On the following morning, December 21st, the _Savannah Republican_, which two days before emulated the departed commander in the language of defiance—hurling the anathemas of southern chivalry upon the “Yankees”—came out with an earnest appeal to the citizens, counselling quiet and decorum, and the use of all proper means to secure the “_respect of a magnanimous foe_.” What a strange revolution in tactics—a marvellous light streamed into the city and the editor’s “sanctum” along the causeway from the wake of the fugitive “Greybacks.” Before General Geary “had entered the city, Mayor Arnold, of the city, with four or five of the commonalty, rode up and surrendered the city to him unconditionally, and expressed a trust in the magnanimity of an honorable foe for the safety of the lives and property of the inhabitants. General Geary accepted the surrender unconditionally, and assured them that their lives and property should be protected. He then entered the city, despatching Captain Veale of his staff, with four hundred men, to take possession of Fort Jackson; and also another member of his staff to General Slocum, to inform him of his occupation of the town. The officer who bore this message had some difficulty in convincing our soldiers that Geary’s division was in town. They said to him, ‘You can’t come that, Johnnie Reb. The game is an old one and will not work.’ Finally he assured them sufficiently to gain a passage, and delivered his despatch to General Slocum, commanding the left wing of the army. At eight o’clock all the enemy’s works were in our possession. Captain Veale, with his party, took possession of Fort Jackson and Fort Barlow, taking about sixty heavy guns in both works and lines connecting with them. The enemy had fired the barracks, but the fire was soon subdued.” In the haste of his departure Hardee strangely neglected to destroy the ammunition of the forts, and the cotton in the city. Only a portion of the guns left behind were spiked. Munitions of war, more than 30,000 bales of cotton, and railroad rolling stock, fell into our hands. “General Sherman’s entry into the town was marked by no extraordinary commotion. The city received him quietly and respectfully, though not with open arms. “The population of Savannah, during the past thirty days, has been immensely increased by emigration from the interior. Thousands of people, including many wealthy families, fled from the country threatened by General Sherman’s march, to find, as they presumed, an undisturbed refuge in the city. The houses overflow with them; numbers dwell in sheds, and live upon the streets. Negroes form a large part of this transient population. Many rebel officers and soldiers are found concealed in houses, and probably considerable valuable property, not yet estimated in the fruits of this almost bloodless siege, will yet be brought to light likewise.