overnor Bonham of South Carolina to the
southern part of Georgia, there, as Sherman approached, to reinforce
General Hardee with all these State troops and reserves, under General
Cobb, which numbered in all about eight thousand, and hold him in
check until Hood came upon Sherman's rear, or forced him to retire.
Of course it was expected, as a matter of fact, that Hood would
be successful against the hastily concentrated army of Thomas, and
Sherman would be forced to return for the protection of Kentucky and
Ohio. But in military matters, as in others, too much must not be
taken for granted, and where great events hinge on so many minor
details, it is not surprising that there should be miscarriages. Hood
was totally defeated and routed in Tennessee. The Governors of the
sister States, on false principles of safety and obsolete statutes,
refused to permit the State troops to leave the borders of their
respective States, leaving nothing before Sherman but the handful of
wornout veterans of Hardee and the few State troops of Georgia, to be
beaten in detail as Sherman passed through the State. The women and
children of our State were in the same frenzied condition at this time
as those of Georgia had been when the Federals commenced their march
from Atlanta. In fact, more so, for they had watched with bated breath
the march of the vandals across the Savannah--the smoke of the burning
homesteads, the wreck and ruin of their sister State--left little
hope of leniency or mercy at the hands of the enemy, while all their
strength and dependence in the way of manhood were either in the
trenches with Lee or with the reserves along the borders of the State.
Companies were formed everywhere of boys and old men to help beat back
the mighty annaconda that was now menacing with its coils our common
country. These were quite unique organizations, the State troops of
the South. The grandfathers and grandsons stood side by side in the
ranks; the fathers and sons had either fallen at the front or far away
in a distant State, fighting for the Southland.

The people of this day and generation and those who are to come
afterwards, will never understand how was it possible for the women of
the South to remain at their homes all alone, with the helpless
little children clustering around their knees, while all that had
the semblance of manhood had gone to the front. Yet with all this, a
merciless, heartless, and vengeful foe stood at their thre