672
MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA AND THE CAROLINAS.
every command, even of regiments, and could as-sign officers to special duties, with knowledge ofthose who were to fill the vacancies so made. Thearmy appreciated these personal relations, andevery man felt in a certain sense that Shermanhad his eye on him.
Before the middle of November, 1804, the in-habitants of Atlanta , by Sherman’s orders, had leftthe place. Serious preparations were making forthe march to the sea. Nothing was to be left forthe use or advantage of the enemy. The sick weresent back to Chattanooga and Nashville , along withevery pound of baggage that could be dispensedwith. The army was reduced, one might say, toits fighting weight, no man being retained whowas not capable of a long march. Our communica-tions were then abandoned by destroying the rail-road and telegraph. There was something in-tensely exciting in this perfect isolation.
The engineers had peremptory orders to avoidany injury to dwellings, but to apply gunpowderand the torch to public buildings, machine-shops,depots, and arsenals. Sixty thousand of us wit-nessed the destruction of Atlanta , while our postband and that of the 33d Massachusetts playedmartial airs and operatic selections. It was anight never to be forgotten. Our regular routinewas a mere form, and there could be no “taps”amid the brilliant glare and excitement.
The throwing away of superfluous conveniencesbegan at daybreak. The old campaigner knowswhat to carry and what to throw away. Eachgroup of messmates decided which hatchet, stew-pan, or coffee-pot should be taken. The singlewagon allowed to a battalion carried scarcely morethan a grip-sack and blanket, and a bit of sheltertent about the size of a large towel, for each officer,and only such other material as was necessary forregimental business. Transportation was reducedto a minimum, and fast marching was to be theorder of the day. Wagons to carry the necessaryammunition in the contingency of a battle, and afew days’ rations in case of absolute need, com-posed the train of each army corps, and with onewagon and one ambulance for each regiment madevery respectable “impedimenta,” averaging abouteight hundred wagons to a corps.
At last came the familiar “Fall in”; the great“flying column” was on the march, and the lastregiment in Atlanta turned its back upon thesmoking ruins. Our left wing (the Fourteenthand Twentieth corps under Slocum) seemed tothreaten Macon , while the right wing (the Fif-teenth and Seventeenth corps under Howard) bentits course as if for Augusta. Skirmishers were inadvance, flankers were out, and foraging partieswere ahead gathering supplies from the rich planta-tions. We were all old campaigners, so that abrush with the militia now and then or withHardee’s troops made no unusual delay; andWheeler’s cavalry was soon disposed of. We wereexpected to make fifteen miles a day; to corduroyche roads where necessary ; to destroy such prop-erty as was designated by our corps commander,and to consume everything eatable by man or beast.
Milledgeville proved to be Sherman’s first objec-
tive, and both wings came within less than sup-porting distance in and around the capital of theState. Our colored friends, who flocked to us inembarrassing numbers, told many stories aboutthe fear and flight of the inhabitants at the ap-proach of Sherman.
Cock-fighting became one of the pastimes of the“flying column.” Many fine birds were broughtin by our foragers. Those found deficient in cour-age and skill quickly went to the stew-pan incompany with the modest barn-yard fowl, butthose of redoubtable valor won an honored placeand name, and were to be seen riding proudly onthe front seat of an artillery caisson, or carriedtenderly under the arm of an infantry soldier.
Our next objective was Savannah . Hazen’scapture of Fort McAllister opened the gates ofthat beautiful city, while Hardee managed toescape with his little army; and Sherman, in arather facetious dispatch, presented the city toMr. Lincoln as a Christmas gift. Flushed with thesuccess of our march, we settled down for a rest.Our uniforms were the worse for wear, but thearmy was in fine condition and fully prepared forthe serious work ahead.
In the middle of December in the neighborhoodof Savannah , after Hardee’s troops had nearlyexhausted the country, which was now mainlyunder water, there was little opportunity for theforagers to exercise their talents, and some of themreturned to the ranks. The troops bivouackedhere and there in comparatively dry spots, whilepicket duty had to be performed at many points inthe water. In going from Sister’s Ferry to Rob-ertsville, where my regiment was in bivouac, Iwaded for a mile and a half in water knee-deep.At Purysburg the pickets were all afloat in boatsand scows and on rafts, and the crestfallen fora-gers brought in nothing but rice, which becameunpalatable when served three times a day forsuccessive weeks. At length, when we left Savan-nah and launched cheerily into the untrodden landof South Carolina , the foragers began to assumetheir wonted spirit. We were proud of our foragers.They constituted a picked force from each regi-ment, under an officer selected for the command,and were remarkable for intelligence, spirit, anddaring. Before daylight, mounted on horses cap-tured on the plantations, they were in the saddleand away, covering the country sometimes sevenmiles in advance. Although I have said “in thesaddle,” many a forager had nothing better than abit of carpet and a rope halter ; yet this simplicityof equipment did not abate his power of carryingoff hams and sweet-potatoes in the face of theenemy. The foragers were also important as a sortof advance guard, for they formed virtually a cur-tain of mounted infantry screening us from theinquisitive eyes of parties of Wheeler’s cavalry,with whom they did not hesitate to engage whenit was a question of a rich plantation.
When compelled to retire, they resorted to allthe tricks of infantry skirmishers, and summonedreinforcements of foragers from other regimentsto help drive the “Johnnies” out. When successcrowned their efforts, the plantation was promptly