Poor White People. 113 



feelings, and riots ensued. Sensible men tried to restore peace 

 but that was sometimes a very thankless business. Judge Butt, 

 an acquaintance of ours, and a well meaning man, who once 

 tried to pacify the quarrelling parties, was badly wounded by 

 one of our cavalry men. 



My husband tried his best to restore confidence in the dis- 

 trict, and to check the insolence of the soldiery. His endea- 

 vours were not without success, and after some time huts sprang 

 up amongst the ruins, and country people came to the market. 



The distress of the poor white people in Georgia had found 

 sympathy in the North, and one day, in August, Judge Root 

 and his wife arrived with an immense train loaded with all 

 kinds of clothing and other things, which he confided to me 

 for distribution. When I advertised the arrival of these 

 benevolent gifts, hundreds of poor women from the district 

 flocked to our house, and I was several days occupied with 

 this good work. To look on those poor wretched creatures 

 was a very sad sight They looked all yellow and starved, 

 and were sca^-cely covered by rags. 



There were of course many sick and wounded, and the 

 hospitals were crowded. We had, however, good doctors, and 

 I supported them to my best ability, passing every day a few 

 hours in the hospitals, and going now and then to Augusta, or 

 even to Nashville, to fetch provisions and other commodities 

 from the Sanitary or Christian Commission. * 



Our endeavours to do everything that possibly could be done 

 for the poor Southerners were kindly appreciated by the Atlanta 

 people, who once surprised us with a serenade ; though we 

 laughed much at the great variety of musical instruments, and 

 the queer music produced" by them, we' felt highly gratified at 

 the kind feeling expressed by it. 



I do not know whether in the military law all the different 

 punishments are allowed which I saw in the army, but I caii 

 scarcely believe it, for they were exceedingly barbarous, and 

 riot at all in accordance with the spirit of the American law. 

 I am rather inclined to believe that there were more sanctioned 

 by army tradition, deriving their origin from what once was 

 thought necessary in the British army. Whipping has been 

 abolished, I think, by the la\v, but what had been substituted 

 for it was far worse. 



Soldiers who had committed a breach of discipline, or had 



G 



