The morning call., 1890-12-26
FROM ATLANTA
TO THE SEA.
Sherman's Great March as Told
by Gen. Henry w. Slocum.
It Was the Romance Of .be Great Rebellion
The March Was One Grand Picnic From
Beginning to Ed

n. Y, for the benefit of one of the local
churches, aud his text was the "Greatest
Military March on Record" The Brooklyn
Eagle presents the following int sting re-
port of the lecture:
"Sherman's march," General Slocum
said, needs no glowing description, and If
can make you see it as it really occurred
that is all hope to do. General Sherman
started in Mississippi, marched long and
fought fifteen or twenty battles to capture
Atlanta, because it was great railroad
center. When his army reached the city
General Sherman found it defended by earth
iworks. Instead of attacking it he left me
n front OF the city, while he took detour
about it and captured all its railroad connec-
tions. After three or four days of this sort
of campaign we heard great noise, which
sounded as If the rebels were firing upon u.s.
Investigation showed that The Mayor of the
city was coming out to surrender, and that
what We had thought was firing was the
garrison blowing up their cannon and am
munition to prevent its falling into our
hands. They surrendered because their
supplies had been cut off. Hood had taken
his army off to fight Sherman because he
couldn't get food for it in the city.
After Sherman was in possession of the
city Hood tried the same tactics on him, but
Sherman sent Thomas with two corps to get
back OF Hood and keep bin out of Kentucky
while Sherman took the rest of the army
and began the march TO the sea. He had
two objects: first to unite with Graut, and
next to destroy all the railroad connections
OF the South. That march was the greatest
OF modern times, and the proposition to
abandon his base of supplies and take a
great army f0raging through hostile coun-
try caused great excitement. You, perhaps,
remember the English comments, that Gen
eral Sherman had made fool of himself
and had attempted the impossible. The ex-
cltement IN the army was greater than at
home. The march was the romance of the
war. We went through country unmatched
for fertility, where there were 1900, 600
slaves, TO. whom we were as much
objects OF generation as we were
81 fear to the whites. The course
oil these black men was one of the most
wonderful things of the war. They knew
what the war was about They came into
our army by hundreds, but in hardly any
case did they desert omen aud children left
in their care. Those who Joined us were
men left alone on plantations. There was
just enough fighting and danger of fighting
to give zest to the experience, and, at night
when we canped in the piny woods, we had
hundreds of bands playing while the darkies
danced and sang upon platforms.
IT WAS ONE GREAT PICNIC
From beginning to end The army was COM
posed OF 10000 infantry, of which General
Howard commanded the right wing and l
the lett. and $500 cavalry under Fitzpatrick.
We marched In Tour columns on four roads
as nearly parallel as might be, and each IL
umn had long trains OF wagons, ammunition
and pOntoon bridges.
"a great point of General Sherman's
foresight was in the selection of provisions:
de saw that we could get beef, oats, corn
and Hour on the march, SO that he loaded
us down chiefly with salt, pepper, sugar
and coffee. We had large information corps
OF men who went ahead, rushed into every
county town and seized all the mars they
could md. From these our engineers made
US every night map of the country for the
coming days march, including roads and
the names OF residents as far as we could
get them. Then We seized the mail riders,
and. what may seem Very dreadful to you
now, seized all the private letters We could
find in every Postoffce. lhave spent hours
reading letters written by men in Lees army
to their wives, and we got valuable inforna-
ton from those letters. Many men wrote:
so Sherman is tearing up our homes. We
won't stay up here and let that 60 on. Well
desert first
"Of course, we couldn't have had better
news than that. Sherman never intended
10 leave thing behind him that could be of
vaiue TO the Confederacy, and especially
not mile of railroad. IL you simply bend
rail it can be Slaughtered ana used again
But II 1t Is heated in the middle and twisted
Ike what We Yankees call a doughnut its
usefulness Is oyel. So before We left At
lanta General Sherman had hundreds of
hooks made especially to twist rails with.
Then We lad bodies of bridge builders,
Each Column carried roDtoon bridges to re-
place the permanent ones which the Con-
Ieuerates burned on our approach. General
Sherman wanted 10 avoid fighting and the
loss Of men, except where that course was
forced upon him. When We left Atlanta he
started General Towards wing for Macon
and mine for Augusta, one east and the
other south. His idea was to hold all the
troops possible in both cities as garrison.
IL succeeded perfectly. Both thought they
were to be attacked, and got all the troops
they could beg from Lees army.
Withln few miles of each city we
turned sharply, united our forces. and en-
There some Of our boys organized
wELL-KNowN MOCK LEGISLATURE
In seats that had hardly grown cold from
Confederate occupancy and voted Georgia
back into the Union. again moved toward
Augusta with the same object, and twenty
SIX years ago tonight was within five miles
Of that city. Then we turned off and
marched on Savannah. which we found
guarded by earthworks. Instead of attack
ing the city General Sherman attacked Fort
McAllister, which prevented our gunboats
coming up the river with supplies. The fall
Of Fort McAllister ended the campaign,
General Sherman went down the river in a
small boat that afternoon, and next morn
ing our gunboats brought us malls and sun
plies. Some OF the letters from home were
Two months OLD, but that was the happiest
day among the soldiers that l ever saw.
Savannah had this same rabble which col
lects IN all large cities, and when the Con-
federate troops withdrew, this mob began
breaking open and pillaging stores and pri-
vate houses. and the people eagerly wei
coined the protection OF our army from
these plunderers among their own people"
General Slocum told many interesting in
cldents OF his march North from Savannah.
General Towards division going by water
In one place where he was delayed by
swollen stream too wide for his pontoon
bridges, an old Brooklyn ferry-boat was
sent INN TO get his men across. In another
the rebels had buried torpedoes in the sand
SO arranged that the pressure of foot
would ignite the fuse and destroy the man
who stepped on it. The soldiers were in
censed at this violation of the rules of war.
and In retaliation burned houses and de-
stroyed property for days after. AT Che
raw, 5. e., the. soldiers found the buried
wine cellars OF the rich Charleston people.
and General Slocum saw wine that must
have been worth S25 bottle drank from old
tin cups. A troublesome incident was the
capture at Averysborough of Rhett fire.
eatlng charleston editor. who had advocated
secession almost from 1912. As both Cen
eral Sherman and General Slocum had
known Rhstt socially in their regular army
days at Charleston. and as there was no
reason to treat him severely-he was a deli
cate prisoner-he was finally shOuldered off
upon Fitzpatrick. who had never known
him: One incident convinced Rhett that Sc.
cesSion was not such n cunning thing as ba
had thought. General Slocum met him
wearing pair Of coarse army shoes after
one Of the soldiers had levied on Rhetts
own weil-made boots
AT GoLDsBoRoUGH
General Slocum and his command were
saved from destruction by Union soldier
who had been q rebel prisoner ana hae,.
forced into rebel regiment. only to dessrt
at the first opportunity. There had be.n
firing In front, but General Slocum felt snre
that no large force was there, and had sent
word TO General Sherman that he could
uniform was brought to him. The man
claimed to have belonged to New York