The pace of war increased in the next two days as General Hardee's men scurried into lines of defense at the edges of the city and prepared for the onslaught of Sherman's troops. Citizens cleaned weapons and practiced manning the barricades, rolled bandages from torn sheets, or buried treasures in the ground. Sarah heard nothing from Tom, but she was sure that wherever he was among the defending forces, he wished every moment he could be with her. Suddenly, at dawn on the third day, loud voices outside her bedroom window in the yard below awoke her. "Shoot 'em on sight," said one. "Reckon they worse than damn Yankees! That door's half open. Let's go see iffen we kin catch one of 'em in the act! Left alone upstairs when the other servants fled during the night without even bothering to close the door, Sarah rushed down to the hallway brandishing a pistol. A group of Confederate soldiers had started up the porch steps bearing rifles and a flag. The first stopped in his tracks when he saw her weapon raised to shoot. "Hey, colored gal, have you done kilt the white folks here so's you kin steal the family silver?" he cried. "Wal, you ain't gittin' nothin' but lead fer yer trouble!" He raised his rifle and shot her. Sarah tumbled to the floor of the porch in a spray of blood. The soldiers turned and sauntered away congratulating the shooter. Having been apprised by his spies of the vastly superior strength of Sherman's army, General Hardee had hastily decided to evacuate Savannah and ordered his troops into full retreat toward Charleston. The soldiers in the streets were going from house to house to tell the white citizenry to follow them to safety in the Carolinas, last major bastion of the South. The next day Hardee sent notice of surrender to Sherman. Invading Federal forces found the lines of defense abandoned. A jubilant William Tecumseh Sherman, his goal accomplished at last, entered the city on horseback on the twenty-second of December 1864. For his headquarters, he requisitioned a house on Macon Street. The bullet that struck Sarah had only grazed her ribs. The wound was slight enough to cause her little inconvenience but two days of rest to recover. By the time she felt well enough to get back on her feet, Federal troops had occupied Savannah. There was no hope she would hear from Tom. The Confederate Army had retreated speedily to Charleston. Finally, she ventured forth with Philo's letter in hand. That day the sun shone warmly as if to welcome the Yankees to town. Filled with purpose, Sarah dressed her hair in high fashion and put on a fine gown. Eschewing a cape or coat but taking a riding crop as a weapon in case of trouble, she marched proudly through the streets of Savannah with a bearing as regal as any white woman's of the now defunct ruling class. Men stopped whatever they were doing and stared agape at her beauty Thus she appeared at Sherman's Macon Street mansion requesting an audience with the conquering general. "I have a letter for Abraham Lincoln." A corporal well-fed on confiscated Georgian food indolently blocked the way. "Well, looky here, fellows," he said in an aside to his mates, "the lady has a letter for Honest Abe!" To Sarah, he countered, "Sorry, Rebel missy, the President ain't here. You'll have to come another day!" Drawing herself up with the hauteur she had often observed in Ruth, she commanded in stentorian tones: "Corporal, I am a newly liberated colored citizen of the United States! I demand to see General Sherman! This letter must be sent to President Lincoln!" An older man with a grizzled beard poked his head out of a window nearby. "No need to shout, Miss," he said with a grin. "Corporal, usher this young lady inside!" The coterie of guards snapped to attention. "Yes, General!" yelped the corporal, shamefacedly conducting Sarah into the house. Sherman met her at his door. "Please come into my office, young lady. Allow me to apologize for the corporal. Now, what is this letter you say must be sent?" She told him the story of Philo's visit to Savannah, of Ruth's departure for the Bahamas, of the loss of the Belle, and of her interview with Philo in prison. When she had done, he asked her for the letter. He read it and nodded. "It would appear that all you have said is true, Miss. I beg you to rest assured that I shall personally take care of this. The Union thanks you." He offered a slight bow of farewell. With a proud step, Sarah left the mansion, the guards at the door standing respectfully aside and watching her admiringly out of sight. Shortly thereafter, Sherman telegraphed a message to Abraham Lincoln, "I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah....." and then another, "I have a letter given me by a belle of Savannah....." Philo's last testament of love for Nelle and his country was on its way.