Page’s Ferry, Wateree River, February 22, 1865.

It seems to be certain that we have Charleston. Made about ten miles to-day. Our regiment and the 6th Iowa were sent down to an old ferry to make a demonstration. Found no enemy. The 2d and 3d are already across and we cross in the morning and take the advance. We now have eight days’ rations which are to last 30—wish they’d burn them all to get rid of the wagons.

22nd. Spent the day in camp. Read Scott’s “Heart of Midlothian.” Much interested. Smith and I studied our lesson together. Capt. Barnitz in class. Got the bundle from home. Am pleased with the new clothes. Good friends.

February 22d. Routed out early this morning to prepare for a review and inspection by General Crook and staff. Report came to camp that Company I, at Duffield Station, had been attacked, but succeeded in driving the guerillas away.

February 22d.–Bright and frosty. A fine February for fruit .

Yesterday the Senate postponed action on the Negro bill. What this means I cannot conjecture, unless there are dispatches from abroad, with assurances of recognition based upon stipulations of emancipation, which cannot be carried into effect without the consent of the States, and a majority of these seem in a fair way of falling into the hands of the Federal generals.

The House passed the bill to abolish quartermasters and commissaries in a modified form, excepting those collecting tax in kind; and this morning those officers in this city under forty-five years of age advertise the location of their places of business as collectors of tax in kind, Capt. Wellford, a kinsman of Mr. Seddon, among the rest, the very men the bill was intended to remove! Alas for Breckinridge and independence!

The following dispatch has just been received from Gen. R. E. Lee:

“Headquarters, February 22d, 1865.

“From dispatches of Gen. Bragg of 21st, I conclude he has abandoned Cape Fear River. He says he is embarrassed by prisoners. Enemy refuses to receive or entertain propositions. I expect no change will be made by Gen. Grant. It is his policy to delay. Have directed prisoners to be sent to Richmond by rail or highway, as may be most practicable; if wrong, correct it.

“R.E. Lee.”

This looks like the speedy fall of Wilmington, but not of Richmond.

[continue reading…]

February 22nd, 1865.—Washington’s birthday I used to read of the War of the Revolution and wondered if it could be true; it seemed so unbelievable. I admire General Washington very much but I never once imagined war could ever be so real to me. I wonder when it will end? Some wars last so long and perhaps this one may last for thirty years. If it does I hope I will not live through all those years.

Susan Bradford is 18 years old when this entry was made.

February 22d.–Isabella has been reading my diaries. How we laugh because my sage divinations all come to naught. My famous ”insight into character” is utter folly. The diaries were lying on the hearth ready to be burned, but she told me to hold on to them; think of them a while and don’t be rash. Afterward when Isabella and I were taking a walk, General Joseph E. Johnston joined us. He explained to us all of Lee’s and Stonewall Jackson’s mistakes. We had nothing to say–how could we say anything? He said he was very angry when he was ordered to take command again. He might well have been in a genuine rage. This on and off procedure would be enough to bewilder the coolest head. Mrs. Johnston knows how to be a partizan of Joe Johnston and still not make his enemies uncomfortable. She can be pleasant and agreeable, as she was to my face.

A letter from my husband who is at Charlotte. He came near being taken a prisoner in Columbia, for he was asleep the morning of the 17th, when the Yankees blew up the railroad depot. That woke him, of course, and he found everybody had left Columbia, and the town was surrendered by the mayor, Colonel Goodwyn. Hampton and his command had been gone several hours. Isaac Hayne came away with General Chesnut. There was no fire in the town when they left. They overtook Hampton’s command at Meek’s Mill. That night, from the hills where they encamped, they saw the fire, and knew the Yankees were burning the town, as we had every reason to expect they would. Molly was left in charge of everything of mine, including Mrs. Preston’s cow, which I was keeping, and Sally Goodwyn’s furniture.

Charleston and Wilmington have surrendered. I have no further use for a newspaper. I never want to see another one as long as I live. Wade Hampton has been made a lieutenant-general, too late. If he had been made one and given command in South Carolina six months ago I believe he would have saved us. Shame, disgrace, beggary, all have come at once, and are hard to bear–the grand smash! Rain, rain, outside, and naught but drowning floods of tears inside. I could not bear it; so I rushed down in that rainstorm to the Martins’. Rev. Mr. Martin met me at the door. “Madam,” said he, “Columbia is burned to the ground.” I bowed my head and sobbed aloud. “Stop that!” he said, trying to speak cheerfully. “Come here, wife,” said he to Mrs. Martin. “This woman cries with her whole heart, just as she laughs.” But in spite of his words, his voice broke down, and he was hardly calmer than myself.

Tuesday, 21st–We left camp about noon and moved forward another ten miles. The First Brigade took the railroad, destroying it as they went.

Pleasant Hill, S. C., February 21, 1865.

Fifteen miles to-day. Yesterday we traveled the Camden road. To-day we turned northwest. Poor country, quite rolling. Pine, scrub oak and sand.

February 21st. Snow melting very fast. Must wade through the wet snow. Orders to fall in and to report at Bolivar Heights, near Harper’s Ferry, a march of about four miles. When we arrived we were surprised to learn that we must witness the execution of two deserters. Strange that we must march so far to witness such a sad thing. Just before all things were ready, and in the nick of time, a pardon was received from President Lincoln. When it became known that a pardon was received there were a few faint cheers from some of the boys. For my part I was thankful that I did not have to witness the execution. Returned to camp late this afternoon.

21st. Went down and saw Chester. Went home with Houghton and played chess. Beat him three games. Cold and chilly. In P. M. studied my lesson. No school in evening–very stormy. Signed and returned a Warranty Deed for a lot.

February 21st.–Another bright and glorious morning.

Charleston fell on Thursday night last. A large number of heavy guns fell into the hands of the enemy. The confidential telegraph operators remained with the enemy. They were Northern men; but it is the policy of those in possession of this government to trust their enemies and neglect their friends.

Congress passed yesterday a bill abolishing the “Bureau of Conscription” in name–nothing more, if I understand it. The bill was manipulated by Judge Campbell, who has really directed the operations of the bureau from the beginning.

The negro bill also passed one House, and will pass the other to-day.

Also a bill (in one House) abolishing provost marshals, except in camps of the army.

These measures may come too late. The enemy is inclosing us on all sides with great vigor and rapidity. A victory by Beauregard would lift up the hearts of the people, now prone in the dust.

Mr. D. H. London (on the street) is smiling this morning. He says there is no doubt but that we shall be speedily recognized by France, and that Gen. Lee has gone South to checkmate Sherman. I fear some one has been deceiving Mr. London, knowing how eager he is for a few grains of comfort. He is a rich man.

A dispatch was sent from the department to Gen. Lee this morning, at his headquarters, supposed to be near Petersburg. Gold was selling at $60 for $1 yesterday. This may be a “dodge” of the brokers, who want to purchase; or it may be the government selling specie.

A gentleman from South Carolina reports that the Georgians (militia and reserves, I suppose) refused to enter South Carolina in obedience to Gen. Beauregard’s orders, and that Gen. B. has not exceeding 10,000 reliable men. If this be so, Sherman may march whither he chooses! This is very bad, if it be true, and more and more endangers the capital.

Surgeon-General S. P. Moore’s estimates for the year’s expenses of his bureau are $46,000,000.

Monday, 20th–We continued our march northward today about ten miles, destroying six miles of railroad. All the railroads within twenty miles of Columbia have been destroyed, every tie is burned and every rail is twisted into a corkscrew. A sad accident happened yesterday afternoon in Columbia when a detail from the Fifteenth Army Corps was casting the fixed ammunition into the river. A man dropped a shell on the bank of the river, which exploding, caused other ammunition to explode and ignited a large quantity of powder, killing several soldiers and wounding twenty others. When Sherman heard of it, he is said to have remarked that one of his soldiers was worth more than all that ammunition or even the city of Columbia.

Sixteen miles northeast of Columbia,
February 20, 1865.

The Provost Guards were the last to leave town. Fifty families of Columbians accompany us; have no idea how many negroes. Hard day’s march.

February 20th. The deep snow is settling down very fast, weather very mild. General Seward from Martinsburg a visitor in camp. The commander of our brigade and this section of the valley.

20th. Officer of the Day. Beautiful day. Clear and mild. Went the rounds with Div. Officer of the Day and Sergt. Bail. Pleasant time. Lots of deserters coming in. One batch of 23. News of fall of Columbia, S. C. Glory! Read to troops. God be praised for the prospect. Chet back.

February 20th.–Another morning of blue skies and glorious sunshine. Sherman is reported to be marching northward, and to have progressed one-third of the way between Columbia and Charlotte, N. C; where we had “millions of specie” a few days ago.

Some of the lady employees, sent by Mr. Memminger to Columbia last year, have returned to this city, having left and lost their beds, etc.

Grant’s campaign seems developed at last. Sherman and Thomas will concentrate on his left, massing 200,000 men between Lee and his supplies, effectually cutting his communications by flanking with superior numbers. It is probable Charleston, Wilmington, and Richmond will fall without a battle; for how can they be held when the enemy stops supplies? and how could the garrisons escape when once cut off from the interior?

And yet Congress has done nothing, and does nothing, but waste the precious time. I fear it is too late now! It is certainly too late to raise recruits for service in the campaign now in active operation, a fact which our politician leaders seem to be unconscious of. Even our furloughed troops cannot now rejoin their regiments from their distant homes.

Then, if Lee must evacuate Richmond, where can he go? No one knows! [continue reading…]

Sunday, 19th–We marched out on the railroad today and destroyed seven miles of track, then returned to camp, where we had left our knapsacks. We heard the sounds today of heavy explosions down in Columbia, and it is reported that our men have blown up the new State House.[1]

[1] The sound of the explosions in Columbia, which we heard on that day, was due to the destruction by our men of the fixed ammunition found there. General Sherman saved the beautiful new state capitol building, though it bore some of the ear marks of our shot and shell. The burning of Columbia resulted from the Confederates’ setting fire to the bales of cotton in the streets; then at night some of the Union soldiers, getting too much poor whisky and burning with revenge, set fire to some of the vacant houses, and the high wind soon spread it over the whole town.—A. G. D.

February 19th. This morning we find eighteen inches of snow on the ground. Wading through the deep snow reminds me of a picture that I have often seen, Napoleon Bonaparte before Moscow. Duty must be attended to, no matter what the weather may be. The snow makes camp life very unpleasant. The heavy fall of snow at this time of year is a very great surprise, so the inhabitants report.

19th. Sunday. Battalion inspection in the morning. Had a good bath. Cleaned up grounds. In the evening Capt. Newton came in. Had a good visit. Talked Tenn. experiences. Traver and Barnitz in awhile.

February 19th.–Another bright and glorious morning. I hear of no news whatever from the South–although I know that important events are transpiring–and the reticence of the government is construed very unfavorably. Hence if Beauregard has fought a battle, it is to be apprehended that he did not gain the day; and if this be so, South Carolina lies at the conqueror’s feet.

I thought I heard brisk cannonading in the distance (down the river) this morning, but am not certain. I saw Mr. Hunter going briskly toward the Executive department. He does not come often now to the War Office.

The new Secretary has a large audience of members of Congress every morning.

The President and three of his aids rode out this afternoon (past our house), seemingly as cheerful as if each day did not have its calamity! No one who beheld them would have seen anything to suppose that the capital itself was in almost immediate danger of falling into the hands of the enemy; much less that the President himself meditated its abandonment at an early day, and the concentration of all the armies in the Cotton States!

(excerpts)

“CHARLOTTE, N. C.,
“Feb. 19th, 1865.

        ” . . . I take advantage of this sweet, quiet Sunday afternoon for a little chat with you. It is so quiet in my little nook and the bright sunshine outside looks so cheerful and calm that ’tis hard to realize the terrible storm of war that is raging within a few miles of us, or the scene of excitement and fatigue I have gone through myself. At last Sherman has planted himself upon Carolina soil, and the pretty little town of Columbia, we learn to-day, has been partially destroyed; and alas the poor women and children, who were forced to remain there, of their fate we know nothing; but oh horrors, have everything to fear from the nature of the savages who are desolating their homes. What a sight it was to see the poor people flying almost terror stricken to know what they could do—many leaving with only little bundles of clothes—and many compelled to remain, for they had nothing but God to look to for shelter. . . . I left at the last moment on the car that brought the powder out. We only saved our clothes. How fortunate we were to do that, for many saved nothing. We left with the roar of the cannon in our ears!

” . . . I arrived here, after spending two days and nights on the road—three hundred poor women on the car ahead of us—none of us able to get rooms. A gentleman came down to the cars at twelve at night and brought me to this home and gave me this delicious little room, and here I am quite sick, with a Doctor visiting me. I am waiting to hear from the General to know what to do. Oh these terrible times of shipwreck—everything looks hopeless to me now, and then if we are to go down—we are so far apart that we can see nothing of each other, but the glimpse of a pale face as it sinks out of sight! What a glorious struggle our brave people have made for their liberties! The sight of this town to-day is lamentable: women hunting in every direction for shelter—and the people themselves beginning to move off for a safer place.”

February 19, 1865.

Another block of the city burned to-day. Our regiment was out and stopped the fire from spreading further. Have seen the men work better on other occasions. In destroying some captured ammunition to-day the 63d Illinois, by an explosion, lost three killed and 20 wounded. We captured about 20 cannon here. I noticed one complete battery of fine Blakely guns.

February 19th.–The Fants say all the trouble at the hotel came from our servants’ bragging. They represented us as millionaires, and the Middleton men servants smoked cigars. Mrs. Reed’s averred that he had never done anything in his life but stand behind his master at table with a silver waiter in his hand. We were charged accordingly, but perhaps the landlady did not get the best of us after all, for we paid her in Confederate money. Now that they won’t take Confederate money in the shops here how are we to live? Miss Middleton says quartermasters’ families are all clad in good gray cloth, but the soldiers go naked. Well, we are like the families of whom the novels always say they are poor but honest. Poor? Well-nigh beggars are we, for I do not know where my next meal is to come from.

Called on Mrs. Ben Rutledge to-day. She is lovely, exquisitely refined. Her mother, Mrs. Middleton, came in. ”You are not looking well, dear? Anything the matter?” “No–but, mamma, I have not eaten a mouthful to-day. The children can eat mush; I can’t. I drank my tea, however.” She does not understand taking favors, and, blushing violently, refused to let me have Ellen make her some biscuit. I went home and sent her some biscuit all the same.

Saturday, 18th–Columbia was almost completely destroyed by fire last night. Only a few houses in the outskirts are left standing, and many people are without homes this morning. Collumbia was a very nice town situated on the Congaree at the head of navigation. Three railroads run through the town. A new stone State House was being built, which it is said was to have been the capital of the Southern Confederacy. Last night I passed by the sheds where the fine marble columns for the building were carved and stored, and this morning they were all in ruins and the sheds in ashes. It is a sad sight to see the citizens standing in groups on the streets, holding little bundles of their most valued effects and not knowing what to do. It is said that some even came here from Charleston to escape Sherman’s army. The people certainly have paid dearly for the privilege of seceding from the Union. The Seventeenth Corps passed through Columbia this morning and we were more than three hours in going through town. Our division marched out northwest along the railroad, destroying it all the way, and went into bivouac about six miles from town.