The Washington herald., 1914-11-15

i
and there q touch OF orange and red a.
the mereiless flames continued their work
OF destruction. over all was q heavy
pillar Of smoke that curied upward IN
the slight breeze. It was q sight that
none forgot. though other ruins and other
I CONGREGATIONS were 70 be seen before tho
march was done.
Sherman had severed his communica-
lions with the North on November II.
On that day preparations for the march
were well under way. Orders had been
issued, rations gathered. and the work
Of destruction in Atlanta begun
The army had been organized In two
/ wings. the right under Maj. Gen. Oliver
Otis Howard, comprising the Fifteenth
Corps under Gen. p. J. Osterhaus. and
the Seventeenth Corps under Gen. Frank
p. Blair. jr.. and the left under MAI. Gen.
Henry W. Slocum. comprising the Four
I teenth Corps under Gen. Jen c. Davis
and the Twentieth under Gen. A. s. Will
| iams
The cavalry. under Brig. Gen. Judson
Fitzpatrick. comprised the divisions Of
| Coils. Eli II. Murray. OF Kentucky, and
Smith d. Atkins. OF Illinois.
There were In all s22o4 men. OF which
S.529 were infantry, sos cavalry and
\ 1-sl2 artillery. The artillery had been re-
duced to stxty-ive guns.
Destruction of Atlanta.
II was not until November Il. when tho
army was closely gathered around At
lanta. that the complete nature OF the
preparations were apparent Sherman had
stripped his command of all unessentiaI
| impedimenta. Every spare wagon. gun.
! tent and piece OF ammunition had been
sent to the North. and the army stood
ready for q rapid movement. its equip
| ment cut down to the very bone.
There was no general wagon train, each
OF the four corps having its own train
to care for. There were in all about 600
wagons. drawn by 150o0o horses. and the
! sixty-hve pieces Of artillery. drawn by
| so horses.
| making an aggregate weight Of 5000
pounds. Each man carried forty rounds
Of ammunition in his box, with enough
more In the wagons - allow DO rounds
| apiece. There was in the whole army
about II. 4O0. 900 rounds Of ammunition for
small arms. In addition. each battery
carried an assortment Of 800 rounds OF
ammunition, making a total OF 10000
| rounds Besides the subsistence stores in
the wagons. which were enough for about
twenty days. there was q drove Of about
| 1000 beef cattle, and forage for about
| five days.
Gen. Sherman had ordered his chief Of
| engineers. Capt. Orlando NJ. Poe. to
| carefully destroy all property in Atlanta
that might be made use of by the Con-
| federates in the event OF their reoccupy-
| ing the city. Particular care was taken
! by Capt Poe to see that no buildings ex-
cept those specified in his orders were
| destroyed and all working parties were
instructed to use no explosives or fire in
doing their work.
For three days from November le the
labor Of reducing government buildings
and destroying all valuable property
progressed. Walls were battered down.
smokestAcks and furnace arches destroy
ed. machinery torn TO pieces and boilers
punched full Of holes. The railroads were
torn up and the trucks heated and bent.
The depots. car sheds machine shops and
water tanks were completely destroyed.
Buildings were torn down by hand. and
II was not until November IL. when great
piles Of debris had been collected in the
streets, that fire was made use Of Unfor-
tunately, in spite Of extreme care on the
part OF the officers. many private build
ings caught fire and were destroyed
Some of the soldiers deliberately set fire
to buildings which Sere not intended to
be destroyed. and though Capt Poe Of
fered a reward OF 500 for information
leading to the Identification Of such per
sons and threatened death to the offend
ers, the destruction continued.
Priest Saves Churches.
The jail and practically all OF the bust
ness houses and hotels OF the city were
destroyed. and 1t is said that Of the 500
houses in the city only 100 were left
standing. The City Hall was damaged.
but not destroyed. All but three OF the
churches in Atlanta were allowed to re-
main intact.
The preservation Of the Roman Cath
olic Church and OF three nearby Pro-
testant churches was attributed to Rev
Father O'Reilly. said to have been the
only clergyman who had remained in
the city after its capture, who kept guard
over the property and exhorted the law
less element to refrain from prosecuting
their work OF incendlarism.
After the army had began to move out
from the city some OF the stragglers and
providers who remained in the town set
fire to q large area, and when the place
was reoccupied by the Confederates in
December, it was found practically a city
Of ruins. For military purposes the
city of Atlanta has ceased to exist" Capt.
Poe wrote in his official report.
When all had been completed the army
took up the march. On the 18th the
movement began. The right wing and
the cavalry passed South through Jones'
boro. while the left wing moved due cast
by way OF Decatur and Stone Mountain,
tOWAro maQlSOn- TheSe 0tVerEenL lines,
wrote Sherman designed to threaten
both Macon and Augusta at the same
time. so as to prevent q concentration at
our intended destination. or objective
Milledgeville. the capital OF Georgia, dis
tant southeast about 100 miles"
Sherman remained in the city on the
18th with the Fifteenth Corps and the
rear guard OF the right wing. to complete
the work Of destruction. On the morning
of the 18th he took the road with his stan
and moved out over the ridge to the
east where the army had marched the
day before.
Sing as They March.
Behind US lay Atlanta, smoIderIng and
in ruins. the black smoke rising high in
air. and hanging like q pail over the
ruined CITY," he wrote In his memoirs.
Away on in the distance was the rear
of Howard's column, the gun barrels
glistening in the sun. the white-topped
wagons stretching away to the south,
and right before US the Fourteenth Corps.
marching steadily and rapidly, with a
CHEEKY dook and q swinging pace, that
made light Of the thousand miles that
lay between US and Richmond.
Some band. by accident, struck up the
anthem Of John Browns Soul Goes
Marching On the men caught up the
strain, and never before or since have
heard the chorus OF Glory. Glory Halle
lujahl' done with more spirit. or In bet
ter harmony OF time and place
Then tffrned ouF harEea' heads