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Oliver Otis Howard, Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general , United States army : volume 2, Chapter 43: march through the Carolinas; the taking of Columbia (search)
undation of their revenue, so we burned it. One or the other of the parties was evidently making a mistake. My last glimpse of Columbia after I had done what I could for the immediate necessities of the destitute inhabitants, and had parted with the mayor of the city, was a sad retrospect to me, for I had never expected to leave such a wild desert as the regions burned over, covered with blackened debris, smoldering embers, and numerous lone chimneys, presented. My rear guard for February 20, 1865, the day of departure, consisted of two brigades, one from each corps. They were the two that were then guarding the town. Just in advance of these, who had brought out all the stragglers, was a new and remarkable accession to my columns, called a refugee train. It consisted of thousands of people who wished to leave Columbia, mostly negroes besides at least 800 whites. The refugees carried their luggage on pack horses, on their backs, or in vehicles of every conceivable descriptio