The Washington herald., 1914-11-15

An luteIeatih2 oAl1r - Ne9 IN -@Ao ~.
air sherman was at the side Of ths
telegraph operator. debating . bfief mes
sage in reply 10 an earlier telegram from
Gen. George II. Thomas at Nashville.
Tenn.
Ths few words were sent and the wire
was stili open. Then the operator an
noupt ed that there was break; con-
structIon gang. hard at work wrecking
the railroad, had burned bridge. and
the wires had been carried away when
the charred ruins fell. Sherman turned
away from the silent instrument, Hence
forth his pathway and his thoughts were
ID turn TO the East. whore Federal ships
on the waters Of the Atlantic awaited his
coming.
Plans for the march to the sea had
long been forming In Sherman's fertile
brain. He had proposed It TO Gen. Grant
early IN September. and had argued It's
merits persistently ever since. Finally
Grant had given his consent
Sherman made ready to start. but de-
veiopments had come up to delay the
march. The Confederates. under Gen.
John B. Hood. who since the fall OF At
lanta had lay encamped south Of the
city, suddenly marched around II and
fell upon the Federal communications.
This forced Sherman 10 march north to
drive them on. With part OF his army
he had held on to Atlanta, and with the
balance had driven Gen. Hood west into
Alabama
Grant Says "Go On"
: Late in October Sherman found himself
free to move. But Hood was moving
north toward the Tennessee River.
threatening an invasion Of Tennessee.
and there was q grave question A. to
what he would do when Sherman should
move on toward the Interior. II he fol-
lowed him. all would be well but II, on
the contrary. he should invade the North.
he might do great damage
As q precaution. Gen. George II. Thom-
as, with the bulk OF the Army Of the
Cumberland, was detached from sher-
mans army and seht into Tennessee TO
hold Hood at bay. The latter had moved
wsst and now was At Tuscumbia. Ala,
ready to cross the Tennessee River. Sher-
man considered the possibilities Of the
situation with great care. Then. from
time TO time. he sent more troops to re-
enforce Gen. Thomas. until there were
fully 5000 men available to meet Hood
should he enter Tennessee. Hoods force
was not more than that
On November 2 a dispatch was received
from Grant In which the latter gave his
first real order regarding the march.
Previously he had merely sanctioned
Sherman's plans. or, as he had done on
November /, suggested that he postpone
the march and go after Hoods army. In
answer to the last suggestion Sherman
had pointed out that Thomas was wen
able to cope with Hood
The dispatch Of November . was the
final word. 1t read:
Your dispatch received. dis
patched you the same date. advising that
Hoods army, now that IL has worked so
far north. ought to be looked upon now
as the object With the force. how
ever. that you have left with Gen.
Thomas. he must be are to take care Of
Hood and destroy him.
II do not see that You can withdraw
from where you are to follow Hood, with
out giving up all We have gained In ter
pose.
Now all was ready. Gen. Sherman
turned his own army which had pursued
Hood. back toward Atlanta whence II,
had come. II was ordered that the coun-
try should be stripped OF supplies as
the troops moved southeast and the work
was wen done. In the night Of Novem-
Der 10 the mills, factories end public
Of Rome. an important town on
the Coosa River were destroyed. and the
railroad torn up. all this while surplus
supplies in Atlanta WSre being rushed
north to Chattanooga.
Farewell to the North.
BY noon Of November 12 the bulk OF the
army was south OF the Etowah River.
Sherman and his stan had halted for
the MONDAY rest at cartersville, a lit
tie mountain town on the railroad just
north Of the river, and about seventy-hve
miles southeast Of Chattanooga. The gen.
ersl was sitting on the edge OF the piazza
OF one Of the houses Of the village, .
group of officers around him.
He had at hand Gen. Thomas last dis |
patch. Il read:
Your dispatch OF Il, o'clock last night |
is received. have no rears that Beau |
regard (who was with Hood at Tuscum- |
bia). can do US any harm now, and II
Ie attempts to follow you ! will follow |
him as far as possible. II he does not |
follow you, will then thoroughly organ
ze my troops and believe shall have
men enough to ruin his unless he gets
put Of the way very rapidly.
II am now convinced that the greater |
part OF Beauregard's (Hood's) army Is
near Florence and Tuscumbia and that
YOU will have at least a clear road be-
fore you for several days. and that your
success will fully equal your expecta-
tons"
SnefmAn oNGT NnC nOtc
-iedly. then, turning to the operator. who
had pulled down a wire and attached Il
10 an instrument. which he held In his
ap, said, in reply: Dispatch received
all right" That was his farewell mes
,aEe to the North. A moment later II
vas found that the line had been broken.
and that the army was launched upon
/ history-makinE campaign.
"As we rode on toward Atlanta that
hight" wrote Sherman In his memoirs,
4 remember the railroad trains going
o the rear with a furious speed; the en-
gineers and the few men about the train
waving US an afectionate adieu.
''It surely was q strange event-two
hostile armies (ShermGu and Hood
in opposite directions, each in
he full belief that 1t was achieving q
inal and conclusive result in q great
var" Sherman was strongly inspired
With the feeling that the movement on
lis part was a direct attack upon Rich
nond, though a full thousand miles of
lostile country intervened, and that. for
'etter or worse, Il would end the war.