December 2.--Marched at seven o'clock A. M. Guarded ninety wagons, and made eleven miles.
December 3.--Marched at half-past 6 A. M. Passed the pen where the rebels kept our prisoners. Made sixteen miles toward Sylvania. Obtained an abundance of sweet potatoes and pork, (about forty bushels sweet potatoes and one thousand pounds fresh pork,) and turned into Brigade Commissary twenty-four head of cattle; average weight, two hundred and seventy-five pounds, dressed; one hundred pounds sugar, and sixty gallons of molasses.
December 4.--Marched at six A..M. Crossed Little Ogeechee River. Made fifteen miles. Foraging party from brigade, under command of Captain Cogswell, procured three wagon loads of sweet potatoes, one hundred and fifty pounds bacon, and seventeen head of cattle; average weight, dressed, two hundred and fifty pounds.
December 5.--Ready to march at daylight. Marched at seven o'clock P. M. Passed a very bad swamp, made two miles, and went into camp at one o'clock in the night. The men procured forty bushels of sweet potatoes and six hundred pounds fresh meat.
December 6.--Marched at nine A. M. Made twelve miles; some bad swamps passed; got into camp at dark. Men supplied themselves with sweet potatoes, forty bushels, and four hundred pounds fresh pork.
December 7.--Marched at seven A. M. Very bad roads. Helped fifty wagons through the swamp, and took out of the road a large number of felled trees. Went into camp near Springfield, having marched eleven miles.
December 8.--Marched at seven o'clock A. M., leaving wagons and pack-mules at Springfield. Made ten miles south-west and south-east, gaining but little. Regiment procured plenty of sweet potatoes, forty bushels, and two hundred pounds of pork. Men had all to march with wet feet; roads bad, swamps flooding them.
December 9.--Marched at eight A. M. Halted at ten A..M. Roads obstructed by fallen trees, and a rebel gun playing down the road, through the swamp. Passed with the brigade around to the right of the road, through a bad swamp. The One Hundred and Fiftieth was at first ordered, and deployed in third line of battle in a rice-swamp, covered with water from one to three feet deep ; then ordered to the left of the first line, adjoining the Third Wisconsin; then ordered further to the left, through an almost impenetrable swamp and thicket, to give room between the One Hundred and Fiftieth and Third Wisconsin for the One Hundred and Seventh regiment New-York volunteers. This regiment halted in this line; but seeing the other regiments advancing and the rebels running away, advanced to the fort. The men and officers executed all orders in this difficult manoeuvre with most commendable alacrity and promptness. Marched about eight miles.
December 10.--Marched at six o'clock A. M., the One Hundred and Fiftieth regiment in advance of the corps. Advanced three miles to the Savannah and Charleston Railroad, and at eight A. M. commenced tearing up the railroad. Advanced again at nine A. M., to within four miles of Savannah, and formed line of battle, and sent out the right wing of One Hundred and Fiftieth regiment as skirmishers, and established the picket-line. Captain Gildersleeve, with his company, went out foraging, and came upon the rebel despatch-boat Ida; captured and burned it. They took thirteen prisoners, one of them a confederate colonel, Clynch by name.
December 11.--Remained in same position.
December 12.-Advanced the line five hundred yards, and erected breastworks; the One Hundred and Fiftieth on the right of the brigade, next the road.
December 13, 14, and 15.--Remained in same position. Men very destitute of food. Rice and fresh meat, the only articles, and ten pounds of rice to one hundred men.
December 16.--Moved at six o'clock A. M. up the river, about nine miles; crossed over the river to Argyle Island, near the south end of the island. The soldiers procured plenty of unhulled rice, and pounding it out, supplied themselves bountifully. Crossed the river in scows.
December 17 and 18.---Remained in same position.
December 19.--Relieved the Third Wisconsin regiment in the works on the island at daylight, and crossed to the South-Carolina shore at three o'clock P. M., to support the balance of the brigade. Sent out two companies on picket. The rebel gunboat shelled us vigorously, and killed one man on the island.
December 20.--The line was extended to the right by a reconnoissance, in which three companies of the One Hundred and Fiftieth were engaged, to a creek opposite Savannah. Established line and threw up rifle-pits or breastworks, and retired, losing only one man killed.
December 21.--Received orders at seven o'clock to cross the river, as Savannah was ours. Commenced recrossing to Argyle Island; the One Hundred and Fiftieth crossed first, and then took position on the extreme south-easterly point of the island, to cover the crossing of the balance of the brigade. The rebels pressed our rear-guard, and companies C and I, of the One Hundred and Fiftieth, opened fire upon them with good effect, checking their advance, and enabling the rear of the brigade to cross safely. The wind was very high, rendering the boats unmanageable, and the day was consumed in crossing to Argyle Island. Our noble Colonel, who had returned but two days before, and assumed command of his regiment, was severely wounded in this skirmish. The country can ill afford to lose the services, even for a time, of one so devoted to his regiment, and so competent, faithful, and energetic in the
