THE RAPE OF ATHENS, ALABAMA

In the middle of April, the 18th Ohio under Turchin's command
occupied Athens, Alabama, a prosperous town of about 1200
population. On May 1, however, they were driven out by a combined
regular and partisan Confederate cavalry force of only 112 men
and retreated back to Huntsville. The Confederate cavalry was
greeted with cheers and waving handkerchiefs by the citizens in
the streets. Reports indicate that some Athens civilians may have
fired on the Union troops from their homes as they left. The
Confederate forces, however, quickly pulled out of town.
  The next morning Turchin marched into Athens unopposed with at
least three regiments of his brigade.
The townspeople, including the ladies, turned their backs to him
as he rode into town. Turchin was furious with this gesture of
impertinence and told his troops he would close his eyes for a few
hours while they took their pleasure in looting the town and
terrorizing its citizens. He then left them to their depredations
for the rest of the day. At least some of Turchin's troops stayed
a few weeks.
  Later testimony indicated that numerous homes, offices, and stores
were pillaged. Money, jewelry, dishware, silver, watches, clothes,
shoes, medical supplies, medical instruments, and anything else of
value were stolen. Furniture, carpets, artwork, and fixtures were
destroyed. Books and especially bibles were viciously destroyed.
Numerous testimonies indicated that the soldiers' language to women
was rude, insulting, threatening, and vulgar. One white woman, the
pregnant wife of a Confederate cavalryman, was singled out and
gang-raped, shortly thereafter dying from a miscarriage. Several
black servant girls were raped, and several more had to fend off
attempted rapes. The commander made his headquarters in the home of
a prominent citizen and refused to let his sick daughter receive any
medical treatment. She subsequently died. Shots were fired into homes
and terror reigned. Some of the troops billeted themselves in the
slave quarters on a nearby plantation for weeks, debauching the
females. They roamed with the males over the surrounding country,
plundering and pillaging.
  Some Union officers of integrity among Turchin's troops, however,
reported this to his Division Commander, Major General O. M. Mitchell.
Mitchell immediately rebuked Turchin and notified General Buell and
Secretary of War Stanton. After some delay on the part of Stanton,
General Buell, a very effective officer of high integrity who was
especially concerned that his soldiers conduct themselves with honor,
stepped in and relieved Turchin of command, insisting on his court-martial.
  Most of the information in the previous paragraphs was taken from
the court-martial proceedings of August 1862.
Brigadier General James A. Garfield, a future President of the
United States, presided over the court-martial. Turchin and one of his
regimental commanders, Col. Gazlay, were found guilty and dismissed
from the Army. Charges against several other officers were dropped on
proof they were only acting on Turchin's orders. General Buell
approved and signed the verdict.
  The proceedings of Turchin's court-martial received considerable
national attention and became the focus of a debate on the prosecution
and conduct of the war. The Chicago newspapers bitterly condemned
Buell for Turchin's dismissal and court-martial. Their howl for harsh
policies including devastation and plundering by Union armies was
picked up by many other papers. The Radical Republicans in Congress
were especially pushing for a more vigorous and punishing war policy.
  Turchin's wife, evidently a very formidable woman in many regards,
personally went to see Lincoln and persuaded him that not only should
Turchin be reinstated but that he should also be promoted to
Brigadier General: Hearing of this, General Buell protested to
Secretary of War Stanton that:
  "If as I hear, the promotion of Colonel Turchin is contemplated I
feel it is my duty to inform you that he is entirely unfit for it. I
placed him in the command of a brigade, and now find it necessary to
relieve him from it in consequence of his utter failure to enforce
discipline and render it efficient."
  But within a few days of the court- martial, President Lincoln
reinstated Turchin and promoted him to the rank of Brigadier General.
A few months later Lincoln would make a similar promotion. In November
Lincoln promoted Col. John McNeil, one of the senior officers
responsible for the October 1862 Palmyra Massacre in Missouri, to
Brigadier General. It was obvious that Total War policy had many
advocates in Washington.
  Brigadier General Turchin and his wife returned to their home in
Chicago to cheering crowds. He was presented a sword, and a band
played "Lo, the Conquering Hero Comes." On August 30, General Buell
was informed that a large part of Athens, Alabama, had been burned
by Union troops passing through the town.