CROSSING OF THE EDISTO AND CONGAREE. 699 moved by Barnwell and Blackville to guns of a substantial fort on the The 15th corps was again resisted" at the crossing of the Congaree; where the bridge was swept by the The left wing, under Slocum, had found the crossing of the swollen Savannah so difficult, that it was not entirely clear of that river till the 7th; but it had encountered thenceforth very little resistance; Wheeler's cavalry being the only force that infested its march, and this being kept quite busy by Kilpatrick alone. Augusta was full of Rebel stores; and, in painful apprehension of a visit from Sherman, was defended by such Georgians as could be mustered for militia; but Sherman had no notion of molesting or being molested by them. The shattered remnant of Hood's army-once more consigned to Jo. Johnston-was making its way, under Cheatham, from north Mississippi across Sherman's track through Georgia to his front in the Carolinas, but was not yet near enough to give us trouble: so Slocum, unvexed by any obstacle but the necessity of corduroying the interminable swamps he must traverse, crossed the South Sc Feb. 15. Edisto on the 13th, concentrating | Howard touching the conduct of the troops. his command at and below Lexing-senals and public property not needed for These were: to destroy absolutely all arton, and reaching the Saluda a few miles above Columbia only an hour or two after Howard appeared on that river (which here unites with the Broad to form the Congaree) on the 16th. Gen. Howard, by Sherman's order, promptly threw forward his left across the Saluda, skirmishing with cavalry; then, during the ensuing night, threw a flying bridge over the Broad, three miles above Columbia; crossing Stone's brigade, and thus securing a foothold on the Columbia side, north of the city, and enabling him to lay his pontoons on the morning of the 17th. Columbia was now plainly ours; there being no adequate force present to dispute its possession; so the Mayor came out, at 11 A. M., and formally surrendered it to Col. Stone, of Logan's corps, on the north, about the same time that some of the 17th corps, crossing the Congaree in a skiff, entered it, unresisted, from the west. Sherman and Howard now rode in; Col. Stone having already taken possession and posted sentinels: the inhabitants moving fearlessly through the streets. During the day, the 15th corps marched through the city and out on the Camden road. The 17th corps did not enter it at all; while the left wing and the cavalry, crossing both rivers above, were at no time within two miles of it. Yet night saw that city in flames, and a great part of it reduced to ashes: hence, mutual accusations and reproaches by Gens. Sherman and Wade Hampton. Here is Gen. Sherman's statement in his report: "In anticipation of the occupation of the city, I had made written orders to Gen. our own use, as well as all railroads, dépôts, and machinery useful in war to an enemy; but to spare all dwellings, colleges, schools, asylums, and harmless private property. I was the first to cross the pontoon-bridge, and, in company with Gen. Howard, rode into the city. The day was clear; but s perfect tempest of wind was raging. The brigade of Col. Stone was already in the city, and was properly posted. Citizens and soldiers were on the streets, and general good order prevailed. Gen. Wade Hampton, who commanded the Confederate rear-guard of cavalry, had, in anticipation of our capture of Columbia, ordered that all cotton, public and private, should be moved into the streets and fired, to prevent our making use of it. Bales were piled everywhere; the rope and bagging in the wind, lodged in the trees and against cut, and tufts of cotton were blown about houses, so as to resemble a snow-storin. Some of these piles of cotton were burning, especially one in the very heart of the city, near the court-house; but the fire was partially subdued by the labor of our soldiers. During the day, the 15th corps passed through Columbia and out on the Camden road. The 17th did not enter the town at all; and, as I have before stated, the left wing and cavalry did not come within two miles of the town. "Before one single public building had been fired by order, the smoldering fires, the wind, and communicated to the buildset by Hampton's order, were rekindled by ings around. About dark, they began to spread, and got beyond the control of the brigade on duty within the city. The whole of Woods's division was brought in; but it was found impossible to check the manageable, and raged until about 4 A. M.; flames; which, by midnight, had become unwhen, the wind subsiding, they were got under control. I was up nearly all night, and saw Gens. Howard, Logan, Woods, and others, laboring to save houses and protect families thus suddenly deprived of shelter, and of bedding and wearing apparel. I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire; but, on the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia remains unconsumed. And, without hesitation, I charge Gen. Wade Hampton with having burned his own city of Columbia; not with malicions intent, or as the manifestation of a silly Roman stoicism,' but from folly and want of sense, in filling it with lint, cotton, and tinder. Our officers and men on duty worked well to extinguish the flames; but others, not on duty, includ PILLAGE AND BURNING OF COLUMBIA. ing the officers who had long been im- | prisoned there, rescued by us, may have assisted in spreading the fire after it had once begun, and may have indulged in unconcealed joy to see the ruin of the Capital of South Carolina." 701 the South Carolina College, was accosted by a Yankee and a negro, who compelled him, under threat of death, to give it up. "The conflagration which destroyed the city commenced about dusk. The fire started near the rear of the jail. A high wind prevailed; and, in a short time, the It will be seen that Gen. Sherman flames were in full and unconquerable prodoes not charge Hampton with in-gress, spreading rapidly in three directions tending to burn the city, which he was confessedly unable to hold; nor does he deny that some of our men, not on duty, may have aided to extend the conflagration. Nor does Beauregard, who was Hampton's superior in command at Columbia, and who ordered its evacuation, indorse the charges against his successful antagonist. Nor does Pollard -who never misses an opportunity to defame the detested Yankees' directly accuse Sherman of having ordered or desired the conflagration; though he evidently wishes to convey the impression that he did. Here is his account of the capture: "A white flag, displayed from the steeple of the City Hall, announced the surrender of the town. With bands playing, drumcorps beating, flags flying, and their men in step, the Yankee army marched down Main-street to the Capitol square. "No sooner had the enemy entered Columbia than a wild and savage scene of pil; lage commenced. Stragglers, bummers,' pontoon men, and the riffraff of the army, were to be met in every street and almost every house. If they wanted a pair of boots, they took them from one's feet. Watches were in constant demand - in several instances, being snatched from the persons of ladies. Ear and finger rings were taken by force; and, in isolated cases, the dresses of ladies were torn from their bodies by villains who expected to find jewels or plate concealed. Search for silver and provisions was made in every conceivable place. Ramrods were used as probes to indicate where boxes were buried; and gardens, out-houses, cellars, garrets, chimneys, and nooks never thought of by anybody but a thief in search of plunder, were turned, so to speak, inside out. Rev. Mr. Shand, the Episcopalian clergyman, while conveying a trunk containing the communion service of silver from the church to -up and down Main-street, and eastwardly. From 10 P. M. till 3 A. M., the scene was appalling. The sky was one broad sheet of drifted in eddying circles a myriad of sparks: flame; above which, amid the lurid smoke, these falling, scattered the conflagration on every side. The monotone of the roaring, leaping, hissing tongues of flame, as they careered on their wild course, alone filled hearts with dismay. The air was like that passable. Frightened men, women, and of a furnace. Many of the streets were imchildren, ran in all directions; some only to flee again from the fresh attacks of the destroying element. Property thrown out of houses was either burned or stolen. Many of the Federal soldiers, maddened by liquor, dashed through the city with lighted torches to inflame the dwellings yet untouched. Morning revealed, to some extent, the broad sweep of destruction. Four thousand or more citizens were houseless and homeless. From the State House to Cotton Town, and an average of two or three squares on each side of Main-street, nothing but blackened ruins remained. Every vestige of that once busy street was gone. After having completed, as far as possible, the destruction of Columbia, Sherman continued his march northward." that of Charleston, including Fort As the fall of Columbia involved Sumter and all its other defensesHardee properly declining to be here isolated and consigned to capture at our convenience and, as the scene of destruction which marked that evacuation has not even been charged to the Unionists, we will copy Pollard's graphic description of this also, as a companion-piece to that of Columbia. He says: "The movement of Sherman had already been decisive of the fate of Charleston. Gen. Hardee, finding himself flanked at Charleston, and appreciating the instant necessity of effecting a junction with Beanregard and Cheatham and concentrating all available forces in Sherman's path, resolved to evacuate this city, so famous in the War, and so long coveted by the Yankees. But he was resolved to leave as little as possible for the enemy's rapacity. "At an early hour of the morning, before the retirement of Gen. Hardee's troops, every building, warehouse, or shed, stored with cotton, was fired by a guard detailed for the purpose. The engines were brought out; but, with the small force at the disposal of the fire department, very little else could be done than to keep the surrounding buildings from igniting. On the western side of the city, the flames raged with great fury. "The horrors of the conflagration were heightened by a terrible catastrophe. It appears, some boys had discovered a quantity of powder at the dépôt of the North-western railroad, and amused themselves by flinging handfuls of it upon the masses of burning cotton in the streets. It was not long before the powder running from their hands formed a train upon the ground, leading from the fire to the main supplies of powder in the dépôt. The result is easily conjectured. A spark ignited the powder in the train; there was a leaping, running fire along the ground, and then an explosion which shook the city to its very foundations from one end to the other. The building was, in a second, a whirling mass of ruins, in a tremendous volume of flame and smoke. About 200 lives were lost by the explosion, and not less than 150 bodies were found charred in that fiery furnace. "From the dépôt, the fire spread rapidly, and, communicating with the adjoining buildings, threatened destruction to that part of the town. Four squares, embracing the area bounded by Chapel, Alexander, and Washington streets, were consumed before the conflagration was subdued. "The destruction of public property had been as complete as Gen. Hardee could make it. He burned the cotton warehouses, arsenals, quartermaster's stores, railroad bridges, two iron-clads, and some vessels in the ship-yard. Among the captured property were 200 pieces of artillery; spiked and temporarily disabled, as they could not be brought off. "The Yankees occupied Charleston on the 18th of February. A scarred city, Blackened by fire, with evidences of destruction and ruin wrought by the enemy at almost every step, had at last come into their possession; but not until a heroic defense, running through nearly four years, and at last only by the stratagem of a march many miles away from it. The appearance of the city was eloquent of the sacrifices and hero ism of its people. A Yankee correspondent, who had joined in the triumphal entry into Charleston, thus described the scene before his eyes: Not a building for blocks here that is exempt from the marks of shot and shell. All have suffered more or less. Here is a fine brown-stone bank building vacant and deserted, with great, gaping holes in the sides and roof, through which the sun shines and the rain pours; windows and sashes blown out by exploding shell within; plastering knocked down; counters torn up; floors crushed in, and fragments of Mosaic pavement, broken and crushed, lying around on the floor, mingled with bits of statuary, stained glass, and broken parts of chandeliers. Ruin within and without; and its neighbor in no better plight. churches, St. Michael's and St. Philip's, have not escaped the storms of our projectiles. Their roofs are perforated, their walls wounded, their pillars demolished, and within the pews filled with plastering. From Bay street, studded with batteries, to Calhoun street, our shells have carried destruction and desolation, and often death, with them." The Lt. Col. A. G. Bennett, commanding on Morris island, receiving information which justified a belief that Charleston had been evacuated, at once dispatched a boat toward Fort Moultrie; which boat, when 40 yards east of Fort Sumter, was met by one from Sullivan's island, containing a band of musicians left behind by Hardee. These confirmed the rumored evacuation; whereupon, Maj. J. A. Hennessy was sent to raise the flag over recovered Fort Sumter; which was effected at 9 A. M. Fort Ripley and Castle Pinckney submitted promptly and gracefully to a like embellishment-their guns having been left in a serviceable condition. At 10 A. M., Bennett reached the city, which the enemy had not yet wholly evacuated; a mounted force being still engaged in setting fires. He at once demanded of Mayor Macbeth a surrender, which was promptly accorded. A small force was brought up so soon as possible, and the work of extinguishing the raging fires vigorously prosecuted-the Blacks of |