Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 13.djvu/362

 The Battle of Honey Hill. 361

withdrawn to Macon." The First Brigade was not engaged. It had passed beyond Griswoldville prior to the appearance of the Fed- erals. In this affair the Confederates sustained a loss, in killed and wounded, of between five and six hundred being rather more than a fourth of the men carried into action. They were confronted by Wood's division of the Fifteenth Army Corps; General Walcutt's brigade, with two pieces of artillery, and a regiment of cavalry on either flank, being in advance. The Federals were protected by barricades and temporary works of considerable strength.

Another corps of General Sherman's army was marching from Clinton in rear of the position occupied by the Confederates, so that their situation was perilous in the extreme. This engagement, while it reflects great credit upon the gallantry of the Confederate and State forces engaged, was unnecessary, unexpected, and utterly un- productive of any good. The battle of Griswoldville will be remem- bered as an unfortunate accident which might have been avoided by the exercise of proper caution and circumspection. It in no wise crippled the movements of the enemy, and entailed upon the Con- federates a loss, which, under the circumstances, could be illy sus- tained.

The line of the Central railroad being thus in the possession of the Federals, the destination of General Smith's command was changed from Augusta to Savannah. On the 25th of November he moved by rail to Albany, and thence marched across the country to Thomas- ville. "We arrived," says General Smith, "in Thomasville by noon on Monday, the 28th, having marched from Albany, a distance of between fifty-five and sixty miles, in fifty-four hours." There, " instead of finding five trains, the number I had requested to be sent, there were but two, and these could not be started until after dark." Not until two o'clock on Wednesday morning was Savan- nah reached. So insufficient was the transportation that he was compelled to leave the Second, Third and Fourth brigades of the Georgia militia at Thomasville to await the return of t^e train.

Upon arrival at Savannah, and before he had left the cars. General Smith received a peremptory order from General Hardee requiring him immediately to proceed with his command to Grahamville. South Carolina, to repel an advance of the Federals, who, moving up from Broad river, were seeking to cut the line of the Charleston and Savannah railroad. It was absolutely necessary that this communi- cation should be preserved. Upon its security depended the reten- tion of Savannah. Over this road must the garrison retreat in the