night before the enemy retreated. The rebel batteries kept up a desultory fire day and night, throwing shot and shell, grape and canister, but the intervening woods prevented them from getting an accurate range of our position, and consequently no harm was done except in one case, where a man of the Seventeenth New York Infantry was struck by a solid shot which tore off one of his legs, causing his death on the following day. A splinter of a tree, cut off by the same ball, slightly wounded another man of the same regiment. For other casualties on this march I beg leave to refer to the report of casualties already forwarded.

With the exception of four days' rations of bread and meal, and about half rations of sugar and coffee, this command drew all its subsistence from the country after leaving Atlanta. The exact amount of supplies of every kind drawn from the country cannot be ascertained, but it may be estimated as equivalent to about 65,000 rations. Of forage not even an approximate estimate can be had, the number of horses and mules in the command varying daily, almost hourly. According to reports from the different regiments of this brigade 110 mules and 61 horses were captured. The number of negroes who followed the column cannot be ascertained with anything like accuracy. It may be safely stated, however, that not less than 100 colored persons were with the brigade on arriving in front of Savannah. The commanding officer of the Tenth Regiment Michigan Infantry reports two cotton gins destroyed by his command, the only instance known to me of such occurrence. At Sandersville three or four bales of cotton were found hidden in a field and destroyed. Of railroad track this command destroyed about twelve miles at nearest computation.

On the 22nd of December the army entered the city of Savannah and this brigade was moved to its present location.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. F. SMITH,

Colonel, Commanding.

Captain T. WISEMAN,

Asst. Adjt. General, Second Division, Fourteenth Army Corps.

Numbers 66. Report of Captain Eben White, Sixteenth Illinois Infantry. HEADQUARTERS SIXTEENTH Illinois INFANTRY, Near Savannah, Ga., January 1, 1865. *

The regiment was here [Atlanta] clothed and equipped, and marched on November 16, following the Georgia railroad to Covington, Ga., from thence to Milledgeville, and from that place in a southeasterly direction to the Savannah River, and down the right bank of that stream to the city of Savannah, which place was invested on the 11th and occupied on the 21st of December, 1864.

Subsistence. -After leaving Atlanta there was issued to the regiment but three days' rations of hard bread and sugar and ten days' rations of coffee. The men obtained all other necessary articles of subsistence and many luxuries in the greatest abundance from the country along the route, which afforded sweet potatoes, chickens, turkeys, and other provisions in larger quantities than could be consumed by the men.

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*For portion of report (here omitted) relating to operations in North Georgia and North Alabama, see VOL. XXXIX, Part I, p. 637.

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