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Vol 1,-. No. 14. PORT ROYAL, S. C., SATURDAY, NOV. 22, 1862. Price Five Cents. ,
THT NEW SOUTH. I
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r Published every Saturday Morning by j
JOS. H. SEARS, Proprietor. j
Prick : Five Cents Per Copt.
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Advertisements, one dollar a line, each insertion. ,
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Terms: invariably cash.
OFFICE: Post Office Building, Union Square.
POETRY.
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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
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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."
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