USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 9
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The first thunders of battle that inaugurated the fighting drama of the war between the states now shook the country in the fall of Fort Sumter. Maj. Ander- son, the Federal officer in charge, surrendered to Gen. Beauregard on April 13, 1861. About 100 soldiers were employed in the defense of Fort Sumter at the time of the bombardment. The feelings of the nation were now fully aroused, and both the north and the south were stirred to vigorous measures in prosecuting the war. President Lincoln, in behalf of the government of the United States, issued a call for 75,000 volunteers. Defiant responses to this call were made by several of the
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southern states that still remained in the Union. These were Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri. In a few days Virginia seceded from the Union, followed by North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. These additional states greatly strengthened the Confederacy, but, as compared with the states remaining in the Union, the population of the United States was 23,000,000, and that of the Confederate states only 8,000,000. Besides this the south was comparatively without coast protection.
The extension of the territorial boundary of the Confederacy made it necessary to change the capital from Montgomery to Richmond. The congress that assem- bled in Richmond called for volunteers, and each of the seceding states promptly responded. Companies were organized in all parts of the south, and it was evident that southern chivalry was ready with the great issues that distracted the country, and to settle them at the point of the bayonet.
The Federal army sustained a severe defeat on July 21, 1861, at the first battle of Manassas. A number of brave Georgians were killed in this engagement, among them Col. William T. Wilson and Gen. Francis S. Bartow. Gen. Bartow was killed at the head of his brigade, falling in the thick of the battle, and exclaiming as he fell: "They have killed me, but never give up." This brave utterance from the lips of the heroic Bartow is fully in keeping with his patriotic declaration as he left Savannah for the front .. Said he: "I go to illustrate Georgia," and well did he illustrate the valor of the old commonwealth. It was largely due to the heroism inspired by this gallant officer that the Confederates lost only 2,000 men, against 3,000 Federals.
In order to prepare for a more thorough defense of the state the coast protection was assigned to Gen. A. R. Lawton, and the naval forces were placed in command of Commodore Josiah Tattnall. On account of the scarcity of guns and ammuni- tion Gov. Brown called upon the people to dedicate their rifles and shotguns to the Confederacy. A convention was held in Atlanta on July 3, 1861, to consider the financial problems of the new government, and to discuss the issuance of Confed- erate inoney.
Fort Pulaski, at the mouth of the Savannah river, was equipped at a heavy cost to the state, and three war steamers were purchased. The attitude of Georgia was bold, defiant and patriotic. Up to this time she had furnished 30,000 soldiers to the war.
At a meeting of the Confederate congress in July an issue of $50,000,000 in bonds was authorized. The issue was made, and a large number of these bonds were purchased by Georgia planters. The example of Bartow in giving his sword to the southern cause was followed by Gens. Howell and T. R. R. Cobb. In a few weeks Gen. Toombs, unable to resist the martial impulse, also took the field.
In the fall of 1861 Gov. Brown was re-elected governor of the state by a hand- some majority. In his message to the legislature he showed that Georgia had sent fifty regiments into the field and had appropriated $1,500,000 from the pockets of her people. The legislature appropriated large sums of money this year for the erection of hospitals and military supplies. Benjamin H. Hill and Robert Toombs were elected to represent the state in the Confederate senate, but Gen. Toombs, declining to serve on account of his preference for the field, left the office to be filled by Gov. Brown, who appointed Dr. John W. Lewis. The following brigadier- generals were in the field from Georgia: Howell Cobb, Thomas R. R. Cobb, Henry R. Jackson, W. H. T. Walker, A. R. Lawton, A. R. Wright, and A. H. Colquitt. In addition to these, two major-generals were commissioned, these being Gens. David E. Twiggs and W. J. Hardee.
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At the close of the year 1861 the northern army in Virginia under Gen. McClel- lan numbered 150,000 inen, opposed by only 100,000 Confederates.
THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.
No southern state eclipsed Georgia in her devotion to the principles on which her withdrawal from the Union was based, and the courage displayed by her in maintaining these principles made her the acknowledged peer of any state in the Confederacy. The year 1862 reversed the fortunes of the south, and defeat and failure followed in the wake of the brilliant victories of the preceding year. Troops. were marshaled into the field on both sides. The total strength of the Federal army was nearly 800,000, while that of the Confederate forces was short of 300,000. Among the Confederate losses that dismayed the soldiers at the beginning of the campaign was the capture of Roanoke Island by Gen. Burnside. This strongly fortified garrison off the coast of North Carolina was a capital prize for the Federal army, and a corresponding loss to the southern cause.
The Confederate government called for additional troops to enter the field. Twelve regiments was the demand made upon Georgia, in addition to a war tax of $2,000,000. Both exactions were promptly met. The martial debt was paid and the regiments were furnished. Gen. Henry R. Jackson was promoted to the rank of major-general and placed in charge of the coast defense. Gen. Lawton was placed in command of the Confederate troops in Georgia. Federal operations were soon directed against the coast near Savannah, and Gen. Pemberton, who was in charge of the Confederate troops, was obliged to retreat from Tybee and Warsaw islands. Preparations were then started by the Federals for making an attack on Fort Pulaski. This garrison consisted of only 350 men, in command of Col. Charles Olmstead. Col. Olmstead refused to surrender the fort, stating that his duty was to defend it. Starvation, however, soon confronted his men and he was forced to yield.
Nearly all the troops that Georgia had furnished up to this time had enlisted in the service of the state for a brief period only. Events were such, however, as to make it necessary for a longer term to be prescribed, and for those whose terms had already expired to re-enlist for the war. The fall of Fort Pulaski was a final argument to all who hesitated, and the organization of troops now commenced in good earnest. The chivalry of the state leaped, as it were, into the saddle, and with drawn saber plunged into the fight, thus illustrating the martial spirit of the brave Bartow in the proffered services of a thousand gallant young Georgians. An act was passed by the Confederate congress in 1862, known as the conscript act, that led to a serious controversy between Gov. Brown and President Davis. It required all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five to enlist in the war. The legality of this act was stoutly opposed by Gov. Brown, who was nevertheless put under the constraint of complying with the provisions. He proved, however, that Georgia required no conscript act to martialize her brave sons by supplying to the Confederacy more regiments each time than were demanded.
An effort was made during this year by a band of Federal spies to capture an engine and several cars belonging to the Western & Atlantic railroad. A number of them boarded the train at Marietta while the engineer and conductor were at breakfast, and leaving the coaches behind, started for the north. Discovering the design of the spies the chief of the motive power immediately started in hot pursuit of the fugitives. They were soon overtaken and a number of them captured, including the ringleader of the band, a man by the name of Andrews. Andrews had a large sum of money on his person, and offered $10,000 to be released. The men I-5
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ivere tried and eight of them convicted. They were brought to Atlanta and executed near Walton Spring in April, 1862.
A number of decisive battles were gained by the Federals in the south and west during the early part of this year, New Orleans and Memphis being among the chief cities taken. During the latter part of the year, however, the Confederates under Gen. Lee were more successful, and Gens. McClellan, Pope and Burnside were successively defeated. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb was one of the illustrious victims of the southern cause who fell during the latter part of the year. He was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862. A monument on the spot, commemorating the valor of the distinguished Georgian, has since been erected.
A large sum of money was appropriated by the legislature that met in Novem- ber, 1862, for war purposes, and also for the erection of hospitals. Before the war closed Georgia had sent 75,000 men to the front, in addition to the state troops, that numbered about 8,000 men. An armory for the manufacture of guns had also been established in the state penitentiary.
President Lincoln, at the beginning of the next year, issued a proclamation for the release of all slaves in the seceded states. The fortunes of the southern cause began to waver as the year advanced, and the strength of the northern army daily increased. The public debt of the state of Georgia at this time had reached $14,000,000, and Confederate money had commenced to rapidly depreciate. In the records of mortality produced by the war it was shown that Georgia had lost more of her brave sons than any state in the south. Nine thousand of her gallant heroes had given up their lives in the valley of Virginia and on the other crimson battlefields of the country.
An effort to invade the state in 1863 was promptly checked by Gen. Forrest, who met the invading party at Rome, Ga., and defeated them with great loss. During the early part of the year a Confederate steamship, the Nashville, was fired at Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee river, near Savannah. In March of this year the fort was attacked by seven Federal gunboats, but after a fruitless siege of several hours the Federals gave up the fight and sailed away in complete exhaustion.
A special session of the legislature convened on March 25, 1863, to enact suitable measures for the relief of the situation. The war had entailed great suffering among the women and children throughout the state, and this was one of tlie problems that the legislature had to meet. An appropriation of $2,000,000 was made in behalf of the suffering families of absent soldiers, and the cultivation of wheat, instead of cotton, was enjoined upon the planters who were not in the field. Over 4,000 widows and 45,000 children were thus dependent upon the bounty of the state for support and protection.
The Federal army continued to increase in size, and the victories of the Union flag daily multiplied. Vicksburg fell into the hands of the enemy, and Port Hudson, a Confederate stronghold in Tennessee, was forced to surrender. In April, 1863, Gen. John B. Gordon, who became one of the most distinguished soldiers of the war, was commissioned as a brigadier-general. He subsequently became the confidential friend of Lee, attaining the rank of lieutenant-general, and commanding one of the wings of the southern army at Appomattox. Gen. Gordon entered the service as a Confederate captain. Another distinguished Georgian who illustrated the.chivalry of the state was Gen. James Longstreet.
Notwithstanding the fact that Gov. Brown had already filled the chair of state for three consecutive terms, he was triumphantly re-elected in the fall of 1863 over Joshua Hill and Timothy M. Furlow. In the Confederate congress Georgia was represented by the following delegation: Julian Hartridge, W. E. Smith, M. H.
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Blanford, Clifford Anderson, J. T. Shewmake, J. H. Echols, J. M. Smith, George N. Lester, H. P. Bell and Warren Aiken. The legislature that met in the fall of 1863, following the re-election of Gov. Brown for a fourth term, fixed the ages of enlistment between eighteen and sixty years. The Confederacy called upon the state for 8,000 home guards, and more than 18,000 volunteered. Howell Cobb was commissioned as a major-general on Sept. 14, 1863. During the preceding August Gen. A. R. Lawton was commissioned quartermaster-general of the Confederate army. Gen. Lawton was one of the most distinguished soldiers in the state, having enjoyed a fine military training, and having served the state as a brigadier at the beginning of the war.
The Confederate losses throughout the country were disastrous, and the close of the year 1863 plainly evinced that nothing short of a miracle could prevent the iron hand of fate from overturning the Confederacy.
A brilliant victory achieved by the Confederates under the command of Gen. Colquitt at Olustee, Fla., revived for a time the wavering hopes of the south at the beginning of the year 1864. Subsequent losses, however, only served to make this victory a splendid conflagration, as it were, in the midst of a surrounding wilderness of gloom.
GEN. SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA AND THE FALL OF ATLANTA.
Gen. William T. Sherman, who commanded a division of the Federal army, had already commenced his famous march to the sea before the beginning of the year. In March, 1864, Gen. Grant, having been elevated to the command of all the Federal forces, planned two campaigns, one against Richmond to be conducted by himself, and the other against Atlanta by Gen. Sherman, who was then on his way to the sea. Lee was in command of the southern troops at Richmond, and Joseph E. Johnston awaited the approach of Gen. Sherman at Dalton, Ga., on his south- ward march.
On May 4, 1864, Gen. Sherman started from Chattanooga, and Gen. Grant, on the same day, started for Richmond. Gen. Johnston, who stationed his army at Dalton, Ga., awaited Gen. Sherman with 43,000 men-just half the size of the invading army. Sherman made a vigorous attack on Johnston's front, having dispatched Gen. McPherson to Resaca, Ga., eighteen miles below, to advance upon the rear. Gen. Johnston had anticipated this flank movement, however, and had stationed a strong defense at Resaca. On May 12 he withdrew his entire army to this point, and two days afterward an attack was opened by Gen. Sherman. At the same time a part of Sherman's army crossed over the river and advanced toward Calhoun. Here they were surprised by a large reserve and driven back to Resaca with the loss of 5,000 men. Johnston then fell back to Cassville, in order to avoid another flank movement, and left Rome in possession of the Federals. He afterward stationed his men at New Hope Church, learning that Gen. Sherman was making for that point, and here a bloody battle ensued, in which the Federals under Gen. Sherman sustained a severe loss. The next position taken by the two armies was at Pine mountain, Gen. Johnston having marched from Marietta and secured a stand on the mountain. The Federals had been resting at Acworth, but hearing that Gen. Johnston had taken his position on Pine mountain they determined to break through the lines. The battle commenced on June 9, 1864, and lasted for twenty-three days. Each attempt of the Federals to climb the mountains sig- nally failed, and on June 14 Gen. Leonidas Polk was killed. Gen. Johnston
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next concentrated his forces on Kennesaw mountain and succeeded in main- taining his position in spite of repeated assaults from the Federal army. Gen. Sherman next tried one of his old reliable flank movements by sending a part of his forces across the Chattahoochee river. Gen. Johnston observed this move- ment and immediately withdrew his men from the mountain, crossing over the river himself. Up to this time Gen. Johnston had only lost 10,000 men, while the loss of Gen. Sherman was more than four times that number. On July 17, Gen. Johnston was removed from the command of the army, and Gen. John B. Hood placed in charge.
Atlanta, the objective point of Gen. Sherman's march, was now only a few miles distant. It was strongly fortified, with a garrison of 10,000 men under Gen. G. W. Smith. Having been a Confederate depot of supplies, its capture had been agreed upon by Gen. Grant as holding the key to the situation. On July 20 a bloody engagement took place just north of Atlanta, in which the Confederates lost heav- ily. During the night both armies changed their position to the east of the city,. and during the two days that followed one of the bloodiest battles of the war oc- curred. On the Federal side Gen. J. B. McPherson was among the distinguished officers killed, and Gen. W. H. T. Walker on the Confederate side. A huge cannon, erected as a monument to the heroism of the Federal officer, commem- orates the exact spot on which he fell. Gen. John M. Brown, a brother of the governor, was also one of the victims of this terrible encounter.
A detachment of the Federal army sent out by Gen. Sherman to make a raid on the state met with a series of disasters and finally gave up the enterprise. About- 600 of the raiders surrendered to Gen. Alfred Iverson.
Gen. Hood made a second desperate assault on Gen. Sherman's army on July 28, but failed to accomplish his purpose. On Aug. 5, however, he repelled an attack made upon him by Gen. Schofield, defeating that officer with a loss of 400 men. Gen. Sherman for several days continued to bombard the city, and in the meantime secured possession of all the roads. He tore up the track of the Georgia railroad, and also the West Point lines as far as Jonesboro. Here he encountered Gen. Hardee with a force of men who, after a brief engagement, compelled him to retreat. Gen. Sherman then returned to Atlanta, and took possession of the city. As soon as the army of Gen. Hood withdrew the residents who remained in the city were ordered to depart immediately. The torch was then applied to the buildings and everything in sight, except the Federal headquarters and one or two favored buildings, was destroyed.
Leaving Atlanta, Gen. Hood sought to force Gen. Sherman to quit the state by projecting a campaign into Tennessee. An effort to capture the Federal supplies at Altoona failed, but the Confederates advanced upon Resaca, tore up the rails for a distance of twenty miles, and put themselves in possession of Dalton. Instead of following Gen. Hood into Tennessee Gen. Sherman decided to send Gen. Thomas in that direction and to resume his devastating march to the sea.
LAST DAYS OF THE CONFEDERACY.
The march of Gen. Sherman to the sea was one of pillage and devastation. Villages and farmhouses were destroyed and the depredations of the soldiers- beggar description. The front of the invading army covered a breadth of forty miles, and everything was literally swept away before it. As soon as Gen. Sherman left Atlanta, a telegram was sent to Gov. Brown at Milledgeville stating that Gen. Sherman was probably on his way to the capital. The people fled from the city in
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great confusion, and Gov. Brown gave orders for the removal of the state records to such places in the neighborhood as were thought secure from invasion. These hasty precautions were taken barely in time, and Gov. Brown and his family had just left the city when Gen. Sherman entered it. Leaving Milledgeville, Gen. Sherman started in a southeasterly direction, and reached Savannah on Dec. 10, 1864. Fort McAllister, at the mouth of the Ogeechee river, was captured after a gallant resistance on the part of Maj. G. W. Anderson and 250 brave men. Gen. Hardee was in command of the Confederate troops at Savannah, but having too small a number to cope with Gen. Sherman he withdrew into South Carolina, and left the Federals in possession of the city. The disasters that marred the command of Gen. Hood in Georgia continued to follow him in Tennessee until his army was driven back into Georgia completely annihilated.
The invasion of the state by Gen. Sherman had entailed great suffering and misery upon the people. The public debt had increased to nearly $24,000,000, and food and provisions were sold at fabulous prices. Fifty dollars in Confederate money was scarcely worth one dollar in gold. During this unhappy period the last session of the legislature, under the Confederate government, convened at Macon, Ga. A patriotic message was read from Gov. Brown, and eloquent speeches of encouragement were delivered by Gen. Howell Cobb, Benjamin H. Hill and William H. Stiles.
On Feb. 23 the Hampton Roads conference occurred between President Lincoln and William H. Seward, for the north, and A. H. Stephens, R. M. T. Hunter and Judge Campbell for the south. The conference, however, failed to accomplish the desired result. In the meantime Gen. Sherman, having left Savannah on Jan. 19, 1865, marched into South Carolina renewing his depredations. Columbia, the capital of the state, was reduced to ashes. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was restored to his former command and placed in charge of the shattered remnants of Hood's army on Feb. 23, 1865.
The campaign of Gen. Grant against Richmond, in spite of the heroism of the southern soldiers under Gen. Lee, had been successful by reason of the superior numbers of the invading army. Gen. Lee had made a strong defense of Petersburg, but on April 2, after seven days of hard fighting, the lines were broken and Gen. Lee was forced to surrender with his army at Appomattox. The surrender occurred on the morning of April 9, 1865. The army under Gen. Johnston surrendered on April 26, at Greensboro, N. C. The surrender of Gen. Lee was shortly followed by the assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's theater by John Wilkes Booth. It was extremely unfortunate for the south that such an event ever should have occurred.
The fall of Richmond made it necessary for President Davis to leave that city. On his way to Texas, with a number of friends who sought to protect him from violence, he stopped at the home of Gen. Toombs at Washington, Ga. Here the last conference of the Confederate cabinet was held, Gens. Lawton and Bragg being present in addition to the members of the cabinet. After the meeting was over the parties dispersed. President Davis was subsequently captured near Irwinsville, Ga., by a detachment of cavalry, and taken to Fortress Monroe. Without a trial he was thrown into prison and remained a captive for nearly two years. Alexander H. Stephens, the vice-president of the Confederacy, was also arrested, but subse- quently released. All the money that was rescued from the ruins of the Confederate government was divided among the old soldiers in consideration of their gallant services during the war. Only a small sum was received by each soldier, but it was something, and, in behalf of his impoverished household, he received it gladly.
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The last official act of the Confederate government was the distribution of this money among the sick and disabled soldiers of the Confederacy.
An effort to arrest Gen. Toombs was skillfully avoided by that astute statesman, who dodged a Federal officer and made good his escape from home on horseback. Gen. Toombs sailed for England, and remained abroad for several years.
In summing up the contributions of the state to the Confederate cause it was found that Georgia had sent 120,000 men into the field. The property of the state, which was now in the hands of the Federal army, had depreciated nearly $500,000,- 000, due largely to the ravages of Gen. Sherman. Each of the principal cities of the state was placed under military control. Col. Eggleston was placed in charge of Atlanta, Gen. Upton of Augusta, Gen. Croxton of Macon, and Maj. M. H. Williams of Milledgeville. A meeting of the legislature was called by Gov. Brown, but Gen. Wilson, who was in military control, refused to allow that body to assemble. Howell Cobb, Alexander H. Stephens and B. H. Hill were all arrested. Gov. Brown was also arrested, but, having been paroled, he was released. This parole was subsequently taken from him by a force of men who surrounded the executive mansion. He was taken to Washington city and remained an inmate of Carroll prison for a week, after which he was released by President Johnson. Returning to Georgia Gov. Brown was surprised to find that Gen. Wilson had assumed the reins of government, and thereupon immediately resigned his office. He then issued a patriotic address to the people, in which he urged them to make the best of the situation, and to acquiesce in the terms by which the civil government might be speedily restored.
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