"On the 12th of November, my army stood detached and cut off from all communication with the rear. It was composed of four corps, the Fifteenth and Seventeenth constituting the right wing, under Major-General O. O. Howard; the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, constituting the left wing, under Major-General H. W. Slocum; of an aggregate strength of 60,000 infantry; one cavalry division, in aggregate strength 5,500, under Brigadier-General Judson Kilpatrick, and the artillery reduced to the minimum, one gun per thousand men. "The whole force moved rapidly and grouped about Atlanta on the 14th November. In the meantime Captain O. M. Poe had thoroughly destroyed Atlanta, save its mere dwelling houses and churches, and the right wing, with General Kilpatrick's cavalry, was put in motion in the direction of Jonesborough and McDonough, with orders to make a strong feint on Macon, to cross the Ocmulgee about Planters' Mills, and rendezvous in the neighborhood of Gordon in seven days, exclusive of the day of march. On the same day General Slocum moved with the Twentieth corps by Decatur and Stone Mountain, with orders to tear up the railroad from Social Circle to Madison, to burn the large and important railroad bridge across the Oconee, east of Madison, and turn south and reach Milledgeville on the seventh day, exclusive of the day of march. "In person I left Atlanta on the 16th, in company with the Fourteenth Corps, Brevet-Major-General Jeff. C. Davis, by Lithonia, Covington, and Shady Dale, directly on Milledgeville. All the troops were provided with good wagon trains, loaded with ammunition, and supplies approximating twenty days' bread, forty days' sugar and coffee, a double allowance of salt for forty days, and beef cattle equal to forty days' supplies. The wagons were also supplied with about three days' forage, in grain. All were instructed by a judicious system of foraging, to maintain this order of things as long as possible, living chiefly, if not solely, upon the country, which I knew to abound in corn, sweet potatoes and meats. "My first object was, of course, to place my army in the very heart of Georgia, interposing between Macon and Augusta, and obliging the enemy to divide his forces to defend not only those points, but Millen, Savannah and Charleston. All my calculations were fully realized. During the 22d, General Kilpatrick made a good feint on Macon, driving the enemy within his intrenchments, and then drew back to Griswoldville, where Walcott's Brigade of infantry joined him to cover that flank, while Howard's trains were closing up and his men scattered, breaking up railroads. The enemy came out of Macon and attacked Wolcott in position, but was so roughly handled that he never repeated the experiment. On the eighth day after leaving Atlanta, namely, on the 23d, General Slocum occupied Milledgeville and the important bridge across the Oconee there, and Generals Howard and Kilpatrick were in and about Gordon.