Inside the Confederacy

Picking Poisons

Fugitive federals that escaped South Carolina during the September-October 1864 transfers traveled in small groups and spread out among the countryside to reach the safety of Union military lines. The stress of deciding where to go weighed heavily on the fugitives, and parties disagreed over the best direction to travel. Generally, the escaped prisoners traveled to one of three location (Hilton Head, Augusta, and Knoxville) with each route holding its own advantages and disadvantages. 

Hilton Head

Some prisoners headed for the Union lines at Hilton Head, a barrier island twenty miles northeast of Savannah and about ninety miles southwest of Charleston. The island was captured by Union forces in November 1861, and Federal gunboats periodically patrolled coastlines and short distances upriver. This route was the shortest geographic distance, but initial escape parties headed for the coast often stumbled into Rebel patrols. Portions of the Confederate army were posted to defend Charleston in response to Federal advances and stood between escaped prisoners and Union lines. Prisoners recaptured by these patrols would give advice to those who made later attempts, and soon fugitives discovered that while Confederate troops guarded Columbia, Florence, Charleston, Georgetown, Branchville, and the rail lines, they lacked the manpower to adequately defend anywhere else. With the invaluable help from slaves who acted as guides and ferrymen, escapees moved along the Edisto and Congaree Rivers to the coast, avoiding pickets and any official resistance by exploiting the emptiness of the South Carolina countryside that resulted from a collapsing Confederate state. 

Augusta

Like the Confederate Generals in the region, some escaped Union prisoners believed that General Sherman would occupy Augusta, and headed west to link up with his army. This was a risky route, and prisoners had to navigate the myriad of Confederate troops posted in response to Sherman’s advance. The Georgia countryside was not kind to the escapees either, and the many miles of swampland tested their mental and physical endurance. Fugitives waded through putrid water and chest-deep mud, endured the insistent buzzing of gnats and mosquitoes, and were petrified with fright as alligators and snakes slinked into the water around them. The guidance of slaves was paramount and they pointed Yankees in the right direction, informing them of Union troop movements and places to avoid; their communication networks allowed them to learn new information as soon as Confederate authorities did. Once Confederate command realized Sherman’s true target was Savannah, the region became even more tumultuous as fugitives had to navigate the unfolding military maneuvers and battles that ensued. The movement of Sherman’s army left an unmistakable trail of destruction, and although escapees would find the countryside devoid of food and guides in its wake, their path to Union lines was clear.