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302 The American Civil Waram for the administration as it is & for an
unconditional surrender or extermination of
the rebles.' The fall of Atlanta virtually
assured that re-election. Still, he pledged his
commitment to the Union and all for which
it stood. 'I would die far sooner than have it
destroyed,' he wrote.
By mid-November 1864, Edgerton and the
other 65,000 men in Sherman's two armies
had begun their lengthy trek to Savannah.
The 107th passed through Milledgeville, the
capital of Georgia, where some men held
mock proceedings and left the capitol
building a mess. Foraging parties gathered
food and fodder from the countryside, while
soldiers wrecked railroads and anything else
of military value. By Christmas time, they
had seized Savannah.
Throughout the Georgia campaign and
the occupation duty in Savannah, Edgerton
expanded his contacts with Southern
women. Generally, he had few problems.
Their penchant for chewing tobacco
disgusted him, and he felt they lacked the
intellectual snap of Northern women, but if
Union soldiers behaved properly, they
responded with respect. In Savannah, they
sold meals and other items to soldiers, and
the interactions were quite informative. Most
Southern white women supported the
rebellion, Edgerton thought, because they
believed the Federal army would take away
their slaves, which of course was true. 'Now
that they are going to lose their niggers they
dont know what to do,' he explained.
In late January 1865, after a much-
needed rest, the army set out once again,
this time northward for North Carolina, a
campaign that proved much more
demanding than the march to Savannah. In
addition to stronger Confederate
opposition, the topography, winter rains,
and scarcity of food took a greater toll on
Edgerton and his comrades. After a few days
in South Carolina, he announced, 'ThisThis is the scene of the Battle of New Hope Church, or
Dallas, in late May 1864 during the Atlanta campaign.
Private Wilbur Edgerton, a veteran of Antietam,
Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, declared it 'the hottest
plase I was ever in.' (Library of Congress)
country is nothing but swamps, swamps,
swamps.' Along the way, he saw old,
worn-out plantations overgrown by woods
and underbrush. Although his regiment
marched around Columbia, he passed
through Fayetteville, North Carolina, which
housed a major Confederate arsenal. There,
he assessed the campaign as 'the hardest of
the war.' Throughout South Carolina, the
troops had to forage for their food in a
land of scattered farms and plantations.
'Some have went hungry for a long time,'
he commented to his mother, 'but Will has
had plenty to eat.' At Averasborough,
North Carolina, the 107th exchanged shots
with the Rebels, suffering 27 men wounded.