Lieutenant Smails, the adjutant of the Ninth Michigan, did not stop; his horse ran away with him, and he joined Wheeler's cavalry on a dead run. Wheeler accepted his word that he would not attempt to escape, and permitted him to ride to his headquarters, and eventually sent him back to his regiment, under promise to send to Wheeler an officer of equal rank in exchange. Gede Scott, the brigade color-bearer, was instantly killed in front of the enemy's barricade, the colors falling to the ground, and a Rebel major sprang forward to capture them; but when he took hold of one end of the flag-staff, Orderly Hiram Hayward took hold of the other. The Rebel major, armed with his sabre, demanded Hayward's surrender; but Hayward had his navy revolver, and "drawing a bead" on the major he invited him to "come along." The Rebel major did this, Hayward saving the brigade colors, and capturing him. The Ninth Ohio soon flanked the enemy's barricade, and he retreated. The Tenth Wisconsin battery, Captain Beebe, was brought up, and silenced the Rebel battery in the town of Waynesborough; the Ninety-second Illinois, dismounted, was advancing in line of battle, and the enemy was in full retreat toward and through the town, when Kilpatrick ordered the brigade to halt. The Rebel cavalry under Wheeler and Hampton, that had tried to run over Kilpatrick on November 28, and been repulsed, had here chosen its own ground, erected two separate barricades, one in rear at some distance from the other, and one of Kilpatrick's brigades, by a square assault in front, had driven them out. The Fifth Ohio Cavalry, Colonel T. T. Heath, followed the enemy ten miles toward Augusta, and burned. the bridge across Brier Creek, for which the colonel was worthily promoted.

The brigade turned to the right from Waynesborough down the right bank of the Savannah River, no enemy following for a couple of days; and when he did attack the rear-guard, it was not with vigor. Kilpatrick, with the First

Brigade, marched down the left bank of the Ogeechee River, thus covering the rear of Sherman's army as it approached Savannah.

During the first few days of the siege of Savannah, the Second Brigade picketed the rear. Kilpatrick, with the First Brigade, crossed to the right bank of the Ogeechee River, and, passing Fort McAlister, opened communication with the Federal fleet in Ossabaw Sound. General Sherman gave Kilpatrick a partial promise that his division of cavalry, dismounted, might assault Fort McAlister, and the Second Brigade was ordered up; but Sherman gave that honor to Hazen's division of infantry, and that general accomplished his task so gallantly that the cavalry dared not boast that they could have done it better.

We were entirely out of provisions, and as soon as King's Bridge was crossed, foraging details were made. The orderly of the brigade-commander captured a turkey, boiled it, and, setting it on the table, ran to the door of the house occupied by the brigade-commander to call him to supper, when some hungry soldier "sniped" the turkey from the table, and the brigade-commander went supperless to bed.

The cavalry "lived upon the country," between the Ogeechee and Altamaha rivers; everything- animals, grain, and provisions—was taken, and the plantations were stripped bare. One day, a lady wrote a note saying that she and her daughter were destitute, and asked to be provided with means to reach Savannah. An ambulance was sent, and they were brought to brigade headquarters. Apologies were made, at the supper-table, because there was no butter; but the colonel's servant, with a merry twinkle in his eyes, produced a crock of butter, whereupon the lady, in the most artless manner, remarked, "Why, Colonel, that is the very crock of butter that was stolen from my house this morning." The colonel with great dignity replied, "Ah, madam, partake of it freely; you know how good it is." The following unique note from the

exuberant little brigadier commanding the division was

received:

TAYLOR'S CREEK, GEORGIA.

COLONEL ATKINS, commanding Cavalry.

COLONEL, I have heard from Colonel Jordan. He is doing well. Has been directed to push in to-morrow and form a junction on or beyond Taylor's Creek. I wish you to thoroughly scout the country, capturing all the horses and mules possible. Be bold. Times have wonderfully changed. One Yankee can run sixteen lousy Rebs. Isn't it funny? Keep your tailors, shoemakers, blacksmiths, and farmers, poor cowardly devils from the North, constantly at work, and don't give the brave, chivalric, and magnanimous sons of the sunny South a chance to steal, cook, and eat ary a tater. I desire you to remain until Saturday morning. No news of importance. Very respectfully yours,

J. KILPATRICK, Brigadier-General.

The writer ventures a single comment on this campaign Sherman's army necessarily "lived upon the country," in its march of over three hundred miles from Atlanta to Savannah. He had but two brigades of cavalry. The enemy was supplied with five times as many. The enemy, massing all his cavalry, attempted to overwhelm the two brigades of Sherman. Many of Sherman's cavalry regiments were armed with the Spencer repeating rifle, and had so great an advantage in that arm that ten times their number, armed as the enemy was, could not have overwhelmed them. It was a great mistake in the Rebel commanders. Had they broken up their cavalry into small parties to annoy the infantry foragers, they might have inflicted great suffering upon Sherman's army. Sherman's two brigades of cavalry induced the entire force of the enemy's cavalry to follow after them wherever they went, and the scattered infantry foragers were left unmolested to scour the country and gather provisions for the marching army.

The writer has endeavored to avoid boasting of the achievements of Sherman's cavalry on the march through Georgia. He will close with General Sherman's official letter to General Kilpatrick:

HEAD QUARTERS, MIL. DIV., MISS.

IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., Dec. 29, 1864. BRIGADIER-General Judson KILPATRICK, commanding Cavalry Division, Army of Georgia.

GENERAL, I have read with pleasure your report just received, as well as those of your brigade commanders. I beg to assure you that the operations of the cavalry under your command have been skilful and eminently successful. As you correctly state in your report, you handsomely feinted on Forsyth and Macon; afterwards did all that was possible toward the rescue of our prisoners at Millen, which failed simply because the prisoners were not there. And I will here state that you may have it on my signature that you acted wisely and well in drawing back from Wheeler to Louisville, as I had instructed you not to risk your cavalry command. And subsequently, at Thomas Station, Waynesborough, and Brier Creek, you whipped a superior cavalry force, and took from Wheeler all chance of boasting over you. But the fact that to you, in a great measure, we owe the march of four strong infantry columns, with heavy trains and wagons, over three hundred miles, through the enemy's country, without the loss of a single wagon, and without the annoyance of cavalry dashes on our flanks, is honor enough for any cavalry commander.

I will retain your report for a few days, that I may, in my own report, use some of your statistics, and then will forward it to the War Department, when I will indorse your recommendations, and make such others as I may consider necessary and proper.

I am truly your friend,

W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General commanding.

A COLORED BRIGADE IN THE CAMPAIGN

IN

AND BATTLE OF NASHVILLE.

BY HENRY V. FREEMAN.

[Read March 8, 1888.]

N the summer of 1863 there was gathered together at Elk River Bridge, in Tennessee, on the line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railway, a motley collection of men who had come to be known as "Contrabands." They were of all colors, ages, and sizes. Nearly all had been slaves. They still wore the dress, or more properly, in many cases, the undress of the plantation. There were rag-tag and bobtail; and this material was to be organized into what was afterwards known as the Twelfth Regiment, United States Colored Troops.

The officers of the regiment—all white men of coursehad been appointed after examination by one of the boards established by the bureau, under the direction of Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas and Major-General Casey. These examinations were rigid, and took a wide range, covering not only military tactics and drill, but outside topics as well. Only about one third of those appearing before the boards for examination passed. The result was that the officers of colored troops were often cultivated and trained men. General Casey says of them: "From my knowledge of the officers of white volunteers, gained by my duties connected with receiving and organizing in the city of Washington three hundred thousand of them, and also as a commander of a division in the Peninsula, I have no hesitation in saying that the officers of the colored regiments who passed the board, as a body, were superior to them physically, mentally, and morally." The officers of