The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1868-08-06
How Ft. McAllister was Taken

{ Colonel Nichols: in the August
Harper, gives brief but graphic ac-
count of ''How Fort McAllister was
Taken" Itseems that weeks be-
fore the capture of this important
fort, General Sherman had got hold
of the folio wing letter: -
"Dear Mother: Here I am in
big fort way off on the Ogeechee
river. 1t is called Fort McAllister.
It is a big fort with thirty or forty
big guns, which we fire at the Yam
kee vessels whenever they come up
the river. They have tried it on
with iron -clads and all that, but we
always beat them of, and are per
fectly safe behind our tall bomb
proofs. You can't imagine how
crooked this river is-a snake
wriggling in a straight line com
pared to it. I send you little
drawing which 1 have made of the
bend in the river and the position
of the fort. A strong place it is,
and the Yanks can never take it so
long as they knock at the front door.
x X x We don't
have much to eat, and it's right
lonely here" !"
The soldier gave this bit Of paper
to his captain, and so it came on
through General Howard to Gener-
al Sherman; and as he carefully ex-
amined it l remember hearing some
one say; "Fort McAllister!
never heard Of such a place before.
1t must be one of the rebel line of
-defenses," None of US then
imagined that the name was to go
down to history with those Of Ar
cola, Malakoff and Donelson.
As Colonel Howard and I rode
along into a forest Of OAK and cy-
press we encountered the head of
column of troops who, with well
filled haversacks, were marching
along with steady gait which was
the certain sign of an expedition
which meant work. ..5--
"What movement of troops is
this" I asked. 'si. slr5 .-.
''It is Hazen's division. They
are to cross the bridge tonight
with purpose of taking fort
which is down the river" replied
Col. Howard. 'sAh, there he comes
Good evening, General"
"Geod evening. gentlemen" was
the response of the man who passed
us, carrying in his pocket the slip
of brown paper which many months
ago the rebel soldier had sent to his
mother way up there in Georgia,
little dreaming that the enemy
would ever come that way, and that
he thus distinctly was to be the
worst possible enemy to his own
cause. ..H
A little less than twenty -foul
hours from that time, with but few
moments for rest and food, and Ha,
zen with his brave soldiers arrived
opposite to Fort McAllister He
did not wait to dig bitches mol
build earthworks. He sent to the
rebel commander no demand fo1
surrender, nor challenge for battle
except such as glittered from the
points of his double line of bayo-
nets as they moved slowly,noiseless,
| ly and steadily out of the woods
across the naked space into storm
Of shot and shell. Steadily and un
broken, except when the dead and
wounded fell, they marched on
There was grim determination, a
terrible earnestness in that oncom-
ing line of blue and steel.
They halted not at tangled
abatis, they did not heed the
torpedoes exploding under their
feet, but plur ged into the deep ditch,
tore away the tough palisades,
mounted to the parapet, and there,
then, and within the fort, fought
hand to hand with it's gallant de-
tenders; and when the smoke, pain
fully lifting itself into the heavy air
of evening revealed the flag of our
Union planted there, we, envious
and impatient lockers on, knew
that victory was inscribed all over
it's beautiful folds.