I've been researching what Wisconsin soldiers did during Sherman's March to the Sea, and did I find some gems. As usual the three best places to research Civil War in this state are the Wisconsin State Historical Society, The Wisconsin Veteran's Museum and now the Kenosha Civil War Museum. I'll be sharing some of my findings in the future, but I had to share this one.
William F. Saylor was the band leader for the 1st brigade band of the third division of the 20th corps. As he and his mates prepared for a return march to Atlanta, from their Kingston location, he, in a letter to his father, describes how they tore down the Chattahootchie Bridge. Enjoy.
On Saturday November 12th our forces commenced destroying the Chattahoochee River Bridge (360 feet long and 100 feet above the water, built of trestle work) and RR north of it as far north as Kingston. On November 13th we pulled down the bridge. This was done by cutting all the braces and digging away about 20 feet of track from the ends, then fastening a long rope to it and five or six hundred men pulling on it endwise. After two or three pulls it commenced swaying to and fro and soon about half of this massive structure went crashing to the bottom of the stream. The work men now went to the other side and went through the same operation and in one day, from the time they commenced cutting the braces this whole structure that had cost a month to build was a pile of ruins.
This is fascinating, especially given the 150th anniversary of the March this past week. Does this historical society retain a copy of the original? There's a direct connection.to William F. (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=62332947) for our family.
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