2

What Sherman Did.

An army correspondent with Sherman thus sums up the results of the movement through South Carolina, up to the time when the army reached the North Carolina border:
We had been but about forty-five days shut out, as it were, from the outer world.

Besides compelling the rebels to evacuate Charleston, we destroyed Columbia, Orangeburg, and several other places; also, over fifty miles of their chief lines of railroad, and thousands of bales of cotton.

At Columbia we captured 43 cannon, 200,000 cartridges, 10 tons of powder, 9,000 rounds of fixed ammunition, about 10,000 muskets, over 100 government presses, besides an immense amount of public stores, locomotives, rolling stock, and other kinds of government stores too numerous to mention.

At Cheraw we took 25 cannon, 8 caissons, and 2 traveling forges, besides a large quantity of government stores of various kinds in the arsenals and elsewhere.

At Fayetteville we took seventeen cannon, besides a large quantity of government stores of various kinds in the arsenal and elsewhere. This makes eighty-five cannon — one-third of which were field pieces — with carriages, caissons and all complete. We captured about 25,000 animals on our line of march. We gave food and transportation to about 15,000 colored refugees. We also had about 4,000 white refugees, all of whom were well cared for, and will be sent North to whatever destination they choose.

We operated over the following districts or counties: In South Carolina — Beauford, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Lexington, Richland, Kershaw, Fairfield, Chester, Lancaster, Sumter, Darlington, Chesterfield, Marlboro. In North Carolina — Mecklenburg, Anson, Richland, Union, Robeson, Cumberland and Moore.

We marched on an average four hundred and fifty miles, our wings extending some thirty-five or forty miles. This would give an area of over fifteen thousand square miles which we operated over, all the time supporting men and animals on the country. Indeed, the loss we have inflicted on the enemy is incalculable, and all at a trifling sacrifice of life.

I think one thousand killed, wounded and missing will cover our casualties. Several of these were owing to accidental explosions at Columbia and Cheraw.

The enemy's loss must be, in killed, wounded and missing, about twelve hundred, while we captured and had on hand three thousand prisoners.