come by water to City Point with the balance of his command. On the 18th of December, having received information of the defeat and utter rout of Hood's army by General Thomas, and that, owing to the great difficulty of procuring ocean transportation, it would take over two months to transport Sherman's army, and doubting whether he might not contribute as much toward the desired result by operating from where he was, I wrote to him to that effect and asked him for his views as to what would be best to do. A few days after this I received a communication from General Sherman, of date 16th December, acknowledging the receipt of my order of the 6th, and informing me of his preparations to carry it into effect as soon as he could get transportation; also, that he had expected, upon reducing Savannah, instantly to march to Columbia, S. C., thence to Raleigh, and thence to report to me; but that this would consume about six weeks' time after the fall of Savannah, whereas by se he could probably reach me by the middle of January. The confidence he manifested in this letter of being able to march up and join me pleased me, and, without waiting for a reply to my letter of the 18th, I directed him, on the 28th of December, to make preparations to start, as he proposed, without delay, to break up the railroads in North and South Carolina and join the armies operating against Richmond as soon as he could.

On the 21st of January I informed General Sherman that I had ordered the Twenty-third Corps, Major-General Schofield commanding, East; that it numbered about 21,000 men; that we had at Fort Fisher about 8,000 men, at New Berne about 4,000; that if Wilmington was captured, General Schofield would go there; if not, he would be sent to New Berne; that, in either event, all the surplus force at both points would move to the interior toward Goldsborough, in co-operation with his movement; that from either point railroad communication could be run out; and that all these troops would be subject to his orders as he came into communication with them. In obedience to his instructions, General Schofield proceeded to reduce Wilmington, N. C., in co-operation with the navy under Admiral Porter, moving his forces up both sides of the Cape Fear River. Fort Anderson, the enemy's main defense on the west bank of the river, was occupied on the morning of the 19th, the enemy having evacuated it after our appearance before it. After fighting on the 20th and 21st, our troops entered Wilmington on the morning of the 22nd, the enemy having retreated toward Goldsborough during the night. Preparations were at once made for a movement on Goldsborough in two columns-one from Wilmington, and the other from New Berne-and to repair the railroads leading there from each place, as well as to supply General Sherman by Cape Fear River, toward Fayetteville, if it became necessary. The column from New Berne was attacked on the 8th of March at Wise's Forks, and driven back with the loss of several hundred prisoners. On the 11th, the enemy renewed his attack upon our intrenched position, but was repulsed with severe loss, and fell back during the night. On the 14th, the Neuse River was crossed and Kinston occupied, and on the 21st, Goldsborough was entered. The column from Wilmington reached Cox's Bridge, on the Neuse River, 10 miles above Goldsborough, on the 22nd.

By the 1st of February General Sherman's whole army was in motion from Savannah. He captured Columbia, S. C., on the 17th; thence moved on Goldsborough, N. C., via Fayetteville, reaching the