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border of sandy, hilly soil, and are trenching upon the more fertile wheat and cotton lands of Middle Georgia.
We have already passed through three counties, and will soon be in the fourth.
The centre passed through Adairsville this forenoon; a small, but heretofore a thriving town of two or three hundred inhabitants, with a hotel, a dozen stores, railroad depot, and an extensive machine shop and arsenal, where there was formerly a large manufactory of arms.
All the people have run away, all the goods have been taken — they had light loads to carry I reckon — another machine shop and foundry were long since dismounted, and the work removed to Atlanta.
Here Cheatham had a hospital, in the loft of a brick store, where he left behind the amputated leg of an unfortunate rebel soldier, and there were other limbs in different places left behind as evidence of the bloody character of the previous day's fight.
One or two dead lay in deserted buildings in the town.
Some few families remained here, and, with one or two exceptions, were not disturbed.
I heard some complaints that the meat and flour saved for families' use had been taken by our soldiers.
These actions were unnecessary, and were to be attributed solely to the thieving dispositions of some of the men generally, “buzzards” who are always straggling behind the army, that they may plunder with the greater impunity.
Not satisfied with taking articles of food, and, in some cases, all that they can lay hands on, they break and destroy furniture, looms, and farming implements, in the most wanton spirit.
The commander of the Twenty-third army corps, I am glad to observe, has a stringent order against this indiscriminate pillaging.
Officials of this corps, to my certain knowledge, have set their faces as a flint against these outrages, and have done all they could to prevent them.
Colonel Bull, commanding the pioneer corps, is also entitled to the thanks of all who value the good name of the army.
He allows no soldiers to enter a house upon any pretext, and when obliged to stop for water at a well, upon any person's premises, personally sees that they commit no depredations, and that they “move along.”
Such officers redeem the character of the army.
On Friday morning Rome was occupied by McPherson, who came upon the place suddenly, and prevented the destruction of the machine-shop, which the rebels attempted to burn.
I understand that a considerable number of prisoners were also captured.
The bridge across the Resacca having been repaired by the pioneer corps in an incredibly short time, the trains are now running to Kingston with supplies for the army.
A train was also run up to Rome on Friday.
The railroads have all been left intact by the retreating army.
They undoubtedly expect to return and have use for them hereafter.
The Twentieth and Twenty-third corps, occupying the left, pushed the enemy rapidly back, skirmishing heavily on the roads beyond Kingston.
At Cassville, a handsome village six miles beyond Kingston, the enemy had constructed earthworks, and after occupying for a time the brick college-buildings, lately used for hospitals, they fell back through the town, taking shelter behind barricades of rails, and finally going to the rifle-pits on the range of high ground back of the village.
General Johnston ordered all the people away, and the rebels took their turn in pillaging as they passed through the place.
The work which was begun by the rebel soldiers, was finished by our own. Not one house escaped.
Every house was rifled of the few articles left behind, and the clothing and furniture wantonly broken up and destroyed.
Some poor families, who only left their houses for a few hours to avoid danger, lost all they possessed, and your correspondent witnessed several cases of the greatest distress growing out of these cases of brigandage.
Women and children were frequently seen weeping and mourning in the midst of the wreck which war had made.
They had not a shred of personal or of bed-clothing to cover them.
Their houses had been emptied of everything except the fragments of torn garments and broken furniture, which lay in a pile about the floor, and every morsel of food had been taken away.
These people will have to be fed out of army rations or perish.
The enemy fell back doggedly towards High Tower, on the Etowah River, crossed over and burned the bridge, closely pursued by General Schofield's corps.
The day was extremely hot, and the roads filled a foot deep with impalpable dust, which whirled and eddied in suffocating clouds, enveloping the army, and partially shutting all objects from sight.
It will take several days to construct the bridge across the Etowah, which will have to be done under the enemy's fire, or we shall have to cross by some other route, and push them further back.
The army is soon to go marching on. The officers and men are in good spirits.
Johnston's army drew rations here for seventy-nine thousand men — so says an escaped officer.
General Polk holds their right, corresponding to our left, General Hood the centre, and General Hardee the left.
We have taken some three or four hundred prisoners during the past two days.
Sunday, May 22, 1864.
The enemy still have a small party of skirmishers on this side of the Etowah or High Tower, in their earthworks, and we have had some skirmishing with them.
Preparations are making for another grand advance, when these rear-guards of the rebel army will probably get up the dust.
We shall have some show of a fight, probably, before getting across the river.
General Judah has been relieved of the command of the Second division, Twenty-third army 