Headquarters
Second Mass. Inf'y,
Savannah, Ga., January 15,
1865.
Our latest and most important item of news is Colonel Coggswell's
promotion to the position of Brevet Brigadier. I think it is a well deserved
promotion; he has always commanded his regiment well, and I feel confident he
will do himself credit with a brigade; at any rate, I am glad to continue to
serve under him, for he is to have this brigade. This promotion, of course,
puts me permanently in command of the regiment, although at present the
Colonelcy will not be vacated; but I believe it will be long before the
regiment will have men enough to muster me. It is rather discouraging to sign a
morning report showing an aggregate present of only two hundred and fifty men,
and for duty only one hundred and ninety. I have applied to the War Department
for the detail of an officer for recruiting, but with our past experience as a
guide, there is very little to hope for, even if that is granted.
Sherman's last general order to his army was a capital one; it told
every man what this campaign had accomplished, and was written in his piquant
style. Sherman is giving great attention to the careful shipment of the
cotton seized here; every bale is weighed and numbered, and marked U. S.; there
is the usual number of agents, etc., trying to get their hands on it, but I
think there is a fair chance that this lot will go straight to the Government.
We should have started on the march before this if we had not had to
wait for supplies; as yet, there is no accumulation of rations here, but they
are expected daily.
If you can help me in any way towards getting recruits, please do so.
SOURCE: Charles Fessenden Morse, Letters Written During the
Civil War, 1861-1865, p. 206
No comments:
Post a Comment