The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-12-27

Fitzpatrick himself that he had been
whipped, or that he had lost his hat.
In the skrmisheS on the march, no gene
raj oilicer was injured, and all the losses
from struggling and otherwise Will not
reach one thousand The army moved
in four columns. Howard on the right
and Slocum on the left, with the cavalry
i'll front and rear. In this manner it
covered a strip of country nearly sixty
| miles in width, for three hundred miles
Sherman has cut through Georgia a
swath of sixty miles, and has completely
destroyed the great ra,iEuad quadrlateral
of which Atlanta, Macon, Augusta and
| Savannah are the four corners. The rail
| road leading east from Atlanta to Au-
! gusta Is destroyed for over seventy miles,
including the bridges over the yellow and
the contiguous river The railroad run
! ning south from Atlanta TO Macon is de
| Stroyed tor eighty miles The railroad
| running east from Macon to Savannah is
| destroyed for distance estimated at from
ninety to one hundred miles. The rail
road running between Augusta and Sa-
yannah - destroyed from Waynesboro'
| to Savannah, "A distance Of over eighty
miles.
The wholesale work OF destruction was
carried on leisurcly, and with an eye to
completeness. Every rail was heated
and bent; every tie, bridge water station,
tank, wood shed and depot building was
burned. and every culsert blown up
For miles on the Macon and Savannah
and Augusta and Savannah roads the
track IS carried over marshy territory by
extensive trcstle-Work This is all burn
ed, and it viii be very difficult to replace
In all, Sherman has completely destroyed
nearly four hundred miles of railroad
track
Sherman reached Ossahaw sound with
SIX thousand negroes, two thousand
rebel prisoners, and abundant supplies
OF cattle, horses and mules. He released
no Federal prisoners at Millcn. They
were hurried off 10 Columbia, South Ca
rohna. n few confined in the penitcn-
tiary at Milledgeville were released by
orr scouts, 10 whom the city was sur
rendered two days in advance of The ap
pr0ach OF the main army
No doubt is entertained of the capture
of Savannah bat Sherman never in
tended more than demonstration against
Macon and Augusta to deceive the en-
cmy, and IN this he was perfectly sue
CoSstul.
A letter gives the following descripz
ton Of the capture Of Fort McAlIistcr-
a little earthwork, which was never in
tended for defence on the land side
Last night, General Shermari's right,
Howard wing, was thrown around the
city, and his cavalry and picketa |
rested on the OoeeChce river General
Sherman made a careful reconnaissance |
last evening before dusk, detected the |
weak points OF the work, and instantly |
formed his plan for its capture. He gave |
his orders to carry out his plan, and de
sIgnated llaZen'S division Of the Fifteenth |
corps 10 assault it,
At halt-paSt four O'clock this morning,
General llazen placed his division III po-
sition, with another division Of the Fif- |
teenth corps as Il support, aud when all
his preparations were completed, the or
der was given, and his gallant division,
eager for the fight, marched at double
quick step forward, penetrated the
lbattis surrounding the work, plunged
through the ditch and sealed the para.
pets OF the fort ten feet in height, and
Swarmed into the work under Il hot fire.
which, while it cut down many, failed to
check the advance, and the work was
ours Most Of the garrison, bewildercd
BY the sudden sweep of our veterans,
in haste, but others stood
Dy their guns and fought until they were
payoneted or cut down. The work was |,
quickly performed, and not an armed
cbel remained within the fort three mi
lutcs after the parapets were crossed by
'ur seasoned veterans and the cheer of {
Ictory rang out clearly i'll the misty
morning air and announced success to
he eager troops stretching around the ,
0omed city OF Savannah.
The substantial results Of our victory Ill
le two hundred and more prisoners,
,Tcnty-One heavy guns and large
nanhty OF ordnance and subsistence i
upphes, and, in a still more substantial {
'ay, an open port, through which Gen I
raj Sherman can draw all needed SIM
lies for his men. a