Diary of Orrin Brown, Savannah, Georgia
Saturday–Jan. 14th
It is quite cool this morning with a chilly N. W. wind. Our regt. was relieved about 10 AM marched down to camp and found out that the rest of our Brig. had moved to town and we had orders to pack up immediately and in about 1/2 hour we were on the road to town, when we arrived there we had orders to fit up our tents in comfortable stile with brick fireplacces and we went to work in earnest for we expect to stay here some time. We drew two days of Sugar, Coffee, Rice, Ground Potatoes, Pepper, and soap. There was a detail of 9 men and a Corporal made out of our company this evening to work on the fort tomorrow.
Savannah wasn’t the only place in Georgia getting waterlogged in January 1865. One diarist wrote about newspaper accounts of floods washing away three bridges on the Montgomery & West Point railroad. “Bridges are washed away in every direction, and the water courses impassable.” The moisture complicated Sherman’s plans to get marching again, pinning him down in Savannah awhile longer.
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