With Savannah safely in Federal hands, the Union Navy today begins an assault upon Fort Fisher, a Confederate fort guarding the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina. The Battle of Fort Fisher lasts for four days. Today the Union attempts to destroy the fort’s walls by detonating a gunpowder-laden ship. This failed effort is followed…
Despite defiance mere days earlier, Confederate forces evacuate from Savannah today, leaving the city to Sherman‘s army. An official Confederate report of the evacuation notes: “The troops from the western lines were quietly withdrawn in the order and at the hours indicated in the circulars issued by the lieutenant general for the evacuation of the…
For Savannans, the dreaded day has arrived: Union General William T. Sherman, encamped outside the city with some 60,000 soldiers, demands that Lieutenant-General W. J. Hardee surrender the city. For Sherman, it is a day to relish: Months of planning and a long, hard march have led to this moment. One week before Christmas, the…