When about four miles from the city of Savannah, Georgia, rebel artillery was found to be in the road behind earthworks to impede our progress. The Twenty-ninth regiment, with the brigade, filed to the left of the road and took position in the timber, where it bivouacked for the night. After leaving Atlanta, Georgia, on the 15th day of November, 1864, the army was designated as the Army of Georgia, the Twelfth and Fourteenth corps, known as the left wing, commanded by Major-general H. W. Slocum, and the Fifteenth and Seventeenth corps, known as the right wing, commanded by Major-general O. O. Howard, Major-general William T. Sherman in command of the Army of Georgia.
On this march the army cut loose from the base of supplies at Atlanta, and lived mostly from forage on the country. On reaching the enemy within four miles of Savannah, on the 10th day or December, the division had accumulated several hundred head of cattle. Sunday, December 11th, moved in the morning about one mile, and took a position near the rebel lines, the Twenty-ninth regiment, on the extreme left of the line, with its left reaching the Savannah river. While in this position the rebels opened fire with artillery from a fort immediately in our front, and the infantry from their strong line of works, kept up a continual fire. The brigade remained in line until late in the afternoon, sustaining slight loss, when it fell back through the open field into the woods and laid on arms all night. On the 12th inst., at 2:30 A. M., fell in and advanced to the front about one-half mile to the old levee, and thence filed to the left. Marched about three-fourths of a mile, halted, and prepared to charge the rebels. To do so the right had to pass a dike or canal with four or five feet of water, and assault the fort and breastworks in
