The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-02-20
by TELEGRAPH,
TO THE DAILY PRESS.
OFFICIAL NEWS DISPATCH.
Sherman's Victorious Advance.
COLOMBIA OCCUPIED BY
UNION FORCES.
Probable Evacuation of Charleston.
REBEL VIEW OF GEN. sHERMAN's
MOVEMENTS.
RUM0RED CAPTURE OF AUGUSTA.
SUSPENSION OF THE CHARLESTON
MERCURY.
RUM0RED CAPTURE OF AUGUSTA.
SUSPENSION OF THE CH4RIESTox
MERCURY.

WAR DEPARTMENT.
10 Major General Die: I
The announcement of the occunat;o, q
Columbia, s. c., by Gen. Sherman and, and tn,
probable evacuation of Charleston has beeY
communicated to the Department in the fol
loving kilograms just received from Gen
Grant.
toigned) E. M. STANTON,
Secretary OF War.
City Point, Va, Feb, 10, 4,45 p. M-To
non, u. AZ. Stanton The Richmond Des.
patcn OF this morning says Gen. Sherman en-
.erea columbia, 5. c., yesterday morning and
lts iail necessitatss, it presumes, the fall OF
Charleston, which it thinks is already being
evacuated.
(Signed) u. S. GRANT.
Lieutenant General.
City Point, "a, Feb. 1S-To Hon. e. M.
stanton The following is taken from to-
days Despatch:
The fall of Columbia. Columbia has fallen.
Sherman marched into and took possession OF
the city yesterday morning. The intelligence
was communicated yesterday by Gen. Beaure-
gard in an official dispatch. Columbia is stu.
ated on the north bank OF the Congaree River
just below the confluence of the Sauda ana
Broad Rivers.
From Gen. Beauregard's dispatch it appears
that on Thursday evening the enemy an.
preached the south bank of the Congaree and
threw number of shells into the city. Dur
the night they moved up the river, and yester-
day morning forded the Saluda and Broad
Rivers. While they were crossing the rivers
our troops under Gen. Beaureeard evacuated
Columbia. The enemy soon after took pos
session. ss
Ihronuh l.. 49,
days ago, when it was decided not to attempt
a defence OF the city, large quantity of medi
clnal stores, which it was thought it was i'm.
possible to remove, were destroyed. The fe-
male employees in the Treasury Department
mad been previously sent off to Charlotte. N, G.
We presume the Treasury Lithographic estab-
llshment was also removed, although as to this
we have no information.
The fall OF Columbia necessitates, we pre-
sumo, the evacuation of Charleston, which we
think likely il already in process of evacuation.
It's Impossible to say where next Sherman
viii direct his columns. The general opinion
is that he will go to Charleston and establish
base there, but we confess we do not see
what need he has OF base. 1t is to be pre-
sumed that he ia subsisting on the country and
he has had no battles to exhaust his ammuni-
ton. Before leaving Savannah he declared
his intention to march to Columbia. thence to
Augusta and to Charleston. This was uttered
as boast and to hide his designs. We are
disposed to believe that he will next strike
Charlotte, which is 100 miles north of Column
bia on the Charlotte and Columbia Railroad,
or at Florence, S. c., the junction of the Co.
lumbia and Wilmington Railroad, some ninety
miles east of Columbia. There was a report
yesterday that Augusta had also been taken
by the enemy. This we do not believe. We
have reason to feel assured that nearly the
whole of Sherman's army is at Columbia, and
that the report that Schofield was advancing
on Augusta was untrue.
From the Wing: a
"The Charleston Mercury of Saturday an
nouHces brief suspension of that paper with
view to its temporary removal to another
point. This is rendered necessary by the pro-
gress of military events cutting it off from the
mail facilities for distributing its papers to a
large portion of its subscribers, while the lack
of transportation renders its supply OF paper
precarious.
Semmes has been made Rear Admiral, and
will take command of the James River Squad
ROM
(Signed) u. S. GRANT,
Lieutenant General.