s
placed in his stead as Secretary of War. General Breckenridge had been
the favorite of a great portion of the Southern people in their choice
of Presidential candidates against Lincoln, and his place in the
cabinet of Mr. Davis gave hope and confidence to the entire South.

General Lee, no doubt acting on his own good judgment, and to the
greatest delight of the army, placed General Joseph E. Johnston at the
head of the few scattered and disorganized bands that were following
on the flanks of Sherman. Some few troops that could be spared from
the trenches were to be sent to South Carolina to swell, as far as
possible, the army to oppose Sherman.

Governor Brown had called out a great part of the Georgia State
Troops, consisting of old men and boys, to the relief of General
Hardee, who was moving in the front of Sherman, and a great many of
this number crossed over with General Hardee to the eastern side of
the Savannah, and remained faithful to the end. Governor McGrath, of
South Carolina, too, had called out every man capable of bearing arms
from fifteen to sixty, and placed them by regiments under Beauregard
and Johnston. The forts along the coast in great numbers were
abandoned, and the troops thus gathered together did excellent
service. North Carolina brought forward her reserves as the enemy
neared her border, all determined to unite in a mighty effort to drive
back this ruthless invader.

In this imperfect history of the times of which I write, I cannot
resist at this place to render a deserved tribute to the noble
women of the South, more especially of South Carolina. It was with
difficulty that the soldiers going to the army from their homes
after the expiration of their furloughs, or going to their homes when
wounded or sick, procured a night's lodging in Richmond, for it must
be remembered that that city was already crowded with civilians,
officers of the department, surgeons of the hospitals, and officials
of every kind. The hotels and private residences were always full.
Scarcely a private house of any pretentions whatever, that did not
have some sick or wounded soldier partaking of the hospitalities of
the citizens, who could better care for the patient than could be had
in hospitals. Then, again, the entire army had to pass through the
city either going to or from home, and the railroad facilities and
the crowded conditions of both freight and passenger cars rendered it
almost obligatory on the sold