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1865—the carolinas 203 Nine “hot work is Sure to Follow Soon” 1865—The Carolinas with Georgia subdued and humbled, all eyes turned northward. Sherman now planned to march north from Savannah through the carolinas and into virginia where he could then join up with Grant. There the final deathblow would be delivered to lee’s army and end the war. an additional bonus would be gleaned from such a strategy. if Sherman had surely “made Georgia howl,” then the devastation to be heaped upon South carolina would be double. as one Union soldier remarked, “here is where treason began and, by God, here is where it shall end.”1 Both Grant and lincoln had initial doubts about the plan, however. Grant wanted Sherman’s men to board transports and sail north to the James river where they would join forces against robert e. lee, but Sherman insisted that by the time the transports arrived and his men were on board, he would already be at his destination. Grant ultimately acquiesced, allowing Sherman to plan his march through the carolinas. in the meantime, Poe’s lonesomeness swelled. it did not help that he believed himself to be the only man in the army who had yet to receive a letter from home since taking Savannah. at least he could bury himself in his work, of which there was plenty. while Sherman and Grant’s high-level strategy was being formulated, the task of fortifying Savannah was well under way. as with atlanta, Poe was given the task of determining which confederate forts would be maintained and which would be destroyed. in addition, he was instructed to lay out new parapet lines where needed so that the town could be garrisoned by as small a force as possible. he was usually at his desk by nine and worked until dark. The results of his studies dictated that all buildings outside of the lines and those within by one mile would be torn down. The lumber 203 204 orlando m. poe from those buildings would then be used for building new parapets and revetment platforms. realizing the negative effect this would have on the civilian owners, Poe specifically dictated that a register of all houses destroyed be set up and scrupulously maintained. Such records were to include the character of the dwelling, its lot number, the owner’s name, and an approximate value. From the captain’s perspective, such documentation would be needed for future reparations to innocent civilians. Before long, more than three thousand privates were working on the new lines with picks and spades.2 while Poe was hard at work, Gen. John G. Barnard, the army of the Potomac ’s chief engineer, paid a personal visit to Sherman during the preparations for the upcoming campaign, bearing a handwritten letter from Grant stating the lieutenant general’s formal approval for Sherman’s northward march. Barnard, like Poe, enjoyed an enviable reputation within the engineer corps and the army at large. he stayed with Sherman for several days, during which time Sherman paid him the appropriate professional courtesies, inspected a few forts, and pronounced himself thoroughly delighted with Sherman’s plans and the overall spirit of the army. Sherman, in fact, sensed that Barnard was waiting for an invitation from him to accompany the army northward in his official capacity. with Barnard holding a general’s rank, this meant he would technically displace Poe as chief engineer during the upcoming campaign. not wanting to offend Poe, Sherman wisely did nothing and made no offer to Barnard, later writing that Poe “had done so well, and was so perfectly competent, that i thought it unjust to supersede him by a senior in his own corps.” Poe’s already healthy ego swelled even larger when told of the decision directly from Sherman himself. he relayed the news to nell, then warned her as was his custom not to mention it to anyone.3 nell’s letters were also finally starting to reach him, lifting his spirits considerably . each of her letters begged her husband to come home soon, for it had now been a year since nell and charly had seen their husband and father. Poe’s answer was always the same. with his customary flowery prose, he told his wife how he longed for the day when he could go home with head held high, but for now, there was no way he could be spared and would not feign any type...

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