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16 This is a Kind of Curious management to me September 4, 1864–January 1, 1865 in the waning months of 1864, General John Bell Hood led the Army of Tennessee on a fateful crusade to liberate Tennessee and Kentucky from Federal occupation . The November and December 1864 campaign resulted in the battles of Franklin and Nashville and in actions fought on the outskirts of murfreesboro. The Army ofTennessee was devastated by these engagements, and by the time the tired corps retreated south the ranks were severely depleted. The campaign exhausted the Florida Brigade and ruined its hard-fighting reputation. By January 1865 the brigade’s strength would not even equal that of a battalion. By 1864 General Sherman’s intention was to destroy the Confederacy’s will to continue the conflict. images of the irascible general’s armies leaving a path of desolation across both mississippi and Georgia are often associated with Sherman. it is surprising, then, to discover an almost congenial correspondence between the Union commander and John Bell Hood that took place in September 1864 regarding a prisoner exchange.1 General Hood first proposed the return of combatants a week after Atlanta’s fall, and Sherman assented to exchange two thousand soldiers captured during the Atlanta Campaign’s final phase. The Confederate prisoners returned to the Army of Tennessee’s encampment during September’s third week, and the Florida Brigade ’s numbers received a considerable boost from this unexpected manpower trade. Though the Federals offered the captured rebels an opportunity to take the oath of Allegiance, Washington ives recorded that “only six of Finley’s Brigade could be induced to do so.”2 mid-September 1864 found the Florida Brigade encamped near Jonesboro, the scene of their recent defeat. When lieutenant A. m. Harris inspected the brigade on September 18, only 657 soldiers were fit for combat, and of these, only 600 fielded weapons. only twenty-eight days earlier this number had been 727. Though the killed and wounded figures for the Atlanta Campaign are difficult to determine , ascertaining the number of prisoners taken is easier: between August 21 and September 18, 1864, 49 Floridians surrendered. When the majority of these troops returned days later thanks to the exchange, the brigade’s effective combat troop total increased. The release of the recovered sick and wounded from Georgia hospitals and the return of soldiers from special duty also contributed to the brigade’s 200 Chapter 16 post–Atlanta Campaign strength. The Florida Brigade probably fielded close to 1,000 men for operations that fall.3 The Florida Brigade spent the days immediately following the surrender of Atlanta recovering from the rigors of the campaign. Captain Samuel mcConnell noted that in the days following their victory, General Sherman’s soldiers had destroyed “the road from lovejoy Station to this place burning the timbers and bending the iron. . . . Their actions . . . indicate that they do not expect to advance on this road for some time at least.” lieutenant William mcleod enjoyed a “nights sleep for the firs time in several [days]” and finally “washed my clothes & come back & dried them by a fire.” Washington ives, like Captain mcConnell, wandered on the Jonesboro battlefield. in the officer’s words, “i have never seen a battlefield soon after a great battle and i have some curiosity to go over one.” in walking behind the line held by the Federals on August 31, ives miscalculated considerably when he claimed he “saw 400 graves of michigan and illinois troops. The yankee loss is terrible.” of the respite at Jonesboro Captain mcConnell said, “[W]e recuperated very rapidly for we were all much fatigued when we got there. The health of the Army is i think very good now.”4 Though Hood had forsaken Atlanta, the soldiers viewed this only as a loss of more territory and another city: Had not the army continued to resist after the loss of Tennessee? Also, if the soldiers believed such high estimates of Federal casualties , they might have assumed that Sherman’s armies were considerably reduced. Washington ives claimed, “[T]he troops are in good spirits and considering everything a fine looking set of men.” in this vein, Sergeant Archie livingston wrote in early october that “my own heart is full of hope for victory and good results for our country.”5 The only complaint that ives voiced, as the first hint of fall appeared in the air, was the army’s paucity of blankets. The young Columbia County soldier wrote...

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