Personal Recollections of Sherman's Campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas

by George W Pepper

  The "Hermit's Retreat" a secluded and retired spot, was the last place we visited, and to describe it be nearly to repeat what I have said respecting Lake Hulah, to which it bears a striking likeness; yet it is softer in its character and richer and brighter in its features. It is a charming arched grotto, affording accommodation for three or four persons, while at the feet of the beholder the rill gently purls away over broken rocks, rendering the scene truly picturesque and romantic. But we must now bid adieu to the crystal, waters, green leaves, wild flowers, the various beauties of this lovely lake, and turn for refreshment to the neat little village of Summerville, situated in the immediate neighborhood. It is placed on a gentle slope, on the summit of the range, and its little cluster of summer-houses, partially screened by foliage, presents a captivating picture of repose and rural beauty.

  Among the many interesting traditions associated with various localities in this beautiful region of country, there is none more curious and interesting, than the one which explains the meaning of the word "Chickamauga" and how it came to be applied to the two small streams which bear this name. A tribe of Cherokees occupied this region and when the small-pox was first communicated to these natives of the forest, it appeared in this tribe, and made frightful havoc among them. It was the custom of the Indians, at the height of their disease to go by scores and jump into the river to allay the tormenting symptoms. This of course increased the mortality, and the name Chick-a-mauga, or River of Death was applied to the two streams, which they have borne ever since. The remnant of the tribe was afterwards called the Chickamaugas

  The great battle which proved so disastrous to us was fought on the west bank of the Chickamauga, and about eight miles west of Ringgold. The battle-field was an undulating, or rolling open wood, so much so that the rebel artillery had room and range enough for full play. The battle-field extended about ten miles, and the carnage was the most frightful that had ever taken place, far exceeding Shiloh or Gettysburg. The constant and terrific roar of artillery never was exceeded. A friend who was present with Thomas's army tells me that the fighting of our men was magnificent, grand and terrible. They faced the whirl-wind of lead and iron with all the composure and steadiness of a summer's rain. The fight was kept up with varied success, the lines of both armies, moving to and fro, like the advancing and receding waves of the sea. Then came charge after charge, the frightful gaps in our lines being immediately closed up, and with the yell of demons our battle cry rose above the roar and crash of musketry and artillery, while the terror-stricken foe fell back aghast as our braves mounted and carried their entrenchments. General Thomas fought his Corps with great skill and ability. The noble Division of the heroic and the chivalrous Granger slept upon the ground with the wreath of victory crowning their brows. Steedman's Brigade charged the enemy's works with its famed and distinguished gallantry. The battle-field that night by moonlight — the glittering beams shining on the ghastly faces of the dead, distorted in expression from the wounds of their torn and mangled bodies, with heaps of the wounded and dying, with scattered arms strewn everywhere, broken artillery carriages and caissons, dead mules, and all that makes up the debris of a bloody contested field —was terrible and appalling.

  Hooker's splendid movement in opening communications directly with Bridgeport, is thus described by a rebel officer, who saw it from Bragg’s headquarters:

  "The enemy were several miles distant, and the smoke of their bivouac fires resting above the tree tops, indicated a halt. Subsequently the column resumed its motion, and during the afternoon the long, dark thread-like line of troops became visible, slowly wending their way in the direction of Chattanooga. On Lookout Point, gazing down upon the singular spectacle, a coup d'œil, which embraced in curious contrast the beauties of nature and the achievements of art, the blessings of peace and the horrors of war — were Generals Bragg, Longstreet and others, to whom this bold venture opened at once new vistas of thought and action. Infantry, artillery and cavalry, all glide silently by, like a procession of fantoccini in a panorama, until among all the sun-down's sumptuous pictures, which glowed around us, there was not one like that great, fresh, bustling camp, suddenly grown into view, with its thousand twinkling lights, its groups of men and animals, and its lines of white-topped wagons, now strung like a necklace of pearls around the bosom of the hills.

  "The Federals had succeeded in effecting a junction with the army of Chattanooga. The question which arises is: why did not General Bragg throw his army in front of the advancing columns and check the movements? The answer is in the shape of one of those stolid facts, which even strategy cannot always stir. On Monday night General Thomas, or perhaps Grant, for he is now in Chattanooga— crossed a force of over six thousand men, first over the Tennessee at the edge of town, then over the neck of land known as the Moccasin, and finally over the river again at Brown's Ferry, in the rear of Cattanooga, where, after a brief skirmish with one of our regiments, they took possession of the hills and commenced the work of fortification. Simultaneously with this movement, a column at Bridgeport, consisting of the Eleventh Corps, General Howard, and the Twelfth Corps, Slocum, the whole under Hooker, started up the valley. Under these circumstances, an interposition of our forces across the valley, would, in the first place, have required the transfer of a considerable portion of our army from the east to the west side of Lookout Mountain, thereby weakening our line in front of Chattanooga, while the enemy reserved his strength: secondly, it would have reinstated a fight on both our front and rear, with the flanks of the Federals protected by the mountains; and finally, had we been successful, a victory would only have demoralized two Corps of the Yankee army, without at all influencing the direct issue involved in the present investment of Chattanooga."

  SKETCH OF GEORGIA

  This State was settled in 1732, and was the only colony planted at the expense of the Crown. Its coast is bordered with fertile islands, and its principal rivers are the Savannah, the Ogeechee, and the Altamaha. The Eastern part of the State is level, without a hill or a stone; but at the distance of forty or fifty miles from the salt marsh, the lands begin to be more or less uneven, until they gradually rise to mountains. The vast chain of the Appalachian Mountains, which commences in the State of New York, terminates in Georgia, sixty miles South of its northern boundary.

  From the foot of these mountains spreads a spacious plain of the richest soil, in a latitude and climate well adapted to the cultivation of most of the productions of the south of Europe and the East Indies. The northern section of Georgia is traversed by several parallel ridges, presenting much beautiful and picturesque scenery. The staples are Rice, Cotton, Corn, Oranges and Figs; the Southwestern part may yet become the vineyard of America, The prominent cities are Savannah, Macon, Augusta, Atlanta and Milledgeville, the present seat of government. The climate is warmer than that of South Carolina, the winters being very mild and pleasant. Fruit of all varieties is raised in perfection throughout the State, The soil and its fertility are various, according to situation and improvement. Near the islands, the soil is a mixture of sand and black mould. A portions of it, whereon grow the oak and hickory, is very rich and yields good crops.

  Mr. Stephens, one of Georgia's Representatives in Congress, in a speech before that body, exhibited the physical, industrial, and moral condition of his State in the following glowing terms: "Georgia is the youngest of the old thirteen States that formed the Union. At that time she was the weakest of that fraternal band."

  “Boston, New York, and Richmond were nearly as old as Georgia now is, when Oglethrope first landed at Savannah. But notwithstanding all this, I will not shrink from the comparison, let it be instituted when and where it may. Georgia has her beds of coal and iron; her lime, gypsum, and marl; her quarries of granite and marble. She has inexhaustible treasures of minerals, including gold, the most precious of metals. She has a soil and climate suitable for the growth and culture of every product known to husbandry and agriculture. A better count
ry for wheat and corn, and all the cereal plants, to say nothing of cotton and tobacco, is not to be found in an equal space on this continent. There, too, grow the orange, the olive, the vine, and the fig, with forests of oak and pine sufficient to build and mast the navies of the world. She has mountains for grazing, rivers for commerce, and waterfalls for machinery of all kinds without number. Nor have these great natural advantages and resources been neglected. Young as she is, she is now the first cotton-growing State in the Union. She has, I believe, thirty-six cotton factories in operation, and a great many more hastening to completion— one of them has, or soon will have, ten thousand spindles, with two hundred looms, capable of turning out eight thousand yards of cloth per day. Her yarns are already finding their way to the markets of the North and foreign countries; and the day is not distant when she will take the lead in the manufacture as well as the production of this great staple. She has also her flour mills and paper mills — her forges, foundries, and furnaces — in full operation. Her exports exceed yearly $35,000,000— equal to, if not greater than, those of all New England together. She has six hundred and fifty miles of railroad in operation, at a cost of $15,000,000, and two hundred miles more in the course of construction. By her energy and enterprise she has scaled the mountain barriers, and opened the way for the steam-car from the Southern Atlantic ports to the waters of the great valley of the West. But this is not all: she has four chartered universities — nay, five, for she has one devoted exclusively to the education of her daughters. She was the first State, I believe, to establish a female college, which is now in a flourishing condition, and one of the brightest ornaments of her character. She has four hundred young men pursuing a collegiate course— a greater number, I believe, than any State in the Union, in proportion to her white population. Go, then, and take your statistics if you wish — you will find not only those things to be so; but I tell you also what you will not find, you will not find anybody in that State begging bread or asking alms — you will find but few paupers— you will not find forty thousand beings, pinched with cold and hunger, demanding the right to labor, as I saw it stated to be the case not long since in the city of New York. And when you have got all the information you want, come and institute the comparison if you wish, with any State you please; make your own selection; I shall not shrink from it, nor will the people of the State shrink from it. Other gentlemen from the South can speak for their own States — I speak only for mine. And in her name, and in her behalf, as one of her representatives upon this floor, I accept the gauntlet in advance, and I have no fears of the result of a comparison of her statistics, socially, morally, politically, with any other State of equal population in this confederacy."

  "The six hundred and fifty miles in railroad now in operation, to which I have alluded, were built by Georgia capital. One hundred and thirty-six miles, from Atlanta to Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River, which is one of the greatest monuments of the enterprise of the age, was built by the State. But her public debt is only a little over $1,800,000, while that of the State of New York is over $20,000,000, besides $14,000,000 owed by the city alone; and the debt of Pennsylvania is $40,000,000. The bonds of the State of Georgia are held mostly by her own people. You do not see them hawked about in Northern or foreign markets at a depreciation. But they, as well as the stocks and securities of the private companies, are held mostly by her own citizens, and are commanding premiums at home."

  CHAPTER III.

  Sherman's Army at rest — The State of Alabama, its resources — The beautiful City of Huntsville —The Unionists — Jere Clements and Judge Lane — Heroic patriotism of the latter — Refuses to haul down the American Flag — The Secesh Preachers — Dr. Ross ingeniously defends Slavery and Rebellion — Disposition of the Federal troops — General Mathias, the gallant Dutchman.

  Alabama is a large but not well peopled State. The climate is warmer than that of Tennessee, and the winter is the most pleasant season. This State abounds with lead, copper and iron. There are likewise rock crystal pyrites, and marble, beautifully variegated. The principal cities are Mobile, Montgomery and Huntsville.

  In the diminished population of the State, as compared with the productiveness and variety of the soil, the salubrity of the climate, the high price of her staples, and the consequent demand for certain and productive labor, the State of Alabama presents great and unusual inducements to emigrants. In 1860 Alabama, with a population of 96,420 souls, and measuring 50,722 square miles of territory, had within her limits, 12,687,000 acres of uncultivated soil.

  NORTHERN ALABAMA — HUNTSVILLE.

  This country, while not very fruitful, is of a romantic and beautiful character, inspiring the pen of the poet, or the pencil of the painter. Nature, in her sublime economy, foreseeing the grand destiny of the Republic, piled up mountains high and interminable, but left a narrow valley between, when time was in its infancy, to be another link in the golden chain that binds the States of the Union. Man in his madness may attempt to deface the beauties of nature, but here the great Architect of the Universe has stamped in living letters the word Union, on every created object, bid these august mountains to be friendly, the rivulets to lave their alternate sides, and the birds to woo their mates across the narrow valley, and forever to sing the song of peace and union.

  Standing on an elevated peak, and surveying the wide extended landscape, I was forcibly reminded of the saying of Oliver Cromwell, while viewing the beautiful valley of the Nore from the cupola of St Canice: "That this indeed was a land worth fighting for;” and fight for it we must, with iron hands, and iron fleets, until the Starry Banner everywhere floats as the emblem of one nation and one destiny.

  Huntsville, a beautiful town, capital of Madison county, is situated on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which also extends to Richmond, one hundred and fifty miles North by Northeast of Tuscaloosa, and one hundred and sixteen miles South by East of Nashville. By the occupation of Huntsville, communication between the rebel armies in the Southwestern States is entirely cut off. Madison County has an area of eight hundred and fifty square miles. It is intersected by Flint and Paint Rock Creeks, affluents of the Tennessee River, which form the southern boundary. The surface is hilly and the soil is very fertile.

  Huntsville is indeed a handsome place, in many respects superior to any town of the same size in the Confederacy. It is embosomed in the hills, and exceeds in grandeur and beauty anything which I have recently seen. The longer I sojourned in this queen of Southern towns, the more I was surprised by the loveliness and scenery of the surrounding country. Why have we not heard more of the verdant hillsides, bewitching villas, and stately mansions of Huntsville? Looking round upon these lovely and charming landscapes, which are but specimens of the greatness and magnitude of the Republic, the thought of this most wicked and causeless rebellion came over us with a heart depressing sadness. We need scarcely go to India or Ceylon to find the spot pertinently described by Heber,

  "Where every prospect pleases,

  And only man is vile,”

  It lies at the foot of Mount Seno, a chain of the Cumberland Mountains. It is situated ten miles north of the Tennessee River, and was founded in 1806, by Captain John Hunt, a soldier of the Revolutionary War. Huntsville is the chief town in Northern Alabama, and one of the most important and thriving in the Southern States. The spacious and elegant streets, public buildings, and plantations which form its environs, give it the appearance of extent, wealth and comfort. Before the rebellion, it was the centre of wealth and fashion. The bank is a handsome stone edifice, with an Ionic portico. The population in I860 was five thousand. Captain Walker, the first rebel Secretary of War, and ex-Senator Clement C. Clay, two pestilent secessionists, reside here. Madison County is one of the most densely populated counties of the State. In the summer months the crème de la crème of the Alabamian aristocracy make Huntsville and vicinity their residence. The population generally may be classed as conditional Unionists.

  The Cem
etery is a lovely spot, none can be lovelier. The mountains look down upon it. The morning sun looks upon it from the peaks of the Cumberland Hills, and as the sun goes down at night, the hill-tops gleam with her rays, and seem set to be the guardians around that burial place. Monuments commemorating the virtues of the dead, stand forth in simple grandeur, with their ponderous pillars and graceful arches. I was particularly struck with a block of marble, standing over a grave, on which is carved a rose-bud with broken stem, and no words but "Mary." Several tombs bear the simple lines — "Mother — Mary." On one, crowned with a bust, whose drapery is transparent in the sunlight, is the touching inscription, "Good-night," on the tomb of a young wife. Perhaps this was her last utterance as the twilight of death fell upon her advancing footsteps. Among many clusters of roses, myrtles, and violets, we discovered on the graves of God's departed children, this flower from the Holy Spirit's own hand — “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." This is the amaranth which angels wreathe above the ashes of the sainted dead. Matchless love, that never grows old, and never loses its heavenly freshness. It is a jubilant form, of triumph. The Spring is the grandest work of art in the country. It gushes out of a cliff of limestone, in the city. The water is elevated by water-power, ninety-six feet above the level of the spring to a reservoir, with capacity to hold one hundred and eighty-seven thousand gallons. It has been in operation for a number of years, supplying the wants of the city. Many a weary soldier of both armies has been refreshed by its clear, healthful water.