DECEMBER 20, 1864:
Surrounded on three sides with his back to the
sea and with the Union trying to cut off his only escape route, General William Hardee C.S.A. decides that
discretion is the better part of valor and marches his 10,000 men out of
Savannah, Georgia overnight. Although the river bridges have largely been
destroyed, Hardee improvises a clever bridge made of lashed-together cotton
barges, and his men escape over this ingenious makeshift pontoon bridge.
Hardee’s men retreat into South Carolina, glad to be away from Sherman.
Although Sherman is castigated in the Press for allowing the 10,000 trapped
troopers to escape, Sherman remains unruffled; he has plans for them.
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