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Sunday June 19 . . . the rebs evacuated. . . to
their main works. . . about four p.m. we took our position at the foot of Kenesaw Mountain. . . and erected breastworks. . . June 20 the rebs commenced shelling. . . our batteries opened. . . if you ever heard a whizzing of shot and shell it was then. . . June 23 went on the skirmish line and were ordered to advance into a thick piece of woods at the foot
of the mountain. Our boys (drove) the panic stricken rebs out of their rifle pits up the mountain and into their fortifications. . . Night
coming. . . we withdrew. Our company had three wounded but none killed. . . Monday morning at precisely nine o'clock the 2nd and 3rd brigades. .
charged the rebel works. . . They drove the rebel skirmishers out of their rifle pits, took them prisoners, advanced to the main works, here
they were compelled to halt. . . having lost in killed and wounded over five hundred men in less than an hour. . . " During July, the regiment
was engaged at Chatahoochie River and the siege of Atlanta. On August 11, Sylvanus writes about their attack on rebel lines. They took the rifle pits, but not the main works. "Just at night we were relieved by the 16th Illinois. In our company we lost one killed and five wounded, myself among the number. About twenty minutes before, I got a very nice rebel cartridge box full of ammunition and being desirous of keeping it I hung it on my left shoulder. A rifle ball struck this going through and inflicting a slight flesh wound." They attacked again September 1 upon an artillery battery at Jonesboro. Sylvanus wrote: "We leaped on there works amidst a shower of grape and canister and musket balls. . . Our orders were to take the battery and we done it. . . The result of our victory was eight canon, one brigadier general & staff, two stands of colors and five hundred prisoners. . . " On September 24, resting at
Whitehall near Atlanta, Sylvanus wrote prophetically, but with a faulty sense of direction, that "I presume when we get after them again we shall not stop till we get to the Gulf of Mexico. . ." He then indulges in some political dialogue, evidencing his shift of feelings about Lincoln: "If elected he (McClellan) will ask the south to come back into the union and acknowledge the supremacy of the constitution. . . Now I ask what more can any man ask than what is contained in McClellan's letter of acceptance. . . Don't tell me that Lincoln is an honest man and only prosecuting this war to restore the constitution. . . Nothing will satisfy his MAW but the freedom of the everlasting niggar and I believe he would sacrifice the nation to accomplish the object. . .if I live to cast a vote it will not be for Abe the Union Splitter. . ." His regiment moved from Chattanooga to Athen, Georgia, then to Florence, Alabama, and
next to Cartersville, Georgia, where Sylvanus writes on November 12: "We come to this place. . . by the foot and walker line. . . in time to hold our election which gave a majority of 56 for McClellan. There is a big move afoot. . . cannot tell what shape it will assume. . . seventy-five or a hundred trains of cars pass here every twenty-four hours. . . Casssville a nice little village. . . was burned to the ground by order of General Sherman. . . such will be the fate of Atlanta. . . see if I am not half right. . . I saw Egbert Havens at Kinston. He belongs to the 21st Michigan. . . " (Egbert was James and Sylvanus's nephew) In December the 14th was with Sherman surrounding Savannah and Sylvanus was boasting that "Grant and his New Englanders will never do anything till this army shows them how". On January 19, 1865, he reports from Savannah that "our boys seem anxious to have a clip at that hot bed of treason South Carolina. . . One stone will not be left on another to tell where that Modern Sodom stood. . . " He also reported a review of their army by Secretary of War Stanton and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells. ". . . Abe has sent them to see what Crazy Bill Sherman was about. I hope they will not try to dictate to Sherman what he must do." Sylvanus heard stories circulating that Sherman's men had lacked food on their long march. This was his reaction: "At almost every meal our tables were
loaded with fresh pork, chickens, turkeys, honey, sweet potatoes. . . molasses were so plenty that we would roll the barrel into the road, knock in one of the heads and let the boys help themselves. . . drafted men and conscripts aint worth a hill of beans. After we get them they are more bother than they are worth." On January 20, Sylvanus "started
for someplace known only to Crazy Bill Sherman. . . instead of snow, they have rain, rain and mud, mud, mud." They were going through South Carolina, ten days at Sisters Ferry to repair railroads, losing 22 men foraging near Fayettesville, crossing the Cape Fear River on March 12. The retreating confederated made a stand at Averysboro on March 15. The Michigan 14th and New York 17th regiments breached the first enemy line, then held against stiff opposition overnight; the 14th lost 20men. There were skirmishes until another engagement on March 19 at Bentonville. "We immediately took position on the extreme right of our line. . . and threw up temporary breastworks from pine logs, rails, anything we could get. . . the rebels charged. . . drove in our skirmishers and advanced in a solid line. . . we kept up a continued stream of fire for an hour when those of the rebs who were not killed or wounded commenced falling back to their main works. . . we leaped over our works and after them and succeeded in killing, wounding and capturing nearly every man. . . when we got part way back to our works a volley from behind our own works. . . a large force was sent around our right to flank us. . . We charged back. . . drove the johnnies into the works of the 10th Michigan. . . We took two stands of colors and about two hundred prisoners. . . all through the night could be heard the poor fellows calling for help and water." Robertson says the 14th's first charge took the colors of the 40th North Carolina, captured a general, 32 officers and 200 men, killed 72, and captured 600 guns; in retaking their own works, they bagged a colonel, 10 officers, 125 men and the colors of the 54th Virginia. The next day, about noon, Sylvanus wrote: "Our regiment and the 16th
Illinois immediately advanced to charge their works but. . . found the johnnies gone. . . After going nearly a mile we ran into their rear guard where we captured a number of prisoners. . . they opened on us with a battery and musketry. . . We jumped over their works, got their horses by the reins and demanded the surrender of the battery. . . a whole brigade of rebel infantry come up. . . we were compelled to fall back." By Robertson's account, the 14th was skirmishing a mile ahead of the main
force After over-running the battery and encountering the confederate brigade, they sustained a 40 minute exchange of fire and held their position all day, although outnumbered 5 to 1. The 14th's casualties were 2 dead, 23 wounded and 4 captured.

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