched over fifty miles, the wagon-train would have reached over thirty miles. At every halt the adjacent fields were covered with the horses, mules, and cattle. Nothing could be more picturesque than the bivouac in the majestic pine forests through which the march lay. Groups of soldiers flitting past the red, glaring watch-fires; some busy preparing supper; some dancing, singing, talking; and there was the low murmur of the vast host; the moaning of the wind as it swept through the tops of the trees; the neighing of horses, and the rustling

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Grant's Campaign in Virginia.

287

step of the picket-guard pacing his round, and outwatching the clear, cold night." Fort McAllister1 was reached, and carried by assault, and, on the morning of the 21st of December, Sherman entered Savannah. In announcing his triumph to President Lincoln, he said: "I beg to present you a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." Halleck, rejoicing in Sherman's success, pronounced his march as "the greatest one of this great war." Grant congratulated Sherman on "the successful termination of this most brilliant campaign.”

50. The campaign in Virginia was planned by Grant and conducted by him in person, Meade being second in command. On the 4th of May, when he telegraphed to Sherman to advance, his own army was crossing the Grant's Rapidan. On the following day he encountered campaign in Virginia. Lee in a terrific contest, known as the battle of the Wilderness, which raged for two days, night putting an end to the struggle. "The dead lay thickly strewn among the trees-the Wilderness was throbbing with the wounded." Grant, determining to put his whole force between Lee and Richmond, with his large army was enabled to outflank the Confederates, who retreated and took a position at Spottsylvania Court House, where another destructive battle was fought. "Thwarted there, Grant repeated the attempt at the North Anna; thwarted there again, with inflexible determination he delivered an assault at Cold Harbor. 'I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer,' he informed the Secretary of War." In this series of battles the Union loss was, probably, not less than fifty thousand men.

1 In five weeks, the army marched more than three hundred miles. During this time, Sherman and his troops were unheard of at the North, and great anxiety was felt on their account. The first news of the success and safety of Sherman's army was brought by scouts who left it as it was approaching Savannah. Hiding in the rice swamps by day, and paddling down the river at night, they succeeded in passing Fort McAllister, near Savannah, and were picked up by the Union gunboats.