Savannah, Georgia - History (part 14 of 16)

In an account of this case given before the Young Men's Library Association of Atlanta, on the 13th of November, 1891. General Henry R. Jackson used these words: "Had some possessor of telescopic vision directed his eye to the Wanderer upon the "middle passage.' what of the South would he have discovered about or upon her? Made by Northern hands with the Northern wood; fitted out !* * * for the West Coast in one and cleared from another northern port: of the firemen upon her, in addition to her wretched cargo of Africans, four were Northerners, headed by J. Egbert Farnum, sometimes known as head salesman, sometimes as purser, but finally coming out * * * in his true character as captain. All of the South in and about her was Corrie; Corrie so well known in Charleston - the vilest figure-head in all the world. Four of these men were already in jail when I was employed by the government to assist the United States District Attorney. Mr. Joseph Ganahl, in the prosecutions. " Continuing, the lecturer said "I * * * prepared for the November term, 1858, of the United States Circuit Court for Georgia. No resident of Savannah at that time can have forgotten what a period of peculiar excitement it was, nor what were the labors, and what even the personal exposure of the District Attorney, Mr. Ganahl, than whom government never had a braver man, more efficient or more indefatigable officer."

The cases of the persons indicted were tried in the United States courts at Savannah and Farnum's among them. Of the results, General Jackson said: "As in the other pirate eases there was no verdict rendered by the trial jury." In a short sketch of Mr. Farnum in Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, after a statement that the subject "joined the Lopez expedition to Cuba, which left New Orleans in 1850, and also took an active part in Walker's Nicaraguan expedition," the writer says, "Still later he was captain of the steam yacht Wanderer, and was indicted at Savannah for carrying on the slave trade. He is said to have regretted this episode in his life."

Before the excitement attending the Wanderer episode had subsided the city, in common with all sections of the country, became wild on the subject of the presidential election and the prospects of a dissolution of the union.

When the legislature of Georgia met in 1860, Governor Brown sent to that body a special message "on the subject of our Federal Relations," on the 7th of November, and almost immediately the house of representatives took up the subject and agreed to a resolution, dated the 20th of the same month, by which the voice of the people of Georgia, as expressed in popular meetings in the several counties was put on record in the house journal. Chatham county, of which Savannah is the seat of government, went on record in the following words, presented by the Hon. Julian Hartridge :

"Resolved, That the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the presidency and vice-presidency of the United States ought not to be, and will not be, submitted to.

opinion by resolution at the earliest practicable moment, to communicate it to our senators and representatives in congress, and to co-operate with the governor in calling a convention of the people to determine on the mode and measure of redress.

"3. Resolved, That we respectfully recommend to the legislature to take into their immediate consideration the passage of such laws as will be likely to alleviate any unusual embarrassment of the commercial interest of the state consequent upon the present political emergency.

both houses of the general assembly, requiring the chief magistrate of the state "to issue his proclamation ordering an election to he held in each and every county of this state on the first Wednesday in January, eighteen hundred and sixtv-one, for delegates to a convention of the people of this state to convene at the seat of government, on the sixteenth day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-one"

The news of the secession of South Carolina on the 20th of December, 1860, was received in Savannah with the greatest delight, and the people began wearing secession cockades made of palmetto leaves, and various plans were put on foot to show the desire of the people generally , to have the state of Georgia follow the example of her neighboring sister. A platform was erected at the Greene monument in Johnson square on which was placed a framed picture of a large rattlesnake, under which was printed the inscription " Don't Tread on me," and badges with the same device and inscription were worn by many of the citizens. Meetings were held in Masonic Hall, at the northeast corner of Bull and Broughton streets, and in Firemen's Hall, at the southwest corner of South Broad and Abercom streets, and such meetings took place in the afternoons as well as at night. Patriotic speeches were made not only by men of standing at the bar and in political life, but even very young men, such as those who were about to leave school and law students, felt called upon to declare themselves ready to enter the military service of their state and to urge in public speech their comrades to take the same stand. In some instances the youthful speakers made use of language which showed that education was clearly more needed than amateur services on the tented field. The writer well remembers the laughter which followed the peroration of a wildly exciting speech of a certain law student who. in urging the people of Georgia to follow immediately the example of the states that had already seceded, made himself ridiculous by explaining, "Let us not be backward in this matter; we are now delaying too long, for I have just learned that the ordinance of secession, if not already adopted, will soon be passed by that gallant little state, Texas!" The orator's mistaken idea of the size of the "Lone Star State" was too much for the school boys present whose shouts of laughter caused the speaker to make a rapid descent from the platform.

The military companies of the city were eager to take part in the defense of Georgia, should their services be required, and the Chatham Artillery, Savannah Volunteer Guards. Republican Blues. Georgia Hussars, Irish Jasper Greens, German Volunteers. Phoenix Riflemen, Oglethorpe Light Infantry, and De Kalb Riflemen all tendered their services to the governor of the state, and it was not long before they began to experience the inconveniences of camp life which became more serious in the time to come.

of the city. A call for a state convention to he held in January, necessitated the election of delegates to it from Chatham county, and the 2d of January. 1861. Messrs. Francis S. Bartow, John \Y. Anderson and A. Seaborn Jones wore chosen. It was known that all of them were in favor of secession.

The news of the evacuation of Fort Moultrie, and the seizure of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor by Major Robert Anderson, and the excitement produced thereby, induced Governor Joseph E. Brown to prevent tike action on the part of the United States government in Savannah river. Accordingly he issued an order to Colonel Alexander R. Lawton, commander of the First Volunteer Regiment of Savannah to take possession of Fort Pulaski. The document is so important that it is here given in full :

"Sir - In view of the fact that the government at Washington has, as we are informed on good authority, decided on the policy of coercing a seceding state back into the Union, and it is believed, now has a movement on foot to reinforce Fort Sumter, at Charleston, and to occupy with Federal troops the Southern forts, including Fort Pulaski, in this state, which, if done, would give the Federal government in any contest great advantage over the people in this state; to the end therefore that this stronghold which commands also the entrance into Georgia may not be occupied by any hostile force, until the convention of the state of Georgia, which is to meet on the 16th instant, has decided on the policy which Georgia will adopt in this emergency, you are ordered to take possession of Fort Pulaski as by public order herewith, and to hold it against all persons, to be abandoned only under orders from me or under compulsion by an overpowering hostile force.

"Immediately upon occupying the fort you will take measures to put it in a thorough state of defence as far as its means and arms will permit; and for this purpose you will advise with Captain [Joseph S.l Claghorn, Chatham Artillery, who has been charged with all matters relating to ordnance stores, and their supply.

"You will further arrange with Captain Claghorn a series of day and night signals for communicating with the city of Savannah, for the purpose of calling for reinforcements, or for other necessary purposes. And you will arrange with Mr. John Cunningham, military purveyor for the time being, for the employment of one or more steamboats, or other means of transportation by land or by water, that may be necessary, and for other supplies (except for ordnance stores, for which you will call upon Captain Claghorn), as may be required.

"If circumstances should require it. the telegraph will be placed under your surveillance. I think from our conversations you fully Understand my views, and. relying upon your patriotism, energy, and

The order having been issued, obedience came promptly. The manner in which it was executed is so well told by one who took part in the affairs and who later on was the commander of the fort, and defended it against the attack of the enemy to the last moment, that his words are here reproduced. Colonel Charles II. Olmstead, in his "History of the First Georgia Regiment." wrote:

"Upon the issue of this order the city was in a fever of excitement. Here at last was the first step of actual war - a step that placed state and central government in open antagonism, the beginning of whose ending no man could foretell. There may have been faint hearts that trembled in view of resulting possibilities, but among the military of Savannah the order was received with unbounded enthusiasm. Dissatified ones there were, but only because they were not among the chosen few who were to carry out the orders of the governor.

"At an early hour on January 3, 1861, detachments from the Chatham Artillery, Captain Joseph S. Claghorn, the Savannah Volunteer Guards, Captain John Screven, and the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, Captain Francis S. Bartow, marched to the wharf at the foot of West Broad street and embarked on board the steamer Ida, tto take possession of Fort Pulaski.

"Truth compels the statement that the expeditionary force carried enough baggage to have served for a division later in the war. Every soldier had his trunk or valise, his cot and his roll of bedding, while to every three or four there was a huge mess chest large enough for the cooking outfit of a full regiment. The recollection of all these things brings a smile now, but there is only proud exultation as those who took part in the stirring event, recall the generous enthusiasm, the fervid patriotism, that glowed in every heart. Alas! how many of those noble young hearts were soon to beat no more: how many gallant youths who on that bright morning gloried in the honor of serving our mother - Georgia, were soon to 'illustrate' her by their death. Some led the way in the first shock of arms upon t he plains of Manassas; some in the fierce seven days' grapple around Richmond; some at Sharpsburg, at Fredericksburg, at Gettysburg, at the Wilderness, at Murfreesboro, at Chickamauga, at Ivenesaw, at Atlanta, at Franklin, at Nashville, and some at the last fatal struggle at Sailor's Creek.

"In due time Fort Pulaski was reached; its garrison, one elderly United States sergeant, made no defense, and the three companies of the First Volunteer Regiment marched in with drums heating and colors flying, and so for them a soldier's life began.

"The arrangement of the Fort at that time consisted of but twenty old-fashioned lmur 3'2-poundcrs. mounted upon east iron carriages, rusty from age and lack of care: the magazines were nearly empty; a few solid shot were all the projectiles that could be found. And yet tin1 little gar- rison felt ready to meet the entire navy of the United States, for which, by the way, we looked at every high tide. The duty of the hour called for hard, vigorous work, and it was refreshing to note the alacrity with which this citizen soldiery turned their hands to every tiling, from scraping the rust from gun carriages to polishing the casemates. There was an individuality in each man, that marked characteristic of the southern soldier that afterwards, upon so many battlefields held grimly to positions from which, by all the rules of warfare, the Confederates should have been swept. All the routine of garrison duties was promptly inaugurated by Colonel Lawton, whose West Point training and army life here served him in good stead. Guards were regularly mounted, drills at the heavy guns began at once, and a rigid system of military discipline maintained.

"In course of time the first three. companies were relieved from this duty, and others took their places, until every command in the city, including the Georgia Hussars and Savannah Artillery, had again and again served at this excellent school of military instruction. True it was long ere an enemy appeared before the walls of Pulaski, but the lessons learned in garrison life there, were fit preparation for active service on other fields. Meanwhile military spirit ran high in the city, and during the first part of .1861, several new companies were formed and added to the regiment, under the provisions of the act * * * Among these were the Pulaski Guards, the Irish Volunteers, Company B, Irish Jasper Greens, the Forest City Rangers, the City Light Guard, the Washington Volunteers, the Coast Rifles, the Montgomery Guards. Each and all were full companies, and did valiant service throughout the war."

The writer failed to mention one company, formed at that time, which, however, did not find a place in the First Regiment, but was added to the Fifty-Fourth Georgia Regiment of Infantry and served with honor throughout the war. That company was the Savannah Cadets, and it was organized on the 17th of May, 1861, and, after service in the state troops, mustered into the Confederate states army as Company F, in the regiment just mentioned.

Reverting to the capture of Fort Pulaski, it seems proper here to record a little incident, mentioned by Colonel Lawton in his letter to Governor Brown, announcing the occupation of the fort by the state troops. The colonel wrote :

"On steaming down the river this morning I ascertained with regret that certain unauthorized persons had taken possession of the United States revenue cutter, Dobbin, and are now exercising control over her in the waters of Georgia." He turned the captors away, and, on receipt of the imformation. Governor Brown wrote to the collector of the post, Mr. .John Boston, expressing his regret at the unlawful transaction, and the Dobbin was again placed in charge of her captain. The excitement caused by the taking of Fort Pulaski was considerably intensified by this incident.

Delegates having been elected from all the counties of the state, the Georgia secession convention met in Milledgeville, then the capital, on the 16th of January, 1861, and, after passing the ordinance of secession on the 19th, that body adjourned to meet in Savannah upon the call of the president, the lion. Geo. \V. Crawford. It reassembled in this city March 7th, and it was here that the important action of ratifying the permanent constitution of the Confederate states of America, which was unanimous, was perfected in these words: "That the Constitution adopted at Montgomery, m the State of Alabama, on the eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, for the 'permanent federal government' of the Confederate States of America, be, and the same is. hereby adopted and ratified by the State of Georgia, acting in its sovereign and independent character."

Savannah was the scene of another exciting episode shortly after the adoption of the ordinance of secession. The Macon firm of D. C. Hodkins & Son, purchased in New York two hundred guns, to be shipped to Savannah in the steamer Montieello, on the 22d of January. Those guns were seized by the New York police, and then the purchasers appealed to Governor Brown to have justice accorded them. Acquainting himself with the facts the governor telegraphed Governor Morgan, jof New York, briefly relating the ease, and ending with the words: "As Governor of Georgia I hereby demand that the guns be immediately delivered to G. B. Lamar, of New York, who is hereby appointed my agent. * # * I trust no similar outrage may be perpetrated in future." Not receiving a reply, after waiting until the 5th of February, Governor Brown ordered Gen. Henry R. Jackson, at Savannah, to "seize and hold every ship now in the harbor of Savannah belonging to citizens of New York." Seizure was made by Col. A. R. Lawton of several vessels, and the incident was brought to a close by the receipt of a lelegram from Lamar, dated February 9th, in these words: "The arms have been put at the command of the owners here; please release all vessels * ^

On the 14th of May, 1861, General Order No. 8, of the State Executive Department was issued by authority of Governor Joseph E. Brown, the purport of which is in this language: "Companies will not be permitted to carry with them beyond the limits of the State of Georgia, without the consent of the commander-in-chief, any arms or accoutrements of any kind, furnished to them by the state under his orders, or which belong to the state, or have been provided * * * at the expense of the state." The reason for the issuing of that order was generally believed to be the fact that Captain Francis S. Bartow, of tie* Savannah Military Company, the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, organized in 1856, had ottered the services of his command to President Jetfersm Davis as part of the Confederate army for. the whole period of the \\ r. and his determination to go in spite of the refusal of Governor Brown to consent to his taking the company out of the state of Georgia, i editor of the Savannah U< publican, commenting on the order, on I- nd.. the 17th, said, in part : "Whether the Governor designs to ivtu-.

consent in all cases, or merely to require that a proper respert si," i u be shown him by those companies which leave the state under rs from the Confederate Government does not appear. In the former event, the order is likely to produce no little confusion in the movements of our armies. The Confederate States have existed but for a day, and we have no thought that they are prepared to furnish arms, and in the time required, particularly under anything like an emergency. They would then rely upon the several states, and though some con-' fusion may exist, owing to the variety of arms in the service, it will be far less than that to be occasioned by the presence of troops in time of battle without arms or accoutrements at all. Governor Drown may be technically right in this order, but he has at least selected an unfortunate time for using it * * * the present is no time for standing on mere technicalities and punctilio. They have already been carried too far for the effectiveness of the service and the credit of the state, and, if necessary, we should not hesitate at sacrifices to preserve harmony between the local and Confederate authorities. We hear of no trouble elsewhere, and cannot see why the state of Georgia should be the only captious member of the Confederacy."

Representing Chatham county in the secession convention. Bartow was the natural choice of the people as congressman from the first district at Montgomery, Alabama, retiring on the acceptance of the services of his company by President Davis. He left with the Oglethorpe Light Infantry for the seat of war, and on the same day Governor Brown addressed a letter to him which brought forth a most scathing reply. The correspondence produced great excitement at the time and the matter is of such interest, considering the standing of the parties in relation to the public and especially Bartow's citizenship in Savannah,, that, without hesitation, his epistle is herewith given in full. As the writer quotes the words of Governor Brown on every point to which he deemed an answer necessary, the letter of the latter is not reproduced.

"Sir - I received your letter of the 21st of May ult., while at Richmond. Since the date of its reception I have been so constantly engaged in the duties of the service I have undertaken that I have found no time which could be devoted to an acknowledgment of your communication. I now write amidst the hurry arid confusion of the camp, being about to march from this point, we trust, to meet the enemy.

"I have little time and less inclination to reply in detail to the insolent missive you thought proper to publish in my absence. Respect, however, for the good opinion of the people of Georgia induces me in a few words to set right my conduct which you have taken so much pains to asperse, and to correct the mis-statements and false imputations with which your letter abounds.

"You say that I have 'commenced my military career by setting at defiance the orders of the officers upon whom the constitution of my state has conferred the right to command me.' I am not aware that you have any such right, unless I were actually enlisted in the service of the state of Georgia, in a contingency which, under the constitution, would give the state the right to raise and maintain troops.

"I commenced my military . career, as you are pleased to term it, .under the flag of the Confederate States, and 1 recognize, not you, but the president of the Confederate States, as the officer upon whom (to which Georgia is a party) 'was conferred the right to command me.' It is true that I tendered, under instructions from my company, their services to the Confederate States through you. in the first instance: this, however, was simply because the president had adopted that mode of obtaining troops as a matter of public convenience, and not because there ever was any constitution or law which required him to appeal to the state executives ; still less is there any ground for your assertion that the rights of the states are violated by the president receiving troops directly, without the intervention of the governor.

"You labor, and have constantly labored, under the impression that you are the STATE OF GEORGIA. I beg leave to protest against this conclusion, in which 1 assure you I can never concur. By the constitution of the Confederate States, to which Georgia has agreed, the Confederate government is alone chargeable with questions of peace and war, and has the exclusive right, except in case of invasion, to raise and maintain armies. The congress, and not the governors of the states, are empowered to raise these armies: and as the constitution is broad and unqualified in this grant of power, the congress is unrestricted in the mode in which it shall be exercised. The president of the Confederate States is the commander-in-chief of these armies, thus raised for a common cause, and the governors of states have not. so far as I am aware, any jurisdiction or power over this sub ject, exet pt so far as patriotism may induce them to co-operate with the general government in times of great emergency and danger. Your conclusion, therefore, that 'the act of congress under which I go is a palpable en- croachment upon the rights of states' does not in the least disturb me. Neither upon reason nor authority do I consider the opinion of much value. I think most people will prefer the judgment of the Confederate congress and the president of the Confederate States, who gave the act their deliberate sanction.

"You have fallen into another error upon this subject. You say 'that I proceeded to the Confederate congress, of which I am a member, and, that a bill was passed, you suppose chietly by my influence, which authorized the president to receive military powers over the head and independent of state authority.' You further say that 'under this act I was accepted into service without your consent and permitted to leave Savannah and go to Virginia.' I assure you, in passing. that I shall never think it necessary to obtain your consent to enter the service of my country. God forbid that I should ever fall so low.

"But to your charge. I know not to what act you refer as the one under which I was accepted into service ; but I will inform you that the act under which I serve is entitled 'An act to raise additional troops to serve during the ward This act, to the best of my remembrance, contains no allusion to state authority, nor does it allude in any part to the governors of states. It is simply an act authorizing the president to accept the services of volunteers for the war, and to appoint their field officers, and in these two respects alone it differs from other acts under which volunteers have been accepted. This bill was introduced into congress by the Hon. Mr. .AVigfall. of Texas, without any consultation with me, referred to the military committee, of which I was chairman, perfected by it, and passed by the congress. It met the approval of the more distinguished leaders of the states rights school in the congress, and was regarded by congress as the best means to raise an efficient army so absolutely required by the wicked invasion set on foot by the North. Air. Wright, of Georgia, introduced a bill which does authorize the president, without calling upon the governors of the states, to accept the services of volunteers at the times he may prescribe; but with this bill I had no connection, nor am I in service under its terms, nor had I any agency in procuring its introduction or enactment.

"You go on to say 'that I must be presumed to be the leading spirit in procuring the passage of this bill, and that I was the first to avail myself of its benefits by accepting a high command under it.' You remark 'that it is said I am to have a colonel's commission.' Now, sir, the facts are, that under the former bill, by which twelve months' volunteers were raised for the war, the president had as much power to accept them directly as he had under this act, for the war; and it is a mere matter of discretion with him under both acts, whether he will or will not use the intervention of state executives; and yet. while stepping out of the way to stab me in the back you seem criminally ignorant of what you ought to know.

"You have also insinuated in this charge and elsewhere in your letter that I have been misled by motives of personal ambition. The attribution of low motives of conduct to others is most frequently the result of long familiarity with such principles of action. It is dangerous for any man to attribute motives, lest lie fall under the condemnation of 'bearing false witness against his neighbor.' In relation to myself I desire to say but little. I prefer to be judged by my actions. It is nut true that I availed myself of the benefits of the act of congress to which you refer by seeking a high command under it. I offered service and was accepted as captain of my company, without any pledge or understanding, directly or indirectly, that I was to have any other commission. My present office of colonel of this regiment has been conferred upon me through the voluntary confidence of the president, and through the wish, as I have reason to believe, of every officer and private under my command. I have desired no office, preferring, for many reasons, to remain at the head of my company, between which and myself there has existed a deep-seated attachment, and it was only by their consent that I agreed to command the regiment. My reasons for entering the service are very simple. I had labored as much as any man in Georgia to effect the secession of the state; I had pledged myself to meet all the consequences of secession. I am bound, therefore, in honor, and still more strongly by duty, to be among the foremost in accepting the bloody consequences which seem to threaten us. My life can be as well spared as any other man's, and I am willing and ready to devote it. You taunt me with deserting my home and the defence of my fireside 'to serve the common cause in a more pleasant summer climate.7 I wish you were here to witness the realities of this service you deem so pleasant. It would cure you, I think, of some of your malicious propensities. You taunt me with having imposed upon others the duty of defending the post which I have deserted, and yet when you penned this you knew that you had steadily refused to call the volunteer troops of Savannah into service of any kind, and that you had called 'many of our bravest young men from other parts of the state to fill our places,' and defend our homes while we were permitted to rest in inglorious ease. The volunteer troops of Savannah are now in service, not through you, but by the direct order of the commanderin-chief of the Confederate forces. All that you say upon this subject is Jesuitical, designed to subserve a purpose rather than narrate the truth. I have the same right to judge that you have as to the probability of an attack upon Savannah. There is scarcely a seaboard city along the Atlantic coast that has not its representatives here in Virginia. Why should Savannah be an exception? Surely one company could be spared, at least to show that her heart heat true to the common cause, and that her youth were ready to court danger upon the very frontiers of the war. Such a spirit is not what you have characterized it. It is probably above your comprehension, but the generous and noblehearted of my native state will know how to appreciate it.

"And now as to my arms. I did not ask you to arm and equip me. I had already received from the late government of the United States, through you. arms and equipments which cost the state of Georgia nothing. They were delivered to me, and you took my bond for their safe keeping, unless destroyed in the public service. You have threatened me with the penalty of that bond. Take it if you can get it. That is your remedy. If I have been wrong in taking away the arms from Georgia, I am a trespasser, and, of course, responsible. I think the power you claim to disarm companies once armed and under bonds, at your will, is. to say the least, doubtful. As l have already said, in a former letter, I would not make this issue if I could find my way to avoid it. I would rathar yield than have a controversy with any man where the public interests are involved. But situated as I was. I prefer disobedience, if you please, rather than to jeopard the honor and safety of one hundred men confided to my c-arc. You seem to think I am arrogant in claiming our humble share in representing the - State of Georgia in this field of action. You say that you are not aware of the state authority to which I am called to represent the State of Georgia in Virginia. You make here again your common error of supposing that you are the State of Geary ia - a mistake in which I do not participate. You will not be permitted to alienate from ns the esteem and affection of those we leave behind, and whom we love so dearly. I am sorry that you have undertaken so ungracious a task.

"You say 'that at present I am beyond the reach of state authority, and state lines, so far as I am concerned, are obliterated. How long this may remain so,' you say,' 'depends upon the developments of the future.' I trust, if God spares my life, I shall set foot again upon the soil of Georgia, and be well assured that I no more fear to meet my enemies at home than I now do to meet tire enemies of my country abroad.

Alas! "the bloocly consequences which seemed to threaten" the writer of that letter were shortly verifed, and he was killed in the first battle of Manassas on the 21st of July, hardly more than a month after its date. On leaving for the seat of war on the 21st of May he made a speech in which he proudly said, "I go to illustrate Georgia!" And his record thenceforth until he fell, exclaiming "They have killed me, boys, but don't give up the field!" was one continued effort which proved that his pledge was gloriously redeemed.

The state convention, as already said, reassembled in Savannah on the 7th of March, and the next day the Confederate flag was raised over the custom-house by Maj. W. J. McIntosh, when it was saluted with the firing of seven guns - corresponding with the number of states that had at that period seceded. Civil government was promptly established in Georgia in comformity with the status of the state in the Confederacy, and the Hon. Henry R. Jackson was appointed judge of the district court of the Confederate states for the district of Georgia. He held the office but a short while, as he preferred a military appointment, and he was succeeded by the Hon. Edward J. Harden, who was sworn in on the 17th of August, 1861, and served until the end of the war. In the arrangements made at an early period in reference to military affairs in and around the city. Col. A. R. Lawton was commissioned as brigadiergeneral. and his place was filled as commander of the first regiment by Col. Hugh W. Mercer, who was afterwards made a brigadier-general. At the same time William S. Rockwell was appointed lieutenant-colonel and Charles II. Olmstead major. Edward Lawton was the regimental adjutant.

The Oglethorpe Light Infantry, on reaching Virginia, became a part of the Eighth Georgia Regiment, and was engaged in the first battle of Manassas on the 21st of July, 1861. At that time the lamented Francis S. Bartow was commanding a brigade composed of the Seventh. Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Georgia and the First Kentucky Regiments. He was killed while hearing the standard of the Seventh Georgia, and endeavoring to silence, by command of General Beauregard, a battery of the enemy at Stone Bridge. Receiving a slight wound, and having his horse killed under him, he clung to the standard, mounted another horse, and, waving his cap. called to his troops to follow him, which they did. Struck to the heart by another ball, he fell, exclaiming, "they have killed me, boys, but never give up the field." The company which he took with him to Virginia suffered terribly in that conflict when some of Savannah's choicest young men gave up their lives at that early period of the struggle for southern independence-. Those young men were J. S. Branch. William II. Crane, George Butler, Bryan Morel, Julius Ferrill. and Thomas Purse, Jr.

The military, besides taking Fort Pulaski, also occupied Fort Jackson and Oglethorpe Barracks. The companies of the First Regiment were sent separately to different points along our coast, and wherever situated erected fortifications. Besides the points already mentioned they were stationed at Causton's Bluff, Green Island. Thunderbolt, the Isle of Hope, Beaulieu. Rose Dew, Coffee Bluff. White Bluff, and other places. Earthworks were thrown up all around the city, some of them being works of considerable size, as Forts Boggs and Bartow.

The city government did all that could possibly be done to aid the Confederate government in the matter of the defense of Savannah. As early as November 30, 1860, council ordered the purchase of a large quantity of fixed ammunition, so as to provide for every member of the volunteer companies, and the money for the same was paid out of the city treasury: and when the state convention adjourned at Milledgeville to meet in Savannah in March of the next year it did so by invitation of council, the city paying for the entertainment of the delegates.

Resolutions were adopted on the 22d of May authorizing the mayor to call a public meeting of citizens to name a committee to receive donations for the relief of all volunteers going into active service, and to levy, if necessary, a tax to secure a sum sufficient to support the families of such volunteers as should need help, and an appropriation of $2,500 was made from the public funds. Other provisions were made in the nature of sympathy for the cause of the South, and. following the suggestion of President Jefferson Davis, the mayor appointed the 13th of June as a day of fasting and prayer.

On learning of the killing of General Bartow, council met on the 25th of July and ordered the council' chamber put in proper condition for his remains to lie there in state as long as they remained unburied, and a call was issued to the military then in the city to join in giving him a public funeral. Three aldermen, Solomon Cohen, John F. Wheaton, and John L. Villalonga, were sent to Charleston to escort the

Mr. Thomas Purse was elected mayor of Savannah in October, 1S61, and council authorized him to consult with the commanders of the Confederate army and navy at this point and to co-operate with them in any measures looking to the protection of the city. Alderman Robert Lachlison, by action of council, was provided from that body to assist General Lawton in carrying out any plan that might be agreed upon for obstructing the channel of the river, and the result was that much work was done in that way. After the battle of Port Royal, in South Carolina, it was feared that the enemy would attempt to come up the Savannah river, and obstructions were sunk in order to prevent such trouble. Among other such obstacles the brig Santa Clara, and the ships Sebasticook and A. D. Thompson, which had been captured by

Confederate privateers and condemned, were secured, and, after their cargoes had been sold, their hulks were sunk at proper points in order to make the obstruction as complete as possible. At the same time that council made preparation to look after the closing of the river. Aidermen John L. Villalonga, John E. Tucker and E. A. Soullard were, by conference with the commanding officer, to exercise authority in the matter of closing the bar-rooms. The result was an order requiring them to be closed from 5 o'clock P. M. to 8 A. M.

The city authorities deemed it a privilege to show respect to the memory of the young men of the city who lost their lives for the South in the battle of Manassas, and when the bodies of those brave soldiers were brought back for interment in January. 1862, the offei' of the services of the Olmstead Rifles as honorary escort was accepted, and the other volunteer companies were asked to take part in the ceremonies. Council appointed a committee to meet the bodies at Charleston and escort them to Savannah, and Aldermen Villalonga, Soullard and A. A. Solomons, by appointment, arranged for the funeral, and council attended in a body.

Gen. Robert E. Lee having been assigned to the command of this military district. .Mayor Thomas Purse consulted him with reference to the proper defense of the city on the land side, and as an aid thereto council generously donated the sum of $2,000 to the payment of expenses incurred in that matter, and. on the 30th of January, on the assertion of General Lee . that men were needed to throw up breastworks, council authorized the military committee to employ three hundred hands, or more, if necessary, to carry out the plan inaugurated by that officer. Labor for building a battery defense was also provided for in case the government of the Confederate states should agree to supply it with guns.

Again, in March, an appropriation of $2,000 was made for the relief of families of soldiers at the front, and an appeal was made to the justices of the inferior court to levy a tax to raise money for the same purpose, and a meeting of citizens was held to consider the matter of asking the city to appropriate an amount sufficient to build a gunboat.

Council approved the decision of General Lawton, conveyed to it by that officer on the 29th of April, 1862, to resist to the uttermost any demand for the surrender of the city should the enemy, by any possibility, pass the batteries and reach a point opposite the river and threaten a siege.

Shortly afterwards General Pemberton, who had been assigned to the command of this district, advised the city council to request the secretary of war to declare martial law in Savannah, and proposed that the women and children be taken out of the city.' It was his opinion also that the buildings on the river front be demolished. He was unnecessarily alarmed, as events proved that the enemy had no intention to make an attack on the city in the manner indicated by his suggestions. Council did not agree with him, and declined to act as he proposed, thus showing their good sense and at the same time saving a large amount of property from destruction. While it was wisely decided not to use such radical measures, let it be understood that the situation was considered to be grave, and every step was taken to defend the city in the event of a siege. General Lawton, on the 21st of May, urged upon council the advisability of having as many armed men in readiness for trouble as it was possible to gather within the city's limits, and suggested the propriety of organizing for defense all male citizens not regularly mustered into service to be used as a police force. The suggestion found a ready response, and by resolution council invited all citizens to enroll themselves for service, and it is needless to state that, as usual, the people promptly responded and did their full duty. General Pemberton, early in June, withdrew a large part of the military force from Savannah, thus showing the wisdom of the action of General Lawton. Gen. Hugh \V. Mercer shortly afterwards succeeded General Pemberton in command, and he 'adopted measures for the protection of the city which showed a sound knowledge of the situation and of what was then required.

Literature, Etc

Savannah's Literary Circle - Names op Some Men of Letters and Their Work - G. W. J. L)e Renne and the Wormsloe Publications - Other Writers - Names of Mayors and Aldermen Continued.

Hitherto we have said nothing in relation to the history of Savannah from a literary standpoint: but the omission was through no lack of material for a sketch of that character which would place the city in the light of being justly noted for her men of letters and the seat of much learning and culture. Indeed, it is impossible, in a work of this kind, to do justice to the subject of which this chapter treats. So rich is the storehouse of information from which that story could be written that the writer hardly knows where to begin.

We have, in the account of the origin of the Georgia Historical Society, said much concerning Mr. I. K. Teft't. wdiose efforts in that direction were so successful. Associated with him in organizing that institution was Mr. Alexander A. Smets, who was its first treasurer and whose literary tastes took the turn of making a collection of books and manuscripts which became known as one of the most valuable private libraries in the United States of the period during which its owner was occupied in accumulating it. The two gentlemen were closely associated for many years of their lives, and in death one was called to follow the other in quick succession. Mr. Smets died on the 9th of May, 18G2, and Mr. Tefft on the 30th of June of the same year. In the tribute of respect to the memory of the former, the society, on the 19th of May, placed on its minute book tins record of the literary feature of Mr. Smets' life: "Notwithstanding his uniform and strict attention daily to Ids business, united to the cares of a large and increasing family, he nevertheless found time sufficient in which to study and improve himself in the acquisition of thq English language* and make himself familiar with most of the best authors of the English classics; and so strong and ardent was his natural taste for books and literary pursuits that year after year he expended from his income large sums of money for the purchase in Europe and this country of the best standard works in every branch of literature and science until at the time of his death he had collected and was possessed of one of the most choice, valuable and extensive private libraries to be found in America. This library, which has attracted the attention of strangers far and near for many years past, was one of the chief sources of his pleasure and improvement, especially during the latter part of his life and after his retirement from active business."

In 1841, Dr. William B. Stevens (afterwards bishop of Pennsylvania) wrote a series of articles for the Mur/nolia, on "The Library of Alexander A. Smets, Esq., of Savannah." in which lie said: "One of these rare and honorable instances in which inclination is seconded by wealth and industry, sustained by intelligence, we have in the gentleman whose name heads our article: and it is for t lie purpose of making known in some measure the extent and riches of Mr. Smets' library that we have undertaken to cicerone our readers through a few of its most interesting materials. Our thoughts will be desultory, and we must crave the liberty of prosing a little, especially when we get hold of some caligraphic manuscript, or any of the good old volumes of Stephens, and Caxton, and Wvnken de Worde. The library of Mr. Smets contains about five thousand volumes; but its value does not so much depend upon its number as upon the character of the authors and the celebrity of his editions. It consists mostly of English works, combining, in an eminent degree, intrinsic worth, bibliothecal rarity, and an elegance of binding approaching to splendor. It is rich in ancient manuscripts, in early printed works, and in the luxurious and costly volumes of modern times. It embraces many of the standard authors in every department of literature and science, and it is remarkable for the range and appropriateness of its selection. It is not, indeed, like the library of the younger Gordian, paved with marble and ornamented with gold, with walls covered with glass and ivory, and armour and desks of ebony and cedar ; but it is contained in rooms elegantly furnished, and the books are enclosed in rich mahogany cases which display to great advantage his bibliothecal treasures, though a larger apartment would be required to exhibit Ids colieetion to its full extent, which truly deserves the epithet - magnificent."

Mr. Smets left no survivor who exhibited a like taste for the collecting and treasuring of rare books and manuscripts, and the library was sold and the articles which he had so much prized have found their way into other collections.

acquaintance of men of letters. Mr. Tefft showed an early and ardent predilection. His correspondence with eminent men in Europe and America was large, and, should it ever see the light, will prove highly interesting. Many a stranger of literary and moral mind would have passed through our city unknown but for the active and generous hospitality of Mr. Tefft. In this respect he was a model for imitation, with scarcely a hope, however, that his place can ever be supplied. As connected with t he duties of a bank officer, and especially of a teller of money, a good knowledge of handwriting and the art of engraving is indispensable. It was this consideration which stimulated, if it did not originate, Mr. Tefft's fondness for the collection of autographs. The bounds of truth are hardly exceeded in saying that His collection in this department is probably superior to that of any person on either side of the Atlantic, not excepting that of Dr. Raffles or Dr. Sprague of Albany. In the department just mentioned Mr. Teft't took scarcely more pride than he did in promoting and fostering the interests of the Georgia Historical Society, of which, if lie was not the actual founder, he was with the earliest and was really the most active, zealous and liberal patron." greatest autograph collector in the world' is also the most friendly, the best hearted man in the world, and so kind to me that I shall always think of him with gratitude. His collection of autographs is the first which I have ever been able to examine with interest and respect - not because it occupies so many folios, and has a whole room appropriated to it, and could not be examined in less than six or seven months, which certainly might inspire respect, but because a portrait is appended to the handwriting of each distinguished person, mostly an excellent copper-plate engraving, together with some letter or interesting document belonging to the history of that individual. All this gives to the autograph collection of Mr. T. a real historical or biographical interest. "

It is a singular coincidence that the two men just mentioned - friends and neighbors for a long term of years, and fellow-workers in the founding and building up of the Georgia Historical Society in which they were intensely interested - with tastes so closely corresponding - should not have been long separated by death. We cannot refrain from quoting the words of one * who thus described the two friends in giving an account of the origin of the society of which they were such ardent patrons:

"Israel K. Tefft, - corresponding secretary - an ardent devotee of the past - a famous collector of autograph-letters and historical documents, especially of such as illustrated our Revolutionary period - looking upon the time-stained paper whereon some famous hand had writ 'With greater love than the self-lov'd Narcissus Did on his beauty, - '

"Alexander A. Smets. - a successful merchant, citizen of public spirit, and bibliophile of unusual knowledge, in constant communion with books and surrounding himself . with much that was choice and rare in the world of letters."

The literary history of Savannah, if written in full, would require a large volume of itself, and we can. therefore, in the space at our command, barely touch upon the subject. Other names, connected with the work of the Georgia Historical Society which might be mentioned in this connection are William Bacon Stevens, professor of belles left res and history of the University of Georgia, and afterwards Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania, writer of a history of Georgia, etc.; Dr. Richard D. Arnold, skilled physician and editor for a long time of the Savannah Georgian; Edward J. Harden, lawyer, judge, and author of the Life of George M. Troup, Matthew Hall McAllister, who for years was a leading member of the Savannah bar, and later in life federal judge for the district of California; Robert M. Charlton, advocate, judge, poet and essayist; John MaePherson Berrien, who, in addition to the fame acquired as a lawyer and judge, was United States senator and attorney general; James M. Wayne, judge of the superior court, congressman, and finally associate justice of the supreme court of the United States; Henry R. Jackson, poet, jurist, and minister to Austria and to Mexico ; Alexander R. Lawton, who, besides the positions of honor he filled in earlier life both civil and military, served the United States as minister to the court of Austria near the close of his useful and honorable life ; and last, but by no means below the standard of literary ability marked for the names of early members of the Georgia Historical Society already presented to the reader, must be mentioned the name of George Wvmberley Jones De Renne. He was a descendant in the direct line of Capt. Noble Jones, who was a friend of Oglethorpe and whose services to the colony in its conflicts with the Spaniards are inestimable. Noble Jones settled at Wormsloe, on the Isle of Hope, where a fort was built of tabby as a protection for the Southern frontier, including his plantation, which was one of Savannah's outposts. The remains of the fort are still to be seen, although buried in the midst of a thick growth of pines, cedars, live oaks, palmettos, etc., and a dense undergrowth of shrubs and vines. Air. De Renne 's grandfather was the Hon. Noble Wvmberley Jones, speaker of the Georgia provincial assembly, member of the Continental congress, physician, and patriot. Ilis father was Dr. George Jones, who was an alderman of the city for three terms, and mayor twice.

Mr. De Renne graduated with honor from the University of Pennsylvania, and, expecting to pursue the practice of medicine, entered the medical school of that institution, from which he graduated and chose as the subject of his thesis on that occasion the "Theory Concerning the Nature of Insanity," which he afterwards had printed, the edition being limited to forty-eight copies. He gave up the intention of becoming a physician, and his life was thenceforth devoted to study and to the collection of books known for their literary value and rarity. He determined to make himself familiar with Georgia's early history, and. at the time of his death, he was probably the best posted man in the state on all matters pertaining to the founding of the colony and its subsequent history as a royal province and an independent state. He was best known as the publisher of the rare tracts known as the "Wormsloe Quartos." of which Col. Charles C. Jones wrote; "Of these quartos but a very limited edition was printed, and the copies were donated to famous libraries and placed in the hands of favored friends. Of the first quarto there are only twenty-one copies; of the second, forty-nine; of the third, nineteen; and of the fourth, forty-six. They are all admirable specimens of typography and literary taste; and, in addition to the historical value they possess, are highly esteemed because of their rarity."

Besides the many native Savannah men of letters, of whom we have mentioned only a few, many others, born elsewhere but at some period of their lives residents of the city, may with propriety be named among that class to which they truly belonged while here and whom the world recognized as Savannahians. Of such many members of the Savannah bar might be mentioned, who, in line with their profession, were well known for their literary powers and attainments. Others belonged to the newspaper profession, to the class of editors, etc. It would be impossible to mention all who deserve a place in this list, but we do not hesitate to name Richard Henry Wilde, William T. Thompson, Joel Chandler Harris, Rev. George White, William Henry Stiles, William Law, Bishops Stephen Elliott and William B. Stevens, S. Yates Levy, Mrs. Alethea S. Munford, who, first as Miss Law, then as Mrs. Burroughs, and finally as the wife of R. D. Munford, was the writer of poems of sweetness and touched with a strong patriotic fervor, and the brothers, Robert M. and Thomas J. Charlton. We could name many others who truly deserve a place here, but space needed for other important matters yet to be treated of cannot be used further in the development of this subject.

Having left off our record of the members of city council serving successively at the end of the year 1850, we here resume it. In 1851, Dr. Wayne was succeeded in the office of mayor by Dr. Richard D. Arnold, who had, as we have seen, held the office from September, 1S47, for the term of one year. He had as his aldermanic board Dr. James P. Screven, Robert D. Walker, Thomas M. Turner, Samuel Solomon, Dr. Cosmo P. Ric-hardsone (who died before the end of a year's service), John W. Anderson. Francis S. Bartow. Richard R. Cuyler, Robert A. Allen, Dr. William Gaston Bulloch, Alexander A. Smets, John B. Gallie and John Mallery.

Dr. Wayne was again the mayor in 1852, with aldermen John N. Lewis, Thomas Holcombe, John McMahon, Charles Ganahl. Dr. R. D. Arnold, Dr. James P. Screven, Dr. William G. Bulloch, Charles A. L. Lamar, J. Harris, Isaac Brunner, John Mallery, John Riordan, and R. I). Walker.

In 1853 Hon. John Elliott Ward was elected chief magistrate and his board of aldermen were Isaac Brunner. Solomon Cohen, Montgomery Cummin", Charles Ganahl, Edwin E. Hertz, Alexander R. Lawton, John N. Lewis, John Mallery,. Dominick A. O'Byrne, James P. Screven, Samuel Solomon. Robert D. Walker, and Charles Van Horn.

Succeeding himself, Hon. E. C. Anderson entered upon another term of service as mayor in December, 1855, with an aldermanic board composed of Richard Bradley, R. A. Allen. Aaron Champion, Robert Lachlison, AVilliam S. Basinger, John AI. Cooper, Richard D. Arnold, Dominick A. O'Byrne, Solomon Cohen, John J. Kelly, and Dr. John P. Posey.

After serving two terms in succession. Mayor Edward C. Anderson retired in 1856, in the month of December, and the city council then elected stood as follows: Mayor James P. Screven, and Aldermen R. D. Arnold, AVilliam S. Basinger, Aaron Champion. Solomon Cohen, John G. Fallingant, James B. Foley, George A. Gordon, Robert Lachlison. Alvin N. Miller, Thomas Purse, John F. Posey and Robert D. Walker.

In 1857 the election took place in October, when Dr. Richard AVayne again became mayor, and he had associated with him as aldermen Thomas AI. Turner (who became mayor on the 27th of June, in consequence of the death on that day of Dr. AVayne), George A. Gordon, John G. Falligant, AVilliam R. Symons, Noah B. Knapp, John F. Posey, John Richardson, Claudius C. AVilson, James B. Foley, AVilliam AVright, James E. Godfrey, Francis Blair, and Thomas Holcombe.

1858, and his aldermen were John Boston, John G. Falligant (who died one month before his term expired) , Alartin J. Ford, Thomas Holcombe, Noah B. Knapp. John F. Posev, James B. Foley (who died six months after his election), George AV. Wylly, John P. Delannoy, John

1859, and his board of aldermen stood as follows: Robert Lachlison. Charles C. Jones, Jr., J. Frederick AAraring, Abram AI i n is. AVallace Gumming, who resigned in three months, Jordan P. Brooks. Dr. Phineas AI. Kollock, AVilliam AI. Davidson, John P. AAA Read. John Richardson, Francis AI. Stone, John F. AA'heaton, and E. A. Soul lard.

In the midst of the excitement just preceding the war of the states, in October, 1860, Charles C. Jones. Jr., was elected mayor with the following aldermanic board: John P. AAA Read, AA'illiam AI. Davidson. John F. AA'heaton, John Richardson, Henry Brigham. E. A. Soullard. John AAA Anderson, Solomon Cohen, AAA F. Brantley, who resigned in January, 1861, and was succeeded by J. L. A'illalonga, John AIcAIahon. George AAA AA'ylly and Isaac Brunner.

In October, 1861, no candidate for mayor received a majority of votes cast, and Air. Thomas Purse was chosen mayor by the council, the others of the board being George AAA AA'ylly, E. A. Soullard. Isaac Brunner, John AA'illiamson. John L. A'illalonga. A. A. Solomons (who resigned in July, 1862, and was succeeded by AA'illiam Hunter). John

Thomas Holcombe, after some experience as an alderman three times, was chosen as mayor in October, 1862, with the following aidermen: John Williamson. Robert Lachlison. Thomas M. Turner, Edward C. Wade, Henry Brigham, John F. O'Byrne, Hiram Roberts, F. L. Gue, Joseph Lippman, John L. Villalonga, E. A. Soullard, Isaac Brunner, who resigned in a few weeks and was succeeded by George W. Wylly.

Dr. Richard D. Arnold became mayor for the fourth time on the 19th of October, 1863, with a board of aldermen composed of George W. Wylly, John F. O'Byrne, Henry Brigham, Edward C. Wade, Henry C. Freeman, John Williamson. John L. Villalonga,' Robert Lachlison, Joseph Lippman, F. L. Gue, Hiram Roberts and Christopher C. Casey.

A fifth time, twice consecutively, Dr. R. D. Arnold was selected as the mayor of the city on the 17th of October, 1864, with aldermen John Williamson. George W. Wylly, John F. O'Byrne, Henry Brigham, Edward C. Wade, C. C. Casey, F. L. Gue, J. L. Villalonga, Joseph Lippman, Hiram Roberts, Robert Lachlison and II. C. Freeman, who, dying in October, 1865, was succeeded by John Cunningham, who was immediately elected and the term of those first named as city fathers was prolonged until December 11, 1865, when another election was held.

Hon. Edward C. Anderson served the city as mayor twice before the war of the states, and, after the expiration of his third term, he was again elected on the 16th of October, 1866, with aldermen Martin J. Ford, J. L. Villalonga, Wm. Hunter, A. N. Miller, Win. II. Burroughs, Matthias II. Meyer, Henry Brigham, Edward C. Wade, F. L. Gue, Geo. W. Wylly, James J. Waring, and Chas. C. Millar.

Savannah During Civil War

Mayor Purse's Report on the Progress of the War - Fall of Fort Pulaski - Holding of Fort McAllister Necessary to Defense of Savannah - Maj. John B. Gallie Killed - Address of Mayor Arnold to Citizens - Fall of Fort McAllister - Evacuation of Savannah - Special Order of Gen. Siierman - Resolutions of Council Seeking Protection of Citizens - Families of Confederate Officers Required to Leave.

Resuming our account of the city during the progress of the war of secession, we will take up the subject just where we digressed in relating the facts attending the deaths of Messrs. Tefft and Smets.

The mayor of Savannah from October 21. 1861. to October 20, 1862, was Thomas Purse. Just before closing his term of office, that gentleman who lost a son in the battle of Manassas, in his report to council, dated October 1st, said, in part, "The proportions of the revolutionary struggle in which we are now engaged to secure our independence and a place among the nations of the earth, have assumed during the current year a colossal form, and the depressing influences of the war are more or less felt from the center to the circumference of our infant Confederacy ; but our soldiery, with stalwart hearts and patriotic devotion, have thus far demonstrated by their patriotism that they fully appreciate the magnitude of the contest.

"We have abundant cause to be grateful to a kind Providence for His manifest blessings, even in the midst of the severe ordeal through which we are now passing as a people. First, because of the signal success which has attended our arms in the field, victory after victory having perched upon our standard. Second, because as a city we have been comparatively more exempt from the desolating effects of the war then many of our southern seaports more exposed to the vandalism of the enemy. And third, because we have not been visited with any fearful epidemics, other than those of an endemic character and common to this latitude.'' It is true that Savannah was throughout the whole period of the war remarkably exempt from the horrors and dis- asters encountered by so many other towns in the South. The finances were managed as carefully as possible, and he said "our object has rather been to keep intact what has been done so far as this has been practicable" than to enter upon any scheme for public improvements.

During the month of February, 1862, while Mr. Thomas Holcombe was mayor, communication between the city and Fort Pulaski was cut off when the vessels of the enemy passed through Wall's Cut and entered the Savannah river above the fort. The defending force of the fort consisted of the Oglethorpe Light Infantry (Co. B), the German Volunteers, the Montgomery Guards, the Washington Volunteers, and the Wise Guards, under command of Colonel Charles H. Olmstead. under whom were John Foley, major; M. M. Hopkins, adjutant; Robert Erwin, quartermaster; Robert D. Walker, commissary; T. J. McFarland, surgeon; Robt. H. Lewis, sergeant-major; W. C. Crawford, quarter-master's sergeant; Harvey Lewis, ordnance sergeant; Edward D. Hopkins, quartermaster's clerk ; and E. W. Drummond, commissary's clerk. Having erected eleven sand batteries on Tybee island, beyond the effective reach of the guns of the fort, and having mounted them with ordnance of a more powerful force within those batteries, the enemy, through General David Hunter, on the tenth of April, sent under flag of truce an order on Col.. Olmstead for "the immediate surrender and restoration of Fort Pulaski to this authority and possession of the United States." Colonel Olmstead 's reply was promptly but briefly made, his heroic words being "I am here to defend the fort, not to surrender it." With little delay the enemy began the bombardment, which lasted, at intervals, until two o'clock in the afternoon of the lltli, when, the outer walls of two of the casemates having been shot away and two of the adjoining ones being in a crumbling condition, and the north magazine in great danger of explosion from the shells of the enemy, the white flag was hoisted and the fort surrendered. During most of the time the tiring of the guns could be heard and the smoke of the shells plainly seen by the crowds of citizens who gathered at the "battery" on the eastern bluff of the river.

After the fall of Fort Pulaski the opinion generally prevailed that without delay the Federals would make the strongest efforts to capture Savannah, and, in response to a suggestion from the Confederate authorities, council, on the 29th of April, passed the following:

"Whereas, a communication has been received from the commanding general stating that he will defend tins city to the last extremity; and whereas, the members of the council unanimously approve of the determination of the commanding general, therefore be it

"Resolved, That the council will render all that is in their power to sustain the general and to carry out his laudable determination." The immediate command was then held by Gen. A. R. Lawton, but in obedience to orders in May following he left Savannah, in command of five thousand soldiers to report in Virginia to Gen. Robert E. Lee. and Gen. Hugh W. Mercer then assumed command of this district, holding the same until relieved by Lieutenant-General Win. J. Hardee shortly preceding the evacuation of the city in December, 1864.

Next to Fort Pulaski the interests of Savannah were largely centered in the operations against Fort McAllister on the Ogeechee river whose garrison was to a great extent made up of troops from the city. Occupying a position on a land projection on the right hank of the river commonly called Genesis Point, though the real spelling should be Jenys's Point, that fort was really considered an important factor in the defense of the great Georgia seaport lying only about sixteen miles distant. The first attack on that work was made on the 29th of June, 1862. and was resisted by the DeKalb Riflemen under Capt. Alfred L. Hartridge without the loss of even one killed, and only two wounded. Again, it was bombarded by several vessels on the 2d of November, when resistance was offered by the Emmet Rifles of which George A. Nicoll was the captain. The third attack was made on the 19th of the same month when the foi'ee in charge consisted of the same company and the Republican Blues commanded by Lieut. George W. Anderson, when three men were wounded, but the enemy, meeting with repulse then, did not cease to make similar attacks from time to time, one of which, begun in the morning of January 27, 1863, was led by the ironclad Montauk. assisted by three gunboats, a mortar schooner, and a tug. Formidable was the armament of the ironclad which consisted in part of one fifteeninch and one eleven-inch Dahlgren gun. The bombardment lasted five hours and a half without damaging to a great extent the earthwork fort or injuring any of the garrison. The important point concerning that action is thus brought out by Col. Chas. C. Jones, Jr., in his historical sketch of the Chatham Artillery: "To this bombardment remarkable historical interest attaches, because on this occasion a fifteen inch gun was first used in the effort to reduce a shore battery; and t he ability of properly constructed sand parapets to resist the effect of novel projectiles far surpassing in weight and power all others heretofore known was fairly demonstrated. To the honor of this little fort and the praise of its heroic defenders let these facts be recorded and perpetuated."

Closely following, on the first of February, early in the morning, which was Sunday, the same ironclad, accompanied by four gunboats and a mortar boat, moved up the river and for six hours poured deadly missiles into Fort [McAllister, after which she had to retire: but this time the little Confederate force met with a loss which caused genuine mourning in the city of Savannah. In the midst of the cannonading a piece of a trunnion of one of the guns of the fort was struck off by a ball from the guns of the enemy and. flying through the air. struck Major John B. Gallie on the head, instantly killing him. The command then devolved on Captain George \V. Anderson who was a worthy successor of the stricken hero. After that fight General Beauregard issued an order of thanks and of a complimentary character, in which he said: "The thanks of the country are due to this intrepid garrison who have thus shown what brave men may withstand and accomplish despite apparent odds. Fort McAllister will be inscribed on all the flags of all the troops engaged in the defense of the battery."

Fort McAllister was finally captured by a land attack, but the last naval attack was made just about a month after the one just described. On the third of March, again in the early morning, a fleet of the enemy, consisting of four ironclads, five gunboats and two mortar schooners, sailed up to the proper distance and for seven hours and a half made the most formidable attempt against that fortification that had then been planned. It is so well described by the Savannah Republican of the 11th of that month that the account is herewith given: "About a quarter before nine o'clock the fort opened on the Passaic with a rifled gun, the eight and ten-inch Columbiads following suit, to which the Montauk replied, firing her first gun at nine o'clock. She was followed by her associates in quick succession. The fire on both sides was continued for seven hours and a half, during which the enemy fired two hundred and fifty shot and shells at the fort, amounting to about seventy tons of the most formidable missiles ever invented for the destruction of human life. * * * The fort fired the first and last shot. The enemy's mortar boats kept up a fire all night, and it was evidently their intention to renew the fight the next morning, but finding that the damages done to the fort the day before had been fully repaired, and the garrison fully prepared to resist, declined. * * * Notwithstanding the heavy fire to which the fort was subjected, only three men were wounded : Thomas W. Rape and TV S. Owens of the Emmet Rifles, the first on the knee and the latter in the face, James Mims of Company D, First Georgia Battalion Sharpshooters, had his leg crushed and ankle broken by the fall of a piece of timber while remounting a Columbiad after the fight. * * * The night previous to the fight Lieutenant E. A. Ellarbee, of the Hardwick Mounted Rifles, Captain Jos. L. McAllister, with a detachment consisting of Sergeant Harmon and Privates Proctor, Wyatt, Harper and Cobb, crossed the river and dug a rifle pit within long rifle range of the rams and awaited the coming fight. During the hottest part of the engagement an officer with glass in hand made his appearance on the deck of the Passaic. A Maynard I'ifle slug soon went whizzing by his ears which startled him and caused him to right-about face, when a second slug, apparently, took effect upon his person, as, with both hands, he caught hold of the turret for support, and immediately clambered or was dragged into a port-hole. It is believed that the officer was killed. The display on the Passaic the day following, and the funeral on the Ossabaw the Friday following, gave strength to the opinion. As soon as the fatal rifle shot was fired the Passaic turned her guns upon the marsh and literally raked it with grape shot. The riflemen, however, succeeded in changing their base in time to avoid the missiles of the enemy. Not one of them was hurt. Too much credit cannot be bestowed upon the daring act of a few brave men. s* * * Captain George W. Anderson, of the Republican Blues, commanded the fort on t his trying occasion, and he and his force received, as they deserved, the highest commendation. Captain George A. Nieoll, of the Emmett Rifles, Captain J. E. .McAllister. Lieutenant W. I). Dixon, and Sergeant T. S. Flood (the latter was sick at the hospital when the fight commenced, but left his bed to take part in the fight). Corporal Robert Smith and his squad from the Republican Blues, which worked the rifle gun; Lieutenant Quin of the Blues, Sergeant Frazier, Lieutenant Rockwell, and Sergeant Cavanaugh, Captain Robert Martin and detachment of his company, who successfully worked a mortar battery, Captain McCrady, and Captain James (AY.) MeAlpin were entitled to and received a large share of the honors of the day."

Apprehending further attacks the Confederates, after this encounter, added to the strength of the fort both in its structure and armament ; but it suffered no more from the enemy's beet. When it fell the attack was made by Sherman's army on the land side just before that force entered the city.

The continued advance of the Federal troops under Sherman brought the people of Savannah to a realization of the fact that the city was in the greatest danger. So near was the enemy by the closing days of November, 1SG4, that the mayor issued the following address:

"Fellow Citizens: - The time has come when every male who can shoulder a musket can make himself useful in defending our hearths and homes. Our city is well fortified, and the old ones can fight in the trenches as well as the young, and a determined and brave force can, behind entrenchment, successfully repel the assaults of treble their number.

"The General commanding this division lias issued a call for all men of every age not absolutely incapacitated from disease to report at -once to Captain C. AY. Howard at the Oglethorpe Barracks, for the purpose of organizing into companies for home defense. I call upon every man not already enrolled into a local corps to come forward at once and report to Captain Howard. Organization is everything. Let us emulate the noble example of our sister cities of ALieon and Augusta, where the whole male population is in arms. By manning the fortifications we will leave free the younger men to act in the field. By prompt action a large local force can be organized from our citizens above the military age, and from those who have been exempted from field service.

"No time is to be lost. The man who will not comprehend and respond to the emergency of the times is foresworn to his duty and to his country.

By the 10th of December Sherman had his lines confronting the Confederate defenses west and south of the city, at which time, despite all efforts to concentrate the southern troops within the lines, there were not more than ten thousand men actually on duty. The situation then is accurately described by Col. (.'has; C. Jones. Jr., in his account of tin1 "Siege of Savannah." lie shows the Confederate lines subdivided and commanded as follows: "The right, extending from the Savannah

River at Williamson's plantation (Brampton) to within about one hundred feet of the Central Railroad crossing, garrisoned by the Georgia militia and the state line troops, was under the command of Major- General Gustavus W. Smith. Twenty guns were in position on his front.

"The batteries at the Central Railroad and Louisville Road crossings and extending from that point to the head of Shaw's dam, were commanded by Major-General LaFayette McLaws. Twenty-nine pieces of artillery were posted on his front.

"Lieutenant-General William J. Hardee was in general command with his headquarters in the city of Savannah. For holding this long line less than ten thousand infantry, dismounted cavalry, and artillery were assembled; and for the space of ten days this little more than a thin skirmish line confronted, at close quarters, Sherman's invading army over fifty thousand strong.

"The light artillery companies were distributed as the necessities of the line demanded, and were either actively engaged in handling the guns in position, or were posted at such convenient distances in the rear that they could move immediately to any designated point in their respective fronts. Only two of them were held in reserve.

"On Major-General Smith's front Captain R. W. Anderson acted as chief of artillery of that division. Captain J. A. Maxwell was detailed as chief of artillery in Major-General McLaws' front, and Captain John W. Brooks acted in a similar capacity in Major-General Wright's division.

"By assignment of the general commanding, Major Black of his staff was designated as inspector on .Major-General Smith's front; Col. George A. Gordon, volunteer aid, inspector on Major-General Me- Laws' front; and Lieutenant-Colonel S. B. Paul, of the lieutenantgeneral's staff, inspector on Major-General Wright's force."

For reasons best known to himself, General Sherman did not make an immediate and direct attack on the city. In his "Memoirs," Vol. 2, page 1!J5, he says: "As soon as it was demonstrated that Savannah was well fortified, with a good garrison, commanded by Gen. William J. Hardee, a competent soldier, I saw that the first step was to open communication with our fleet, supposed to be waiting for us with supplies and clothing in Ossabaw Sound." That meant that he intended to capture Fort McAllister which would put him in direct communication with the fleet. Of the taking of that fort we have the words of its defender, Maj. George W. Anderson, who, in continuance of his account with what happened in the morning of December 13th, 1864, said: "About eight o'clock A. M. desultory tiring commenced between the skirmishers of the enemy and my sharpshooters. At ten o'clock the fight became general, the opposing forces extending from the river entirely around to the marsh on the east. The day before, the enemy had established a battery of Parrott guns on the opposite side of the river - distant from the fort a mile and a half - which tired upon us at regular intervals during the day and the ensuing night. Receiving from headquarters neither orders nor responses to my telegraphic dispatches, 1 determined under the circumstances, and notwithstanding the great disparity of numbers between the garrison and the attacking forces, to defend the fort to the last extremity. The guns being en barbette, the detachment serving them were greatly exposed to the tire of the enemy's sharpshooters. To such an extent was this the case that in one instance out of a detachment of eight men three were killed and three were wounded. The Federal skirmish line was .very heavy, and the fire so close and rapid that it was at times impossible to work the guns. My sharpshooters did all in their power, but were entirely too few to suppress this galling fire upon the artillerists. In view of the large force of the enemy - consisting of nine regiments, whose aggregate strength was estimated between o,500 and 4,000 muskets, and possessing the ability to increase it at any time should it become necessary and recollecting the feebleness of the garrison of the fort, numbering 150 effective men, it was evident, cut off from all support, and with no possible hope of reinforcement from any quarter, that holding the fort was simply a question of time. There was but one alternative - death or captivity.

"Late in the afternoon the full force of the enemy made a rapid and vigorous charge upon the works, and succeeding in forcing their way through the abatis, rushed over the parapet of the fort, carrying it by storm, and, by virtue of superior numbers, overpowered the garrison fighting gallantly to the last. In many instances the Confederates were disarmed bv- main force. The fort was never surrendered. It was captured by overwhelming numbers.

"I am pleased to state that in my endeavors to hold the fort T was nobly seconded by the great majority of officers and men under my command. Many of them had never been under fire before, and quite a number were very young, in fact, mere boys. Where so many acted gallantly it would be invidious to discriminate, but I cannot avoid mentioning those who came more particularly under my notice. 1 would therefore respectfully call the attention of the general commanding to the gallant conduct of Captain Clinch who, when summoned to surrender, by a Federal captain, responded by dealing him a blow on the head with his sabre (Captain Clinch had previously received two gunshot wounds in the arm); immediately a hand to hand fight ensued. Federal privates came to the assistance of their officer, but the fearless Clinch continued the unequal contest until he fell bleeding from eleven wounds (three sabre wounds, six bayonet wounds, and two gunshot wounds), from which, after severe and protracted suffering, he has barely recovered. Ilis conduct was so conspicuous, and his cool bravery so much admired as to elicit the praise of the enemy, and even of General Sherman himself.

"First Lieut. William Schirm fought his gun until the enemy had entered the fort. and. notwithstanding a wound in the head, gallantly remained at his [tost, discharging his duties with a coolness and efficiency worthy of ail commendation.

"Lieutenant O'Neal, whom 1 placed in command of the scouting party before mentioned, while in the discharge of that duty, and in his subsequent conduct during the attack, merited the honor due to a faithful and gallant officer.

"Among those who nobly fell was the gallant FTazzard, whose zeal and activity was worthy of all praise. He died as a true soldier to his post facing overwhelming odds. The garrison lost seventeen killed and t hirty-one wounded.

With the fall of Fort McAllister and the consequent establishment of a base of supplies for Sherman's army, the evacuation of Savannah by the Confederate forces became a foregone conclusion. Accordingly, on the 19th of December Mayor Richard D. Arnold was informed that the departure of the troops would at once begin. There was one direction only by which the evacuation could be accomplished, and that was by crossing the river into South Carolina. Pontoon bridges were prepared, and over them the troops marched, so that by the morning of the 21st the city was entirely in the care of the civil authorities. The city council met in extra session when each member was provided with a certificate of his election as a member of the board. Under instruction the city marshal provided carriages to convey the members of council to the headquarters of the enemy, and the gentlemen so conducted were Dr. R. D. Arnold, mayor, and Alderman Henry Brigham, J. F. O'Byrne, C. C. Casey, Henry Freeman, Robert Laehlison, Joseph Lippman, J. L. Villalonga, and George W. Wylly. The manner in which these gentlemen acted is thus told in Lee and Agnews Historical Record of Savannah:

"The council dispersed to assemble at the Exchange at a later hour where hacks would await to convey the members to the outer works. As they came out of the Exchange a fire was observed in the western part of the city, and, by request, Messrs. Casey, O'Byrne, and Lachlison went to it with a view of taking measures for its suppression. The fire was caused by the burning of a nearly completed ironclad and a lot of timber near the mouth of the Ogeechee Canal which had been fired by the retreating troops. The wind was blowing to the west, and after observing that no danger to the city need be apprehended from the flames, these gentlemen returned to the Exchange where the other members of the council had assembled and were in a hack prepared to start. They stated that other hacks had been provided, but. General Wheeler's cavalry had pressed the horses into service. Mr. O'Bvrne procured his horse and buggy and conveyed Mr. Casey to the junction of the Louisville road with the Augusta road, about a mile beyond the Central Railroad depot - and leaving him there returned for Mr. Laehlison who had walked in that direction. The party in the hack meanwhile had come up to Air. Casey, and, taking him up, drove to the Louisville road. Mr. O'Byrne met Mr. Laehlison. and with him returned to where Mr. Casey had been left, but not finding any of the party there, concluded they had gone up the Augusta road, and. proceeded up it, hoping to overtake them. They advanced but a short distance when they heard the report of a gun and a minnie-ball whistled between them. They halted, and were then ordered by the picket to turn around (they had unawares passed the enemy's picket and had not heard the command to halt), and come to them. They did as commanded, and after informin'; .the officer of the picket who they were, were conducted to Colonel Barnum, to whom they stated the object of their mission. lit* then escorted them to Gen. John W. Geary. They told him that the city had been evacuated, and that they, having, started with the mayor and council to surrender it, but becoming sep- arated from them, would assume the authority of consummating a surrender. General Geary at first did not believe them, and questioned them very closely. After becoming satisfied that they were what they assumed to be, lie consented to receive the surrender. The aldermen then asked that the lives and property of the citizens should be respected and the ladies protected from insult. General Geary promptly replied that the requests should be complied with, and that any soldier detected violating the orders which would be given to restrain them should be punished with death. Messrs. Laeldison and O'Byrne then asked that a detachment should be sent to look after the mayor and other aldermen, which was granted. ' General Geary then put his troops in motion, and, with Messrs. Lachlison and O'Byrne acting as guides, advanced toward the city. At the Central Railroad bridge they were met by the mayor and aldermen who had been overtaken by the detachment sent for them and returned with it. They, on being introduced to the general and told what had been done by Messrs. O'Byrne and Lachlison, confirmed their action. The line of march was then taken up to West Broad street, down to the Bay, and thence to the Exchange, in front of which the troops were drawn up. The officers and members of the council proceeded to the porch, from which General Geary addressed the troops, complimenting them upon their past deeds and upon the additional honor they had conferred upon themselves by capturing "this beautiful city of the South." During this speech Colonel Barnum observed a sergeant step out of the ranks to the store at the corner of Bull and Bay streets, enter, and come out wearing a fireman's hat. On coming down from the porch he called the sergeant to him, and drawing his sword, ordered him to hold out the hat, which he did. and the colonel, with one stroke of his sword, cut it in half. He then stripped the chevrons from the sergeant's arms and reduced him to the ranks.

"After the speech the troops were dispersed in squads throughout the city, and, notwithstanding the strict orders they had received, committed many depredations. That the military force of the United States acted towards the citizens in a just and merciful way was certainly the opinion of the aldermanic hoard, if we may judge properly by the action of that body on the 23d of January, I860, a little more than a month after the fall of the city. Then the council adopted resolutions as follows :

"Whereas, By the evacuation of Savannah by the Confederate troops on the night of the 20th of December, 1864. the city was left in a defenseless position and from the military the right of government devolved on the city authorities; and,

"Whereas, The mayor and aldermen of the city of Savannah in common council assembled had previously resolved that when that contingency should occur they would immediately proceed to Maj.-Gen. W. T. Sherman's headquarters and ask from him protection for their lives and private property of the citizens; and,

"Whereas, It was our good fortune on the evening of the 21st of December, 1864, to meet Brig. -Gen. John W. Geary who was leading the division of the United States army which was the first to enter Savannah, and the said request was made of him ; and,

"Whereas, He promptly granted it and took all necessary means to afford protection by sending a brigade into the city, in advance of his troops, under the command of. Colonel Barnum. who displayed his own efficiency and the admirable discipline of his troops, by preserving an order and quiet perhaps unrivaled in the annals of warfare when a victorious army entered a capitulated city; and,

"Whereas, The conduct of Brigadier-General (now Brevet Major- General) Geary from that until he was relieved from his post in the field, carried out to the fullest extent the expectations raised from our first interview with him;

" Resolved , That the thanks of the mayor and aldermen of the city of Savannah for themselves and in behalf of their fellow citizens be and the same are hereby tendered to Brevet General Geary for the uniform courtesy extended by him to all who came into official contact with him. and for his great judgment in the conduct of all his business transactions, and that we will ever hold him in remembrance as the embodiment of the high-toned gentleman and the chivalrous soldier.

"Resolved, That to his staff individually and collectively we hereby return our thanks and those of our citizens for the able, impartial, and courteous manner in which they performed their various duties."

General Sherman did not enter the city until the 25th of December, and then he telegraphed to the President the oft-repeated message offering to the chief magistrate Savannah as a Christmas gift, lie issued the following order concerning the government of the city the next day :

"The city of Savannah and surrounding country will be held as a military post and adapted to future military uses, but as it contains a population of some 20,000 people who must lie provided for, and as other citizens may come, it is proper to lay down certain general principles, that all within its military jurisdiction may understand their relative duties and obligations.

"I. During the war the military is superior to civil authority, and where interests clash the civil must give way, yet where there is no conflict every encouragement should be given to well disposed and peaceful inhabitants to resume their usual pursuits. Families should be disturbed as little as possible in their residences, and tradesmen allowed the free use of their shops, tools, etc. Churches, schools, all places of amusement and recreation should be encouraged, and streets and roads made perfectly safe to persons in their usual pursuits. Passes should not be exacted within the lines of other pickets, but if any person should abuse these privileges by communicating with the enemy or doing any act of hostility to the government of the United States, he or she will be punished with the utmost rigor of the law.

"Commerce with the outer world will be resumed to an extent commensurate with the wants of the citizens, governed by the restrictions and rules of the treasury department.

"II. The chief quartermaster and commissary of the army may give suitable employment to the people, white or black, or transport them to such points as they choose, where employment may be had, and may extend temporary relief in the way of provision and vacant houses to the worthy and needy until such time as they can help themselves. They will select, first, the buildings for the necessary- uses of the army ; next, a sufficient number of stores to be turned over to the treasury agent, for trade stores. All vacant storehouses or dwellings and all buildings belonging to absent rebels will be construed and used as belonging to the United States until such times as their titles can be settled by the courts of the United States.