Atlantans, including the horde of refugees who had crowded into the city in recent weeks, breathed easier when they learned of Calhoun's actions. Life under Yankee occupation would be better, they assured one another, than enduring the siege that had pounded the city mercilessly for the past forty-two days. Soon after Sherman arrived and chose a handsome residence as his headquarters, Calhoun was informed that his request for protection of noncombatants would not be honored.
In Washington Gen. Henry W. Halleck received an outline of Sherman's plans just two days after the civilians surrendered the city. "I propose to remove all the inhabitants of Atlanta," wrote Sherman. "If the people raise a howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war and not popularity seeking." To justify his actions to critics in the North, Sherman told newspaper correspondents that the deportation was necessary to transform Atlanta into a permanent Federal camp. Calhoun reluctantly told the residents that all of them must leave, and the forcible expulsion was soon completed.