280 The American Civil WarThe sketch is by Theodore R. Davis, an eyewitness of
Brigadier-General William B. Hazen's division of the XV
Corps storming Fort McAllister, near Savannah, Georgia.
Sherman needed Hazen to seize Fort McAllister in order
to open supply lines with the Union navy. Hazen used
sharpshooters to pin down the defenders, and he
assembled his men in a relatively thin line to reduce
casualties. In 13 minutes, Hazen's troops captured the
fort with a loss of 24 killed and 110 wounded, mostly
from land mines. His men inflicted 250 casualties. The
sketch appeared in Harper's Weekly. 14 January 1865.
prepared trenches on the south side of Duck
River. Several days later, as the great Rebel
horseman began to force river crossings,
Schofield fell back once again.
Schofield did not believe that Hood could
move his army along a roundabout and
difficult course and still beat him to Spring
Hill. He was wrong. Confederate cavalry and
then some infantry arrived before many of
Schofield's troops, yet they could not check
the Union retreat. Stanley had rushed a
division back in the afternoon and a second
one around sunset. With the aid of some
artillery, these Yankee troops repelled
piecemeal Rebel attacks. That night,
miscommunication among the Rebel high
command and a string of unfortunate
decisions enabled Schofield to march
The author of an infantry tactics manual and a corps
commander in the Army of Tennessee, William J. Hardee
turned down command of the army after Missionary'
Ridge. He served under Johnston and Hood in the
Atlanta campaign, and was transferred at his own request
to the coastal defense, where he opposed Sherman's
army at Savannah. Hardee also fought at Averasborough
and Bentonville. (Library of Congress)