The Washington herald., 1914-12-06

the State had been sent to work upon
the defenses of Savannah
Two days before. the bulk OF sneI-
| mans army. marching east from Mi,
ledgeville. the State capital, had crosseo
the ogeechee River into the great pine
woods that clothe the eastern part Oh
Georgia. Previously they had traSerseu
a more open country. with fields ana
plantations spread out for miles along
the line OF march. Now the Vegetauoh
became wilder and more luxurtant. Senh-
tropical trees and plants stood out prom
inently, with here and there a small patcn
Of cane or a marshy field OF rice.
The roads now were sandy. a welcome
change for men who had tramped along
with clouds Of dust binding them ano
hIIing the nostrils, or, after a rain, had
pIodded through deep mire. There was
little dust now. for the sand was coarse
and heavy. and the roads only became
firmer with the rains.
Vandalism of "Bummers."
Though the great plantations were
fewer the "bummers''-as the Irregular
foragers were caIled-still found fruit
full ground for pursuing their operations
and each day scores of them came into
the camps in motley professions.
Starting out on foot, they confiscated
every animal and conveyance that
chanced to cross their paths, and loaded
them with the stores OF eatables that
they never failed to unearth. Nor dld
they confine themselves to taking food
stuffs. Entering the houses, they burst
open chests, ransacked closets and store
rooms. and ruthlessly trampled under FOOT
all that they did not want. When their
pillaging was done they rode back 10
camp with all the dignity OF heroes.
~ m nnnuagtiOn-
ably picturesque, but that scarcely ex-
cuaed their relentless vandalism. Many
of them thought nothing Of taking from
the poor people their last bushel Of corn.
Not satisfied with burning stores or
cotton and buildings OF value to the Con-
federacy, they entered private dwellings,
stripped them Of their contents and IRE
quently burned them TO the ground be-
fore the eyes OF the helpless women and
children whom they had driven out into
the open fields. Nothing was done to stop
it, There was no responsible officer to
complain to. for the bummers worked
far out on the fianks Of the army. Even
in cases where complaints were register
ed. the officers took no action, believing
the evil Inevitable in an army living on
the enemy's country.
Much OF the looting was done in a
spirit of thouEhtless mischief.
capt. CunynEnhIn, OF sherman slhn'
wrote that he had often seen the SOL
diers ransacking private houses. II have
seen fellows carry OF a richly gilded
mirror. and when they got tired OF il
dash il to the ground. piano was a
much priced capture. I have Witnessed
the ludICrous sight Of a lot OF bearded.
rough soldiers capering about the room
in a rude waltz. while some fellow was
humping away numerically at the
piano. with another cutting Grotesque fig
ures on tho tOpboard. When they got
tired Of this tho piano was consigned
to the flames, and most likely the house
with it
Track of DrsoIntIon.
Had the foragers confined Themselves
to foraging they would have left a good
name for themselves. for they did a
great service insofar as they supplied the
army with subsistence. Sherman had
started from Atlanta on November -
with about twenty days provisions IN his
wagons. obviously too small an amount
for the campaign ne had laid out. So
the army had been ordered to live on
the country.
Thanks TO the bumners. this had been
done. and in some commands the sup
plies in the wagons had gone almost un-
touched. salt, sugar. coffee and the like.
things not to be had in the South. were
issued regularly. hut the rations of hard
tack were intact. There had been an
abundance of corn brought in. and this
was ground at the mills found in the
march All the mills were destroyed be-
fore the army passed along
The bummers had gone out so far on
the flanks of the army that a strip Of
country between fifty and sixty miles
mide was swept absolutely clean Of sup
plies Of all kinds. Factories. mills ar
senals, public buildings. storehouses. rail-
road stations. and miles upon miles OF
track had been destroyed. The path OF
Sherman's army was a swath Of utter
desolation in a fertile land.
Sherman's truism, War is cruelty and
you cannot refine it was being exem-
piled. Atlanta, Covington. MillcdGeville
Sandersville. and Louisville had come
within the path of the swarm Of human
IoCusts and Sherman now was heading
for Savannah.
or his four army corps. three. the
Twentieth, Fourteenth and Seventeenth.
were north OF the OgeeChee River. The
first two. constituting the left wing un-
der Gen. II. w. SloCum, bivouacked fifty
years ago today near Buck Millen.
The Seventeenth Corps. which Gen.
Sherman accompanied. was at MiIlen,
preparing to follow the railroad TO Sa-
vannah. while the remaining corps. the
Fifteenth. under Gen. p. ]. Osterhaus
accompanied by Gen. o. o. Howard tho
right wing commander. was marching in
two columns south OF the Ogeechec. send
ing detachments now and again to the
north side to destroy the railroad. Fifty
years ago today, Osterhaus' men were
tearing up the track and burning ties
and railroad property near Scarboro Sta
tion, No. Z. fifty-eight miles from Atlanta