On Nov. 15, 1864, after destroying Atlanta and cutting his communications to the North, Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman, USA, began his destructive campaign for Savannah, the March to the Sea. He divided his army into two wings. The Left Wing, the 14th and 20th Corps under Maj. Gen. H. W. Slocum, USA, moved east from Atlanta in two columns that converged on Milledgeville, crossed the Ogeechee River near Louisville, and then marched on Savannah by two routes: the 14th Corps under Davis on the old road along the Savannah, and the 20th Corps under Williams by way of Springfield. Both corps approached Savannah by way of Monteith. The Right Wing, the 15th and 17th Corps under Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, USA, marched south by way of Jackson and Gordon and crossed the Oconee River at Ball’s Ferry. The 17th Corps under Blair then moved by way of Tennille and the railway, destroying it en route. The 15th Corps under Osterhaus moved by several roads to Summerville, also called Summertown, from which two divisions moved near the river on the old Savannah road and two by way of Statesboro. On Dec. 4th, Hazen’s and Smith’s divisions of the 15th Corps camped at Statesboro, and Woods’s and Corse’s camped near Mill Ray, 9 miles northeast. The next morning, both columns moved toward Jenk’s Bridge on US 80, from which the final movements toward Savannah began.