Savannah and Carolina Campaigns
					The 61st Ohio remained in Atlanta with the rest of the 20th Corps until the middle of November, 1864.  During this time General Sherman reorganized his command and the 20th Corps became a part of Sherman's Left Wing under the command of Major General Henry Slocum.  On November 15 the 61st left Atlanta as Sherman began his march to Savannah.  Facing little confederate opposition, the yankees could do as they pleased and the 61st destroyed several miles of railroads and a large amount of cotton.  The regiment foraged for food as well and took twenty days worth of rations off the land.      As the federals neared Savannah the confederates tried to make a stand.  On December 9 a rebel division occupied two redouts at Montieth Swamp, fourteen miles north of Savannah.  The 61st and the 31st Wisconsin charged the redouts and after a brief fight the confederates retreated.  The next day the union army reached the outskirts of Savannah where the 61st remained behind to guard the supply wagons.  On December 20 the confederates evacuated Savannah and three days later the 61st entered the city.       Once in Savannah the 61st was assigned to the quartermaster's department and remained in the city guarding supplies when Sherman began his march north into the  Carolinas in January 19, 1865.  The 61st left Savannah on January 26, escorting the supply wagons following behind Sherman.  Similar to the march on Savannah, the federals faced little opposition in South Carolina and the 61st spent much of the march destroying railroads as well as building roads for the artillery and supply wagons.      After the Union force reached North Carolina confederate resistance stiffened.  On March 19 the remnants of the confederate Army of Tennessee made a stand against Slocum's wing at Bentonville, North Carolina.  At daybreak of the 19th the Union 14th Corps ran into the confederates and were pushed back.  The 61st and the 20th Corps rushed to the front where they helped to halt the confederate counterattack.  The 61st and its brigade, positioned on the left of the 14th Corps, faced attack from both the front and the left flank and through the day repulsed a number of confederate attacks until darkness ended the fighting.  The next day Sherman's other wing reached the battlefield and the confederates, afraid of being surrounded and overwhelmed, retreated the night of March 21.      Bentonville was the last battle for the 61st.  On March 24 the regiment encamped at Goldsboro, North Carolina.  Here the depleted 61st and 82nd Ohio regiments were combined and the unit was designated the 82nd Ohio.  Also while at Goldsboro Colonel McGroarty, recovered from his wound and amputation suffered during the Atlanta campaign, rejoined his unit and received command of the consolidated 82nd Ohio.  The regiment reached Raleigh, North Carolina on April 10 where the confederate Army of Tennessee surrendered on April 26.  Following the surrender Sherman's soldiers began their final march.      The 82nd Ohio reached Washington D.C. on May 19 and participated in the Grand Review on May 24.  Following the review the 82nd proceeded by train to Louisville, Kentucky and then to Columbus, Ohio, where the regiment was discharged on July 29, 1865.
		Captain John Garrett's report on the Savannah Campaign from the Official Records.
			Return to Campaigns
				Return Home