406 SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA 1 [1864 "First of the right wing, thus described what he had seen, there come along some cavalrymen and they burned the depot; then come along some infantry men and they tore up the track and burned it; and just before I left they sot fire to the well." In the main, the General forebore destroying private property but, in nearly all his despatches after he had reached the sea, he gloated over the destruction along the line of his march, writing from Savannah: "We have consumed the corn and fodder in the region of country thirty miles on either side of a line from Atlanta to Savannah as also the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep and poultry and have carried away more than 10,000 horses and mules as well as a countless number of their slaves. I estimate the damage done to the State of Georgia and its military resources at $100,000,000; at least $20,000,000 of which has inured to our advantage and the remainder is simple waste and destruction. This may seem a hard species of warfare but it brings the sad realities of war home to those who have been directly or indirectly instrumental in involving us in its attendant calamities." 2 Well might he say afterwards, "War is hell.” Various orders given from time to time show that there was not only lawless foraging but that there was an unwarranted burning of buildings. A more serious charge against these men of the western army is pillage. Sherman admitted the truth of it as did likewise General Cox. After the campaign, Sherman heard of jewelry being taken from women and was of the opinion that these depredations were committed by parties of foragers usually called "bummers." Cox dubbed with that name the habitual stragglers 1 W. Sherman, II, 191. 20. R., XLIV, 13. These are undoubtedly exaggerated estimates. The assessed value of real estate and personal property in Georgia in 1860 was $618,232,387. CH. XIII] THE MARCH TO THE SEA 407 to whom he ascribed a large part of the irregular acts. Some of the pilfering was undoubtedly due to the uncontrollable American desire for mementos of places connected with great events. Moreover, while three and one-half years of civil war had built up an effective fighting machine, they had caused a relaxation in the rules of orderly conduct among its members so that it had come to be considered proper to despoil anyone living in the enemy's country; but the commander and his officers sincerely desired to restrain the soldiers within the limits of civilized usage. The lofty personal character of most of the men in high command and the severity of the punishment threatened for breaches of discipline are evidence of this; nor should it be overlooked that much of the plundering charged to Sherman's men was actually done by Confederate bands., From my general characterization of the Union officers one notable exception must be made. Kilpatrick, the commander of the cavalry, was notorious for his immorality and rapacity, and his escapades, winked at by Sherman on account of his military efficiency, were demoralizing to the army at the time, and have since tended to give it a bad name. With no purpose of extenuation it is pleasant to record some of Sherman's words which should be read in the light of his honesty of soul and truthfulness of statement. "I never heard," he wrote, "of any cases of murder Sherman's campaign struck slavery a staggering blow. Everywhere the negroes received the Northern soldiers with joy. Near Covington an old gray-haired negro said tò Sherman that he "had been looking for the angel of the Lord ever since he was knee-high" and he supposed that the success of the Northern army would bring him freedom. 1 W. Sherman, II, 183. 408 THE NEGROES [1864 Another who was spokesman for a large number of fellowslaves said to an aide-de-camp of the General's, "Ise hope de Lord will prosper you Yankees and Mr. Sherman because I tinks and we'se all tinks dat you'se down here in our interests." At Milledgeville the negroes in their ecstasy shouted, "Bress de Lord! tanks be to Almighty God, the Yanks is come! de day ob jubilee hab arribed."1 "Negro men, women and children joined the column at every mile of our march," reported the commander of the left wing. The desire to realize their freedom at once was keen and the number would have been far greater had not Sherman discouraged the negroes from following the army, as all but the young and able-bodied, who were put to use, were a serious drawback, increasing the number of mouths to be fed and causing constant apprehension lest they should hamper the movement of the troops in the event that the enemy were encountered in formidable array. But the tidings that President Lincoln had proclaimed them all free was spread far and wide. The moral effect of the march to the sea was very great. "Sherman's campaign has produced bad effect on our people," wrote Jefferson Davis.2 At first it was popularly supposed at the South that the operation was hazardous and that the Union Army might be checked or even destroyed. The Union force was underrated; the Confederate means of defence were estimated too high, especially as they were so disposed as to be ineffective. The marching columns met with little resistance. The victorious progress of "this modern Attila," as Sherman was called, brought out indications that many people in the South were tired of the war. During the thirty-two days when the world lost sight 20. R., XLV, Pt. 2, 778. 1 Nichols, 56, 60. CH. XIII] SAVANNAH TAKEN 409 of Sherman, the only news of him was from the Richmond newspapers which came through Grant's lines and from other Southern journals, copious extracts from which were printed in the Northern dailies. The President was apprehensive for his safety; and, if Grant's recollection be correct, there was for a time considerable anxiety among people at the North who had husbands, sons or brothers in the invading army. The first word of his security was received in Washington on the evening of December 14; four days later came a despatch from Sherman himself, saying that he had opened communication with the fleet. On the night of December 20 the Confederates evacuated Savannah. Sherman took possession of the city and sent his celebrated despatch to President Lincoln, who received it opportunely on the evening of Christmas Day. "I beg to present you,' the General said, "as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." 1 When the balance of probabilities seemed to indicate that Hood would invade Tennessee, Sherman, on parting with General J. D. Cox, whom he was sending northward, said, "If there's to be any hard fighting you will have it to do." 2 This turned out to be the case. Tempted by the division of the Union Army and aiming to "distract Sherman's advance into Georgia," "3 Hood on November 21 took the offensive and began his movement upon Nashville. His energy and alertness secured for him the advantage of superior numbers over General John M. Schofield, who endeavored to retard the Confederate advance so that Thomas might gain time for a concentration of the Union 1 Authorities: O. R., XXXIX, Pts. 1, 2, 3; XLIV; XLV, Pt. 2; V; W. Sherman; J. D. Cox; Force; Nichols; Whitelaw Reid, I. 410 GRANT THOMAS [1864 troops. Aware of his inferiority, Schofield executed a masterly retreat and, through strenuous exertions of officers and men, arrived safely at Franklin, where the impetuous Hood forced him to fight with a river at his back. Hood made a desperate frontal attack and was repulsed with terrible slaughter. General J. D. Cox shared with Schofield the "credit for the brilliant victory." The Union troops, under orders from Thomas, marched to Nashville. 1 Hood followed Schofield to Nashville and sat down before the city with an army now reduced to 26,000, inviting his doom.2 The reason he gave for continuing his advance northward was stated in his report of December 11, "to force the enemy to take the initiative." Thomas had now at Nashville 49,000 men. 3 Thomas understood the position of affairs and knew that he should attack Hood. Feeling pretty sure that Hood would not attempt an advance to the Ohio river, or retreat southward, he was making his preparations complete with the aim of striking the Confederates a crushing blow. Meanwhile Grant was growing impatient the more so as personally he did not like Thomas. The two were unsympathetic and their view of military movements was diverse. Grant loved Sherman and Sheridan and was always ready to overlook their short-comings, but his attitude toward Thomas during these December days was that of an unrelenting fault-finder. Knowing that Hood's defeat was necessary for the success of Sherman's campaign he could not control his annoyance at the delay. "Attack Hood at once" was his order of December 6. As no attack was made, he purposed relieving Thomas and placing Schofield in command; but suspending, for a space, the issuance of an 2 Van Horne's Thomas, 316. 10. R., XLV, Pt. 1, 343. 3 O. R., XLV, Pt. 1, 658. |