ng them a
little too strong. At last they thought it was time to quit that
foolishness, and then commenced a race between cavalry and cars for Macon,
Georgia. The cars had to run exceedingly slow and careful, fearing a
tear up or ambuscade, but at last Macon came in sight. Twenty-five or
thirty thousand Federal prisoners were confined at this place, and it was
poorly guarded and protected. We feared that Stoneman would only march
in, overpower the guards, and liberate the prisoners, and we would
have some tall fighting to do, but on arriving at Macon, we found that
Stoneman and all of his command had just surrendered to a brigade of
cavalry and the Georgia militia, and we helped march the gentlemen inside
the prison walls at Macon. They had furnished their own transportation,
paying their own way and bearing their own expenses, and instead of
liberating any prisoners, were themselves imprisoned. An extra detail
was made as guard from our regiment to take them on to Andersonville,
but I was not on this detail, so I remained until the detail returned.

Macon is a beautiful place. Business was flourishing like a green bay
tree. The people were good, kind, and clever to us. Everywhere the
hospitality of their homes was proffered us. We were regarded as their
liberators. They gave us all the good things they had--eating, drinking,
etc. We felt our consequence, I assure you, reader. We felt we were
heroes, indeed; but the benzine and other fluids became a little
promiscuous and the libations of the boys a little too heavy. They
began to get boisterous--I might say, riotous. Some of the boys got to
behaving badly, and would go into stores and places, and did many things
they ought not to have done. In fact, the whole caboodle of them ought
to have been carried to the guard-house. They were whooping, and yelling,
and firing off their guns, just for the fun of the thing. I remember of
going into a very nice family's house, and the old lady told the dog to
go out, go out, sir! and remarked rather to herself, "Go out, go out!
I wish you were killed, anyhow." John says, "Madam, do you want that dog
killed, sure enough?" She says, "Yes, I do. I do wish that he was dead."
Before I could even think or catch my breath, bang went John's gun,
and the dog was weltering in his blood right on the good lady's floor,
the top of his head entirely torn off. I confess, reader, that I came
very near jumping out of my skin, as