The capture of Fort McAllister gives us our first
communication with the North since the telegraph wires were cut at Marietta,
Georgia, on the 12th of November. We have no rations yet, but will have
crackers as soon as our men can remove the torpedoes from the Ogeechee river,
which is thickly laid with them; then the transports can land provisions. There
is great rejoicing in camp, as we have nothing left but unhulled rice. This we
hull by placing a handful in our haversacks which we lay on logs and pound with
our bayonets. Then we pour the contents from hand to hand, blowing the while to
separate the chaff from the grains. All is quiet along the line, except
occasional skirmishing. We had regimental inspection this afternoon. The
foraging train of the Fifteenth Corps came in this afternoon with some forage.
We are now in camp in a large rice plantation about ten miles south of
Savannah.
Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B.,
Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 237
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