CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN I~ORTH CAROLINA (FROM FEBRU- ARY 1), SOUTH CAROLINA, SOUTHERN GEORGIA, AND EAST FLORiDA, FROM JANUARY 1, 1865, TO MARCH 23, 1865.* UNION CORIRIESPONDENCE, ETC. CITY POINT, YA., January 1, 18653.30 p. rn. (Received 5 p. in.) Major-General HALLECK, Chief of Staff: I sent instructions to SLerman which advised that Foster should organize all the colored troops he could for his department. Negroes here would return white troops to their regiments, but you may direct General Meigs to send orders to Captain Strang to return without them. Please also instruct Sherman and Foster to retain all negroes South until the return of warm weather. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant- General. (Copy by Halleck to Meigs.) HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, Washington, January 1, 1865. (Received 12th.) Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMJVN, Savannah, Ga.: MY DEAR GENERAL: Your letter of December 24 is received,t and I have just shown it to the Secretary of War, who xpressed great pleasure and satisfaction in reading it. Your anticipations in regard to the Wilmington expedition have proved so correct that your reputa- tion as a prol)het may soon equal that as a general. Thank God, I had nothing to do with it, excel)t to express the opinion that Butlers tor- pedo ship would have about as much effect on the forts as if lie should ____ at them. I said about the same thing to the Secretary of War and General Grant before they con sen ted to it. You ask me to criticise your plan of future operations. I fully agree with you that a central line on Bram~mchville and Columbia offers more advantages than one on either Augusta or Charleston. The destruction of railroads and sup- For Correspondence, etc., from March 24, 1865, to Jirne 30, 1865, see Part III. The Correspondence, etc.. relating to operations in the State of North Carolina from Janu- ary 1 to 31, 1865, is embraced in Vol. XLVI, Part II. tSee Vol. XLIV, p. 798. (3)