The free South. [volume], April 25, 1863, Image 1

About The free South. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864

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

                
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VOL. 1. NO. 16.THE
FREE SOUTH. |
PUBLISHED EVERY
S*turd?7 Mornine,
AT BEAUFORT, S. C.
UK. Latta 6c C?m " Proprietor*.
J. 6. Thompson. Editor and Pnbli?lier.
C. Leifh, No. 1 Mercer street, X. Y., Apreul,
f Who i* to recede suberrii^ion*.)
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ADVERTISING?One Dollar per line, each insertion.
a ltbkbal DMcOTNT to qaartcrly and yearly advertisers.
a _
A 8?I4ier'? Dreaut of Home.
MY IMIIHJNI A. MASON. .
Ton have pat the children to bed, Alice?
Maud and WBlic and Rose;
They have lisped their sweet "Our Father,"
And sank to their night* repose.
Did they think of me, dear Alice ?
Did they think of me. and say,
"God blees him, and God blees him,
. Dear father, far away r .
Ob, my very heart grows sick, Alice,
I long so to behold
Rose with her pore, white forehead,
And Mand with her curls of gold;
And WlUie, so gay and sprightly,
So merry and fall of glee.
Oh, my heart yearns to nnfold ye,
? My "smiling group of three."
1 can bear the noisy day, Alice:
The camp life gay and wild
Shuts from my yearning bosom
The thought of wife and child.
But when the night is round me,
And under its starry beams
J gather my cloak about me,
1 dream such long, sad dreams!
I think of the pale young wife, Alice,
Who looked ap is my face
When the dram boat at evening
And coiled me to my place.
I think of the three sweet birdiings
Left in the dear bome-ncst.
And my soul is sick with longings
That wiM not be at rest.
. ^ Oh, when will the war be over, Alice!
" Boos with her pare, white forward,
And Maud with her curls of gold;
And VB1, so gay and sprightly,
Bo merry and fall of glee,
AMd more than all, the dear wife
Who bore my babes to me!
God guard and keep you *11 Alice 1
God guard and kear ?e, too;
For If only one missing,
What would <he others do
Oh, when ?dl the war be over,
And w*?11 shaH I behold
Thot^whom I lore ao dearly,
/ safe in the dear home fokl ?
TIIE RESPONSE.
I havs pot the children to bed, llafry?
Rom and Willie and Maud; . K
They hare aong their hymn* together,
And whispered their prayer to God.
Then Rose said, gently smiling,
/ 44 Come Willie and Maud, now say
44 God bless the dear, sweet father,
Father, so Ikr away."
And such * glad trust arose, Harry,
. in this sad heart of mine,
For I felt that God would keep you
Bafc in his hand divine:
And I biased their pure, young foreheads,
And said, 44 He is over all!
Be ooonteCh the hairs of your heads, darlings,
;. And noteth the sparrow* fall."
Then I sung them to their sleep, Harry,
With hymns all trnat and lore,
Aip I knew that God was listening
FVom bis gracious throne above.
And since that calm, sweet evening,
I bore felt so happy, dear:
? And so have the children, Harry;
They aaem to know no fear.
They talk of your coming home, Harry,
Aa something sure to be;
I list to their childish pratings,
Nor care to check their glee.
For oh! tis a cause so noble,
And you are so brave and true, :
^ wnurn His own. Harrv,
surely will watch o'er yon.
So keep op a~bn?Te good heart, Harfy,
God wflflng?and He knows bestWell
welcome yoo, safe and happy,
Beck to the dear home-nest.
.And TKind asd Roae and Willie
Shall yet, with a moistened eye,
Give thanks to the dear, good Father,
While yon stand tearfiil by.
'
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1 Christmas Hymn."
nr job* u. wHrrmx,
[Written for the Children of the Philadelphia School,
St Helena Island, South Carolina.)
Oh, none in all the world before
Were ever glad as we;
We're free on Carolina* shore,
We're all at home and free!
Thos friend and helper of the poor,
Who suffered for our saae.
To open ererv prison door,
And every yoke to break.
Look down, oh Savior, sweet t nd mild,
And help os sing and pray; #
The hands that blessed the little child
Upon our foreheads lay.
mL |
To-day, in all onr fields of corn
No drivers whip we hear,
The bolv day that saw thee born
Was never half so dear.
e jg, - The very oaks are greener clad,
The waters brighter smile.
Oh never shone a day so glad
On sweet St. Helen's Me.
For none In all the world before
Were ever glad as we?
We're free on Carolina's shora,
^ Wfn*UattoBCft?4Jtai
0j
Once Free, Always Free. ^
The recent- decision in a slave case at
St. Louis is so important that it is worth
while to understand it fully, and the principles
involved in it. Benjamin Williams,
a negro, was brought before the St. Louis
criminal court to be tried for grand larceny
and convicted. The law of Missouri
punishes a slave guilty of tins crime by ;
whipping, not to exceed thirty-nine stripes, i
while the free man is punished by imprisonment
from two to seven venrs. It was
therefore necessary for the judge to determine
the status of the culprit before pro- .
nouncing sentence. Evidence was brought
showing that Williams, whose real name is
Douglas, was three montlLs ago the slave
of Major Thrailhill of the rebel army*
The counsel for the prisoner, who preferred
stripes to imprisonment, argued
that he was not a free man because the
president's proclamation is unconstitutional
and void. The whole ease turned
011 that point. Judge Glover gave an
elal?orate decision, quoting largely from
the legal authorities. He reached this
conclusion:
"From the best judgment which I can
bestow upon the question, I am of opinion, !
and so declare, that the prisoner is a free I
man, free by virtue of the proclamation, j
and that being once a free man he is for- J
ever a free man, for I know of no power I
or law by which a man being once eman- *
cipated can.be again mancipated. On the I
1st day of January of the present year of
grace, the prisoner, then a slave, became
rehabilitated with freedom, and though he |
has again lost that freedom, it is only
temporarily; though again placed in servitude
for a period of his life, it is only that ,
servitude affixed to a penalty for crime, j
and which has been recognized in all ages i
and countries under the Mosaic as under ;
the Christian dispensation."
It has been objected to the proclamation
that it would amount to little practically, i
because as soon as the war ends the southern
state courts will declare the proolama- !
tion null aud void, and so reduce the freed
negroes to slavery again. If Judge Glo- j
ver?8 decision is in accordance with the i
established principles of law, there can be j
little room to fear any re-establishment of
slavery by judicial process. If the proclamation
is valid for the time being its legal |
consequences must be permanent and unchangeable,
and once free the slaves will I
-1 i- 11.^ K
he always ireo. Willi regaru u> uie nvw
of nations applicable to the case, Judge
Glover quotes the following passage from j
Vattc}. which is quite as applicable to civil
war as 10 iwrt'igii twir; ~"1
" It lias been observed that we may be
obliged, if not externally, in conscience
and by the laws of equity, to restore to a
third party the booty we have recovered
out of the hands of an enemy, who had
taken it from him in an unjust war. The
obligation is more certain and more extensive
with regard to a people whom our
enemy had unjustly oppressed; fyr a people
thus spoiled of their liberty never renounce
the hope of recovering it. If they
have not voluntarily incorporated themselves
with the state by which they have
been subdued; if they liave not freely
aided her in the war against us, we certainly
ought to use our victory as not
merely to give them a new master, but to
break their chains. To deliver an oppressed
people is a noble fruit of victory:
it is a valuable advantage gained, thus to
acquire a faithful friend."
The Defeat of Van Doru.
Nashville, Tknnks&kr, >
Monday, April 13, 1*63. {
The flag of trace sent out from Franklin
yesterday, learned that the rebel Gen:
Crosby was wounded, also two of Van
Horn's aids. The rebels lost heavily in
wounded. We captured many horses.
Van Dorn had expected to capture the
town. He luul received information that
the Union force was only 2,500 strong.
About thirty-five citizens, active and violent
rebels, some of whom were on the
vigilance committee lost year, were arrested
to-day by order of Gen. Mitchell, and
lodged in the Penitentiary.
Lockjaw.?I have noticed, lately, several
deaths by lockjaw, and for tbe information
of all I will give a certain remedy.
When any one runs a nail or any simrp
iron in any part of his boily, take a common
smoking pipe, fill it with tolmcco,
light it well, then take a cloth, or silk
handkerchief, place it over the bowl of the
pipe and blow the smoke through the stem
iuAo tha-vnmid _T.wo . nv three pipeflful
will be sufficient to set the wound discharging.
I have tried it myself, and for
others, and found it gave immediate relief.
If the wound has been of some days'
standing, it will open again if the tobacco
is gcod. Try it, any one who may chance
to get such a wound.?Rur<tl Xeir Yorker.
rvinrriage a la miotic.
"Tom you should take a wife." " Now, love forbid."
441 foiuid you one last ni-'bt." " The deuce you did
"Softly, ixrhaps she'll please yon." "Oh, of course!"
44 Fifteen -alarming?witty" " Nay, that's worse!"
"Discreet ::!! show-handsome"?"l}o hue the fellows"?
44 Highborn?ave, haughty?tenderhearted-jealous ?
Taleuts o'erllowing"?"Aye, enough to sluice me" ?
44And tlwn. Tom, such a fortune!"?"Introduce me!"
"I'm monarch of all I survey," as the
pig said when he was revelling on the garbage.
Papa?" Well, my dear, did you tell
mamma, that Miss Myrtle was waiting to
Res her?"
Child? " Yes, pa."
Pata?"And what did she say?"
Child?" She said, * What a bother!' "
The Forh Seasons.?Schoohwisfer :
"Come here, boy, and tell me the names
of the four seasons." Young Prodigy:
"Pepper, mus'ard, salt, and vinegar;
them's what mother seasons with."
Wanted to Know.?If a man who did
not know what to do ever got a job??and
if a Iwdd headed man can be said to be
hair-brained?
Pop.?' 'Piping the question " derives
its significance from the fact that it has
l>ocome a condition precedent of ft legally
iuvreased ^-ulation.
*
fsd W %
BEAUFORT, S. C., SATU
f The Charleston Fight.
(From the New York Tribune of the 14th.]
At sunrise a vaii of mist hung over the
j horizon, but toward the middle of the
j forenoon it cleared rapidly away, and at
ten o'clock the pilot announced that, at
hist, our work would commence.
Early in the morning signals from the
shore revealed to us the undisputed possession
of Polly Island by Col. Howell's
brigade. Gen. Seymour is with it, and
seems at a loss why we did not move to
the attack with daybreak.
The Admiral, Commodore Turner, and
all are anxious to get under way as soon
as the mist had disappeared. But Pilot
Godfrey again prevails with his argumentation
in favor of going in upon low tide,
and we must put up with continuing upon
the nick of suspense until aftemnon.
As the morning hours advacced, the
sphere of our operations became more
and more defined. On the lower end of
Morris island rebels could be seen dragging
heavy guns to the beach. The men
and guns on the walls of Foils Sumter
XrmiHpio nniilil ltp vpadilv counted.
<41114 iUVIUlttv vv???*v? _
The spires and even the lionses of Charleston
seemed not more than a mile or two
off.
At noon there is a call for a general
muster on the gun-deck. From the admiral
down to the powder-boys, all humbly
kneel and listen to and seek strength
for the coming trial, from a short, touching
prayer read by Commodore Turner.
The recollection of the sight of those four
hundred determined, battle-eager men,
bowing in ] icturesque groups before their
Maker, around the grimest implements of
war, will never be effaced from my memory.
At 12 h. the signal to get under way
was hoisted on the flagship. The question
how the iron-clads were to communicate
with each other duriug action had often
puzzled me, but an ingenious arrangement
contrived by the officers of the Ironsides
' and the admiral's staff, consisting of a
narrow opening in the plate over the aft
^mAwHiulu) Uuun^li <il?lol? w lnug, |'uin iiitli
small flags was raised above the spar deck,
gave assurance of a ready communication
and comprehension of orders.
There was some delay with the Monitors
: ahead of us; but at ten minutes of two
; o'clock the whole line was in motion.?
Gen. Seymour telegraphs a "God bless
you " when our screw made its first revolutions.
Now comes the stirring general call to
quarters. There was a great bustle for a
few seconds, but the apparent chaos on
the gun and powder decks quickly changed
into the most perfect order and quietude,
ml in n. minutes after the order was
given, every breathing boily, Lieut. Town
of the army signal corps, liis two assistants
and myself, alone excepted, was
ready to do his part in the action. There
was not that boisterous, evanescent enthusiasm
I have often seen rise in the army
to a liigli pitch, and then suddenly fall to
the depth of craven-heartedness ; but the
calm resolution and prompt obedience of
orders that is the vital condition of success
in battle. There were five hundred
men on the two decks ; but a remarkable
stillness prevailed. Their countenances,
however, reflected the light of firm determination,
although the mouths did not
speak of it.
} The grating over the hatchways was
j fastened by this time, with the exception
I of a small opening aft, through which the
few permitted to remain upon the spardeck*
were passing up and down. We
were going at the rate of about four knots
! an hour. The little craft before and bekiutl
xui woro vigorously plowing the water
with their blunt bows, keeping well in
line. Nearer and nearer did we approach.
Clearer and clearer became the line of the
rebel defences. Already we can count the
; guns on Fort Wagoner, (the work next te
! Morris lighthouse) and Cummings Point,
and the windows of St. Vincent and Moul:
trierille. At 2:25 tin? first signs of the
afterward fatal difficulty of steering the
ship in a tideway became manifest. The
boat swung on the port side, and it was
necessary to stop her engine to steady her
I course. In a few minutes we were again
in motion.
The first four monitors had already
j passed Fort Wagoner, and we were now
! abreast of it. We can look into the very
1 months of the gum? but they remain si'
lent. We know not what to make of it.
Ahead we steam, anxiously awaiting the
; reports of the first gun. At last, about 3
l*iiit!f from Port
! U IKA'h, U\U linoutro V* uiv u<uu. ? ?
Moultrie, and two shots flew .across the
bow of the Weelmwken, the foremost
monitor, tlmt seemed to lmve approached
within less than half a mile. This fairly
! opened the action.
Six bells had just struck, when a dull
: sound, like that of a sledge-hammer u}>oii
an anvil, was heard on the bow-port side.
It was the hostile greeting of Fort Sumter,
1 now within 1,200 yards of us, A second
, A
t H>j
RDAY, APRIL 25, 1863.
and a third, more violently than the first,
shook the sides of the ship. Soon came
w hizzing and humming of rifled and round
shot and shell over head. Still the successive
discharges could l>e distinguished.
The several reports had not yet been
drowned, so to speak, in a continuous
roar.
But hark! There is a reverberation as
though of. numerous, simultaneous thun
der claps. Now a fierce, unceasing roar
vibrating the air with a violence that causes
even the solhl mass of our ship to tremble.
A look through the open port on the port
side discloses the cause of the furious outburst.
The first four Monitors had reached j
the converging point of the fire of Cum- i
ming'a Point battery, Fort* Sumter and (
Moultri, and Battery Bee. One after the ;
other had steadily steamed, without firing
a shot, to the verge of the concentrating ;
ranges. The enemy evidently reserved I
their main fire for work at close quarters; ;
but when the Weehawken had reached
within six hundred yards of Fort Sumter,
a long, broad, brilliant flame suddenly
leaped from its side, with all but simultaneous
intense glares from Cumining's
Point and Moultrie, followed instantane.ously
by immense volumes of smoke and
a rain of projectiles that fairly hid the
turrets of our craft with countless spouts
of water thrown up by striking shot and
shell.
Meantime the Ironsides had vainly tried ;
to keep up with the Monitors ahead. At
3:37 we were startled by the command
"standby the starboard anchorfollowed ;
I soon by "let go the starboard anchor." j
: The ship had again been disobeying the
rudder, and threatening to swing on the
shoals on our port side. The enemy at
once noticed our embarrassed position,
I and improving the fixed mark afforded by
! the stoppage, diverted their long range j
I guns for a wliile from the Monitors upon
1 J '
us. Bang, bang, their shot went against
the sides, almost faster than we could
count. Happily the anchor straightened
the course of the ship, and in a few mip
ntft T6 were 'again under Wigh.
We hod hardly gained a hundred yards
or so upon Fort Sumter, when the ship
became once more unmanageable, and the
anchor was again let go. The admiral
now had the Monitors in our wake signaled
to disregard the movements of the flagship,
and run past it toward the forts.
The Ironsides continued almost helpless,
at the mercy of the tide. Officers
and crew grew restive. The enemy's guns
were contiually jdayiug upon us. We hod
not yet returned a single shot. At last,
at 4:30, while swinging on the starboard
side, our port broadside came to bear fully
on Fort Moultrie, and Commodore Turner
would not let this opportunity slip. 4 'Open
port holes," "Aim," "Fire," followed by
a severe concussion of the air, and the
first and only offensive effort of the Ironsides
in the action was made. Shortly
after the strong ebb tide rendered it utterly
impossible to make headway with the ship,
and the order was given to drop back.
We slowly steamed l?ock, after signaling
to the Monitors to withdraw from the
action and followthe flag-ship, and anchored
under the guns of Fort Wagoner.
Under it the captainspf theWeehawken,
Passaic, Montauk, and Patapsco, were
working with might and main to come
abreast, with their badly steering vessels,
of the northwest face of the fort, as directed
in the order of battle, firing all the
while their guns, now at Sumter, tnen at
Moultrie. But they were still under the
fire of the northeast face, when they dis|
covered three lines of floating obstructions,
with another consisting of a row of piles
| across the whole harbor a short distance
i beyond. They endeavored to gain the
i narrow passage left open through the first,
; but found themselves unable to exercise
! sufficient control over their vessels to do
so, While making this attempt the turret
i of the Passaic was so bent in by a single
shot as to make the working of the eleven
inch gun impracticable. A short while
l after the turret refused altogether to turn,
i depriving her of all offensive power. The
I 200 pounder Pnrrott of the Patapsco also
I became early disabled.
\But, aside from these damages to two,
J the fact that not one of the four could
make headway past the batteries, rendered
tbnir nrwlpv flip lipnvipsf fivo
; and hence turned about and steered back,
after having been in concentric range
nearly an hour. The motion of the Weehawken
was very much impeeed by the
Ericcsson raft chained to her lw>w. A
torpedo exploded close to her port side,
but did not inflict any damage. On the
way up the Patapsco's screw caught in a
kind of network of chains and cables, kept
afloat by barrels, and perpendicular by
weights. For a while it seemed as though
she could not be extricated by the mesh,
but in the end worked clear. The Catskill,
Nantucket, Nahant, and Keokuk, had
the same experience. The Keokuk had
come witkiu 300 yards of Tort Sumter,
% \
fin fit
tlie iire of the whole northeast face o:
which it seemed to sustain for some time
alone. <
About fifteen minutes before 5 o'clocl
a signal was made from the flag-ship tc
cease firing and withdraw from the ene
my's fire. Shortly after 5 o'clock tin
Monitors, followed by the Keokuk, wen
within hail of the flag-ship, and the fire o:
the enemy stopped/" _.
When the vessels were nearest the ob
stmetions, the pilots made out the iron
clad rams Palmetto State and Chicora
with a wooden gunboat, standing towan
them from the city. After approaching
within a mile of the obstructions, thei
c.ame, however, to a discreet halt, and die
not venture to engage the Monitors.
Upon coming out of range, the hatch
ways of the Ironsides were opened, ant
we could once more have a full view o
things around us. As I reached the spa
deck, the Keokuk was just passing on
starboard side, with Cajit. Rhind limping
about the forward turret. A sorry sigh
she presented. Her sides and turret
showed innumerable holes. She was evi
dently used up. The Xaliant, Patapsco
and Nantucket also passed, and the com
manders of each imported more or les
damage.
But the full extent of the injipries to th
iron-ciads was not known until their com
manders persomilly reported them to tli
admiral in the course of the evening. Th
Keokuk had ninety shots in all; ninctee]
on the water line (twelve starboard, sevei
port); fifteen in the after turret (five o
thein through; one Whitworth steel point
cd shot remained sticking in the wall)
twelve in the forward turret (three of ther
through); twenty-five on the sloping side
(fifteen starboard, ten port); eight throug
sheeting on after turret; ten tlirougl
smoke-stack (seven through, three glanced
four through the boats, two glanced o:
- i l iv 11 _
tlic deck; one cut signal stan; mrse o
four weirf; through the flag.
The New Ironsides was hit bctwee:
material damage. .
The Weehawken was struck fifty-nin
times. The turret was badJy dented an
worked with difficulty.
The Montauk was hit twenty times; th
Passaic flfty-eiglit times. In addition t
the damage already stated, her pilot-hous
was much weakened by the loosening an
driving through of the bolts. The Nar
tucket was struck "fifty-one times, and ha
her turret stopped twice by shot. Th
Catskill received about the same numbc
of shots.
The Patapseo was hit between forty an
fifty times, disabling her two hundre
pounder Parrott. The Nahaut was struc
eighty times. Four men were woundei
one mortally.
Of ammunition, the different vessel
fired:
Ironsides S rounds. Passaic 9 round
Catskill 25 44 Nahant 24 44
Keokuk.... 3 44 Weehawken .. 2t> 44
Montauk SO 44 Patapeco IS 44
Nantucket 15 44 ?
Total 131 44
i Assuming that one out of every ten rel
I el shots struck?a very liberal allowance|
it would appear that the enemy fired ov<
j four thousand rounds. Three-fourths (
| these, at least, were discharged while tl
; Monitors and Keokuk were within tl:
| converging ranges, tliat is, in less tha
' /?Hai4aiwi s\f 1i/M1K OA fit O f if. <11
' liliCVJ*V|llUI ICiO UI ill! JUUU1 j CV VU(|V av mj
pears the forts and batteries averaged a
| mast two hundred discharges per ininut<
I Their fire was excellently directed. The:
; guns were all of heavy caliber, throwin
; eight, nine, t?n, and eleven-inch roun
shot and shell, and five and six-inch rifle
shot.
The enemy lmd a few very effecti\
Whit worth guns playing upon us. Seve
al of the steel pointed bolts thrown b
them were found inside the Keokuk.
In spite of the comparative weakness <
our fire, considerable damage was done t
the forts. The north-east face of Fo:
Sumter was marked with eleven hole
: plainly visible at our distance of tliri
miles. Some gaps were three feet widi
and looked as though the shot liadplowe
' right through the wall. Two embrasure
seemed almost knocked into one. One (
! our first shot brought down the flag-sta
' of Fort Moultrie.
1 Late last evening the whole squadro
dropped a mile further down the channe
: and anchored close to the bar.
Almost my first look from the spar-dec
! this morning, fell upon a sad sight. Tk
Keokuk was sinking. She had anchore
on the bar during the night. Her ere
Lad been bus}* ever since last evening tr
ing to keep her afloat by plugging tli
holes at her water-line ; but at daybrea
a stiff breeze set the sea rolling, rend?
ing their attempts futile. Capt. Iihin
hoisted the signal of distress at about '
( but it remained unnoticed until nearly f
when the tug Dandelion came alongsid
the sinking craft. Through the strenuon
efforts of her captain, Acting Master Ba:
' V
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
f rvmore, every soul on board was saved,
j with a loss, however, of ail they had.
About noon the admiral had the cap:
tains of the Monitors called together, and
> declared to them his determination to
withdraw their vessels from the harbor.
} i As is the habit of his independent mind,
i , he had arrived at this conclusion after
t cool reflection upon tiie tacts officially re-puitnTto
muammeiuu mrg
- any one else.
The honor of the North was fully upheld
, in the action, and the loyal people can be
I justly proiul of the devotion and gallantry
? of all engaged in it. No better testimony
' on that subject than the following as genl
erous as true letter addressed by Major
General Hunter to the admiral, iinme
diately after the attack, can be offered:
1 Headquarters of tiik Sorfu. >
? U. S. Transport Ken Reford, A prfl S, 1 S33.)
Admtrai. :?Not knowing yet what.ljnvc been
r the results of your attack of yesterday, so far ns ?
r Fort Sumter is concerned, I ca inot but congratuy
late you on the magnificent minuter in which the
? vessels under your command vrcrq fought.
I A mere s|>cctator, I could do nothing but pray
s for you, which, believe me, I did most heartily,
for you and all the gallant men under your command,
who sailed so calm and fearlessly into and
> under and thiough n concentric fire which" has
- never heretofore had a parallel in the history of
s warfare.
That you arc uninjured, and so many of the
vessels of your command still fit for service, is -a
e pause of deep gratitude to Almighty God. I
confess when the Weehnwken first ran under
" Sumter's guns receiving the casemate and bare
Itette broadside from Fort Moultrie aud all the
e others within range, I fairly held my breath until
the smoke had cleared away, not expecting to
a see n vestige of the little vessel which had proa
voked such an attack. With each of the otiiere
r the same scene was re-enacted, my interest in
the fate of the Ironsides hcing, jierhaps, the
* keenest from my knowledge of her comparative
I vulnerability, and of the deep loss the country
would sustain if anything were to happcu to you.
II Thank God for the results so far as they go.
s May He have you in his keeping through whath.
ever chances arc yet before you. No country can
I ever fail that has men capable of .suffering what
yonr iron-clads had yesterday to endure. God
) bless you and keep you safe, Admiral, and heft'
licve me, with the highest esteem,
D. HFNTEP, Major General.
T Admiral 8. F.TJ^waa,
Hag-Ship A'ewiwii^de^off Fort Sumter.
FI.ao PiiivNEX^Ft'.oxeuua, )
n Charleston Hartx?r, S. (.7. April 8, 1SG3. >
o CanKR VLr-'rl nin-tbw mnnl>tif in nceeii't 0/
your most gratifying letter of this date. I did
not, however, require this to satisfy me of your
e deep sympathy in our operntion of yesterday* ind
tensified by the fact that circumstances beyond
yonr control, prevented that which of all things
3 on would most have desired, an immediate and
e active co-operation.
0 1 shall have your letter reatl in every iron-clad
;e of the fleet, so that every man under my com,
mand shall know what has long been familiar to
" me, the heartfelt sympathy of the Commanding
l- General of the Army of the Department of the
South.
I am, General, with the highest respect, your
c most obedient servant,
r S. F. DUPOXT,
Real Admiral Commanding South Atlantic Squadron.
To Major General Hcxteu. c ommanding Department
j of the South, off C harlcstou.
^ The land forces being numerically too
small for independent aggressive conquests
1 will not be able to support themselves
without the aid of the iron-clads on the
islands between Stono and Charleston,
Is
and will probably return soon after the
evacuation of the harbor to their encamp8'
ments at Hilton Head and St. Helena.
Upon the whole, the loyal public had better
accept the abandonment of all offen- %
sivc demonstrations against Charleston as
an accomplished fact.
The following list comprises all the casualties
in the iron-clad squadron :
Keokuk?Captain Khind, contusion light leg;
10 A. Mcintosh, Acting Ensign, two wounds on
ie the forehead ami fracture of skull, dangerous;
Charles McLaughlin, seaman, seriously in both
legs; David Chaplin, seaman, slightly, in left
side; James llyan, seaman, seriously, right thigh;
1- C. 1). Mott, landsman, slightly; H. Swords,
a seaman, slightly; J. J. Brown, seaman, slightly
lv; 11. Nicholson, Quartermaster, slightly.
ir Nahant?Captain Downs, slightly in leg from
g holt; Isjuic Schofield, pilot, severely by a bolt;
j Edward Cobb, Quartermaster, late of the Cumberland,
fraeture of skull from bolt, since died; ,
id John Maealister, dangerous on head from bolt.
Later from Newborn.
r@ r
Our latest news from Newborn is to
fThursday.
Gen. Foster and his little
^ band of 1,200 men was yet beleaguered at
^ Washington, and it was expected that he
would have to surrender for the want of
^ provisions. The transport Northerner
left Xewbem on the 7th with 800 men of
s
' Spinola's brigade to his assistance, by way
of TariRiver, and, meeting a number of
\ rebel batteries on the river, was forced to
return. On the 5th a force of 8,000 men
>s
^ left Newbern to re-enforce Gen. Foster,
g but meeting a superior number of rebels,
also returned to Newbern to protect that
place. Rumors have been current at Forj
tress Monroe that Foster had been cap'
tured, but they are not authenticated. It
j is almost certain, however, that he will be
compelled to surrender.
^ In our New Orleans news is a story that
Admiral Farragut is in the Red River, between
the two batteries, out of the range
' of both, but unable to pass either of them,
j. It is further stated that Admiral Farragut
sent a messenger to inform Gen. Banks of
, Ins position, but the messenger was cap*"
tured and held a prisoner in the bauds of
the rebels. The story is decidedly im1,
probable. A New Orleans letter says that
[e troops are bein^ got ready ou the west
' side of ffte^Iississippi for the purpose of
making a sweep of the Atohalafaya River
r* region.
/