The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-20 00:00:00

The Devastation of Georgia.

The Augusta Chronicle publishes the following
from a correspondent who recently traversed the
country between the Oconee and Ocmuljee rivers,
in Georgia, where Sherman's forces had been ope-
rating ;

Going to M'Credel's place we found hia fine house in ashes
and his ginhouse burned, and every horse and mule gone.
In his lot were about one hundred horses lying dead ;
they looked like good stock, and were evidently killed to
deprive planters of them. A number of M'Credel's
negroes were gone. Proceeding on, we found every
plantation on the road similarly devastated, except that
no other d even ng-houses were burned until we reached
'he fine farm of the Hon. Joshua Hill. [Probably the
Hill who ran against Brown for Governor of Georgia.—
Ed, Herald.] This is a perfect wreck ; a large ginhouse
full of cotton, corn cribs, dwelling, all a smoulderi.rg ruin.
[Es loss was greater than that of any planter in this
section. Besides the cotton, several thousand bushels of
corn, potatoes, several hundred of wheat, and much other
valuable property, will every horse and mule, and many
negroes, are gone. No farm on the road to this place, and
as far as we can hear towards Atlant escaped their brutal
ravager. They ravaged the country below here to the
Oconee river. The roads were strewn with the debris of
their progress. Dead horses, cows, sheer, hogs, chickens,
corn, wheat, cotton, books, paper, broken vessels, coffee
mills, and fragments of nearly every species of property that
adorned the beautiful farms cf this country, strew the way-
side--monuments of the meanness and rapacity of the
people who boast that they are not robbers and do not inter-
fere with private property. In Madison they burned the
depot and one or two old warehouses, with the gaol and
market house. 'they gutted every store, and plundered
more or less on every lot. They fired the drug store and
several other houses, and their officers, with a show of
magnanimity, aided to put out the flames. 'Many families
have not a pound of meat or peck of meal or flour. Many
negroes were enticed away from homes of comfort to share
the uncertain fortunes of a winter march to the coast, and
then forced to starve. Families of wealth have not a house
servant left, and those who were the most trusted were often
the first to leave. The Yankees entered the house of ray
next door neighbour, an old man of over threescore years,
and tore his wife's clothes and bedding, trampling her bon-
net on the floor, and robbing the house and pantry of nearly
everything of value. There was no provocation for any of
these acts of violence, for everybody treated them civilly
and offered them all they wanted to oat. Their excuse is
that they cannot control their men. Many of them, include
ing their officers, behave civilly, and my humble domicile
escaped any serious depredations. Those citizens who re-
mained at home and watched their premises lost little save
horses, food, and stock. Those who from any cause
chanced to be away lost all. 4 lady on the Eatonton road,
whose father is in the army, feeling afraid to stay at home.
went to the house of a neighbour, and on re urning found
every plate broken, every knife and fork and spoon gone,
and her own clothes stripped to sheds and scattered about
the lot, No definite estimate can be formed of the plans or
future movements of the enemy, or their numbers. Those
who passed through here were said to consist of Slocum's
corps, under command of General Williams, and were esti-
mated at eight or ten thousand. They were chiefly infantry,
with three batteries of artillery. They had quite a large
waggon train, with pontoon bridges. They boasted that
(hey were now whipping us out effectually; that they
would destroy Macon, Augusta, and Savannah, and then go
into South Carolina, and end the war at Charleston. They
evidently went through Milledgeville, and their other
column has doubtless by this time reached Macon. From all
that I can learn they left Atlanta with lour corps, of about
thirty-five thousand men, nearly one-half of whom are raw
drafted men, who have no stomach for the war. They are
being captured in the vicinity continually. Several have
come in to-day, who had been lying in the woods until their
rearguard left, in order to desert. By the time they reach
the barren pine belt below Milledgeville they will find
Georgia a "hard road to travel," and if we can confront
them with a small force and harass their flanks vigorously
they will meet few ships to greet them when they reach the
coast, It is a desperate game, and in this fertile belt they
can play it successfully:; but the swamps will be fatal to
them. They have unquestionably caused much suffering,
and to-night families who had an abundance last week
have subsistence, The greatest inconvenience is felt.
There is plenty in the country yet. But there are no
horses to haul it. Oar citizens are in distress also for wood,
for the same reason.