ther opposition, remaining
from the 11th of March until the 15th. During its stay several small
steamers came up from Wilmington, bringing provisions and mail.

The left wing of the army remained at Fayetteville the short space of
four days, when it led out on the main road to Raleigh, which follows
the right bank of the Cape Fear river some sixteen miles or more, and
branching at Averysboro.

The supply train of the 14th Corps was left behind in charge of the 3rd
division, to intercept us by a nearer route whenever provisions enough
arrived at Fayetteville to load it.

On the morning of the 16th the left wing moved from its camp of the
night previous and discovered the enemy with artillery, infantry and
cavalry, in an entrenched position in front of the point where the road
branches off towards Goldsboro through Bentonville. Hardee, in
retreating from Fayetteville, had halted in the narrow swamp neck
between Cape Fear and South rivers, in the hope of holding Sherman
there, in order to save time for the concentration of Johnston's army
at some point in his rear. Hardee's force was estimated at twenty
thousand men. It was necessary to dislodge him, that our army might
have the use of the Goldsboro road, as also to keep up the feint on
Raleigh as long as possible. Slocum therefore advanced on his position,
only difficult by reason of the nature of the ground, which was so soft
that horses and men would sink everywhere and could scarcely make their
way at all. The 20th Corps led the advance of Slocum's column, the 14th
Corps following with Kilpatrick's cavalry in the entire advance.

The 20th Corps, upon finding the enemy, drove him from his first line
of works, and advancing, took position confronting his second line,
which was more formidable than the first. Then the 14th Corps took
position on the left of the 20th Corps, our division being on the
extreme left of the line, with its left resting on the Cape Fear river.
The whole line now advanced late in the afternoon, drove the enemy well
within his works, and pressed him so hard that he retreated during the
night in a hard storm over the worst of roads. From this position
Hardee retreated on Smithfield.

No member of the Eighty-sixth will forget with what difficulty it got
its position in this battle, having to wade through creeks and swamps
up to one's armpits. There was no chance to make a deflection to the
right or left to shun a quagmire, right ahead being the