Sherman's armies reached the outskirts of Savannah on December 10 but found that Hardee had entrenched 10,000 men in favorable fighting positions, and his soldiers had flooded the surrounding rice fields, leaving only narrow causeways available to approach the city.
Shermans hære nåede udkanten af Savannah den 10. december, men opdagede, at Hardee havde 10.000 mand forskanset i gode stillinger, og hans soldater havde oversvømmet de omkringliggende rismarker, så der kun var smalle dæmningsveje ind til byen.