The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-12-29

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while opposing them were about 10000
men in gray, who had been fighting
slow and desperate retreat. After the
river was crossed the federal army
went, with little obstruction, to the very
outskirts of the city. Atlanta then had
a regular population of about 10000,
but the concentration of war supplies
and the Importance attached to 1T as a
base of supplies had run the population
up to 10000 or $4,000. The city was
teeming with people, all in great agita-
ton when they heard that the invader
had set foot on the eastern bank of the
Chattahoochee. How to defend the
city was the next question. 1t was an
swered by some very practical and in
telligent men whose duty TO the south
ern confederacy had kept them in or
around Atlanta. Chief among these
was Colonel l.. p. Grant, the present
president of the Atlanta IL West Point
railroad. Colonel Grant planned three
complete lines of fertilization. One
was to skirt the boundary of the city.
The other was to surround the thickly
settled districts, while the third was
to encircle the very heart of the
city, with the courthouse as a sort
of final rampant or stronghold. All
these works were duly constructed ac-
cording to Colonel Grants plans, and
the defences of Atlanta were famous
for their ingenuity and strength. But
the federal forces fought their way on
until they were within cannon shot of
the city. They tried by several des-
perate assaults like that of July ODD, a
mile beyond the cemetery, and like the
bloody onslaught on Peachtree creek,
few days later, to sweep right into
the city. In all these efforts they were
checked by force hardly half as great
as that of the invaders. Mcpherson
fell in sight of the city. Many officers
of minor rank fell. Men were moved
down like wheat by the determined de-
tenders of the city. 1t must be slow
siege to win. Sherman realized this
fact quickly, and accordingly adjusted
his forces. Batteries with the heaviest
guns he could command were placed
opposite the federal lines. They were
almost completely around the city.
Their range was four or five miles, and
they had only mile or mile and a
half to cover. Shells poured thick into
the city and reign of terror began.
| Then came the bomb-proof. 1t was
the only refuge from the shells of the
besiegers. Every household soon had
its place of refuge. The bomb-proof
consisted of perpendicular hole in the
ground about four feet square, and a
tunnel of six feet, which led into Il
vault of various dimensions. The aver
age size of the bomb proof was ten by
twelve feet, but many of them were
larger. Some of them were luXuriously
furnished, and offered all the comforts
of home in the retreat under the ground
from the sizzling and popping shells.
So far as protection to life was con-
cerned they were perfect. No shell
could penetrate through the roof of the
soil, and there was not chance in "A
million that any of the enemy's missiles
would fall in the narrow entrance. The
bomb-proof was a complete protection
saved many a life in Atlanta. Thou
sands of shells fell in the city during
the six weeks of terror, and not half a
dozen lives were lost. The most fatal
shell fell just in front of where James
Bank now is. 1t exploded in the streets.
One piece killed shoemaker in cell
lar. Another fragment murdered a
mule on the street. Another piece
broke stone post at the corner which
still bears the mark, as does the gas
post few feet away, which was almost
cut away by the furious shell. The
bomb-proofs remained long after the
siege. They were objects of great
curiosity to the captors of the city
When Sherman drove the people out OF
Atlanta and burned their houses the
bomb-proofs escaped his vengeance
Many of them remained until the new
city began to rise, and there are still in
many gardens of the city traces of these
improvised defences of the women anC
children of ADMINISTRATOR COnStitu
ton.