Following the usages of war, Atlanta was given over to sack and pillage.
Byron's description of the capture of Imail, is forcibly called to mind;
The city's taken — only part by part,
And death is drunk with gore; there's not a street,
Where fight's not to the last some desperate heart,
For those for whom it soon will cease to beat.
Here war forgot his own destructive art,
In more destroying nature; and the heat
Of carnage, like the Nile's sun-sodden clime,
Engendered monstrous shapes of every crime.
The black population acted in the wildest disorder. They pillaged every house in the town, ransacking the whole from garret to cellar, smashing the windows, doors, and furniture of every description — and committing every possible species of outrage. They broke the china-ware, smashed the pianos, and annihilated the chairs, tables and bedsteads. They cut open the beds, and emptied the contents into the streets. They dashed into the cellars, and drank all the liquors, so that the whole of them became a drunken and furious mob. This infernal carnival was carried on during the first night after the arrival of the Federal troops.
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENERALS HOOD AND SHERMAN —
IS THE PEN MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD?
In the Field, Atlanta, Gta., Sept., 9, 1864.
General J. JB. Hood, Commanding Army of Tennessee—Confederate Army.
GENERAL — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, at the hands of Messrs. Ball & Crew, consenting to the arrangements I had proposed to facilitate the removal South, of the people of Atlanta, who prefer to go in that direction. I enclose you a copy of my orders, which will, I am satisfied, accomplish my purpose perfectly. You style the measure proposed "unprecedented' and appeal to the dark history of war for a parallel, as an act of "studied and ingenious cruelty." It is not unprecedented, for General Johnston himself, very wisely and properly removed the families all the way from Dalton down, and I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted.
Nor, is it necessary to appeal to the dark history of war, when recent and modern examples are so handy. You, yourself, burned houses along your parapet, and I have seen, today, fifty houses that you have rendered uninhabitable, because they have stood in the way of your forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line so close to town that every cannon shot and many musket balls from our line of investment, that overshot their mark, went into the habitations of women and children. General Hardee did the same at Jonesboro, and General Johnston did the same last summer, at Jackson, Mississippi. I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, but merely instance these cases of very recent occurrence, and could go on and enumerate hundreds of others, and challenge any fair man to judge which of us has the heart of pity for the families of a brave people.
I say that it is kindness to these families of Atlanta to remove them now, at once, from the scenes that women and children should not be exposed to, and the "brave people" should scorn to commit their wives and children to the rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate the laws of war, as illustrated in the pages of its dark history.
In the name of common sense, I ask you not to appeal to a just God, in such a sacrilegious manner. You, who, in the midst of peace and prosperity, have plunged a nation into war, dark and cruel war, who dared and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag, seized our arsenals and forts that were left in the honorable custody of a peaceful ordnance sergeant, and seized and made prisoners of war, the very garrisons sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians.
Long before any overt act was committed by the, to you, hateful Lincoln, Government, you tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into rebellion in spite of themselves, falsified the vote of Louisiana, turned loose your Pirates to plunder unarmed ships, expelled Union families by thousands, burned their homes and declared, by an act of your Congress, the confiscation of all debts due Northern men, for goods had and received.
Talk thus to marines, but not to me, who have seen these things, and who will this day, make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South, as the best born Southron among you. If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out as we propose to do, and not deal in such hypocritical appeals to God and humanity. God will judge us in due time, and he will pronounce whether it will be more humane to fight with a town full of women and the families of a brave people at our backs, or to remove them in time, to places of safety among their own friends and people. I am very respect fully,
Your obedient servant,
[Signed] W. T. Sherman,
Official copy: Major General.
Eth. B. Wade, A. D. C.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE,
September 12th, 1864
Major General W. T. Sherman, Commander Military Division of the Mississippi.
GENERAL— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, with its enclosure, in reference to the women, children, and others whom you have seen proper to expel from their homes in the city of Atlanta. Had you seen proper to let the matter rest there, I would gladly have allowed your letter to close this correspondence, and without your expressing it in words, would have been willing to believe that while "the interest of the United States," in your opinion, compelled you to an act of barbarous cruelty, you regretted the necessity, and we would have dropped the subject. But you have chosen to indulge in statements which I feel compelled to notice, at least so far as to signify my dissent, and not allow silence in regard to them, to be construed as acquiescence. I see nothing in your communication which induces me to modify the language of condemnation, with which I characterized your order. It but strengthens me in the opinion that it stands "pre-eminent in the dark history of war, for studied and ingenious cruelty." Your original order was stripped of all pretense; you announced the edict for the sole reason that it was "to the interest of the United States." This alone, you offered to us and the civilized world, as an all-sufficient reason for disregarding the laws of God and man. You say that "General Johnston himself, very wisely and properly removed the families all the way from Dalton down." It is due to that gallant soldier and gentleman, to say that no act of his distinguished career gives the least color to your unfounded aspersion upon his conduct. He depopulated no villages nor towns, nor cities, either friendly or hostile. He offered and extended friendly aid to his unfortunate fellow-citizens, who desired to flee from your fraternal embrace.
You are unfortunate in your attempt to find a justification for this act of cruelty, either in the defense of Jonesboro by General Hardee, or of Atlanta by myself. General Hardee defended his position in front of Jonesboro at the expense of injury to the houses, an ordinary, proper, and justifiable act of war. I defended Atlanta at the same risk and cost. If there was any fault in either case, it was your own, in not giving notice, especially in the case of Atlanta, of your purpose to shell the town, which is usual in war, among civilized nations. No inhabitant of either town was expelled from his home and fireside, by either General Hardee or myself, and therefore, your recent order can find no support from the conduct of either of us. I feel no other emotion than pain, in reading that portion of your letter which attempts to justify your shelling of Atlanta, without notice, under the pretense that I defended Atlanta upon a line so close to town, that every cannonshot, and many musket balls from your line of investment, that overshot their mark, went into the habitations of women and children. I made no complaint of your firing into Atlanta in any way you thought proper. I make none now, but there are a hundred thousand living witnesses, that you fired into the habitations of women and children for weeks, firing far above, and miles beyond my line of defense. I have too good an opinion, founded both upon observation and experience, of the skill of your artillerists, to credit the assertion that they, for several weeks, unintentionally fired too high for my modest field-works, and slaughtered women and children by acciden
t and want of skill.
The residue of your letter is rather discursive. It opens a wide field for the discussion of questions, which I do not feel, are committed to me. I am only General of one of the armies of the Confederate States, charged with military operations in the field, under the direction of my superior officers, and I am not called upon to discuss with you the cause of the present war, or the Political questions which led to or resulted from it. These grave and important questions have been committed to far abler hands than mine, and I shall only refer to them so far as to repel any unjust conclusion which might be drawn from my silence. You charge my country with “daring and badgering you to battle?” The truth is, we sent commissioners to you, respectfully offering a peaceful separation, before the first gun was fired on either side. You say we insulted your flag. The truth is, we fired upon it and those who fought under it when you came to our doors upon the mission of subjugation. You say we seized upon your forts and arsenals, and made prisoners of the garrisons sent to protect us against Negroes and Indians. The truth is, we expelled by force of arms insolent intruders, and took possession of our own forts and arsenals, to resist your claim to dominion over masters, slaves and Indians, all of whom are, to this day, with unanimity unexampled in the history of the world, warring against your attempts to become their masters. You say that we tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into the rebellion in spite of themselves. The truth is, my Government from the beginning of this struggle to this hour, has again and again offered, before the whole world, to leave it to the unbiased will of those States, and all others, to determine for themselves whether they will cast their destiny with your Government or ours; and your Government has resisted this fundamental principle of free institutions with the bayonet, and labors daily by force and fraud, to fasten its hateful tyranny upon the unfortunate freemen of these States. You say we falsified the vote of Louisiana. The truth is, Louisiana not only separated herself from your Government by nearly a unanimous vote of her people, but has vindicated the act upon every battle-field from Gettysburg to the Sabine, and has exhibited an heroic devotion to her decision, which challenges the admiration and respect of every man capable of feeling sympathy for the oppressed, or admiration for heroic valor. You say that we turned loose pirates to plunder your unarmed ships. The truth is, when you robbed us of our part of the navy, we built and bought a few vessels, hoisting the flag of our country, and swept the seas in defiance of your navy, around the whole circumference of the globe. You say we have expelled Union families by thousands. The truth is, not a single family has been expelled from the Confederate States, that I am aware of, but on the contrary, the moderation of our Government toward traitors has been a fruitless theme of denunciation by its enemies and many well-meaning friends of our cause. You say my Government, by acts of Congress, has confiscated “all debts due Northern men for goods, sold and delivered.” The truth is, Congress gave due and ample time to your merchants and traders to depart from our shores with their ships, goods and effects, and only sequestered the property of our enemies in retaliation for their acts, declaring us traitors, and confiscating our property, wherever their power extended, either in their country, or our own. Such are your accusations, and such are the facts known of all men to be true.
You order into exile the whole population of a city, drive then, women and children from their houses at the point of the bayonet, under the plea that it is to the interest of your Government, and on the claim that this an act of "kindness to these families of Atlanta." Butler only banished from New Orleans the registered enemies of his Government, and acknowledged that he did it as a punishment. You issue a sweeping edict covering all the inhabitants of a city and add insult to the injury heaped upon the defenseless, by assuming that you have done them a kindness. This you follow by the assertion that you will "make as much sacrifice for the peace and power of the South as the best born Southron." And because I characterize what you call kindness, as being real cruelty, you presume to sit in judgment between me and my God, and you decide that my earnest prayer to the Almighty Father to save our women and children from what you call kindness, is a "sacrilegious, hypocritical appeal."
You come into our country with your army avowedly for the purpose of subjugating free white men, women and children; and not only intend to rule over them, but you make negroes your allies, and desire to place over us an inferior race, which we have raised from barbarism to its present position, which is the highest ever attained by that race in any country in all time. I must, therefore, decline to accept your statements in reference to your kindness toward the people of Atlanta, and your willingness to sacrifice everything for the peace and honor of the South, and refuse to be governed by your decisions in regard to matters between myself, my country, and my God.
You say "let us fight it out like men." To this my reply is, for myself, and, I believe, for all true men, aye and women and children, in my country, we will fight you to death. Better die a thousand deaths than to submit to live under you or your Government, and your Negro allies.
Having answered the points forced upon me, by your letter of the 9th of September, I close this correspondence with you and notwithstanding your comments upon my appeal to God, in the case of humanity, I again humbly and reverently invoke His Almighty aid in defense of justice and right.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
[Signed,] J. B. Hoots General.
[Official copy,] P. H. Wiopall, A. D. C.
IMPORTANT PROCLAMATION FROM THE GOVERNOR OF
GEORGIA.
Executive Department,
Milledgeville, September 10, 1864
General J. B. Hood, Commanding Army of Tennessee:
GENERAL — As the militia of the State were called out for the defense of Atlanta during the campaign against it, which has terminated by the fall of the city into the hands of the enemy, and as many of them left their homes without preparation, expecting to be gone but a few weeks, who have remained in service over three months, (most of the time in the trenches,) justice requires that they be permitted, while the enemy are preparing for the winter campaign, to return to their homes and look, for a time, after important interests and prepare themselves for such service as may be required when another campaign commences against other important points in the State. I therefore, hereby withdraw said organization from your command, in the hope that I shall be able to return it with greater numbers and equal efficiency, when the interests of the public service requires it. In this connection, I beg leave to tender to you, General, my sincere thanks for your impartiality to the State troops, and for your uniform courtesy and kindness to me individually. With assurances of my high consideration and esteem, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant.
Joseph E. Brown.
ORDER FROM MAJOR GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN.
Headquarters 15th army corps,
East Point, Ga., September 11, 1864.
Officers and Soldiers of the 15th Army Corps:
You have borne your part in the accomplishment of the object of this campaign, a part well and faithfully done.
On the 1st day of May, 1864, from Huntsville, Alabama, and its vicinity, you commenced the march. The marches and labors performed by you during the campaign will barely find a parallel in the history of the war. The proud name heretofore acquired by the Fifteenth Corps for soldierly bearing and daring deeds, remains untarnished, its luster undimmed. During the campaign you constituted the main portion of the flanking column of the whole army. Your first move against the enemy was around the right of the army at Resaca, where, by your gallantry, the enemy were driven from the hills and his works on the main road from Villanow to Resaca. On the retreat of the enemy, you moved on the right flank of the army by a circuitous route, to Adairsville; in the same manner from there to Kingston and Dallas, where, on the 23d day of May you met the veteran corps of Hardee, and in a severe and bloody contest, you hurled it back, killing and wounding over two thousand, besides capturin
g a large number of prisoners. You then moved around to the left of the army by way of Ackworth, to Kenesaw Mountain, where again you met the enemy, driving him from three lines of works, capturing over three hundred prisoners. During your stay in front of Kenesaw Mountain, on the 27th of June, you made one of the most daring, bold, and heroic charges of the war, against the almost impregnable position of the enemy on the Little Kenesaw. You were then moved by way of Marietta, to Nickajack Creek, on the right of our army; thence back to the extreme left by way of Marietta and Roswell, to the Augusta Railroad, near Stone Mountain, a distance of fifty miles, and after effectually destroying the railroad at this point you moved by way of Decatur to the immediate front of the rebel stronghold, Atlanta. Here, on the 22d day of July, you again performed your duty nobly, as patriots and soldiers, in one of the most severe and sanguinary conflicts of the campaign. With hardly time to recover your almost exhausted energies, you were moved again around to the right of the army, only to encounter the same troops against whom you had so recently contended; and the battle of the 28th of July, at Ezra Chapel, will long be remembered by the officers and soldiers of this command. In that day it was that the Fifteenth Corps, almost unaided and alone, for four hours contested the field against the Corps of Hardee and Lee. You drove them discomfited from the field; causing them to leave their dead and many of their wounded in your hands. The many noble and gallant deeds performed by you on this day will be remembered among the proudest acts of our nation's history. After pressing the enemy closely for several days, you again moved to the right of the army, to the West Point Railroad, near Fairburn. After completely destroying the road for some distance, you marched to Jonesboro, driving the enemy before you from Pond Creek, a distance of ten miles. At this point you again met the enemy, composed of Lee's and Hardee's Corps, on the 31st of August, and punished them severely, driving them in confusion from the field, with their dead and many wounded and prisoners left in your hands. Here again, by your skill and true courage, you kept sacred the reputation you have so long maintained, viz: "The Fifteenth Corps never meets the enemy, but to strike and defeat him." On the 1st of September the Fourteenth Corps attacked Hardee. You at once opened fire on him, and by your co-operation his defeat became a rout Hood, hearing the news, blew up his ammunition trains, retreated, and Atlanta was ours.
Personal Recollections of Sherman's Campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas Page 17