Eleanor Cohen Seixas | Journal Entry, February 1865
In February 1865 General Sherman and his men reached Columbia, South Carolina, intent on destroying as much property as possible. Thousands of residents fled the Columbia fires, including Philip and Cordelia Cohen and their daughter Eleanor. Philip was a pharmacist, slave owner, and part of the state’s small Jewish population, who had moved his family to Columbia seeking safety. Eleanor recorded the trials of wartime and her hopes for southern victory in her journal. In this selection, she describes the arrival of Sherman’s troops.
The fire raged fearfully all night, but on Saturday perfect quiet reigned. The vile Yankees took from us clothing, food, jewels, all our cows, horses, carriages, etc., and left us in a deplorable condition after stealing from us. Sherman, with great generosity, presented the citizens with 500 cattle, so poor they could hardly stand up. No words of mine can give any idea of the brutality of the ruffians. They swore, they cussed, plundered, and committed every excess. No age or sex was safe from them. Sometimes, after saving some valueless token, it was ruthlessly snatched from our hands by some of their horde. Our noble women were insulted by words, and some, I have heard of, in deeds, but none came under my knowledge, for I myself, God be praised, I received no rude word from any of them. I did not speak . . . to them at all. The fire burned eighty-four squares, and nothing can tell the quantity of plunder they carried off as on Monday they left us, and though we feared starvation, yet we were glad to be rid of them.
Source: Jacob R. Marcus, ed., Memoirs of American Jews, 1775–1885 (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1955), 3:363.
Interpret the Evidence
What does this journal entry suggest about how Southerners viewed the Union army?
How does Seixas’s description of the actions of Sherman’s troops compare with rumors about their actions?
Put It in Context
How does this journal entry illuminate the impact of the Union army’s hard war strategy?
Exploring American HistoriesPrinted Page 438
Chapter Timeline