Madison became a center of trade when the Georgia Rail Road, chartered in 1833, reached the town in 1841, and its depot was among the first brick depots on the line from Augusta to Atlanta. During Union Major General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea, Madison became a target, and on Saturday, November 19, 1864, Federal troops burned the Madison Depot, whose original foundation and some brick walls remain evident in the existing structure. Brigadier General John W. Geary's division of the 20th Corps arrived first before daylight while moving east toward Blue Springs to destroy the railroad bridge across the Oconee River. It was followed by the divisions of Brigadier Generals William T. Ward and Nathaniel J. Jackson, together numbering about 10,000 men, accompanied by 20th Corps commander Brigadier General Alpheus S. Williams and Major General Henry W. Slocum, commander of the Left Wing of Sherman's army. Madison mayor Joshua Hill rode out to intercept the Federal officers and plead for the town's safety. About 11:00 a.m., as thick rain clouds rolled overhead, the 102nd Illinois Infantry Regiment of Ward's division marched along Main Street to Courthouse Square with a band playing patriotic music. Federal soldiers then set the depot ablaze, torched the water tank, ripped up cross ties, demolished the switching station, burned warehouses holding more than 100 bales of cotton, and wrecked stores, taking what they wanted before burning the rest in the streets. Others ransacked corncribs, barns, and outbuildings and threatened houses and their occupants. After Slocum learned that soldiers had stolen a sterling communion service from the Presbyterian Church, he ordered it returned and posted guards at every house to prevent looting. Despite the destruction, Madison left a favorable impression on men of the 20th Corps, who praised it as a beautiful and refined place. As cold rain fell, senior officers stayed in town for the night, while Ward's and Jackson's troops camped four miles south of Madison on the Eatonton road and Geary's division camped near the Oconee River.