...ber 16th, Sherman rode out along the Decatur road, passed his marching troops, and near the spot where his beloved McPherson had fallen, paused for a last look at the city. Behind us, he says, lay Atlanta , smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air and hanging like a pall over the ruined city. All about could be seen the glistening gun-barrels and white-topped wagons, and the men ...