The first week

For the first couple of days, Samuel Godfree busied himself establishing his company's camp and securing the plantation's perimeter. His company was about a hundred men strong, consisting entirely of young black boys aged 18 to 20. They were all former slaves who had escaped or were freed in their teens and had been marching with Samuel since.

The white folk still stayed in the Davis manor while the Godfree company camped around the house. True to Samuel's word, his soldiers were well behaved and gave the white folk no trouble. They were even friendly and helpful, particularly towards the women. Thanks to their courteous and easygoing demeanor, the whites eventually lowered their guard and slept a lot better.

Eleanor acted as an advisor to Samuel in the coming days, helping him review his plans and often rode out with him to scout their surroundings. The lands around the fallen city of Atlanta had become a lawless zone. White folk barricaded themselves in towns and settlements while outlaws and marauding gangs of revolting slaves ruled the lands in between with impunity, preying on any unfortunate stragglers from the city and isolated ranches around it.

Eleanor and Samuel visited the adjacent plantations to check on survivors and, if finding none, to loot for supplies. The Sutton Family plantation to the Southeast had been thoroughly abandoned. Eleanor recalled that the Suttons hightailed and left Georgia early on when word that the Union army was approaching Atlanta first broke. They didn't care to stay and find out who won.

Alfred Sutton had always been cleverer than he often let on. It was the right prudent move on his part. The Palmer Family on the other hand, whose plantation lay to the north of the Davis lands, made the opposite choice and stayed. Samuel had to order his boys to cut down their lynched bodies hanging from the rafters of their main manor house. They gave them a proper Christian burial before picking the place clean and setting the buildings ablaze to discourage outlaws and rampaging slaves from coming back to set up shop.

During the latter part of the week, Eleanor and Samuel led several expeditions into the ruins of Atlanta to survey the devastation. The city had been utterly decimated to the point that Eleanor doubted that it would ever be revived. She did feel guilty about her part in the city's downfall, but knew inwardly that it had to be done. Decisive victories were precious few for the Union, and already, the President was facing mounting pressure to end the war by bureaucrats in Washington. That would be unacceptable to the League's cause. Slavery must end in this country. To compromise now would only lead to another war in the future. The ladies of the League all agree on this.

The plan for Eleanor now was to wait and see, and to survive the anarchy now left behind and rampant in this parts.