"My offer to exchange the prisoners captured during the campaign precludes an intention on my part in the delivery to discriminate between your prisoners, as all would have been delivered; and even had it been intended, this discrimination between your men, whose term of service had and had not expired, would have been impossible, and could not have been effected, as I had no reliable means of ascertaining what portion of your men were entitled to their discharge. "Your avowal that this class of your soldiers will not be exchanged, but will be rewarded by the sufferings and privations incident to military imprisonment because their boldness and courage subjected them to capture, although their terms of service has nearly expired, is deeply regretted by me, as I have the earnest desire of my Government to release from prolonged confinement the large number of prisoners held by both parties." An exchange of about two thousand prisoners was, however effected. During the truce, four hundred and forty-six families were sent South. These comprised 705 adults, 860 children, and 79 servants, and each family took on the average, 1651 pounds of furniture and other personal effects. At the end of October, Sherman was ready to continue his campaign. He had corresponded with Grant on the subject and had intimated to him what he proposed to do. Grant replied to him, on November 2d, "Go on, then, as you propose." Thus the credit of the historic march that followed must be given to Sherman himself,--the conception of it as well as its execution. "The honor is all yours," said Lincoln afterward; "none of us went further than to acquiesce." But Sherman had not stated positively, not even to Grant, what his objective point was, whether Charleston or Savannah, or even Pensacola. He proposed to march from Atlanta to the sea; that was all. What road he would follow, he would decide for himself and he would keep his own counsel. And in order to isolate Atlanta and render it useless to the enemy and that there might be no interference with his plans as he proceeded, he performed the unique act of destroying utterly the railways and telegraph by which he had communicated with the North. When everything was ready, and the final messages transmitted between himself and Grant, he cut the last remaining wire, and thence forward for a time, was lost to the Nation's view. His conquering host became known as "the lost army." This was on November 12th. On the 14th his army was ready for the march, and on the 15th the drums beat and they moved forward. Acting under the grim necessities of war, Sherman sent this order to Captain Poe: "You may commence the work of destruction at once, but don't use fire until towards the last moment." Thus much of the City of Atlanta was destroyed, and it was past smoking ruins that Sherman's army marched forward to the sea.