Aftermath

Wagon train in Union occupied Atlanta

Commentary

Last Letter

This is the last of the letters written by my great grandfather which have come to my attention as of early 2019. I am most grateful to the possessors of these missives for sharing their contents with me.

Based on William's comments in his letter, I would conclude that secrecy was imperative as Sherman planned for and initiated his March to the Sea. With the 'light' city guard duty by the 20th Corps, there appeared to be little danger from Confederate spies, saboteurs or common criminals. After the destruction wrought by the long siege and its aftermath, one might wonder if many of the resident civilians saw the Union troops as protectors?

Meanwhile it appears that Sherman's army was well supplied and fed. A healthy and confident army would soon be led by him across the heartland of the American South. Until the March began, William had his fancy soldier's shanty in Union occupied Atlanta. It also appears that the long awaited pay finally reached his hands and those of his soldier compatriots.

Richmond, Virginia served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during most of the American Civil War. Not only was Richmond the seat of political power for the Confederacy, it served as an important source of munitions, armament, weapons, supplies, and manpower for the Confederate States Army. It was the target of numerous failed attempts by the Federal Army to seize its possession. Richmond finally fell to the victorious Union soldiers in April 1865.

20th Corps  

On April 4, 1864 the 11th and the 12th Army Corps were consolidated as the Twentieth Army Corps. Together with other army corps, they formed an army of 100,000 under General William T. Sherman. That vast army would become of one of the most famous in the history of warfare.

On May 4, 1864 the Twentieth Corps started on the Atlanta Campaign. During the next four months it participated in all the important battles - hardest fighting occurring at Resaca, May 15th, at New Hope Church, May 25th, and at Peach Tree Creek, July 20th.

During the four months fighting from Chattanooga to Atlanta, it lost over 7,000 men killed, wounded and missing. Before reaching Atlanta, Hooker had a disagreement with Sherman, and asked to be relieved. He was succeeded by Major-General Henry W. Slocum.

The 20th was actively engaged in the siege of Atlanta, sustaining losses daily in killed and wounded while occupying the breastworks and trenches and skirmishing with enemy forces.
 
Upon Confederate General Hood's evacuation of Atlanta in the beginning of September, troops of the Twentieth Corps were the first to enter and occupy the city. William's 107th Regiment and the rest of the Corps were assigned responsibility for the occupation and guarding of Atlanta from September 2 to November 15, 1864. The entire 20th Corps remaining there to hold and police this important prize, while Sherman and the rest of the Army went off in pursuit of Hood.

The one break from this 'onerous' assignment was an expedition to Tuckum's Cross Roads from October 26-29, 1864. I have no knowledge about the purpose or success of this expedition. An internet review provided no useful information. Tuckum seems to have disappeared from current maps of the Atlanta area.

However, there is a Tucker located some 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Ironically, Tucker is only about five miles from Stone Mountain where sympathizers of the lost cause financed the carving of a huge monument to three Confederate leaders (a politician and two generals) out of the side of said mountain.

Union occupation of Atlanta lasted two and a half months while Sherman pursued Hood and planned his next move. The course he chose (his legendary March to the Sea) meant abandoning Atlanta to possible Confederate reoccupation. Sherman made sure the city would have no military value. In November, he ordered the destruction of any remaining part of Atlanta that might support war.

The March

Raising the colors of the 107th NY at Mil-
ledgeville, GA, during the March to the Sea

On Nov. 15, 1864, Sherman’s army set out from Atlanta on its famous March to the Sea, cutting a swath of destruction toward Savannah on the coast. Sherman swore to “make Georgia howl,” and in his Special Field Order No. 120 he laid out the rules of destruction and conduct for the march. The army was to “forage liberally on the country” with details of men and officers sent out each day to gather food. Soldiers were instructed not to enter private homes and to discriminate between the rich, “who are usually hostile,” as Sherman observed, and the poor and industrious, who were usually “neutral or friendly.”  (New York Times, W. Todd Groce, Rethinking Sherman's March, Nov 17, 2014.)

Sherman entering Savannah December 21, 1864 to accept its surrender

The March to the Sea lasted from November 15 to December 21, 1864. William's 107th Regiment participated in it and the battles that followed.

Outside of Savannah the almost forgotten Battle of Montieth Swamp resulted in a Union victory on December 9, 1864. The subsequent Siege of Savannah lasted for 10 days starting December 10, 1864. It ended with the city's surrender on December 21, 1864. The sea had been reached and the army would now pivot to the north.

The succeeding Carolinas Campaign would last from January to April 1865. The battles, incidents and other highlights experienced by William Graham and the 107th Regiment on this now northward march were as follows:

Sherman's Christmas gift to Lincoln

• Robertsville, S.C., January 29. 
• Averysboro, N.C., March 16. 
• Battle of Bentonville, NC., March 19-21
• Occupation of Goldsboro, March 24
• Moccasin Swamp, April 10. 
• Occupation of Raleigh, NC, April 14. 
• Surrender of Johnston and his army - Bennett's House, NC, April 26.
• March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 19.  
• Grand Review of the Armies, Washington, DC, May 24.  
• Mustered out of the army, Wash., DC, June 5,1865