anders and General Kilpatrick, leader of the cavalry. The advance
was in two columns, the right under General Howard and the left under
General Slocum. Atlanta was burned on the night of November 15th, and
Sherman himself rode out from the city the next day with the left wing.

It was impossible for the Confederates to present any serious opposition
to the invaders. Frantic appeals were issued to the South to rise and
crush the enemy, but they accomplished nothing. The bands of militia
were brushed aside like so many children, and the march "From Atlanta to
the Sea" was simply a huge picnic for Sherman and his army. The opening
of the Mississippi had sliced off the left limb of the Southern
Confederacy, and Sherman was now boring his way through the heart.

Milledgeville, the capital of the State, was reached on the 21st, but
before the Federals arrived the Legislature adjourned precipitately and
took to its heels. Governor Brown and most of the members ran to
Augusta, which was surrendered two days later, plundered, and partly
burned. Kilpatrick made a demonstration against Macon, and could easily
have captured it, but his movement was intended only as a feint. Rightly
surmising by this time that the seacoast was Sherman's destination,
General Hardee did all he could to obstruct the roads leading thither,
but he was powerless to check the invaders. Thousands of negroes
followed the army, singing the "Day of Jubilee has Come," but many of
the poor people perished amid the dismal wastes and barrens of Eastern
Georgia.

Finally Sherman passed down the peninsula formed by the Ogeechee and
Savannah Rivers and approached Savannah. The enemy were easily driven
from their field-works, and by December 10th all the Confederates were
forced into their lines and the whole Union army was in front of
Savannah. The 300 miles had been passed in twenty-five days and the
listening ears could now hear the faint boom of the distant Atlantic
breakers.

But Hardee was in Savannah with 15,000 men, capable of offering a strong
defense. To meet his heavy cannon, Sherman had only field artillery,
and, instead of making a direct attack, which would have involved
considerable loss of life, he decided to starve the garrison to terms.
Admiral Dahlgren was lying off the coast, but the mouth of the river was
commanded by Fort McAllister, and it was dangerous work to attempt to
communicate with the Union fleet. Sherman sent off three scouts, who
p