The Evacuation of Columbia

It was not until refugees from the surrounding counties began to pour into the capital and the sound of cannon was heard in the distance that the authorities began the evacuation of Columbia, less than a week before the city fell. The Confederate leaders, thoroughly confused by Sherman’s tactics and speed, were so imbued by an air of defeatism that they were unable to function adequately on either the military or civilian levels.¹ As a result, the evacuation of badly needed military supplies was a disaster, and nothing was done to prepare the citizens for occupation by the enemy. Oddly