The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1865-01-08
s4aalrlllG &luion.
ss. oAHEROS : CO., PabIlsnors.
sUND.Y. JANUARY 5. -
Pnbllc FeelIng IN GenreIa-

Public Feeling In Georgia.
Perhaps the most remarkable and
+ significant revelation made by Sher~
mans march through Georgia, Is not
( the Internal weakness of the Confeder
acy, the want of military strength in.
side the shell bat tie entire absence
OF desperation on the part OF that por-
/ ton OF the population which stil re-
/ mains at home. II the war were felt
/ 10y them TO be national war, IN the
sense in which this phrase is ordinarily
understood, a waVin which every thing
/ that men hold dear was at stake and
in which death was preferable TO s1b-
mission it is impcssible TO believe that
their resistance 10 Sherman's progress
would have been so feeble The proc
/ lamations of the leaders, of the Govern
or and Generals, of the Senators and
Cougressmen, and the articles in the
! newspapers, were couched in terms
worthy of the occasion. They were
Just such as ought TO have been issued
by revolutionary chiefs to followers who
were really and terribly in earnest
They called on the Georgiaus to come
in squads or. come singly," to bring
such weapons as they could tiud, to
'yise to a man in the invaders path,
TO bushwhack him without mercy. -
7 he planters were to shoot at him from
behu d fences; the negroes to BEEN
ployed in cutting down trees across the
road ana breaking down bridges; and,
last and greatest sacrifice of all, they
were to lay waste everything before
him, TO drive of the cattle and horses,
and burn and destroy what they could
not convey away.
Nor were these appeals extravagant
Efforts as heroic as these here called
tor nave been made in various ages by
people, whom the appearance Of an
invader had wrought up to the highest
pitch OF patriotic excitement Almost
IN cur own day, both the Russia rs and
Tyrolese have opposed just such OBJ
stacles to the progress of French ar
Fnies of invasion, as the Georgians we're
asked to oppose 70 that Of Sherman -
They either rose en- masse IN then
front, "buehwhacked" them along
every mile of the road, from behind
every rock and tree and fence, or else
converted their line OF march into
howIing wilderness, and LETT them no
better iruit Of victory than desolated
/ fields and charred ruins.
In Georgia, on the contrary, it ap-
pears we'll ascertained that the great
majority of the inhabitants staid quiet
ly aC home, and awaited the invader s.
approach in respectable quiet. So far
nom dessrOying their property in Or
| der to deprive him of the means Of
Subsistence, they did not even dive off
their mules, horses or cattle, though
this would have been one Of the east
est and most obvious modes of damag-
ing him. Ia fact, it is hard to see that
any Georgia farmers, except those who
joined the militia, made the smallest
personal sacrifice in aid of the Con,
1ederacy, at The most important juuC-
ture in lts history, and when they were
most earnestly and soIemnly entreated
TO make every sacrifice, by the men
who are supposed 10 have, and VINO
ought 10 have, If the. concern were
sound one, their fullest confidence.
There IS only one Interpretation that
can be put on this extraordinary spa-
thy, and that is, that confidence IN the
success of the rebellion. no longer ex-
ists anywhere outside Of the official
class and the army, If it exists there.
The Governors OF States who write the
flaming appeals, whenever our raiders
make their appearance, are, Of course,
as members 7Of the oligaTchy, closely
alliad in sentiment as well as interest
with the Confederate leaders; buJ
it appears of late, plain that the farm
ers VINO have SO far escaped the net OF
the conseription, either have grown
tired of the contest, or despair of sue
cess, and that their great aim now is
not to serve the rebellion, but to avoid
sharing its fortunes-N Y Times