ur railroads meet here, and have been destroyed in each
direction for a distance of from three to five miles. All the numerous
factories have been burnt down by the enemy, who were of course
justified in doing so; but during the short space of thirty-six hours,
in which General Grant occupied the city, his troops had wantonly
pillaged nearly all the private houses. They had gutted all the stores,
and destroyed what they could not carry away. All this must have been
done under the very eyes of General Grant, whose name was in the book of
the Bowmont House Hotel.

I saw the ruins of the Roman Catholic church, the priest's house, and
the principal hotel, which were still smoking, together with many other
buildings which could in no way be identified with the Confederate
Government. The whole town was a miserable wreck, and presented a
deplorable aspect.

Nothing could exceed the intense hatred and fury with which its excited
citizens speak of the outrages they have undergone--of their desire for
a bloody revenge, and of their hope that the Black Flag might be
raised.[25]

I had previously heard the Jacksonians spoken of as not being
particularly zealous in the war. Heaven knows General Grant had now
converted them into good and earnest rebels.

At 8 P.M. I called at Captain Yerger's house and found him with General
Gist and another officer lying flat on their stomachs poring over a map.
Captain Yerger then introduced me to the ladies of his family, who were
extremely pretty, very amiable, and highly patriotic.

The house is charming, and, being outside the town, it had by good luck
escaped destruction and pillage.

After supper, the ladies played and sang, and I ended an eventful day in
a very agreeable manner.

General Gist promised that I should accompany his brigade to-morrow on
its march towards General Johnston, and Mrs Yerger insisted that I
should pass the night at her house.

In this part of the country the prospects of the Confederacy appeared to
be very gloomy. General Joseph Johnston, who commands the whole Western
Department, only arrived from Tennessee last Wednesday, and on the
following day he found himself obliged to abandon Jackson to an
overwhelming Northern army, after making a short fight to enable his
baggage to escape.

General Pemberton, who had hitherto held the chief command, is abused by
all. He was beaten on Saturday at Baker's Creek, where he lost the
greater part of his artillery. H