, 1864-12-08
SHERMAN'S MARCH.
he Meets with Feeble Opposition,
and will Reach the Coast
In Safety.


AEAANA 44E CQA6E oAFEk1.
[From the Richmond Wing, Dec. 81
We arc told By a contemporary " who ought
to know TINT President Davis hnd nothing
whatever to do With the movement of Gen
Hood upon the rear Of Sherman. Let him,
therefore, stand acquitted before all men and
in the sight Of heaven. Far be It from US to
accuse any one un}ustly, or even to hint IN
unjust suspicion. The plan, it seems, was
Gen. Hood's own conception, approved BY
may be so. We shall not venture to deny it.
When the friends of Gen. Johnston contcnded
that this plan Was his, OF that he entertained
similar one, they meant no more, we sus.
pcct, than that Gen. Johnston designed to
ret Sherman deep into the country and then
get into his rear, emitting. him of from Ills
supplies and forcing him to fight on advan.
Gen. Johnston meant to travel of at the
speed and with the eccentric orbit Of comet,
80 far beyond Sherman's reach as to lose MI
influence over his movements. If Sherman,
instead Of fighting to restore his communica-
tions, thought proper to march into Georgia,
always be short distance In his rear, watch
iIg every motion, cutting off supplies, cap-
turing strngg1ers, rouBing the country in
front Of the enemy, and incommoding bis
march In every conceivable manner. It was
under the belief that Hood would do the same
that they gave his movement to the rear their
unqualified appreciation. They thought It
vas such movement as Gen: Johnston had
designed, and never dreamed Of the grand
skylarking expedition Of two hundred mites
against nothing, and ending in nothing. The
friends of Johnston do not believe that be
would ever have SO politely steFpcd ont -oi
tho way and handed over to Sherman the
whole State, With tho command Of all the
railroads. fisherman has not been success
ful in this part Of his enterprise, 1t does not
seem that his failure is In the smallest degree
attributable to any virtue in Gen. Hood plan.
Indeed, TIE arc told that the very success oi
that plan was the principal motive that inl-
PEELED him upon this expedition. It appcara
that he was rendered desperate by the sue
ccsgful interruption and destruction of his
supplies and communications, and that In a
flt Of desperation he made for tho Atlantic.
Wc hope il may turn out that snc &td1 not hate
eauae 10 regret M0t he ,tas made 30 desttrate 1t
does not seem that our aH$horities had any
suspicion Of the effect the movement Of Hood
would have. At lcast We judge from the very
feeble opposition which has thus aAr been
made to the advance Of Sherman. It Is plain
that he is moving to the coast, and that, 80
far, he has been enabled TO live upon tbt
country. We think it probable that Sherman
will reach the Atlantic In comparative safety
His next move, in our opinion, will be by SEQ
to Richmond !; we DO not believe that he can
nah. Indeed, should be succeed:in capturing
the first named place, 1t vii! o him no good
since he will find there nothing b Fwas seek
! ing At the last named he nj Fave to fight
and That be is very well awe of, and docs
| not wish to do before securing base upo1
the sea. Charleston, for the present, at least
| ne take to be entirely out ofothe question
| the Sea and thence Issue during the winter tt
ravage the country or 10 carry on q regular
winter campaign, he must be kept In, as VI
] suppose he can. In the meantime he abnn
| dons au immense tract Of country in the in
| terror, over which II Is impossible that his
| watched, can exercise any influence for goo6
| or evil. We do not See that Sherman's las
| exploits will have any effect upon the issue!
| Of the wnr but, after having been told by th'
highest authority In the Confederacy TINT hi
retreat from Atlanta was to be more disas
trnus than the retreat Of Napoleon from Mos
COW, 1t is little ve1atious to find him get
ting OF so cheaply, burning and numbering a
he goes
| The Devastation OF Georgia.
From the Richmond Sentinel, Dec. 81
| EopGlNG THE YANKEE TRACK OF sHERNAS'
ARMT.
We take the following from lively lettc
to the Augusta Chrouiae and Scnt;ntl, describ
ing the writer's experience md observation
| in mis- trip home after the hurried closfng o
the Georgia Legislature. The sccue is laid Ii
the country between the Oconcc and Ocmul
gee rivers. ,-
A village waiting for the Yankees Is pic
ture worthy of Hogarth; Leaving our bag
gsge, VIZ tuok q hasty dinner, determined t
Keep the road to Madison until our picket
should notify us Of the approach Of tic yan
KEGS About three O'Clock scout can't
! dashing down the road at Gilpln Rr,eef, cry
.ooead, >' 81
After waiting several hours in the rain
under rail pen, improvised for the occasion
We determined to 60 out On the road and SCI
| what was going on. We had not Travelled
| hundred yards before party Of cerulcan clad
equestrians came dashing up, and In a very
polite manner briefly requested us to halt
! niicapt cooking OF earbines and pistols
| which, brought t% horizontal attitude IL
one's front, are very persuasive, especially tc
| an unar1ned civilian, and We halted. After q
brief and hurried talk, in which we were
questioncd~xery closely. about the country
troops in the vicinity, &c, they drove on
We gathered ficm their actions that they
we're The advance guard Of the force from
Madison and were expecting to meet another
force from Monticello nt the fork near by.
! Aprrehcnding that our overcoats and small
residue of cash, and other personal effects,
would not he safe in the motley crew com:
prising the Yankee army, we resolved to
| We threfore returned to our pen AMI
staid till morning. We then proceeded throug:
| the woods, within hearing distance Of the
road. Late on Sunday night their first col.
umn commenced passing, and VIC found II
| very difficult to avoid. They swann.d
dering Unfortunately nntil late in the night
| We were more in dread Of icing shot as
| bushw hackers than We had Of being pluuder-
| cd, and probably should have Kept the road
| but We now had no choice but to aFotd them
| II possible. Their wagons were rumbline
| the Madison road on the right, while they
I swarmed In the country between. We could
hear them talk, and hear their caps explode
Us they passed with a few feet of US. The
| night was Intensely cold, net and dark, save
when the distant CLEAN OF 0 burning house
lighted up the horizon. Their main columns
were passing from abont twelve O'Clock on
| Sunday afternoon until about nine o'clock at
| night. The next day they were passing tu'
| ring The morning, and We continued In the
| woods. This WAS On the third day out, du.
ring which it rained continually, and W. had
| subsistcd on patched corn. On Tuesday
| morning VIC determined to take the road and
found his fine house In ashes aud his gin house
burned, and every. horse and mule gone. In
| his lot were about one hundred horses lying
| dead they looked like good stock, and we're
| evidently killed to deprive planters Of them.
| 4 number Of McCredel's negroes were gone.
Proceeding on, nc found every plantation on
the road similarly devastated, except that nc
| other dwelling houses we're burned until we
| reached the hae lhrm Of Hon. Joshua Hill
! Probably the Hill who run agafnst Brown fol
Governor Of Georgia. ia.-Ep. HERALp.1 This Il
| perfect wreck q large gin house rnll Of cot
ton, corn cribs, dwelling, all smouldcring
! ruin. Hit loss was greater than TINT Of any
| planter In this section Besides the cotton,
several thousand bushels of corn, potatoes
| several hundred Of wheat, and much othcl
| valuable property, with every horse and mulc
and many negroes are gone. No farm on tht
road towards this place, and as far as we car
! hear towards Atlanta, escaped their brutal
| here TO the 0concc river. The roads were
strewn with the debris Of their progress.
Dead horses, cows, sheep, hogs, chickens
| corn, wheat, cotton, books, paper, broken
vessels, coffee mills, and Fragments Of nearly
|. every species Of property that adorned the
|" wayside-monuments Of the mcanncss and
| rapacity Of the people who boast that they
are not robbers aud do not interfere with pri
ynte property.
| In Madison they burned the depot and one
or two old warehouses, with the jail and mar
| dered more or less on every lot. They fired
the drug store and several other houses, and
their officers, with show of magnanimity
aided to put out the flames. Many
families have not pound Of meat OF
peck Of meal or flour. Many negroes
share the uncertain fortunes Of winter march
| to the const, and then forced to starve. Faml
| lies Of wealth have not house servant left,
and those who were the most trusted were