The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-12-17

TIE FORrrvlcATIONs At SAvANNAH-
the CONDITION OF THAT ClfY-THE Pos
sIBILITY THAT PRISONERS WILL BIZ RE-
LEASED BIZ SHERMAN.-We have received
from II. NJ. Davidson. who was made pris-
oner NJ the battle Of Cnickamauga, and
very interesting letter, giving his expe-
rience in the Southern Confederacy., We
have only room for the following, which,
Is Of special interest, Is Il relates to the for
tifications Of Savannah and tire condition
of that city, which IL believed by many
to be General Sherman's objective point: !,
Our trip down the Savannah on truce
boats to our feet showed Va the rebel forth
cations ut Fort Jackson. The river at that
point is lined with huge eeige guns from
the boat, counted thirty six. They COM
mand the channel. The river il blockaded
with heavy .timbers laidlup:.in the shape OF
q Lighthouse, the interior Of which il filed
with stone and brick, and these obstrsic-
tons are all fastened to one another with
heavy cable-chain, leaving only one pas
sage, wide enough for boat. just above
this entrance lie two iron clads, pretty
well manned. Above these. at intervals,
are torpedoes i; their situation is known by
the sharp-pointed profession OF = log about
six inches from the surface. AT Que place,
in particular. there are four Of these logs
side by side; these all point down the
river.
There was not a man to he seen at or
near the Notifications. The guns seem to
be mounted right on the bank, and then
earthworks thrown up for tho protectionof
the men. The magazines are built on the
surface, and then dirt enough thrown up to
cover them. At first sight, they would
seem to be the spot to look for the guns
but the guns are ten feet below these earth
works. s#G
s OF from the river, half mile Or more,
before you reach Fort Jackson, is an extern
sfve fort. Whether this IL considered % q
part OF Fort Jackson, could not ascertain.
II has been built for some time, for the
weeds and aea-grass have grown 90 high
that, unless one was looking for fortidca-
ton, he would not notice It. should
Judge that this fort covers several acres;
but where the black war dogs look over its
earthH works, the graAs and weeds are cut
down. s4s@al
Beauregard has spent many an honr in
laying the foundation and getting the range
of this point Of the river.
These guns, together with the obstfnc-
tons in the river, are well intended tecrush
any thing that attempts to come up. But
for its protection FROM land force from the
direction OF Savannah, it offers bat little
resistance sess..9 85..s,sst.,.+.s -.stf q
sherman, no doubt, WIN meet with bat
little difficulty, If this point be bis aim
AC SW all Will Ill RcO0 Al6 RKO6IOt6 AAOIC
than any thing else. 'a gr
The force at Savannah il very small, con
sistihE OF old men, little boys and crippled
officers. Business Of all kinds in the city
is stopped, and It looks like Sunday all the
time. On the last Of September, there was
an immense quantity Of cotton lying at
Savannah, bat when We were sent through
there the last time it had been removed
from the railroad. fAstss b. tfa
The citizens treated the men who were
sent through first well, bringing eat4bles
Of al sorts. There was no guard but those
that came after. Upon arriving at 6avan-
nab, they were guarded, so that the citizens
could not find the prisoners, thus showing
that Union sentiment prevails, and all
they want Is an opportunity. see In some
Of the papers that Il Is expected that Gen.
Sherman will release large number Of
prisoners, but that r. sad mistake. Long
before 6hermnn's force gets to them, they
will be shoved od, and for the last three
months that has been their chief business.