Following the American Civil War Sesquicentennial with day by day writings of the time, currently 1863.

Post image for On Provost duty in Savannah.–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

On Provost duty in Savannah.–Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills.

December 22, 2014

Army Life of an Illinois Soldier, Charles Wright Wills, (8th Illinois Infantry)

Green Square, Savannah, Camp 103d Illinois
“Provost Guards.”

December 22, 1864.

We have just by a hair’s breadth missed what would have been a most unpleasant fight. We lay on the west side of the Ogeechee, with the enemy on the opposite shore, strongly fortified. We had crawled through the mud and established a line of rifle pits within 125 yards of them; 150 portable bridges had been built in our division and I believe everything was in readiness for hot work the next day, the 20th. The morning of the 21st finds the enemy gone across the river into South Carolina. The next day we moved into town and our regiment and the 40th from our brigade are put on provost duty.

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