Chapter 17 Summary

Despite the growing fighting at the Tennessee border in May of 1864, the people of Atlanta remain unworried about the possibility of union troops moving into Atlanta. Still, the fighting is creating a large number of wounded and dead, and Rhett tells Dr. Meade that the Confederacy will not hold the Yankees back, which fuels everyone's dislike of him.

At the hospital soon after, Scarlett feels that she cannot bear to nurse the wounded anymore. The heat, flies, and stink all get to her, so she runs away from the hospital. Scarlett runs into Rhett and asks him to take her far away from the hospital. Scarlett does not care where they go. Rhett begins to bring her back to the Hamilton house, telling her of how bad the war is actually getting when Scarlett sees Big Sam, the foreman at Tara, marching with...