Page:Journal history of the Twenty-ninth Ohio veteran volunteers, 1861-1865.djvu/140

 from Springfield to the city of Savannah, with its main line in the timber, its right resting on the river. During the ten days the command remained in front of Savannah it took charge of large rice mills on the river, and supplied the men with rice. The quartermaster used large quantities for the train teams. At one time rice sold for fifty cents per quart (before the capture of Fort McAllister, on December 13th, 1864). The rebels in our front were behind a heavy line of works, which was surmounted with large timber called head logs, with port holes in their front. At their rear was a large body of timber, their right rested on the river, where they had constructed two forts, one near the river, and the other a short distance west along their line, where they had a strong position behind sand bags. But our lines were advancing nearer every day, and during the night of December 20th they evacuated their works, and fell back to Savannah, crossing the river into South Carolina. At 4, on the 21st day of December, the Twenty-ninth fell in, and moved in the advance of the brigade to the front. Passing the rifle-pits, it filed to the left, across the canal near the rebel fort, finding their works and entire line evacuated. We moved on in the direction of Savannah. On reaching the city, the Twenty-ninth Ohio and Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania regiments moved down the river to Fort Jackson, which had been evacuated and set on fire. The regiments reached the fort at 9, and at 12 o'clock at night the rebels blew up their gunboat Beauregard. We remained at the fort until December 24th, with the usual routine of camp and garrison duty. In the meantime the Twenty-ninth took an inventory of the ordnance and ordnance stores captured by the Twenty-ninth regiment and the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania in Fort Jackson and other forts