Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1865-01-11
gil Sorts Of @dub gtaaing.
The storming of Fort MoAllistor.

The storming of Fort MoAlister.
THE following wildly written aecOun
of the storming of McAllister, as watch
ed by Gen. Sherman from a distance, i
from the correspondent ofthe N. Y. Her
aid. .- 1szo1 '
Learning that Hazen was to storm tht
fort on the afternoon Of the 18th, I visit
ed the right of the line, and at one o'clOcl
Joined General Sherman and Howard, a
DR.. OherOe's rice mill, on the 0geechee
opposite Fort McAllister. found Sher
man on the roof of the mill, surrounded
by his staff and signal officers, Bekley
and Cole, waiting to communicate will
Hazen on the Island. While patiently
waiting for Hazen's signals, Sherman''
keen eye detected smoke in the horizon
seaWard. Up to this time he had receiv.
ed no intelligence from the feet In a
moment the bronzed eountenanoA of the
ehieftain lighted up, and he exclaimed:
" Look / Howard, there is the gun
boat" . .E - E.9sl f... 80.
Time passed on, and the vessel now be-
came visible yet no signal from the feet
or Hazen. Half an hour passed, and the
guns of the fort opened simultaneously
with pufs of smoke that rose a few hun
dred yards from the fort showing that
Hazen's skirmishers had opened. A mo-
ment after Hazen signalled:
al have invested the fort, and will as
sault immediately At this moment
Bekley announces A signal from the
gunboat." All eyes are turned from the
fort to the gunboat that is coming to our
assistance with news from home. A few
messages pass, which informs US that Fos-
ter and Dahlgren are within speaking
distance. The gunboat now halts and
asks:
"Can We run up. Is Fort McAllister
ours?" H. aa .ar ..aa
"No, is the reply, "Hazon is just
ready to storm it, Can you assist p
"Yes, is the reply. "What will you
have US do?'
But before Sherman can reply to Dahl
gren the tEunders of the fort are heard
and the low sound of small arms is borne
across the three miles ofmarsh and river.
Field glasses are opened, and, sitting fat
upon the roof, the hero of Atlanta gazes
away off to the fort. "There they go
grandly; not waycr," he remarks,
Twenty seconds pass, and again he ex-
claims .aa
"See that flag in the advance, How
ard how steadyily it moves; not man
falters 4 = There they go still; see
the roll of musketry Grand, grand"
Still he strained his eyes, and a mo-
ment after speaks without raising his
eyes
"That flag still goes forward there is
no finching there"
A pause for a minute.
"Look /" he exclaims, " it has halted.
They waver, no it's the parapetl There
they go again; now they scale it; some
are over. Lookl there's flag on the
works Another, another. It's ours
The forts ours p'
The glass dropped by his side; and in
an instant the JOY of the great leader at
the possession Of the river and the open
ing of the road to his new base burst
forth in words =
GAS the old darkie remarked, dis chile
don't sleep dis night? ?" And turning to
one of his aids, Captain Auderied, he re-
marked " Have boat for me at once; I
must go there" pointing to the fort, from
which half dozen battle flags AOated
grandly in the sunset.
And well might William Tecumseh
Sherman rejoice; for here, as the set
ting sun went down upon Fort McAllis-
ter reduced, and kissed a fond good night
to the Starry Banner, Sherman witnessed
the elimination of all his plans and
marches, that had involved such desper-
ate resistance and risk-the opening up
of new and shorter route to his base
Here at sunset, IN tke memorable 18th
of December, the dark waters ofthe great
Ogeechee bore witness to the fulGlment
of the covenant Sherman made with his
iron heroes at Atlanta twenty nine days
before, to lead them victorious to new
base.