Inside the Confederacy
Sherman’s March to the Sea
When Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864, the Confederate government tried to remove thousands of Union prisoners of war from the interior of Georgia so that Sherman’s army could not liberate the captives. Chaos ensued. Military and prison officials did not effectively communicate with each other. Thousands of prisoners arrived in Savannah and Charleston with no warning to the generals conducting the military defense of those cities. Confederate Maj. Gen. Sam Jones, dealing with the bombardment of Charleston and a yellow fever outbreak, sent the prisoners to Florence and Columbia, where they were turned out into open fields with no fences and paltry guards. During the next few months, Confederate officials scrambled to secure the prisoners and defend South Carolina from Sherman’s invasion. When they failed, they tried to remove the prisoners to North Carolina, but Federal armies invading the state from multiple directions trapped the Rebels in a vise that left them with no place to contain their prisoners. More than 2,800 prisoners of war escaped during the bedlam.
Maps by Andrew Fialka.
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.
Map by Charles David Grear.
Knoxville
Many prisoners headed north towards Knoxville, gambling on reports of Unionist men in the Blue Mountains of North Carolina. This route was nearly 260 miles, and had escapees navigating the Appalachians during the winter. However, in spite of the daunting journey, those who traveled this route believed western North Carolina was an isolated pocket of Unionism, with plenty of Federals to help them along their way. They were partially correct. There were plenty of Union sympathizers, but Rebels as well. Western North Carolina was a battlefield of intrigue, secrets, and unconventional warfare. Unionists at all levels of local government undermined Confederate operations, the Rebel aligned Guard for Home Defense raided homes suspected of Federals, neighbors stole from neighbors, men and children carried rifles, and tension permeated the air; no one was ever sure of anyone’s true allegiance. The Blue Mountains were no better, with roaming Confederate deserter gangs turning the region into a guerrilla infested no-man’s-land. Escaped prisoners would rely on the kindness of Unionists to hide them and procure supplies and guides to navigate the mountains, often under the noses of their Rebel families and neighbors.