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Chapter 19: Atlanta and after — pursuit of Hood.
September and October, 1864.
By the middle of September, matters and things had settled down in
Atlanta, so that we felt perfectly at home.
The telegraph and railroads were repaired, and we had uninterrupted communication to the rear.
The trains arrived with regularity and dispatch, and brought us ample supplies.
General Wheeler had been driven out of
Middle Tennessee, escaping south across the
Tennessee River at
Bainbridge; and things looked as though we were to have a period of repose.
One day, two citizens,
Messrs. Hill and
Foster, came into our lines at
Decatur, and were sent to my headquarters.
They represented themselves as former members of Congress, and particular friends of my
brother John Sherman; that
Mr. Hill had a son killed in the rebel army as it fell back before us somewhere near
Cassville, and they wanted to obtain the body, having learned from a comrade where it was buried.
I gave them permission to go by rail to the rear, with a note to the
commanding officer,
General John E. Smith, at
Cartersville, requiring him to furnish them an escort and an ambulance for the purpose.
I invited them to take dinner with our mess, and we naturally ran into a general conversation about politics and the devastation and ruin caused by the war. They had seen a part of the country over which the army had passed, and could easily apply its measure of desolation to the remainder of the
State, if necessity should compel us to go ahead.
Mr. Hill resided at
Madison, on the main road to
Augusta,
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and seemed to realize fully the danger; said that further resistance on the part of the
South was madness, that he hoped
Governor Brown, of
Georgia, would so proclaim it, and withdraw his people from the rebellion, in pursuance of what was known as the policy of “separate State action.”
I told him, if he saw
Governor Brown, to describe to him fully what he had seen, and to say that if he remained inert, I would be compelled to go ahead, devastating the
State in its whole length and breadth; that there was no adequate force to stop us, etc.; but if he would issue his proclamation withdrawing his State troops from the armies of the
Confederacy, I would spare the
State, and in our passage across it confine the troops to the main roads, and would, moreover, pay for all the corn and food we needed.
I also told Mr. I-ill that he might, in my name, invite
Governor Brown to visit
Atlanta; that I would give him a safeguard, and that if he wanted to make a speech, I would guarantee him as full and respectable an audience as any he had ever spoken to. I believe that
Mr. Hill, after reaching his home at
Madison, went to
Milledgeville, the capital of the
State, and delivered the message to
Governor Brown.
I had also sent similar messages by
Judge Wright of
Rome, Georgia, and by
Mr. King, of
Marietta.
On the 15th of September I telegraphed to
General Halleck as follows:
My report is done, and will be forwarded as soon as I get in a few more of the subordinate reports.
I am awaiting a courier from General Grant.
All well; the troops are in good, healthy camps, and supplies are coming forward finely.
Governor Brown has disbanded his militia, to gather the corn and sorghum of the State.
I have reason to believe that he and Stephens want to visit me, and have sent them a hearty invitation.
I will exchange two thousand prisoners with Hood, but no more.
Governor Brown's action at that time is fully explained by the following letter, since made public, which was then only known to us in part by hearsay:
General: As the militia of the
State were called out for the defense of
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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 these 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. . . .
This militia had composed a division under command of
Major-General Gustavus W. Smith, and were thus dispersed to their homes, to gather the corn and sorghum, then ripe and ready for the harvesters.
On the 17th I received by telegraph from
President Lincoln this dispatch:
I feel great interest in the subjects of your dispatch, mentioning corn and sorghum, and the contemplated visit to you.
I replied at once:
I will keep the department fully advised of all developments connected with the subject in which you feel interested.
Mr. Wright, former member of Congress from
Rome, Georgia, and
Mr. King, of
Marietta, are now going between
Governor Brown and myself.
I have said to them that some of the people of
Georgia are engaged in rebellion, begun in error and perpetuated in pride, but that
Georgia can now save herself from the devastations of war preparing for her, only by withdrawing her quota out of the Confederate Army, and aiding me to expel
Hood from the borders of the
State; in which event, instead of desolating the land as we progress, I will keep our men to the high-roads and commons, and pay for the corn and meat we need and take.
I am fully conscious of the delicate nature of such assertions, but it would be a magnificent stroke of policy if we could, without surrendering principle or a foot of ground, arouse the latent enmity of
Georgia against
Davis.
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The people do not hesitate to say that
Mr. Stephens was and is a Union man at heart; and they say that
Davis will not trust him or let him have a share in his Government.
I have not the least doubt that
Governor Brown, at that time, seriously entertained the proposition; but he hardly felt ready to act, and simply gave a furlough to the militia, and called a special session of the Legislature, to meet at
Milledgeville, to take into consideration the critical condition of affairs in the
State.
On the 20th of September
Colonel Horace Porter arrived from
General Grant, at
City Point, bringing me the letter of September 12th, asking my general views as to what should next be done.
He staid several days at
Atlanta, and on his return careied back to
Washington my full reports of the past campaign, and my letter of September 20th to
General Grant in answer to his of the 12th.
About this time we detected signs of activity on the part of the enemy.
On the 21st
