April 20.— The enemy are gone. I have no idea but that they will be back soon. Mrs. F. and myself lay awake all night, expecting to hear them returning. They have done little or no damage to the place. They burned a large warehouse, filled with private and government stores, and gave the contents to the negroes and poor people. They fired the turning-table, which is still burning; they were in the act of setting fire to the ticket office, when Mrs. Rawlings implored the commanding officer not to do so, as her house would be burned too. He told her, if it would benefit the United States Government ten thousand dollars, and destroy ten cents worth of private property, it should not be burned. So much goodness looks suspicious. They beat and knocked down some of the negroes, and told the people they were the worst behaved negroes they had met anywhere.
One of the stories afloat is, that they had no idea of coming here; but the mayor and some of the citizens met them some miles from town, and offered to surrender the city if they would spare private property. There were not more than one hundred. They were a detachment from the main body, who have gone on to capture Macon. I am told that the captain boasted that, last year, when Sherman went through the eastern portion of this state, he, along with many others, had come to Griffin, dressed in Confederate uniform, calling themselves Wheeler’s men. They then broke open stores and took out what they pleased. They said they had often done so. This will, likely, account for the bad repute of Wheeler’s men.
