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 M3ZS SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS . 
 
 Maj .H.O.Marcy 
 in 
 Civil War Paper s,Commandery of Mass. 
 Vol. 2,1900 
 
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SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE 
 CAROLINAS 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/shermanscampaignOOmarc 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR HENRY O. MARCY, SURGEON, U. S.C.T. 
 
 December, 1864, was a busy month in the Department of 
 the South. All the available troops had been sent up the 
 Broad River, where, after some sharp fighting, they had secured 
 a safe lodgment and intrenched themselves upon the Charleston 
 and Savannah Railroad, to furnish a base of support to General 
 Sherman, should he seek to reach the coast between Charleston 
 and Savannah. Vast quantities of military stores had been 
 accumulated at Hilton Head, and all were in daily expectancy 
 of news from the army marching through Georgia. 
 
 Long shall I remember the morning when a courier rode 
 rapidly to headquarters with the despatch : " Sherman is safe, 
 — Savannah is ours ! " It thrilled through the ranks like elec- 
 tric fire. Cheer after cheer rang out along the lines as the 
 news spread from camp to camp. In a wild commotion of joy, 
 in common with a grateful people, as the lightning flashed the 
 news all over the North, our hearts went up in thanksgiving 
 for Sherman's Christmas greeting and present to his country. 
 
 Weeks rapidly sped away in preparation for the coming 
 campaign. Our vast stores were depleted, and the army re- 
 fitted anew. The men became restive in their desire to begin 
 their promised and dearly cherished work of teaching South 
 Carolina a lesson of war, and of testing the prowess of her 
 vaunted chivalry. 
 
 The Seventeenth Corps was transferred by water to Beau- 
 fort, a pleasing little town of summer residences, which for two 
 years had been civilized by the occupation of our armies. The 
 
 331 
 
332 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 corps was quartered in the immediate vicinity of the town. 
 The morning after its entrance the inhabitants were surprised 
 to find their friends had quietly taken possession of almost 
 everything of value. Houses no longer possessed back or front 
 yards, for our veterans did not scruple to use wood, even fences, 
 when they found themselves in the vicinity of dry fuel. Poultry 
 was missing, storehouses were empty, barns had been ransacked, 
 etc. Although painful to the victims, many of these incidents 
 were of too ludicrous a character to cause them loss of temper. 
 A friend of mine from near Boston was an officer in the 
 Internal Revenue Department, and was called "Colonel" out 
 of respect. All who knew him loved him as a whole-souled 
 fellow with a heart as tender to suffering as a woman's ; yet he 
 was fully impressed with the importance of his position under 
 the government, which military men, to some degree under his 
 surveillance, liked to ignore. He was impetuous, easily angered, 
 and at first impressed one unpleasantly, and, as a consequence, 
 was by no means a general favorite. He was unfortunate at 
 this time in occupying a house in Beaufort, and in having it 
 well stored with good things from Boston ; perhaps in these 
 days it will not be to the colonel's discredit to tell that among 
 other luxuries there was a barrel of sherry in the cellar, while 
 in the yard, when he retired that night, was a coop full of 
 turkeys which had survived the holidays. More than usual 
 noise aroused our worthy colonel upon the aforementioned 
 morning, and, proceeding to investigate the cause of the disturb- 
 ance, his eye rested upon the empty coop of his favorite fowls, 
 and at the same moment fell upon a soldier, sitting on a fence- 
 post, busy in making his breakfast of broiled turkey. As the 
 idea of this outrage to justice, visited upon an officer of the 
 law, seized the colonel, he eagerly exclaimed : " You scoundrel, 
 where are my turkeys ? " The veteran deigned no reply, but 
 with a gesture more emphatic than words, held up the leg of 
 the bird and pointed to the feathers strewing the ground. We 
 make no attempt to paint the colonel's indignation, and his 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 333 
 
 emphatic language when he found that his six months' supply 
 of good cheer, including his wine, had disappeared from his 
 cellar as mysteriously as his turkeys and his fences. 
 
 The sutlers had prepared to welcome the veterans with a 
 large stock of northern delicacies, held at prices which only 
 a sutler's conscience dared to impose, but they breathed a sigh 
 of relief when the good-natured vandals marched out of town. 
 When an account of stock was taken and compared with the 
 amount of money received, they found a large balance to be 
 placed to the debit side of profit and loss. The soldiers' excuse 
 was that they had been promised liberty and license when on 
 the soil of Carolina, and was not Beaufort within the limits of 
 this state ? 
 
 Kilpatrick and his cavalry, with the Fourteenth and Twen- 
 tieth Corps, ploughed slowly through the overflowed lowlands 
 and crossed the Savannah River at Sister's Ferry, while the Fif- 
 teenth and Seventeenth Corps broke the enemy's line at Poco- 
 taligo, a few miles to the right of our winter quarters, and there 
 rendezvoused for the final start. Here our division joined, and 
 relieved these veterans of all extra duty, busied as they were 
 with all the detail of final preparation for the repetition of their 
 herculean efforts. 
 
 As before, General Sherman again succeeded in mystifying 
 the enemy as to his future course. Although he had just 
 severed the Confederacy in twain, they did not deem it possible 
 for him again to cut loose from his base and plunge boldly into 
 their country, but fondly hoped he would follow the old routine, 
 fighting upon the line of the coast, where they believed that 
 they, aided by the immense natural and artificial defences of the 
 country, might detain him. They supposed the city of Charles- 
 ton to be his objective point. Many of her citizens had sent 
 their valuables, and had fled themselves in consternation to the 
 interior, chiefly to Columbia. 
 
 The last day of January saw the busy work of preparation 
 cease. The grand army was ready for its last and greatest 
 
334 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 campaign. General Sherman, now free from the constant anx- 
 ieties attending the outfitting and supplying, took a day for rest. 
 
 I have pleasant remembrances of an hour spent in his pres- 
 ence that day. He told us that the road to Charleston by way 
 of Columbia was the easiest to travel, and said that he expected 
 by this movement to mystify the enemy. He talked freely and 
 easily, and was in this respect the very opposite of General 
 Grant, making all about him feel perfectly at ease. His clear 
 eye and thoughtful expression taught us that he was master of 
 the situation, but there was a depth of meaning in his semi- 
 playful words that we did not then comprehend. 
 
 The first day of February opened as fair and bright and 
 beautiful as a May morning in New England. Many brave 
 hearts swelled with hope, and, may I say, trembled with fear, as 
 again they cut loose from all communications. A large army 
 with Johnston, the wisest of rebel leaders, at its head, con- 
 fronted them. There were swamps and marshes to cross, rivers 
 to bridge, battles to fight, an enemy to conquer, a confederacy 
 to annihilate, before again father or mother, brother or sister, 
 wife or children, could know of their fate, and who could say 
 that he might not be numbered with those who would fall by the 
 wayside, and that his requiem would not be sung by the winds 
 as they waved the tall reeds and wild grasses growing over a 
 nameless and forgotten grave ? 
 
 The order of march was issued the preceding night. At 
 three o'clock in the morning the camp fires were burning dimly, 
 giving only here and there a flickering glow, and all was so 
 silent that it seemed difficult to believe oneself in presence 
 of a large army. Suddenly from headquarters a bugle sounded 
 the reveille. Another and another caught up the strain and 
 echoed and re-echoed the call. The beating of drums every- 
 where struck upon unwilling ears, dispelling all thought of peace 
 and quiet, as they aroused the veterans of Sherman for their 
 last campaign. Breakfast around the camp fires followed. 
 Then the bugles rang out again, and soon the long lines of men 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 335 
 
 and trains stretched out over the thinly-settled, pine-clad low- 
 lands. The march through the Carolinas had commenced. 
 
 The advance struck the enemy near Midway on the Edisto 
 River, some distance above Branchville. As General Sherman 
 had predicted, the Confederates were not looking for him here, 
 but had made great effort at preparing defences at the last men- 
 tioned place. The advance was gallantly made through swamps, 
 now floundering in the mud, now scrambling over prostrate 
 trees, now waist deep in water ; at last our men emerged in 
 sight of the enemy's works. 
 
 A steady, unfaltering step, the hurrahs ring along the line, 
 and the rapid discharge of repeating rifles drive the demoralized 
 enemy from works which, stubbornly held, should have cost us 
 dearly. Pursuit was kept up, until the wayside was lined with 
 muskets, haversacks, canteens, etc., cast away in rapid flight. 
 One hundred of our men were killed and wounded. A gallant 
 Ohio colonel who came under my care severely wounded, 
 mourned the death of his favorite horse more than the loss of 
 his leg. This horse had been taken from the old home, had 
 carried him gallantly through Kentucky, over the mountains of 
 Tennessee, was foremost in the fight when his command cap- 
 tured Atlanta, and had borne him triumphantly through Georgia. 
 In the delirium that ensued four days after the amputation of 
 the leg, as I sent him to the rear, he exclaimed to me : " The 
 sacrifice of a leg is accounted as simply a part of a soldier's mis- 
 fortune, but, Oh, doctor, the death of that horse is an irrepar- 
 able loss ! I had thought that my children yet unborn should 
 fondle the dear creature, and that unvexed with bridle or rein 
 he should pass his declining years in the peaceful quiet of the 
 old Ohio home." 
 
 I had often regretted that the name of this valiant soldier 
 should have escaped my memory, but I had supposed that the 
 sands of the coast received the remains of another of our gallant 
 young men, sacrificed on the altar of our country. About eight 
 years ago, while travelling east from Vancouver over the Cana- 
 
336 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 dian Pacific Railway, in passing through the car, I noticed a 
 gentleman wearing the button of our Commandery. Seeing the 
 insignia upon my coat, he said : " I permit no comrade of the 
 Loyal Legion to pass without recognition." It was General 
 Wager Swayne of New York City, well known for his heroic 
 services during the war, and his equally distinguished career in 
 civil life. He had just returned from Alaska, having made the 
 excursion in company with General Sherman, and very naturally 
 the conversation turned upon personal incidents relating to the 
 great commander. I had told of General Sherman showing me 
 some of his favorite horses, of which he was very fond, particu- 
 larly of one fine, thorough-bred mare which he said Kilpatrick 
 gave him, remarking playfully that "Kil stole him up in Georgia.' 
 Thus the conversation turned upon the fondness which the sol- 
 dier has for his steed, and I recited the story just told of the love 
 which the Ohio colonel, wounded, as I thought, fatally, had 
 shown for his favorite horse. When I finished, tears were 
 coursing down the cheeks of my hearer, and in a husky voice he 
 said, placing my hand upon his artificial limb : " I am sorry to 
 have spoiled the diagnosis of such a famous surgeon, but I am 
 that young Ohio colonel, and am glad to meet the man who 
 ministered to me in my dire necessity." 
 
 At last the South Carolina Railroad was reached. Our 
 men, trained to the laying waste of railroads in Tennessee and 
 Alabama, set to work upon the long lines through Georgia with 
 alacrity, and this last artery of communication between the Gulf 
 and the sea-coast states of the Confederacy met the fate of the 
 Charleston and Savannah Road. 
 
 Each corps had its badge, worn upon the cap of the wearer. 
 The soldiers were very much in the habit of tracing the outlines 
 of their emblems upon the trunks of trees by the wayside. 
 This habit found expression of poetic character here in the 
 heart of the Confederacy, upon the railroad. With the aid of 
 neighboring trees the ponderous iron rails were shaped into 
 huge letters of U and S. With bolts and spikes these were 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 337 
 
 fixed and firmly nailed upon the crossings, and left for the 
 consideration of those who should come after. Letters pregnant 
 with meaning to this misguided state, of union more enduring 
 than the iron of which they were made, of prosperity which 
 should follow retribution, of peace on earth and good will 
 towards men. 
 
 Orangeburg fell, and the different corps concentrated, until 
 the grand army invested Columbia ; this bold movement carried 
 dismay to the hearts of the Confederate leaders. Augusta was 
 threatened on the left. Charleston was hastily abandoned lest 
 a sudden swinging of our forces to the right should cut off 
 all possible means of escape. In the front Beauregard and 
 Hampton retreated from the devoted city towards Charlotte in 
 North Carolina. 
 
 The property stored here was of untold value. Columbia 
 had been considered a city of refuge and safety. Here gentle- 
 men had sent their works of art, libraries even, and more valu- 
 able articles of personal property. The bank vaults were filled 
 with boxes of jewelry and plate. The store houses were over- 
 flowing with cotton, munitions of war and provisions. The 
 Treasury Depot of the Confederate States here printed its 
 multitudinous promises to pay, with proper foresight based upon 
 one condition, — "two years after ratification of the treaty of 
 peace with the United States of America." 
 
 Hampton in his retreat had ordered all cotton to be burned. 
 Long lines of burning bales filled the streets. Generals Sher- 
 man and Howard were among the first to enter the city. A 
 scene of confusion surrounded them ; cotton, household property 
 of all kinds strewed the streets. Crowds of colored men, women 
 and children awaited their approach with respectful attention. 
 When asked if they were not afraid of the Yankees, they 
 replied : " Lors, no, massa, we knowed yous coming. We's 
 prayed de good Lord dis long time fur yous, and we t'anks him 
 dat Mister Sherman an' his company is here sure enuff ! " 
 
 Our forces were encamped outside the city, excepting a 
 
338 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 brigade which performed guard duty within its precincts. Night 
 fell quietly over Columbia, a city noted for its broad avenues, 
 the regularity of its streets, its wealth of shade, its splendid 
 mansions and beautiful gardens. There was no warning of the 
 desolation coming on the morrow. A strong wind fanned to 
 flame the embers strewing the streets, and bore here and there 
 flakes of burning cotton. Flames shot forth from an hundred 
 places, aided doubtless in some instances by wanton hands. 
 
 The black smoke rolled up in dense volumes upon the mid- 
 night air, shutting in the heavens and spreading its sable wings 
 like a funeral pall over the doomed city. The lurid flames, like 
 the tongues of mammoth serpents, shot out from side to side, 
 leaping from house to house and square to square, crossing 
 streets, gaining volume and impetuosity at every moment, driving 
 helpless before them a fleeing, terror stricken, half clad popula- 
 tion of women and children. 
 
 Crowds, too, of the sable sons and daughters of toil were 
 hurrying this way and that, carrying large bundles, precious 
 freight for massa or mistress or self. Some gathered at the 
 street corners with wonderment, awe and amazement portrayed 
 upon every feature, listening to the crash of falling buildings, 
 the crackle and roar of devouring elements. Others, with 
 prayerful attitude and upturned countenance, were invoking the 
 blessing of heaven, as if they thought the day of judgment had 
 come. The sharp voice of command rang through the streets. 
 Soldiers by platoons and companies hurried this way and that, 
 restoring order, preventing rapine and plunder, rescuing life and 
 property, doing all that could be done to stay the spreading 
 destruction. 
 
 Generals Sherman and Howard and a host of others worked 
 the night long and did all that men could do, to lessen the 
 terrible scourge, and when morning came, aided the destitute, 
 fed the hungry from the soldiers' scanty store, and provided for 
 the suffering. 
 
 A discussion has since arisen as to who was responsible for 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 339 
 
 the burning of Columbia, Hampton claiming it to be the 
 wanton act of a vandal soldiery ; but Sherman has shown, and 
 we think beyond controversy, that the responsibility of the city's 
 destruction rests with its own would-be defenders in their hasty 
 attempt to burn the immense quantity of cotton stored there, 
 lest it fall into the hands of the Yankees. 
 
 The uneasiness and dread which came over the inhabitants 
 of South Carolina as Georgia opened a highway for its con- 
 queror when Sherman marched down to the sea, had been hang- 
 ing over their heads during all these weeks of preparation and 
 march. The destruction of Columbia capped the climax and 
 confirmed belief in the wildest stories of ravage, rapine, lust and 
 blood. The horrible tales of Yankees so often told to frighten 
 the slaves, were at last believed by the master, and the dis- 
 ordered imagination of their heated and terror stricken brains 
 could picture nothing more frightful than to fall into our hands. 
 
 And thus by a series of natural causes and their effects, the 
 state which had earliest, loudest and longest clamored for heroic 
 defence, for blood, for the raising of the black flag, for a grand 
 rally in the "last ditch," as the tide of war swept through other 
 states, now when called upon to be the martyr to its own prin- 
 ciples, made the least honorable, the most ignoble and pusillani- 
 mous show of defence seen within the limits of the Southern 
 Confederacy. 
 
 Far and wide a very general, almost universal flight, even 
 of women and children, preceded our approach. Hiding of 
 articles of value had usually occurred, and door-yard, garden 
 and cellar were the most common places of secretion. I have 
 spoken of this wide-spread panic especially to explain that 
 anomaly of these campaigns of which you have all heard much, 
 the bummers. 
 
 The origin of this nickname is unknown. No English 
 dictionary contains it, only the bummers themselves knew 
 exactly what it meant, except, perhaps, inferentially. Probably 
 the word originated among themselves, certainly they were not 
 
340 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 ashamed of it. In campaigns like those in Virginia or in 
 northern Georgia, thickly strewn with danger, soldiers stick 
 close to the main line of march. But in Georgia, and especially 
 in South Carolina, the veterans had learned to consider the 
 danger just enough to give zest to personal adventure, and 
 prompted by its spirit, many brave fellows tired of the march, 
 of roll call and the sameness of regimental life, temporarily 
 deserted the ranks, and banding together in small companies for 
 defence, for days and weeks together went roaming whither 
 they would, keeping in the same general direction, but far in 
 advance of the main body. These bummers were usually 
 stragglers from the infantry, but they became cavalry of the 
 most unique and grotesque sort. The great, cardinal, charac- 
 teristic, distinguishing feature of the bummer was that he 
 believed it the first and last maxim of war to live off the enemy's 
 resources, and judged from this standpoint he never was remiss 
 in his duty. Horse and rider were frequently seen bedecked in 
 the most independent, unmilitary, Don Quixote style imaginable. 
 He had no distaste for the uniform he wore, but a strange long- 
 ing for citizen's dress not infrequently cropped out in the 
 donning of some huge, old-fashioned bell-crowned hat, long- 
 tailed surtout and other fixings of olden style which his inves- 
 tigating spirit had discovered. His Rosinante, sometimes a 
 blooded horse that a general might be proud of, sometimes a 
 broken down, wheezing old nag that gave you pain to see 
 ridden, but oftener the patient, ever-ready mule, was bedecked 
 as his favorite, with female adornments, and softer goods than 
 a government blanket served as a saddle-cloth. His gastro- 
 nomic propensities were simply enormous ; chickens, turkeys 
 and pigs, honey, butter and eggs, sweetmeats, preserves and 
 wines, all found their way to stomachs as ignorant of dyspepsia 
 as the consciences of their owners to confession. The bummers 
 had a strong liking for watches, jewelry and money, in the find- 
 ing of which some became very dexterous. A new made garden 
 or spaded patch was sure to attract the attention of these 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 341 
 
 military agriculturists, and almost every inch was probed by 
 ramrod, poked by bayonet, or pierced by sabre, and when some 
 lucky digger found a vein, the spade was brought into speedy 
 requisition and hopeless and irretrievable confiscation followed. 
 Our experience was replete with personal incidents in connec- 
 tion with these good-natured vagabonds. Governor Aitken of 
 South Carolina sent to the up country for safety a beautiful 
 silver service which cost six thousand pounds sterling. It fell 
 into the track of Sherman's raiders, and the only piece the 
 Governor ever again secured was an elegant silver waiter which 
 was found in the hands of a plantation darkey, who, with an 
 eye to the practical, was using it as a frying-pan for cooking his 
 bacon. 
 
 One evening I set out to look for a missing brigade and took 
 a cross road through the woods, of course unknown to me. 
 Unattended I rode cheerfully on in the darkness for several 
 miles. As I reached a fork in the roads, a noise sufficiently 
 loud to mark the coming of the looked-for troops was heard. 
 As they neared me, sounds of hilarious singing and boisterous 
 laughing were prominent. A half dozen of the ever ready rifles 
 glistened in the dim light as their owners in the advance caught 
 sight of me, and in the most soldierly manner they called out : 
 " Halt, or I will fire ! " I upbraided them for their unmilitary 
 conduct, and the coolest of "Who cares for you ?" was given 
 me in reply. When at length I was recognized, I heard this 
 story from one of the soberest. The little party had found 
 buried a quantity of fine old wines. They acknowledged they 
 were jolly, but excused their condition because there happened 
 to be some brandy in the cases, and unfortunately they had 
 been drinking mixed liquors. They had vied with each other 
 to see which could carry to camp the greatest quantity, but 
 like many another unfortunate they had stowed it inside instead 
 of outside, and the poor fellows were struggling under burdens 
 which they would be unable to carry much longer. With 
 generous thought for their comrades, however, they had packed 
 
342 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 the bottles they could not drink into a carriage and harnessed 
 in a lot of plantation slaves, and thus in triumph were marching' 
 to camp. A bountiful supply was offered me with a " Now 
 don't report us at headquarters," and by a less premature 
 method of stowage I disposed of more than my comrades and 
 rode away. I did report the coming of the colored men with 
 their carriage of precious freight, but when an aide was dis- 
 patched for its contents, only a buggy was found with a broken 
 bottle to testify to the truth of my story. 
 
 As I have said, the bummers were always in the advance, 
 and as ready for fight as for plunder. As our forces neared 
 North Carolina, General Sherman learned that over one of the 
 rivers in his front there was a long bridge, which if burned by 
 the enemy according to their usual custom, would delay the 
 army and disarrange important strategic movements. He sent 
 for Kilpatrick, and consulted with him as to the best manner 
 of securing it. At the head of his cavalry Kilpatrick made a 
 long and forced march. As he neared the bridge, a strange 
 figure, mounted on an old horse, with rope stirrups, came tearing 
 down the road, swinging his hat and shouting at the top of 
 his voice, " Come on, Kil, we've taken the bridge and we'll 
 hold it until you can support us." Sure enough, they had 
 captured the bridge, formed in line of battle, and were vigor- 
 ously driving the enemy. The bummers had accomplished 
 that which had cost the generals much anxiety, and the cavalry 
 a night's march. 
 
 There is a comic side to many of the stories of these adven- 
 turers. A gentleman of much prominence whom I met in 
 Charleston after its fall and the cessation of hostilities, told me 
 his experience in illustration of the indignities to which he had 
 been subjected. A colored soldier came up to his beautiful resi- 
 dence, and, meeting him at the door, asked for something to 
 eat. The gentleman refused, whereupon he started for the 
 kitchen for personal investigation. The proprietor soon fol- 
 lowed. The soldier was master of the situation. He had laid 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 343 
 
 aside knapsack and rifle, was playing with the little colored 
 " Pickaninies " and delighting a group of the servants with tales 
 of his adventures, for a colored soldier was a novel sight to them. 
 The master was a drawback to the enjoyment of the occasion. 
 Not liking such close scrutiny, our hero exclaimed, " See here, 
 sah, de Gineral want to see you at headquarters." Fearing for 
 the safety of his property, and not daring to disobey, away went 
 the gentleman and found the general after two hours of search, 
 only to learn that he was the dupe of his colored visitor, who 
 had found his presence disagreeable. 
 
 Officers' servants liked to play the part of bummers, as 
 doubtless many of you know. I remember suddenly missing 
 one who attended me upon a cavalry scout one day. The 
 enemy was about, and we feared his capture. Before nightfall 
 there loomed up in the distance behind us a queer, nondescript 
 looking figure, coming at a rapid pace. As he neared us he 
 proved to be the lost attendant. Beside the ordinary decking 
 of turkeys, chickens, etc., he had taken the queer fancy to pre- 
 sent me with a feather bed, and had thrown it over his saddle 
 and sat astride of it as proud as a Roman conqueror. 
 
 Everywhere the negroes hailed our coming with delight, and 
 at a moment's notice were prepared to fall in and leave their 
 place of nativity, known to them by none of those endearing 
 associations which cluster around the sacred name of home. 
 To them it was a synonym of task, compulsion, tyranny and 
 fear. When asked where they were going they would not un- 
 frequently, cheerfully reply : " Don't know, we's goin' wheres 
 youse goin', massa." The women and children, who could not 
 be allowed to encumber and delay the trains, were sadly dis- 
 appointed, but showed their confidence and hope by being easily 
 satisfied with the promise that next time we would take them 
 too. These colored men were no hindrance, but often of great 
 value to us. They could always be trusted, they were invaluable 
 as guides, proved the best of foragers, were ever ready to tell 
 where " Massa " had hidden his horses, mules or provisions, and 
 
344 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 not infrequently suggested to the inquisitive soldiers which part 
 of the yard was best to experiment upon with ramrod or sabre. 
 
 I call to mind one notable exception. A fine looking negro 
 of forty was true to his master. He buried and saved $30,000 
 worth of silver plate and many other valuables. He was prom- 
 ised by his former owner, who was his half brother, a farm from 
 his thousands of acres, but two years later, lured by the expected 
 fulfillment, the faithful fellow was still with his master, trying 
 to feed a large family on the munificent recompense of eight 
 dollars per month, paid him by this signer of the ordinance of 
 secession. 
 
 One day I met a colored man, a near relative of his owner, 
 who presented me with a gun and a pair of pistols. Equipped 
 with these arms, under the direction of his master, whose press- 
 ing engagements just then called him to another part of the 
 state, he had taken charge of a train of loaded wagons and 
 choice slaves, and in company with a retreating Confederate 
 battery was to find safety from the Yankees in the up country. 
 For a while he followed the soldiers, but ruminating upon the 
 chances of escape, he concluded it was better to return to the 
 plantation. So he told the lieutenant that " Massa " had given 
 him particular instruction to take good care of the mules, and 
 he must feed them ! The lieutenant replied that the Yankees 
 would catch him if he stopped. " Leave me alone fur dat, sah, 
 — I am' gwine ter stop long," was his reply, and sure enough, 
 he did not, for when the retreating soldiers were out of sight, 
 he at once moved in the opposite direction and brought up 
 safely in our lines. 
 
 Columbia proved the key of the enemy's position, and the 
 mistake was in the Confederates not concentrating in its de- 
 fence, instead of dividing their forces in covering Augusta, 
 Columbia and Charleston. This last place, as we have seen, 
 had to be evacuated, and the first ceased to be of value. We 
 still see the strategic ability of General Sherman, and his success 
 in deceiving the enemy. 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 345 
 
 From Columbia, the army moved by different roads to Mins- 
 boro', demonstrating on Charlotte as if to march through the up 
 hill country into Virginia. By this movement the enemy was 
 well drawn to the left, away from our front, and a sudden turn 
 to the right caused Cheraw, almost on the border of North 
 Carolina, to fall, an easy prey to our arms. Here were found 
 immense stores, hurriedly forwarded from Charleston before its 
 evacuation. Provisions of all sorts were ready at hand to fill 
 our long trains. Thirty-six hundred barrels of powder, Blakely 
 rifled guns sent by blockade runners from English friends, and 
 other munitions of war fell into our hands. Here, as at Colum- 
 bia, quantities of plate and other valuables were stored. Thou- 
 sands of bottles of choice old wine were discovered, and many a 
 bumper filled to overflowing was drunk in honor of the inaugura- 
 tion of President Lincoln for his second term of office, a marked 
 contrast to the state of things four years previously, when in 
 South Carolina, no gun was fired nor wine drunk, save to pledge 
 the overthrow of both President and Government. The glorifi- 
 cation, even if a little excessive, went to make up for the defi- 
 ciency. 
 
 The insane fear which fell upon the inhabitants at our ap- 
 proach was illustrated by a lady of education and refinement, 
 who told me that she had sent her son, a lad of twelve years, 
 with his father who retreated with the Confederate army, for 
 she thought we would take him prisoner of war. No doubt our 
 soldiers were guilty of unjustifiable acts; — dwelling houses 
 were burned ; but they had always been deserted by their mas- 
 ters, and I have yet to learn of a single instance where injury or 
 outrage was committed upon women or children. In some way 
 the most ignorant of plantation slaves had learned that their 
 freedom was secured by our approach. One day in company 
 with several officers I visited a large plantation miles from our 
 line of march. It was a beautiful place. The mother, grown 
 up daughters, sons' wives, numbered eight, including the daugh- 
 ter of an Episcopal Bishop from New Jersey, who had been 
 
346 CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 shut out from home all these years of war. Several of the 
 young ladies were very pretty, and I confess that as we sat in 
 the drawing room, we were guilty of saying gallant things in a 
 pleasant way, and in an unfortunate moment, conquered by 
 their smiles, were weak enough to accept an invitation to dinner. 
 Our hostess, as she thought, and she reasoned well, had made 
 an impression upon us. She spoke of her slaves, said that 
 lately she had lost the power of control over them, in fact, they 
 had refused to work, and her driver and herself had utterly 
 failed to govern them. Turning to me, she asked in woman's 
 pleasantest manner, if I would not be kind enough to talk with 
 them and tell them of their duties, saying that coming from an 
 United States officer, it would have great influence. Could I 
 do less than consent ? A messenger was dispatched to the 
 quarters, and soon I was notified that my audience was all 
 ready. As I came out upon the veranda, I was welcomed by a 
 gathering that quite surprised me. It was a motley crowd of 
 about two hundred men and women, arrayed in the most gro- 
 tesque costumes. There were pants of carpets, coats of quilts, 
 and garments of many colors. But through all, in huge rents, 
 armless coats and tattered dresses, were to be seen the patches 
 of native color. With bared heads and shoeless feet they stood 
 shivering in the winter wind. To my chagrin, our hostess and 
 her fair daughters, accompanied by my brother officers, came 
 out to hear what I had to say, and formed the background to 
 the picture. It was a difficult audience to please, but then as 
 now, having a strong desire to be a popular man, I went in for 
 pleasing the largest number, and as I expatiated upon human 
 rights, freedom under the old flag, and the inalienable right to 
 the fruit of one's labor, I succeeded in bringing down the 
 house. Frowns and scowls sadly disfigured the fair features of 
 the ladies behind me. 
 
 But the bright eyes of my listeners in front told me that I 
 had hit the mark ; murmurs of applause and " Dat so, Massa," 
 ran through the crowd, and when I told them of Massa Lincoln 
 
SHERMAN'S CAMPAIGN IN THE CAROLINAS 347 
 
 and his proclamation, they tearfully replied, " We knows dat be 
 true." 
 
 Turning to the lady, I could not help dryly remarking, 
 " Madam, I think you will have no further trouble with your 
 slaves ! " 
 
 The greatest enemy which opposed our progress was found 
 in the long continued heavy rains. Rain fell in torrents for 
 days together. Small creeks were swollen to rivers of con- 
 siderable magnitude. The long trains and thousands of animals 
 cut the roads into a quagmire of mud. A wheel would suddenly 
 sink in the quicksand. All efforts to pull it out only served to 
 bury the animals still deeper. The driver soon learned that his 
 occupation of whipping and swearing was useless, so he would 
 dismount. The trainguard would come to the rescue. A dozen 
 work with shoulders at the wheels and body, and finally the 
 wagon would be to hard ground. The road must be corduroyed. 
 With jest and joke, the men seized the fence rails or, wading 
 into the neighboring swamp, cut and split the trees, and soon 
 bridged over the impassable morass. 
 
 The 1 2th of March saw the taking of Fayetteville, but not 
 without opposition. As at Cheraw, the capture was of much 
 greater importance than at first supposed. The magnificent 
 arsenal which our Government built, contained millions of dollars' 
 worth of machinery, materials and munitions of war. The Con- 
 federates tried to move the most valuable part, but it was too 
 bulky for easy transportation, and our advance was so rapid that 
 there was scarcely time for personal escape. All was left one 
 mass of ruins. 
 
 General Johnston had at last collected the scattered frag- 
 ments of the Confederate army from Charleston, Wilmington 
 and Augusta, the remnants of Hood's old army of the Tennessee, 
 all that could be spared from Virginia, all the detachments that 
 were scattered through North and South Carolina, until a 
 formidable force, in numbers at least, was in front. But they 
 lacked the spirit which had characterized the enemy on other 
 fields, for they now believed that their cause was hopeless. 
 
34§ CIVIL WAR PAPERS 
 
 Johnston had watched our long lines of march, our scattered 
 trains, and deemed it possible to strike the flank, roll its dis- 
 organized masses back upon our centre before the reserves could 
 be brought up for support, and thus at this last moment wring 
 victory from the jaws of Fate, and give renewed hope to the 
 cause now well nigh lost. His men fell upon the veteran ranks 
 with the desperation of despair, but these heroes of a hundred 
 battles were never caught napping. A wall of steel and fire 
 arrested the rebel columns, which advanced only to destruction. 
 Brigades and divisions came on to the support of our over- 
 matched battalions. Not a foot was lost, not a man wavered. 
 
 The morning found us in undisputed possession of the field, 
 covered with the enemy's dead and wounded. This battle of 
 Averysboro' was followed by fighting on the 20th and 2 1 st at 
 Bentonville with like result, and the grand old army, heroes 
 of Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Altoona, Lookout Mountain and 
 Atlanta, who had taken the Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore 
 of the Confederacy ; whose delight had been in visiting the 
 capitals of rebellious states; who had trodden two thousand 
 miles through the length and breadth of the Confederacy, — had 
 now fired its last shot and fought its last battle. Its crowning 
 and highest glory was the surrender of its brave enemy. 
 
 Dear old army ! Its mission is ended ! Its flags are furled ! 
 Its tents struck, its comrades scattered in the quiet pursuits of 
 peace, but its lessons remain and its glory is written in history, 
 to the Nation's honor. 
 
00032727381 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION