Many of the exploits of these men would fall under the head of romance; indeed, I am afraid that in telling some of their experiences, the romance got the better of the truth upon which the story was founded, and that, in the way many of these anecdotes are told, very little of the foundation is left.  I suspect that most of them consist chiefly of the fiction added to make the stories better.  In one instance it was reported that a few men of Sherman’s army passed a house where they discovered some chickens under the dwelling.  They immediately proceeded to capture them, to add to the army’s supplies.  The lady of the house, who happened to be at home, made piteous appeals to have these spared, saying they were a few she had put away to save by permission of other parties who had preceded and who had taken all the others that she had.  The soldiers seemed moved at her appeal; but looking at the chickens again they were tempted and one of them replied:  “The rebellion must be suppressed if it takes the last chicken in the Confederacy,” and proceeded to appropriate the last one.

Another anecdote characteristic of these times has been told.  The South, prior to the rebellion, kept bloodhounds to pursue runaway slaves who took refuge in the neighboring swamps, and also to hunt convicts.  Orders were issued to kill all these animals as they were met with.  On one occasion a soldier picked up a poodle, the favorite pet of its mistress, and was carrying it off to execution when the lady made a strong appeal to him to spare it.  The soldier replied, “Madam, our orders are to kill every bloodhound.”  “But this is not a bloodhound,” said the lady.  “Well, madam, we cannot tell what it will grow into if we leave it behind,” said the soldier as he went off with it.

Notwithstanding these anecdotes, and the necessary hardship they would seem to imply, I do not believe there was much unwarrantable pillaging considering that we were in the enemy’s territory and without any supplies except such as the country afforded.

On the 23d Sherman, with the left wing, reached Milledgeville.  The right wing was not far off:  but proceeded on its way towards Savannah destroying the road as it went.  The troops at Milledgeville remained over a day to destroy factories, buildings used for military purposes, etc., before resuming its march.

The governor, who had been almost defying Mr. Davis before this, now fled precipitately, as did the legislature of the State and all the State officers.  The governor, Sherman says, was careful to carry away even his garden vegetables, while he left the archives of the State to fall into our hands.  The only military force that was opposed to Sherman’s forward march was the Georgia militia, a division under the command of General G. W. Smith, and a battalion under Harry Wayne.  Neither the quality of the forces nor their numbers was sufficient to even retard the progress of Sherman’s army.