How Carolinas differed, as seen by Sherman’s army

On this day in 1865: George W. Nichols, a major in Sherman’s army, writing in his journal in Laurel Hill, N.C.:

“The line which divides South and North Carolina was passed by the army this morning. . . . The real difference between the two regions lies in the fact that the plantation owners [in North Carolina] work with their own hands, and do not think they degrade themselves thereby. For the first time since we bade farewell to salt water I have to-day seen an attempt to manure land. The army has passed through thirteen miles or more of splendidly-managed farms; the corn and cotton fields are nicely plowed and farrowed; the fences are in capital order; the barns are well-built; the dwelling houses are clean, and there is that air of thrift which shows that the owner takes a personal interest in the management of affairs.”

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Sherman’s army: ‘ragged, bareheaded, shoeless, brave, jolly’

On this day in 1865: George W. Nichols, a major in Sherman’s army, writes in his journal in Goldsboro:

“Our army [needs] not only to be reclothed, but to gain the repose it needs. Mind, as well as body, requires rest after the fatigues of rapid campaigns like these. These ragged, bareheaded, shoeless, brave, jolly fellows of Sherman’s legions, too, want covering for their naked limbs.”