THE MOST MONSTROUS BARBARITY OF THE BARBAROUS MARCH
Columbia, South Carolina (JFK+50) On February 17, 1865, Columbia was sacked by Union troops under command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. It was an event described by Whitelaw Reid* as "the most monstrous barbarity of the barbarous march."**
Sherman's 65,000 soldiers accompanied by 2500 wagons had moved toward Columbia at the rate of 10 to 12 miles per day yet many residents hoped that their city would somehow be spared destruction.
When it became clear this was just wishful thinking, many officials and others left hurriedly by rail. At 10 a.m., the mayor surrendered the city.
Union Major George Ward Nichols said...
"We have conquered and occupy the capital of the haughty state that instigated and forced...the treason..."
Later in the afternoon "the plunder and destruction of valuable property was beyond description" and every store was sacked. By nighttime, fires broke out "all over the city," but when Sherman walked outside his headquarters and saw the flames, he said...
"They have brought it on themselves."
At midnight, with fires out of control as well as the Yankee soldiers, 2500 disorderly "officers, soldiers and citizens" were put under arrest. One-third of the city had been destroyed and all 36 square blocks of the business district including the Old State House designed by James Hoban.
A once proud, bustling Confederate capital was destroyed by fire and by Sherman's troops. Three days later those soldiers marched away leaving nothing but ruins behind.
*Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912) was born in Xenia, Ohio & graduated from the University of Miami in 1856. WR purchased the NY Tribune from Horace Greeley in 1872 & controlled it until his own death. WR served as US ambassador to France & Great Britain.
**Sherman's March began on November 15, 1864 in the captured city of Atlanta & ended with the capture of Savannah on December 21, 1864. After a month's delay, Sherman's army marched northward through the Carolinas & culminated with the capture of CSA General Joseph E. Johnson's army in North Carolina on April 26, 1865.
SOURCE
"Sherman's March: Final Revenge," A Documentary by The Knapp Agency, www.knappagency.com/
The Burning of Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina (JFK+50) On February 17, 1865, Columbia was sacked by Union troops under command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. It was an event described by Whitelaw Reid* as "the most monstrous barbarity of the barbarous march."**
Sherman's 65,000 soldiers accompanied by 2500 wagons had moved toward Columbia at the rate of 10 to 12 miles per day yet many residents hoped that their city would somehow be spared destruction.
When it became clear this was just wishful thinking, many officials and others left hurriedly by rail. At 10 a.m., the mayor surrendered the city.
Union Major George Ward Nichols said...
"We have conquered and occupy the capital of the haughty state that instigated and forced...the treason..."
Later in the afternoon "the plunder and destruction of valuable property was beyond description" and every store was sacked. By nighttime, fires broke out "all over the city," but when Sherman walked outside his headquarters and saw the flames, he said...
"They have brought it on themselves."
At midnight, with fires out of control as well as the Yankee soldiers, 2500 disorderly "officers, soldiers and citizens" were put under arrest. One-third of the city had been destroyed and all 36 square blocks of the business district including the Old State House designed by James Hoban.
A once proud, bustling Confederate capital was destroyed by fire and by Sherman's troops. Three days later those soldiers marched away leaving nothing but ruins behind.
*Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912) was born in Xenia, Ohio & graduated from the University of Miami in 1856. WR purchased the NY Tribune from Horace Greeley in 1872 & controlled it until his own death. WR served as US ambassador to France & Great Britain.
**Sherman's March began on November 15, 1864 in the captured city of Atlanta & ended with the capture of Savannah on December 21, 1864. After a month's delay, Sherman's army marched northward through the Carolinas & culminated with the capture of CSA General Joseph E. Johnson's army in North Carolina on April 26, 1865.
SOURCE
"Sherman's March: Final Revenge," A Documentary by The Knapp Agency, www.knappagency.com/
The Burning of Columbia
February 17, 1865
by William Waud of Harper's Weekly
Library of Congress Image (1868)
