What was the fate of the Roswell mill workers during the Atlanta campaign?

During the Atlanta campaign, the fate of the Roswell mill workers was particularly grim as they were captured by Union forces and subsequently labeled as traitors. The Union army, seeking to disrupt supplies and resources that supported the Confederate war effort, took control of the region and arrested many workers from the Roswell Manufacturing Company.

This action was part of a broader strategy by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman to undermine the Southern economy and weaken its capacity to continue fighting. The workers were perceived by Union forces as being complicit in the South's rebellion. After their capture, they were forcibly deported to areas outside the South, including places like Indiana, stripping them not only of their livelihoods but also of their sense of community and home.

Thus, although many other outcomes could have been imagined, notably the workers were neither celebrated nor did they join the Union voluntarily; they faced a harsh reality of being taken as prisoners, significantly affecting their lives and families during and after the conflict.