The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-08-17

left. 1t was hard lines for the confed-
crates to be obliged to destroy what
they stood in need of so badly, but the
federal troops we're closing in and
they had to leave the blazing heaps
and make ready for battle. The loss
seriously inconvenienced the army o.
the Potomac for time, and Uncle San.
was millions of dollars out of pocket.
Gen. Jackson said of the destruction:
More supplies were destroyed in
half day than would have been re-
quired for my corps in six months and
l was never more reluctant to give an
order"
From Atlanta to the Sea.
When Sherman started to march
across Georgia from Atlanta to the
sea his plan was to live on the country.
He had only four days rations at the
start, and for period of 80 days every
pound of provisions and forage was
gathered in by foragers. This meant
that gangs of men were out on the
&anks of each command for distance
CT ten miles, and it meant stripping the
country as bare as if fire had passed
ever it. According to official figures,
the foragers gathered In 919, 900 rations
of bread, which meant meal or -four;
1,217,527 rations of meat, 4S3,000 ra-
tions of coffee, 5S1 ,534 rations of sugar,
LAG, 500 rations of soap and $4,000
rations of salt These rations were
brought in and redistributed, and do
not represent more than three-ffths
Of what was actually taken. In adj.
dition there were taken over 1000
mules and horses, 100000 pounds of
hay and 100000 pounds of grain.
Every garden was cleared of its vege-
tables and every field of its crops.
Whatever was aatable by man cr horse
was loaded up, and after that came de-
struction. A line of railroad 120 miles
long was so completely destroyed that
the rear guard could not see tie or
rail. Whenever cotton was found it
was burned, and the number Of bales
footed up 10000. Every cotton gin on
a point of hundred miles was burned,
and the last cOmers applied the torch
to houses and barns. Not q store in
the path of column escaped sackipg,
and the bummers ransacked private
houses from top to bottom in search of
plunder. From Atlanta to Savannah
there was not a rod of highway fence
left standing, and whenever camp fires
were lighted shade or fruit trees were
cut down to feed the flames. While no
great loss was inflicted on the confed-
crates under arms in this march, the
damage to private property was in
calculable. In scores of cases, when
the army had passed, the farmer had
lost house, barns, sheds, provisions,
fences, crops-everything but the rag
ged suit on his back. Brush houses
had to be built for shelter, and the
only food was potatoes dug from the
ground and roasted. The wanton de-
structiveness Of the average soldier
was shown in thousands of instances
on the march. Some of them would
have even destroyed the bridges be-
fore half of the army had passed.
The Raid on Chambersburg.
When the confederate cavalry under
McCausand and Gilmore dashed into
Chambersburg, Pa, they demanded
ransom of S5O0,000 to spare the town.
The people could not pay any such
sum, and, believing help to be near
they refused to name any figure, The
order was given to sack and burn, and
while few soldiers kept watch the
rest went about their work. They
held up and robbed every man on the
street as a beginning. Then they
sacked the stores, and from thence
proceeded to the dwelling houses. In
almost every case they would offer to
spare the house for a certain sum.
Plenty of owners paid from $25 to $500
to have their buildings spared, but no
sooner had the money been handed
over than the torch was applied. In all
220 people were "held up" and robbed
of their last cent and about half the
town was burned. There was but one
house in al the town which was not
despoiied. Even the priests and minis
ters were robbed of their watches. and
there was no hesitancy in plundehing
from the sick or breaking open chill
dren's savings banks, The visit of the
raiders was not prolonged above two
hours, and they were not in great
force, and yet during that time they
burned S3OOOOOO worth of property,
made 1900 people homeless and robbed
| to the amount Of half a million.
| CI,. UUa..N-