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Jan 15 1865 (Sunday)

When apprised of the new Union attempt against Fort Fisher, President Davis sends a dispatch to General Bragg. "We are trustfully looking to your operations; may Divine favor crown your efforts. If the sea should be rough I hope you will be able to capture the detachment which has landed." At 8:00 a.m., the Union gunboats begin a massive barrage against the fort. General Terry reports, "All of the vessels...moved into position, and a fire, magnificent alike for its power and accuracy, was opened." Despite the heavy shelling, General Terry reports, at 2:00 p.m., only "3 killed and 32 wounded." Shortly after 2:30 p.m., General Terry forms his columns in preparation for the attack. "Volunteers from Curtis' brigade..., were thrown forward at a run to within 175 yards of the work. They were provided with shovels and soon dug pits for shelter and commenced firing at the parapet. As soon as this movement commenced the parapet of the fort was manned, and the enemy's fire, both of musketry and artillery, opened."

HEADQUARTERS, Sugar Loaf, January 15, 1865--2.30 p.m. - General R. E. LEE, Richmond: It is believed by the commander of your troops that the effort will fail if made, and at a heavy sacrifice. The enemy's force is represented and believed to be 12,000. If defended, as I believe it will be, by your veterans and the former garrison it cannot be taken. It is not invested and cannot be unless the fleet passes. The channel of river is a mile and three-quarters from enemy's nearest position, and will be perfectly safe at night. But in any event we can pass the obstructed point by land from Fort Anderson to Smithville and keep up communications....Garrison reported in fine spirits. I have ordered obstructions sunk on the Rip to prevent passage of fleet. BRAXTON BRAGG.

At 3:00 p.m., the Union bombardment ceases, and the advance begins. General Terry reports, "All the preparations were completed, the order to move forward was given to [General] Ames....Curtis' brigade at once sprung from their trenches and dashed forward in line; its left was exposed to a severe enfilading fire and it obliqued to the right so as to envelop the left of the land front. The ground over which it moved was marshy and difficult, but it soon reached the palisades, passed through them, and affected a lodgment on the parapet. At the same time the column of sailors and marines, under Fleet Capt. K. R. Breese, advanced up the beach in the most gallant manner and attacked the northeastern bastion, but, exposed to a murderous fire, they were unable to get up the parapet." Despite receiving rumors that the fort was in trouble, General Bragg remains confident. "About this time the fire of the fleet slackened, and a feeble, desultory fire of musketry was heard for a few minutes at the fort. Soon the fire from the fleet was resumed with great vigor....Some unpleasant rumors and reports from the west of the river were heard about 4.30 p.m., but, with the certainty of being able to re-enforce the garrison that night, all apprehension was dispelled." At 6:00 p.m., a severely wounded General Whiting renews his request for assistance. "The enemy are assaulting us by land and sea. Their infantry outnumbers us. Can't you help us? I am slightly wounded."

FORT FISHER. - General R. E. LEE, Commanding Armies Confederate States. - GENERAL: At 3 o'clock the enemy's land force, which had been gradually and slowly advancing, formed into two columns for assault. The garrison during the fierce bombardment was not able to stand to the parapets, and many of the re-enforcements were obliged to be kept at a great distance from the fort. As the enemy here slackened his fire to allow the assault to take place, the men hastily manned the ramparts and gallantly repulsed the right column of assault....The greater portion of the garrison being, however, engaged on the right, and not being [able] to man the entire work, the enemy succeeded in making a lodgment on the left flank, planting two of his regimental flags in the traverses....From this [time] it was a succession of fighting from traverse to traverse, and from line to line....The fall both of the general and the colonel commanding the fort, one about 4 and the other about 4.30 p.m., had a perceptible effect upon the men, and no doubt hastened greatly the result; but we were overpowered, and no skill or gallantry could have saved the place, after he effected a lodgment, except attack in the rear....I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. H. C. WHITING, Major-General (prisoner of war).

Shortly after dark, Terry sends General Abbot's brigade into the Union held portion of the fort. Despite fierce hand to hand fighting, the outnumbered Confederate garrison slowly gives ground. General Whiting reports, "At 9 p.m. the gallant Major Reilly, who had fought the fort after the fall of his superiors, reported the enemy in possession of the sally-port....The garrison of Fort Fisher had been coolly abandoned to its fate. Nothing was left but to await the approach of the enemy, who took us about 10 p.m. Thus fell Fort Fisher after three days' battle, unparalleled in the history of the war." At 10:30 p.m., Lieutenant Bright, commanding at nearby Battery Lamb reports, "All at once firing has ceased; also signals; and the whole fleet are now throwing rockets up--all colors....It is fully believed that the fort has surrendered." Braxton Bragg sends General Colquitt into to fort to assume command. Colquitt reports, "I landed, and found about the battery a crowd of men mingling together, without organization and without arms....Meeting an officer, he said he would carry me to Colonel Lamb, who was wounded. I found the colonel prostrate with a wound....In answer to my inquiry whether anything more could be done, he replied that a fresh brigade might then retake the fort. I told him there was no brigade with me, and wished to know of him the condition of the men who had escaped. He said that when he was wounded everything broke up in consternation and was utterly disorganized, and that no further efforts could effect anything with the resources then available....As I left him to seek General Whiting, a messenger came running to me...with the information that the enemy was upon us, and that in a minute longer we could not escape. Walking in the direction of the boat..., I perceived a line of his troops advancing with two colors flying. They were not more than 100 yards from the battery. The night was bright, with a full moon. I had just time to reach the boat and shove off as the line advanced to the battery, its right flank passing within thirty or forty yards of me." Shortly before midnight, General Terry reports that his assault of the fort has been successful. "Abbott's brigade drove the enemy from their last remaining strongholds, and the occupation of the work was completed....On reaching the battery all of the enemy who had not been previously captured were made prisoners; among them were Major-General Whiting, and Colonel Lamb, the commandant of the fort."

HDQRS. SECOND BRIG., FIRST DIV., 24TH ARMY CORPS, Fisher's Island, N. C. - Capt. ADRIAN TERRY, Assistant Adjutant-General. - SIR: At about 9 o'clock, by order of General Ames, I...proceeded to dislodge the enemy from the remainder of the fort. Captain Trickey, with twenty men of the Third New Hampshire, promptly and speedily took possession of all but one of the remaining mounds on the northern face. I then advanced the Seventh New Hampshire, Lieutenant-Colonel Rollins commanding. They at once and gallantly charged up the slope, enveloping the sea angle of the work, meeting a sharp fire from the enemy, who were stationed behind the parapets and in the rear of the main work. I also advanced the Sixth Connecticut Volunteers immediately after the Seventh New Hampshire Volunteers, and the sea angle of the work was thus fully and strongly occupied. Perceiving this, the enemy at once either evacuated the whole work or surrendered....All the batteries facing the sea were found to be evacuated, excepting one, where the enemy at once gave themselves up without resistance....Upon reaching Battery Buchanan I was met by the adjutant-general of the general commanding the enemy's forces, who tendered the surrender of the battery....It was found that at this point there were about 1,000 of the enemy, including General Whiting, and more than 60 other officers. General Terry having arrived, received the surrender of the work and the force, and by his order I formed the prisoners in line and marched them first to Fort Fisher, then, by a subsequent order, moved them to the beach near the headquarters of the corps, where they were bivouacked and guarded by the Sixth Connecticut Volunteers. I then returned the remainder of the brigade to their bivouac....I am, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOSEPH C. ABBOTT, Brevet Brigadier-General, Commanding.

Casualties at Fort Fisher, North Carolina: Union and Confederate (estimated) 2,000.

Other activity reported on this date:
Skirmish with Indians at American Ranch, CO.
Skirmish with Indians near Valley Ranch, CO.
Skirmish with Indians at Wisconsin Ranch, CO.
Confederate destruction of the United States Monitor Patapsco in Charleston Harbor, SC.

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Jan 16 1865 (Monday)

Secretary Stanton, en route from Savannah to Fortress Monroe, stops off at Fort Fisher to congratulate General Terry and "the gallant officers and soldiers of [his] command" for the "valor and skill displayed...in the operations against Fort Fisher and in its assault and capture." However, the victory celebration is marred by a suspicious explosion which kills and wounds over one hundred men. General Terry reports, "Shortly after sunrise...the magazine of reserve ammunition in the fort exploded....The cause of this explosion has not yet been ascertained....A board of officers has been appointed to investigate and report upon the matter." General Bragg is "mortified at having to report the unexpected capture of Fort Fisher." When apprised of the news, President Davis sends a dispatch to Bragg. "The intelligence is sad as it was unexpected. Can you retake the fort? If anything is to be done you will appreciate the necessity of its being attempted without a moment's delay." Bragg replies: "The enemy's enormous fleet alone would destroy us in such an attempt were we unopposed by the land force. The most we can hope to do will be to hold this line."

GANDER HALL, January 16, 1865---11.30 a.m. - General R. E. LEE, Petersburg: The fall of Fisher renders useless our forts below. I am accordingly concentrating on this point and at Fort Anderson, directly opposite, and will endeavor to hold this line. May not be able to save heavy guns from below; in which event a supply will be necessary. BRAXTON BRAGG.

After conferring with Secretary of War Stanton for the past several days about his perceived lack of compassion for blacks, General Sherman releases Special Orders, No. 15. The order designates that the sea islands and the plantation areas for "thirty miles back from the sea" from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida, are to be "set apart for the settlement of the negroes now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States." General Rufus Saxton is given the responsibility of enforcing Sherman's order and for the approximately 40,000 freedmen living on the land designated in the order. In addition, "no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside [in the territory]; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves, subject only to the United States military authority and the acts of Congress." Sherman concludes, "By the laws of war and orders of the President of the United States the negro is free, and must be dealt with as such."

SPECIAL FIELD ORDERS No. 15. - HDQRS. MIL. DIV. OF THE MISSISSIPPI, In the Field, Savannah, Ga. Whenever three respectable negroes, heads of families, shall desire to settle on land, and shall have selected for that purpose an island, or a locality clearly defined within the limits...designated, the inspector of settlements and plantations will...give them a license to settle such island or district, and afford them such assistance as he can to enable them to establish a peaceable agricultural settlement....Each family shall have a plot of not more than forty acres of tillable ground....In order to carry out this system of settlement a general officer will be detailed as inspector of settlements and plantations, whose duty it shall be to visit the settlements, to regulate their police and general management, and who will furnish personally to each head of a family, subject to the approval of the President of the United States, a possessory title in writing, giving as near as possible the description of boundaries, and who shalt adjust all claims or conflicts that may arise under the same, subject to the like approval, treating such titles altogether as possessory....By order of Maj. Gen. W. T. Sherman: L. M. DAYTON, Assistant Adjutant-General.

Other activity reported on this date:
Explosion of powder magazine at Fort Fisher, NC.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 17 1865 (Tuesday)

General Beauregard arrives in Tupelo with instructions, from Secretary Seddon, to grant General Hood's request to be relieved of command and to send as many troops "as may be spared" to Augusta, Georgia. Beauregard immediately approved a "judicious system of furloughs" for the men in Hood's army "to prevent disorder and desertion in [the] Army of Tennessee." John Bell Hood sends two dispatches to President Davis, one offering "to command a corps or division," and the second requesting that he be assigned "west of the Mississippi River." According to Hood, "I think I can be of more service there than east of the river." Although Beauregard is satisfied that the army "requires immediate reorganization and consolidation" and believes that "to divide this small army at this juncture to re-enforce General Hardee would expose to capture Mobile, Demopolis, Selma, Montgomery, and all the rich valley of the Alabama River," he organizes the "first shipment of about 8,000 troops" for the long and arduous train ride to Georgia.

TUPELO, January 17, 1865. (Received 3 o'clock 24th.) - Hon. J. A. SEDDON, Secretary of War: Telegram of the 15th instant received. I will leave for Georgia and South Carolina soon as practicable after having placed General Taylor in command of the Army of Tennessee, and take, after conference with him, as many troops as can be spared from here. G. T. BEAUREGARD.

"Cump" Sherman gives instructions to General Howard regarding the next phase of their campaign. "As soon as possible we will cast off, and then for another cruise that will, in my judgment, do more to bring matters to a crisis than the last. Choose the best points you can find to land stores for Pocotaligo. Don't cross the Salkehatchie [River], but hold all the ground up to it, as though we intended to break across. The next movement I want the enemy to feel is from the left flank." General Hardee informs President Davis of the latest movements of Sherman's army. "Enemy seems to be concentrating at Pocotaligo. A force reported to be moving up the Coosawhatchie." Hardee continues, "Deserters from the enemy concur in stating that the force which crossed at Port Royal Ferry, and which is now [in] vicinity of Pocotaligo, consists of Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps; also that their destination is Charleston."

HEADQUARTERS CAVALRY CORPS, Near Steep Bottom Church, January 17, 1865--9.15 a.m. - General L. McLAWS, Commanding, near Salkehatchie Station: - GENERAL: There were captured..., near Station No. O, three Yankee prisoners who belong to the Eighteenth Missouri Regiment, Sheldon's brigade, Mower's [division], Seventeenth Corps. They state that the Seventeenth Corps was near Station No. 6, and that the Fifteenth...is at Beaufort....They do not know the amount of artillery or number of wagons with them, but say their wagon train is small; say the talk in camp is that Charleston is their destination....They say the Fourth [Fourteenth] and Twentieth Corps were to march from Savannah to Charleston by the line of the railroad. A scouting party of about fifty men came up a short distance this side of Gillisonville yesterday, and was driven back toward Grahamville....Respectfully, general, your obedient servant, J. WHEELER, Major-General.

Other activity reported on this date:
Action at Ivey's Ford, AR.


[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 18 1865 (Wednesday)

The loss of Fort Fisher is a stunning blow to the Confederacy. Vice-President Alexander Stephens calls it "one of the greatest disasters that [has] befallen our Cause." In response, some Congressmen begin calling for the resignation of President Davis and the General Assembly of Virginia passes a resolution calling for the "the appointment of General Robert E. Lee to the command of all the armies of the Confederate States." A copy of the resolution is sent to Davis. "The General Assembly, with sincere confidence in your patriotic devotion to the welfare of the country, desire in this critical period of our affairs by such suggestions as occur to them..., to strengthen your hands and to give success to our struggle for liberty and independence." Although the appointment of Lee to this position would diminish his powers as the country's military commander, Davis declares that "the opinion expressed by the General Assembly in regard to General Lee has my full concurrence." He continues, "[General Lee] has always expressed his inability to assume command of other armies than those now confided in him, unless relieved of the immediate command in the field....I assure the General Assembly that whenever it shall be found practicable by General Lee to assume the command of all the armies of the Confederate States, without withdrawing from the direct command of the Army of Northern Virginia, I will deem it promotive of public interests to place him in such command."

RICHMOND, VA., January 18, 1865. - General R. E. LEE, Hdqrs. Army of Northern Virginia: It has been reported to me that you had changed your opinion in regard to the extension of your command while retaining command of the Army of Northern Virginia. I therefore renew to you the proposition that you should exercise command over the Southern Atlantic States, together with Virginia and North Carolina, and now offer the larger sphere of all the forces east of the Mississippi River; or, if you think it practicable, that you should resume your former position of commander of all the armies of the Confederate States, with the addition of the immediate command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Very respectfully and truly, yours, &c., JEFF'N DAVIS.

After months of negotiations, Secretary of War Stanton accepts the proposal of Robert Ould, the Confederate Commissioner of Exchange, to "let all prisoners of war on each side be released from confinement (close) or in irons."

RICHMOND, January 18, 1865. - Lieut. Col. JOHN E. MULFORD, Assistant Agent of Exchange: - SIR: As we have agreed to relieve from close confinement or irons, as the case may be, and deliver all prisoners heretofore or now so held on either side, I beg leave to call your attention to the cases which have been brought to the notice of the Confederate authorities..., viz: Private George P. Simms, Private W. S. Burgess, Private John Marr, Private Thomas M. Campbell, Capt. D. G. Douglas, Captain Davis, Captain Smith, Captain Miller, and Lieut. A. C. Smith, Nineteenth Tennessee, at Johnson's Island; Capt. James P. Brown, Tennessee cavalry; First Lieut. R. J. Brailsford, First Texas Legion; First Lieut. R. H. C. Bailey, Foster's cavalry, and First Lieut. A. W. Dozier, Sixth South Carolina Cavalry, at Fort Delaware. The last four named officers were reported to me by General Butler on the 18th of July last as being "in cells." Major Mills and Lieutenant Davis, at Fort Delaware; Private Philip Trammell, Private John H. Barnes, Private J. R. H. Embert, Private Braxton Lyon, Private Samuel B. Hearn, Private Samuel Cooper, Private C. McDonnell, and Private Ro. Harrover, Albany penitentiary; Private Jacob S. Dyer, Private Daniel H. Wherret, Second Kentucky Cavalry; Private Albert W. Cushman, Col. John H. Winston, and Capt. Joseph Melton, Alton penitentiary; Capt. Frank B. Gurley, Lieutenant Mosely, and Lieutenant Bridges, Nashville; Captain Compton, Fort McHenry; Private John R. Guthwright, Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, Cincinnati; Surg. D. D. Carter, Fort Lafayette; Captain Glover and three privates, Chattanooga; Lieut. John H. Yerby, Lieutenant Casteel, Lieutenant Thomas, Private Thomas [A.] Quarles, Private Thomas Stoneham, and Private John [G.] Smith, Helena jail; Capt. J. B. Castleman, Camp Morton; Capt. Gustave A. Huwald and Captain Reynolds, Sixty-fourth North Carolina (in iron cage), Knoxville; Lieut. C. D. Burbridge, Gratiot Street Prison, Saint Louis; Private A. A. Williams, Maryland cavalry, and Private Hiram P. Richardson, Maryland cavalry, Fort Warren; Corpl. F. M. Armstrong, Sixteenth Missouri, Saint Louis; Lieutenant Gandy and Private George Dusky, Wheeling; Col. J. D. Morris and Maj. T. Steele, Lexington. All of the above-named parties are either in close confinement or in irons. It may be that some of them are not now at the place indicated. You may, however, rest assured that they have been there at some time, and if transferred you can readily find out where they are. I am quite confident you will find quite a number in irons or close confinement at Alton, at Saint Louis, and in Tennessee and Kentucky. I also understand there are 100 of Col. Adam R. Johnson's men and some 25 of Morgan's, embracing three or four officers who are now held, at Louisville not as prisoners of war. Let me again earnestly commend this whole subject to your attention. If we can succeed in relieving all prisoners of war, on both sides, from a cruel confinement, we will have accomplished a good deal in the cause of humanity. I am ready to deliver all whom we have in close confinement or in irons at any moment. Respectfully, your obedient servant, RO. OULD, Agent of Exchange.

Other activity reported on this date:
Skirmish near Clarksville, AR.
Affair near Lovettsville, VA.

[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 19 1865 (Thursday)

President Lincoln meets with Francis Blair and agrees to enter into peace negotiations with the Confederate government. Lincoln also give Blair a letter to bring to President Jefferson Davis on his return trip to Richmond. "You may say to him that I have constantly been, am now, and shall continue ready to receive any agent whom he, or any other influential person now resisting the national authority, may informally send to me with the view of securing peace to the people of our one common country."

CITY POINT, VA., January 19, 1865--5 p.m. - Hon. G. V. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy: The flag-of-truce steamer is now in James River. If Mr. Blair arrives during its stay I can send him through to Richmond promptly and comfortably. U.S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.

General Robert E. Lee sends a letter to Secretary Seddon complaining that "there is great suffering in the Army for want of soap." Lee proposes that agents from the Commissary Department "employ or contract with some intelligent and practical business men in the different States to insure a supply." Lee concludes, "I do not suppose that agents or officers of the Commissary of Subsistence Department can succeed as well as private individuals, if it be made to the interest of the latter to procure what we need." Seddon quickly agrees to Lee suggestion. "Certainly soap, manufactured as it is in almost every country household, can be obtained in adequate quantities for the reasonable supply of the armies."

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, January 19, 1865. - Hon. SECRETARY OF WAR, Richmond: - SIR: The neglect of personal cleanliness has occasioned cutaneous diseases to a great extent in many commands. The Commissary Department has been applied to, but the supply received from it is entirely inadequate. Soap is an article of home manufacture in every family almost. The materials for making it are found in every household, and the art is familiar to all well-trained domestics. I cannot but think that by proper efforts a plan might be devised to meet this want of our soldiers....I beg that you will endeavor to make some arrangement by which the suffering of the men in this particular can be relieved. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. E. LEE, General.

Other activity reported on this date:
Union reconnaisance to Myrtle Sound and skirmish at the Half Moon Battery, NC.
Skirmish at Corinth, MS.


[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 20 1865 (Friday)

General Terry appoints a three-man board to investigate the explosion of the main powder magazine that occurred early in the morning on the day after Fort Fisher was captured and resulted in the deaths of over one hundred men. According to the testimony of Lieutenant-Colonel Zent, who was ordered "to place guards on all the magazines and bombproofs," the main magazine "being rear of the traverses, escaped his notice, and consequently had no guards." Zant also testifies that "persons were seen with lights searching for plunder in the main magazine some ten or fifteen minutes previous to the explosion." As a result, the court concludes that "the explosion was the result of carelessness." In making this decision, the court dismisses "the report that a magnetic wire connected this work with some work on the opposite side of the Cape Fear River."

SPECIAL ORDERS No. 9. - HEADQUARTERS U. S. FORCES, Fort Fisher, N.C., January 20, 1865. I. A board of inquiry, to consist of the officers named below, is constituted to examine into the cause of the explosion of the magazine of Fort Fisher on the morning of the 16th instant. The board will meet at these headquarters at 3 p.m. this day, and will render their report as soon as possible, consistently with a full investigation of the circumstances. Detail for the court: Bvt. Brig. Gen. J. C. Abbott, commanding Second Brigade, First Division, Twenty-fourth Army Corps; Lieut. Col. A.M. Barney, One hundred and forty second New York Volunteers; Capt. George F. Towle, Fourth New Hampshire Volunteers, acting assistant inspector-general. The board will sit without regard to hours. By order of Maj. Gen. A. H. Terry: ADRIAN TERRY, Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General.

Secretary of War Seddon sends instructions to Braxton Bragg to remove all the cotton "from Wilmington without delay," and to send it to the relative safety of Raleigh. General Hoke reports that his position outside Wilmington is still secure. He continues, "I do not think they will make an advance until Sherman's movements are more fully developed....If the governor would collect a force for the protection of Wilmington we would be able then to move against Terry." Hoke also reports that all the Union "iron clads and monitors have gone to Charleston." According to Hoke, "They are very much afraid of torpedoes. We should fill the river with them."

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA, Wilmington, January 20, 1865. - Brigadier-General HÉBERT, Commanding, &c., Fort Anderson: - GENERAL: The commanding general (Bragg) directs me to communicate to you confidentially his views upon the position you now hold and the possible movements of the enemy. If the enemy's gunboats should pass Fort Anderson there will be no necessity for its immediate evacuation; but you will have to be vigilant and take care....In case, however, the passage by Fort Anderson should be affected, and a serious infantry movement compromising your position be attempted, it is the design of the general that your troops should retire to the line of Town Creek..., which it is intended ultimately to adopt on this side of the river. But unless telegraphic communication is interrupted, or the necessity is immediate to save your command, you will not give up your present position without further orders from these headquarters. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ARCHER ANDERSON, Assistant Adjutant-General. (Copy sent General Hoke.)

Other activity reported on this date:
Skirmish with Indians near Fort Larned, KS.
Skirmish at Point of Rocks, KS.
Union reconnaissance to the Salkehatchie River, SC.


[Sunday] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday]
Jan 21 1865 (Saturday)

General Grant informs "Cump" Sherman that, instead of having General Thomas "make a campaign into the heart of Alabama," as Sherman has suggested, he as transferred Schofield's corps to Virginia. "The advance, 6,000, will reach seaboard by the 23d, the remainder following as rapidly as railroad transportation can be procured from Cincinnati. The corps numbers over 21,000 men." Grant explains he reasons; "I was induced to do this because I did not believe Thomas could possibly be got off before spring. His pursuit of Hood indicated a sluggishness that satisfied me that he would never do to conduct one of your campaigns."

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 21, 1865. (Received 29th.) - Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi: When Hood had crossed the Tennessee, and those in pursuit had reached it, Thomas had not much more than half crossed the State, from whence he returned to Nashville to take steamer for Eastport. He is possessed of excellent judgment, great coolness, and honesty, but he is not good on a pursuit. He also reported his troops fagged, and that it was necessary to equip up....Canby has been ordered to act offensively from the sea coast to the interior toward Montgomery and Selma....In the meantime should you be brought to a halt anywhere, I can send two corps of 30,000 effective men to your support from the troops about Richmond. To résumé: Canby is ordered to operate to the interior from the gulf. A. J. Smith may go from the north, but I think it doubtful. A force of 28,000 or 30,000 men will co-operate with you from New Berne or Wilmington, or both. You can call for re-enforcements. This will be handed to you by Captain Hudson of my staff, who will return with any message you may have for me. If there is anything I can do for you in the way of having supplies on shipboard at any point on the sea coast ready for you let me know it. U.S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General.

The recent rainy weather in South Carolina and Georgia has slowed Sherman's preparations for embarking on his new campaign. He writes to Admiral Porter, "The weather has been villainous, and all the country is under water, and retards me much. It may be some days yet before I can cast off, as the roads are under water, and my men are not exactly amphibious yet, nor the mules either." However, Sherman remains optimistic. "I shall spare no efforts to be off, and the foul weather of January may be a guarantee for better in February and March." Sherman also give Porter his opinion of Benjamin Butler. "The best part of the taking of Fort Fisher was the killing of Butler. He has no blood on his skirts, and, judging from the past, it will be long before his blood stains anything. His solicitude for the blood of his men is a moonshine." In addition, Sherman sends a letter to General Grant promising to meet him in Virginia in "April or May." Sherman writes, "I have turned over everything to General Foster, so that nothing now hinders me but water....When I am at Goldsborough and move against Raleigh, Lee will be forced to divide his command or give up Richmond."

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, In the Field, Savannah, January 21, 1865. - Lieut. Gen. U.S. GRANT, City-Point, Va. - GENERAL: I have been told that Congress meditates a bill to make another lieutenant-general for me. I have written to John Sherman to stop it, if it is designed for me. It would be mischievous, for there are enough rascals who would try to sow differences between us whereas you and I now are in perfect understanding. I would rather have you in command than anybody else for you are fair, honest, and have at heart the same purpose that should animate all. I should emphatically decline any commission calculated to bring us into rivalry....I doubt if men in Congress fully realize that you and I are honest in our professions of want of ambition. I know I feel none, and to-day will gladly surrender my position and influence to any other who is better able to wield the power. The flurry attending my recent success will soon blow over, and give place to new developments....I am, truly, yours, W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General.

Other activity reported on this date:
Affair in Presidio del Norte, Mexico.

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