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$. i ' -"'"V ' ""*' - HI ' It , Vol 1,-. No. 14. PORT ROYAL, S. C., SATURDAY, NOV. 22, 1862. Price Five Cents. , THT NEW SOUTH. I - a | r Published every Saturday Morning by j JOS. H. SEARS, Proprietor. j Prick : Five Cents Per Copt. I Advertisements, one dollar a line, each insertion. , t? Terms: invariably cash. OFFICE: Post Office Building, Union Square. POETRY. i The Soldier's Letter. How sweet when night her misty Tell Around the weary soldier throws, . And twilight's golden skies grow pale, rv And wooing winds invite repose, To sit beside the watchhre's blaze, HP Where friendly comrades nightly come, ' ; % To sing the songs of other days, ^ And talk of things we love at home? Of those we love, who list and wait, Beneath the same benignant moon, The postman's step behind the gate, With tidings fro- a the absent one; And beaming ami!** their thoughts reveal. And love is mirrored in their eyes, As eagerly they break the seal. Bate with joy and glad surprise. But dearer yet the shout that rings In exultation. Buftaad clear,, % . To hail the messenger who bring* Letters from horns and kindred dear; And 'neeth the pels moon's smiling light 'Qfe* The soldier reads'his treasure o'er, And through the hoars of silent night, In dreams he visits home onoe mare: In dreams he aits besk^ the hearth. Afar from camps and traitor's wiles. And deems the dearest spot on earth Where loving wife and mother smiles; . And many a face almost forgot And inauy a word so fondly spoken. %<jome nitang rouuu urn auiiuec o wt, 'Till the sweet dream, at morn, is broken. Oh, ye who love the soldier wellBid him be hopeful, brave and gay; Better he knows than yon can tell, The perils that attend his way. Some word of hope in battle's honr, While striving with a vengeful foe, Has nerved the soldier's arm with power, To strike or ward the impending blow. The soldier brave 1/ often prone To deem himself forgotten quite, A wanderer on the earth alone, When friends at home neglect to write. Then cheer him oft with words like these, And thus your deep affection prove; UC\ OfCTJ ACCi UMb J/iUUgUB UiO DWW Bear him some message full of love. [Holbrook't V. S. Mail. Nickel Cents ?Although postage currency is iriven larirelv in exchange lor other nionev. at the United States mint the chief specie paid out is the nickel cents. Upon these the profit of the United States government amounts to at least fifty per cent., sufficient to pay all the employees engaged in the department of the mint which produces-tins change. The average production of nickel cents daily is fifteen hundred dollars. The old copper peunies have been received in great quantities, in exchange for the new coin of the same denomination. They are useless, however, for coinage purposes. Upon being melted they are sold as oid copper. ? An eminent teetotaller would only consent to ait for his portrait on condition that he should be taken in water colors. Stragglers and Deserters It would, perhaps, surprise many to learn the number of desertions occurring ivery day in our army. But few, not connected w^h the army, are aware how numerous and frequent they are. In the army of the Potomac they are numbered by thousands. Regiments have been reduced from a full quota of men to mere skeletons of companies, more by desertions than by sickness and casualties on the field; in many instances we do nothesitate to say that fully one-half of the loss may be ascribed to this cause, arising from a lack of proper discipline. Our attention has been drawn to this subject by a short article which appeared in the New York Times of the 21st ult., from its Washington cor respondent, which is so forcible that we regret we have not the space to give it entire. He says:? ?in everyone of ourxecentbattles, full a fonrth, and many say full a third, of the men brought on the field, fell oat of the ranks, and slunk away to the rear before the work of war had grown warm, and not an officer ie our army has yet taken the responsibility of shooting down these * stragglers' in the act. In the rebel army this is not so. Every man brought upon the field upon their side understand* that certain and instant death*adfcnertain dishonor, lie to the rear; while forwABptg) is a certainty of honor and the usual chances of Escaping nnhurt. As to the stragglingWhich Aces place from regiments in camp and on the march, the statistics [ would terrify and astound the country, if printed." From personal observation we are convinced that j there is no exaggeration in this st^Ument, startling though It he. In tbeftrni/'%f the Potomac it has become a serious evil, which^ demands the scrutiny and interference of the proper military authorities, and the strict enforcement of the I rules and regulations laid down for the govern' x rtP Kq owmtf raHt/th oq vnf KQrrc | QIKlll SUU UlSOI^IllIC VI UIC HIIUJJ nwivuBn ^vnuwiv I never been fhlly carried qut. The writer of the article above quoted ascribes this laxity to a fatal desire of many Generals to secure popularity with their commands. The result of this is to give an opportunity to cpwards to straggle and skul^to the rear, while their brave comrades do the fighting, of which they will share the glory. Common justice then to those brave men who are willing to do their duty, would dei maud that this be remedied. The straggler should receive even less mercy than th^deserter from the I camp?for, in the former instance, the man is fed . and clothed at the expense of the government, on certain conditions, and for certain services to oe rendered. He receives bis clothing and food upon i these conditions,and in the hour of need, when called upon for the fulfillment of his duty, he skulks to ! the rear, and not only renders no service, but sots a bad example to others?an example which creates distrust and fear. Were these stragglers or skulkers few, the evil would seem slight and demand but passing attention, but they amount to "full a fourth and many a?o- fnii a third of the men brought on the fijld.'* Under these circumstances no General can possibly estimate his strength ; for when he imagines that he is twenty thousand strong ha may be far from the truth and have only fflven thousand effective < fighting men. j In conclusion, the writer, above qnoted, says:? | "Cannot the President realize th.it mercy to the j cowards and idlers who disgrace our services the worst cruelty and injustice to the gallantnwiows who remain and d j their duty I In the British and French set-vices, mounted non-commissioned officers arc stationed in tho rear of every line of bat tie, or march to meet the enemy, with instructions v to shoot down instantly all men who break ranks without authority or justifying cause." A line of file-closers are placed in the rear of a battalion, not for ornament, but for a purpose, and that is to prevent men from falling out of the ranks and skulking to the rear when in action. It is the duty ^ of these file-closers to shoot any man who attempts to leave the ranks without canso. This duty should be strenuously impressed upon them. It is not intended that the flle-closers should fire a - - - .. single shot at the enemy; they are stanonea in rear of the line to prevent cowards, who exist in all armies, from deserting brave men in the hour ^ of need. Without doubt it is a harder duty to *6* ^ perform than to aim at the enemy, but it is a necessity of war, recognized in every other army. Were men suro that certain death awaited them to the rear, there would be no necessity of performing this duty ; beside# which every man, feeling that his comrades in battle ctftihot desert him, "^1% . i can fight with more vigor and determination, than when hi? attention is distracted a?d he continually Idooira around to see that his comrades are at his side. Were th# penalties of desertion strictly carried out, as they are in the rebel army, there would bo need of but very few examples, to materially lessen the evil or stop it altogether. The articles of , war are read to every soldier when mustered into ; the service j none, therefore^ can plead ignorance J of the penalty attached to the crime; yet through misguided mercy tins nas never in any instance , been enforced. If commanding officers properly perform their duties, every absentee from camp , ( must come to their knowledge. Musters take place every two months, when the muster roll of ^ each company is called off' by the Colonel of the 1 regiment and each man answers to his name.'" When a man absents himself without proper leave or authority, he should be sought, at whatever ' i expense of time and money, and if possible brought back to his regime^ and made an example to others. This is the only way to stop the evil which is decimating the array of the Potomac on/i ronrldr inatlCA hnth fcrt KmvWP And COW. | ardice. A Port Royal Bill of Fare.?Soup?Meafte?very. Vegetable?Spontaneous to the soil. Fish? 'Thebest that swim?catch'em it you can.' Boiled ?Ham?from the sand-which-is here. Prawns ?fresh in the sea. Corned beef?fragrant, very. ' Roast.?Beef?tender, in a horn." Mutton?fur nished^by the drum-major out of old sheep skin. ( i Duck?from a stormy Sunday, reliable but not rare. Pig?preserved in a barrel with great care by the aucients, art now lost, mark O. II. I. O. 1 Entrees.? Plovers, on the wing. Blackbirds, in a pie already opened. Chickens, after four days . boiling, powerfully tender. Calves head, a la cannabic. Dessert.?Dried apple pie, very dry. Plum dough, 10-inch coluinbiad. Custard, of musty eggs, can't be beat. Jelly, starved horse : *00t- f''tirtrrarn' flavor> bouquet de camp. ' j Wines an&liqppfis.?Muscat, minie. My dea. 'ee, a long wajrW. Sparkling Catawba, in your eye. Whisky, 29e* pcr^gallon. Do. 15, other head of barrel, $3. Coffee, that knows beans. Milk, stnrfiptfll. Sugar, heavy with pure sand. Cork's call daily at 12] P. M. knives and lorks reserved for thosojtiio come first. II. ? Barry Com wall says: "Come, let mo dive into thine eyes " 11 ins love naa "swimming, eyes," very good; but,at all events,our advice to the young woman is, for divers reasons, don't let hiWlo it. H0*night go over a ' cataract." m \ I