Rising in Flames by J. D. Dickey

Author:J. D. Dickey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2018-05-22T04:00:00+00:00

One officer who did not believe in an eye for an eye, and resisted every urge to descend into animal savagery, was General Oliver Howard. The leader of the Army of the Tennessee and the well-known Christian general tried to remain a moral man on the march, yet he found it difficult. Swearing was widespread among some officers and enlisted men, arson and looting had become legion in certain units, and the sight of poor, beleaguered Georgians stripped of their possessions or forced from their homes sickened him. It called into question his purpose in the army and even the health of his soul. As he said, “For the past year there has seemed to be a cloud between me and my Savior.” Unlike Sherman, though, he resolved to do something about it. In his Special Field Order No. 26, Howard gave license to his officers to shoot any pillagers they found; to enforce vigorously the rules against unauthorized foraging; and to punish anyone convicted of robbery or arson with death.

Charles Wills was very familiar with these new orders. Howard had issued them on the day of the victory at Griswoldville, and three days later, the troops of the 103rd Illinois heard them read aloud for about the twentieth time. They listened to them thoughtfully, paid them dutiful attention, and then ignored them. They were having too good a time at the town of Irwinton to bother with official army policy. Many of them were out “prospecting”—poking into the earth with sharpened sticks to discover any treasures the locals may have buried. They capped their visit to town by burning the courthouse and most of the public buildings.

Wills had always felt qualms about foraging and arson in the Army of the Tennessee. In the early days of the war, he had described the army as becoming “awfully depraved” in its thievery. Much later, in January 1864, he wrote that the 500 men in his mounted army unit “have committed more devilment than two divisions of regular cavalry could in five years.” The men under his command were not responsible for the worst of it, and as captain, he had vigorously tried to control their behavior. He knew if he ever had to face an official board of inquiry, he would be responsible for their actions.

That was before the March to the Sea. Now, despite his edicts, many soldiers in the 103rd indulged in stealing and bumming at will. If anyone were to punish them, it would be a concerned commander on-site like Oliver Howard or Orlando Poe. But there weren’t enough Christian generals or enraged engineers to put a stop to the abuses. Even Wills himself had feasted to excess on the rich harvest of the South, and if his conscience bothered him, he forgot to mention it in his diary.

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