The new South. [volume], March 15, 1862, Image 3

About The new South. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867

Image provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

                
News of this Command.
TIIK FALL OF FKKNANDINA.
Our account of the capture of Feruandinai^necessarily
incomplete; no military details can be furnished
in these columns, of any recent movement.
On the 1st of March the combined national force appeared
otf Foruandina. The entrance to the harbor lies
bjfv.een two islands, Amelia and Cumberland; at this
poini is suu.ueu r on inmcn, an unmnsncu cuseinatod-work,
with one tier of guns which had never
been mounted when the place was seized by the Rebel*
a year ago. Two or three miles further in, ou the
southern side of Cumberland Sound, is Fernandina;
on the same side but nearer to Fort Clirtch, lies Old
Fernandina ; the population of both places together
do :s not amount to more than ten or twelve hundred.
I latteries had been erected by the Rebels all along
the Sound, and in various other positions commanding
t}?e approach. Ou the 2d of March, the field battevi
'* were found to be completely abandoned, while
at nearly the same time it was discovered that even
Fort Clinch had been evacuated. The enemy
had fled without firing a gun. Fourteen heavy
pieces were left bohiud, all of them spiked, and numerous
others seemed to have bccu carried off; proIt
ibly as many as forty or fifty ; the number is by
some even estimated as high as eighty or ninety. The
whole garrison, calculated to be 5000 strong, had also
decamped, and the population of the town was hurrying
off in railroad cars; a few shells stopped the
train; some of the passengers took to the woods,
and escaped; among them, it is said, was Senator
VuUe; most of them, however, wore brought
back. They were principally women and children,
and returned to their homes; some were unwilling,
but many expressed no dissatisfaction.
The population that remains represents that the
Kcbels had fled on the day subsequent to the appearance
of our tieet, and that the town was to be burnt
within the next twenty-four hours. They declare
that the place was evacuated under orders from Richmond,
it having been determined to abandon the entire
coast. They also assert that our arrival there has
The prompt tiight without the shadow of an attempt
at resistance, indicates any thing but the chivalric
and desperate behavior we have been taught to expect
; and none of the unwillingness to receive the
old National authority, which has been lately inculcated
by the so called government of the Rebels. If
the victory was bloodless it was none the less important,
and atlords a sure indication that one of two
circumstances exists; either a revulsion in the South
crn feeling, originating in the recent National successes
at the West; or an extension of tho panic
which has begun there even to this the opposite side
of the continent.
PORT ROYAL.
The steamer Mississippi, from Fortress Monroe,
with Gen. Butler aboard and a body of reiuforcements
for his command, got aground on Frying Pan
Shoals, on Friday morning, the 28th inst., in sight of
Cape Fear. Her anchor was immediately cast and she
i struck on it, kuocking such a hole fn her bottom as to
cause a serious injury Accordingly she put into this
l nn Onri Jtiuf Viovtiifr K,?nn AKli'rru/1 t/\ lronrt niPTl
v VII HIV UIOl? j !!??? lug VWU VI/U^VU VV imw^' ciavu
at her pumps constantly alter the accident. She went
direct to Seabrook, where the troops under Gen. But,
ler were encamped. On the 11th she was so far repaired
as to be got off, but ran aground again within
} a few hundred yards of Seabrook Landing. The
Captain is named Fulton, and a Southerner by birth ;
he has been placed under arrest. Gen. Butler, his
| staff and a portion of his force proceeds to their
destination on the Matanzas, loaned for that purpose,
by Gen. Sherman.. The Mississippi, which has been
| again got off, conveys the remainder of her original
complement. Colonels Neal Dow, Dudley and
1 Gooding are with Gen. Butler; Mrs. Butler also acj
companies the General. The health of the forces is
good.
T\..I.mcama urrtn lrto4 etAomnv A\w ATmu VnrL" /
1 I1U <11 U n a.l ItfcOl i^ivailivi 1V1 ll V r* JL v? i\ J
she carried no mail, as there were doubts of her seaworthiness.
The first news of the fall of Fernandina
was conveyed North by her, other than that contained
in Coin. Dupont's despatches direct by the Alabama, I
, which left on the 4th inst.
The Atlantic arrived at this port on the 7th inst.,
bringing a mail and New York papers up to the 3d
inst. Among her passengers was Mrs. General Stevens. J
The Atlantic will probably return on the i7th,carrying I
a mail. This favorite Vessel is of a<j much importance J
* '{
i
I
i
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to the service as if employed in the more technical I
departments of the army or navy, and if strictly at- d
? ? "til JI-- i - - . ^u? _.i1
tacbed to eitner arm, coiuu nanny o,* more emeienuy i c
worked. " '-In
Col. Fellows, now in command of this post, has his i
head quarters in the long line of buildings recently j
' put up for olticcrs' quarters immediately to the rear 1
, of {jen. Sherman's staff camp. The adjutant of the L
post will transact all his official business at that place, j
Since the 1st of January over 300,000 letters have i
been received or sent from the Port It oval post office, j (
A General Court Martial hits been sitting for sev- l
eral days past at Hilton Head, of which Col. it. Wil- i
hams, ol the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, is president, r
and Capt. L. II. Pelouze, A. A. Adjutant General, is i
judge advocate. Several important cases were tried I
before it; one was that of an infantry captain advis- j
ing a sick private to desert; and another the heinous
offens? of a sentinel sleeping on post; both punish-: t
able with death. The decision of the court is not yet
announced. i *
LATER FROM CHARLESTON. ' J
The Rebel schooner Shamrock was captured on the 1
10th in the Dawho River, near Kdisto; a Charleston ^
Courier of the 5th was aboard, from which we learn (
the following items; j <
I The mayor proclaims that no person is allowed to 1
leave the city without a pass. , I
The Governor (Brown) of Georgia recommends 1
cotton growers to plant no cotton this year. j?
The British vessel Kinaldo communicated with j'
1 Fort Sumter on the 4th inst., sending despatches to 11
Bunce, the consul. 1
\n nrtvi>rtisi'in?'nt announces no freight received at ?
the railroad depot for the Nashville and Chattanooga 1
| Railroad. j ^
The Rebel steamer Nashville ran the blockade off 1
Beaufort, N. C., on the 28th of February, at day- i *
break, the stars and stripes at her peak and the old 1
j private signal at her main; when she got close enough |
to lay her course for the channel, the National Hag ]
was hauled down, and the stars and bars hoisted fore 1
and aft. The blockader fired twenty-one shots, but (
all fell short. The Nashville ran in uuder Fort Ma- 1
con, at the rate of fourteen knots,
j The Nashville brought no arnfe, greatly to the dis- 1
: satisfaction of the rebels. . j 1
The following is the account, in the Savannah Re- \<
publican, of the fall of Fernandma: j j
" A dispatch received here yesterday, states that
i the enemy has landed on Cumberland Island, and seut ](
a detachment to occupy the town of Fernandina. , 1
Most of the citizens abandoned the place some weeks '
ago, and the military was withdcjffn from Amelia Is- j
"n wliir.b E-vraiiililM \\ ij
Tsince; consequently no resistance was offered, .f
I the enemy should not burn the place, they are wel- 1
come to it. as they will reap but little benefit from its ]
possession."
TYDEE.
Gen. Gilmore is now in command of tho troops on
Tybee Island.
? i: * !?a:? v.
A Hillij uue ui cuiiiiiiuiiiLiiiiuu la cauiuuaiicu uv;tween
Hilton Head and Tybee. Capt. Fuller, Assistant
Quartermaster on Gen. Sherman's staff, has been
recently detailed for duty at Tybee.
EDI8TO.
A daily express line now connects North Edisto
and Otter Point with Hilton Head.
BEAUFORT.
At the review, last week, General Sherman
and his staff were present, Gen. Stevens, in command
at Beaufort, with his staff, of course receiving
the reviewing officer. Quite a number of civilians,
: clerks and others, were present, and one or two ladies
even looked on the unusual sight of Federal
troops reviewed on the soil of South Carolina. Some
! of the officers of Gen. Butler's staff were also among
the spectators ; while in the background the negroes
congregated, staring in wonder and admiration at the
i show. The day was favorable,and the troops acquit|
ted themselves more than creditably at this, the first
formal review which has occurred at the Newport of
the South, since Gen. Drayton left it for Hilton
Head, about the 1st of last November.
Mr. Pierce and the Rev. Mr. French, the two gen
: tlemcn to whom the care of the negroes m this com;
mand has been committed, arrived at Hilton Head by
the Atlantic, bringing with them a party of instruc1
tors and agents to assist in the performance of tho
novel and various duties about to be assumed. Twelve
1 of the teachers are young ladies. The whole party
left immediately for Beaufort, where their head quarters
will be established. Mr. Pierce is to supervise
j the general management of the blacks in their ordinary
labors, and Mr. French, the educational aud religious
instruction to be imparted.
DAWPCSKIE.
\rfliA onrl
win liii^iaiiuing my UAiiaviuumi v iiaiuouij/a ?uu
exposures Jo which they have been subjected, the
troops at-Dawfnskic, under Gen. Viele's command
are in a good state of health. Any thing more difficult
than dragging heavy guns through the mud and mire
of these swampy islands,has not been attempted during
the war. The danger of interruption from the enemy
was of course great, and the labor had all to be done
I
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4 .4
: .11--,.. ,
iv night. The work n a* really an a-hi 'vment a 1
leservesto be so noted. The Rebels admit that it < urcd
the blockade of tbe Savannah; b it they w i
lot acknowledge the batteries to be any thing but ff<.u ng
ones. It would not be j?olitic to te!I their ?. t
icople what difficulties were trampled upon by t '> " '
L'ankaes so close to Savannah and Pulaski. -It wo dd
ie? manifestly improper to state the forces at ti> ;
ilaces; Major Heard of the 4Hth Xew York, c??
nands Hamilton's Battery, on Bird Island,and Li t.
Jol. Barton of the same regiment, is in command of
'ort Vulcan.
Capt. Collins of the Unadilla, is in command of oar
taval force in that quarter.
THB VERY LATEST.
Vow York miN'rs of the ofli hmi1 fith. h-nnodif '?/
1 _4 ? , c ~
he Flora, contain tho""8fficial reports of tjic oeci:j iion
of Columbus by our forces, (lre.it ipnntili > -?f
pins,amunition and othoi stores, fell into our lia ;
lie Rebels arc said to Lave withdrawn to Island .x
[0 in the Mississippi River, about filty miles tor. -e
lown. Previous to evacuating Columbus they ma 1)
ivery attempt to destroy the works ami stor. s. i. .t
vcrc unable to complete the devastation. Tim,. . t
ire to the town.
Despatches from Richmond, via Norfolk, a:j v. it
is news we get through the loyal newspapers i iu - i
is that the capital of the Rebel dominion hm 1> i
daced under martial law; the lion. John M. Bott- . M
twenty other influential and wealthy citizens have b -n
irfested for treason, (which means loyalty), and . s
iotous demonstrations of Uuion sentiment confi . *.
Ml over the walls of houses arc placarded annmv uents
that " The Day of Deliverance is at II ' * ;
< Wait a Little Longer," and similar significa ;t
prcssions.
The Charleston Courier of tac 10th rei>o?ts i
portant engagement in Hampton Roads. Acc d. 11
to this Rebel authority, ffie Mcrriniae-svas got? . t
)f Norfolk harbor, and ventured out in th<? tc **
the Minnesota and one or two gunboats lying
Portress Monroe. The Minnesota of cours x 1
the attempted passage, and a general fight began. (>
eattories at Newport News and on Sewall's . /I
opened fire, several gunboats came out from N i ,
md the Ericsson floating battery was called bd ' > *.
rhe Rebels call the action a brilliant one, an ! t'c
jf riddling the Minnesota; but we all know \rb ' . ir
coasting means, and how important it is to t!? u it
tMxinn^tnrn to infufte a little confidence into fl ' n ?_
reliable masses. The the matter is tlii y ? i?? ^
W
story, after two days fighting. Wo have no ;* >uot
of the matter as yet from loyal sonrccs. Tit-1 occurrence
took place on the 8th and 9tli inst. C apt. s'.ia .
Brunt, of Massachusetts, commands the Minn -sola.
The Flower of Liberty.
BT OLIVER WENDELL HOLXISS.
What flower is this that greets the morn,
Its hues from Heaven so freshly born r
With burning star and flaming braud
It kindles all the sunset land;
0, tell us wliat its name may be!
Is this the Flower of Liberty ?
It is the banner of the free,
The starry Flower of Liberty !
In savage nature's far alxnle
Its tender seed our fathers sowed :
The storm-winds rocked its swelling bud.
Its opening leaves were streaked witn blood,
Till, lo! earth's tyrants shook to see
The fullblown Flower of Liberty!
Then hail the banner of the free,
Tlio chrrr Vlnivftr of fJlM-rtT !
AitV OV??* ? J A. ?W " M* WV>
Behold its streaming rays unite
One mingling flood of braided light?
The red that tires the Southern rose,
With spotless white from Northern snolva,
And, spangled o'er its azure, see ?
The 6ister Stars of liberty !
Then hail the banner of the free,
The starry Flower of Liberty!
The blades of heroes fence it round ;
Where'er it springs is holy ground ;
From tower and dome its glories spread ;
It waves where lonely sentries tread ;
It makes the land as ocean free,
And plants an empire on the sea!
Then hail the banner of the free,
The starry Flower of Liberty!
Thy sacred leaves, fair freedom's flower,
Shall ever float on dome and tower,
To aU their heavenly colors true,
In blackening frost or crimson dew ;
And God love us as we love thee,
Thrice holy Flower of Lil>erty !
Then hail the banner of the fi<*
Tln? starry Flower of liberty !