The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-27
United Daughters
 0f 1he Confederacy


 , land. Director; Mrs. Mary Riley. Histo- rian.
 The Closing Days of the Southern Confederacy. The year 1883 had been very disastrous | to the Southern army. The nations s birthday was signalized by the surren- der of Helena and Vicksburg in Missis- sippi. and Lees retreat from Gettysburg. Our forces had been foiled in their in- vasions of Pennsylvania, and the States ! north of the Ohio river. Missouri, Arkan- sas. Kentucky, Tennessee, large portions of Florida. Mississippi and Louisiana, and control of the Rio Grande and Mis- | sissippi rivers had been lost The North ern troops maintained foothold in every seeded State. and the power of the Southern Confederacy was on the wane. | 1884 promised much for the North, with her armies well equipped. we'll fed, with finances in a good condition, and the people determined to win. Their men numbered about soo.00o. while we could claim only half that number of poorly fed, well nigh exhausted men in the field (and but few at home). and with provis- ions growing scarcer, our money depre- ciating rapidly, foreign ports closed against us, our spirits grew faint at the bare chance of success. Early in Feb ruary, Sherman in command of Vicks- burg, had frequent skirmishes with Gen- eral Leonidas Polk. in the vicinity of Mer- idian. at last capturing 1t. After burn ing the town, he returned to Vicksburg | In March, fate seemed to smile on us General Forrest. with his cavalry. made rapid raid through Tennessee and Ken | lucky, capturing Union City. Tenn, with about 500 prisoners In April he captur- ed Fort Pillow, after a fearful slaugh- | ter. but in July was defeated at Tupelo, Miss, by Andrew Jackson Smith. Gen eral Banks. in command of the Union i forces in New Orleans, organized an ex- petition known as the Red River Expedi- | tion, which did great deal of damage fin Northwestern Louisiana. About this time, Wilmington was captured. leaving Mobile, the only open port, but even that was kept in surveillance by General Banks at New Orleans.
 The Union forces now began to make preparations for the final struggle. Grant was placed in command of the entire army. with the title of lieutenant general title hitherto borne only by Washing | ton. For the first time, the armies moved in obedience to a single will which was consistently directed to the achievement | of single end. Thus far, there had been 1 but little concert of action, so that while one body of soldiers were prosecuting a l campaign with vigor, others were fre- | Guently inactive, giving our smaller forces superior advantage This. Grant deter mined to wrest from them, by attacking | them simultaneously in the east and west. The bulk of our forces was con- 1 oentrated in two large armies east of the Mississippi. Lee in Virginia. and Jos ph E. Johnson in Georgia. If these two l armies were captured, defeat was sure. l in March, '64, Grant ordered Meade in Virginia and Sherman in Georgia, to be- l gin operations. The bloody battle of the Wilderness. lasting two days. was the immediate result. followed closely by the battle of Spottsylvania In eight days, Meade lost 5000 men. It was at this | time that General Grant sent that mes | sage to the Secretary of War: T propose to fight 1t out on this line if 1t takes all summer" In one month more continued fighting with Lee, Grant lost 60.000 men, Lee losing 5000. Achievements of 300G0 were promptly sent from Washington, | and placed under General Sheridan, who gained the victory over Gen. Early, and destroyed everything in that great store house of the Confederacy. the Shenandoah Valley. Sherman was on his march from Chattanooga 10 Atlanta. Johnson s army was stationed at Dalton. and he kept Sherman at bay almost a month, but 1t was a physical impossibility for him to cope with an army twice Its size. So in spite of his resistance, Sherman sue ceeded in taking Atlanta in September. | In December he captured Savannah. In August FarraRut's fleet sailed into Mo bile bay. Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan after having about 5000 shells poured into them. were forced to surrender. Ac- tive operations against the city were sue- pended during the winter. but early in | March '65, they were resumed by Gem | eral Canby. commapder of the Gulf De- | partment He moved toward Mobile with | over 25o00 troops; the 17th Corps reached Dauphin Island on March 12Sh the 18th Corps moved from Mobile point on the east, while General Steele came from Pensacola with negro troops. The seize by land and water began March 18th. and lasted until April 9th. the day of Lees surrender. Mobile surrendered on the l2th, the seize and capture costing 26,Oo0 men. While this seige was in progress | Wilson was making a disastrous raId through Alabama and Georgia. capturing Selma on April 2nd. Montgomery on the l&th. passing through Columbus, taking ]. .9OU prisoners, and destroying large amounts of property, reaching Macon on | the Fist of April.
 Lee, with h's army of 5000. was mak- ing a desperate resistance around Petcr5- burt and Richmond. South of him wds | Sherman. west of him was Thomas With Stcneman's cavalry. north of him there vas no hope, and ir his front was Grart. ready to crush him with one decisive blew His only hope was to break through the lines, and join Johnson in North Carolina, if he would save his ar my. and with 1t the Southern Confeder- acy. He made a desperate attack on Fort Steadman, and was at first success ful, but lost 1t the same day. Continual fighting and constant losses reduced his army greatly. so that when. on April Is. Grant made a fearful cannonade on Lees line in front of Petersburg, he could offer but little resistance. The next day. Sunday, he made an assault upon the Confederate works all along the line from Appomattox River to Hatchers Rum. Longstreet had come from Rich rnond to Lees assistance, but 1t was too late. He had lost 10000 men. Gen. A. r. Hii! among the number. He felt that the time had come when he could no lorger contend against an army so su- 1,erior in numbers. finances and provis- ions; he had not the moral right to hold his men as targets for an enemy. whose victory was already certain While at church in Richmond, President Davis re- ceIved telegram from Lee, saving: My lines are broken in three places, we can hold Petersburg no longer; Richmond must be evacuated this evening. MT Davis left church without word. The
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