The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-09-25

officer OF the hostile army whom they
met, and that officer promised protection
to the town and its inhabitants until
communication could be had with Gen.
Sherman and the terms of surrender ar
ranged. By II o'clock a. m. the town
was in possession of the Federal forces,
the first detachment entering being the
command of the officer who had received
the surrender. They had scarcely march
ed into the town, however, before they
began to break into the stores of the
merchants, appropriating the contents or
throwing them into the streets and
destroying them. As other bodies of
troops came in the pillage grew more
general, and soon the sack of the town
was universal. Guards were in general
sent to those of the citizens who applied
for them, but in numerous instances they
proved to be unable or unwilling to
perform the duty assigned them. Scarcely
single household or family escaped
altogether from being plundered. The
streets of the town were densely filled
with thousands of Federal soldiers,
drinking, shouting, carousing and rob-
bing the defenceless inhabitants without
reprimand or check from their officers,
and this state of things continued until
night. In some instances guards were
refused. Papers and property of great
value we're in the vaults of the city banks,
while the apartments above and in the
rear were occupied by women and chill
dren, with their food and clothing. For
guard to protect them application was
made by one of our worthiest and
most respectable citizens, Edwin J. Scott,
Esq, first to the general officer who had
received the surrender of the town, Col.
Stone, and then to the provost marshal,
Major Jenkins. The response made to
the applicant by the former officer,
though standing idly in the crowd, was
that he chad no time to attend to him."
and the answer of the latter was, "I can
not undertake to protect private proper
IT," Between 2 and s o'clock p. m. Gen.
Sherman in person rode into Columbia,
informed the mayor that his letter had
been received and promised protection
10 the town. Extraordinary license was
allowed to the soldiers by Gen. Sherman.
sHERMAN's ASSURANCE OF SAFEGUARD.
On the afternoon of the 18th OF Feb
ruary, and shortly after his arrival
in Columbia, the mayor of the town, at
the reqest of Gen. Sherman, accompanied
him on visit to lady Of his acquain-
tance. While proceeding to her resi-
dence Gen. Sherman began TO express
his opinion very freely upon the subject
of our institution of slavery. In the
midst of his remarks he was interrupted
by the sudden and near report of mus
ket; Immediately before them in the di-
rection they were going, they observed
q group of Federal soldiers seeming to
be excited, and upon approaching they
saw negro lying dead directly in their
path, being shot though the heart.
aGen. Sherman" the mayor DR.. T. ].
Goodwin narrates, "asked of the soldiers
show came the negro shot," and was
answered that he had been guilty of
great insolence to them, and that there
upon Gen. Sherman remarked: "Stop this
boys, this is all wrong; take away the body
aud:bury it." "Gen. Sherman" continues
the mayor, "thenJstepped over the body
of the negro and observed to this depo-
nent that tin quiet times such thing
ought to be noticed, but in times like
this it cannot be done.'" General .Sher-
man, resumed his conversation in relation
to slavery, and no arrest was ordered or
any censure or reprimand uttered by
him except as above stated. About
sundown, as the mayor deposes, General
Sherman said to him: $50 home and
rest assured that your city will be as
safe in my hands as if you had control
of it." He added that he was compelled
to burn some of the public buildings, and
in so doing did not wish to destroy one
particle of private property. "Tbis
evening"" he said, "was too windy to do
anything" An esteemed clergyman, Rev.
A. Toomer Porter, testiies that the same
afternoon, between and o'clock, Gen.
Sherman said to him: "You must
know a great manly ladies. Go around
and tell them to 60 to bed quietly; they
will not be disturbed any more than if
my army was one hundred miles off"
He seemed obvious of the fact that we
had been pillaged and insulted the whole
day. In one hours time the city was
in flames. Meanwhile the soldiers had
burned that afternoon many houses in
the environs of the town, including the
residence of Gen. Hampton and that of
his sisters, formerly the residence of
their father, and once the seat of genial
and princely hospitality. Throughout
the day, after they had marched into the
town, the soldiers of Gen. Sherman gave
distinct and frequent notice to the citi-
zens of their impending calamity, usually
in the form of fierce and direct threats,
but occasionally, as if in kindly fore
warning. A lady of rare worth and in
telligence, and of high social position,
Mrs. L. S. McCord, relates the following
incident: Zone of my maids brought
me paper, left, she told me, by Yam
kee soldier; it was an ill-spelled but
kindly warning Of the horrors to come,
written upon q torn sheet of my dead
sons note book, which, with private pa
pers of every kind, now strewed my
yard; it was signed by lieutenant, but
of what company or regiment | did not
lake uOle. lu0 WrlteI SalQ ue uau Ieid-
tives and friends at the South, and that
he felt for US; that his heart bled to think
of what was threatening. Ladies' he
wrote, Tpity you; leave this town; GO
anywhere TO be safer than. here This
was written in the morning; the fires
were in the evening and night"
WAS 1T A PREcoNcERTED SIGNAL?
One of our citizens ofgreat intelligence
and respectability, VIM. II. Orchard, was
visited about p. m. by squad of some
six or seven soldiers, to whose deprada-
tions he submitted with a composure
which seemed to impress their leader.
OF his conversation with this person
the gentleman referred to testifes as
follows: son leaving the yard he
called to me and said he wished
to speak to me alone. He then said to
me, in an undertone: you seem to be a
clever sort of a man, and have large
family, 80 I will give you some advice ;
if you have anything you wish to save,