The free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, September 19, 1863, Image 2
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VOL. L
THE FREE SOUTH.
BEAUFORT, S. C., SEPT. Id, 1SG3.
tW~ Agents wanted in the different Regiments of this
Department, tor the Fksx Socth.
TO OUR SOLDIER FRIENDS.
* "?A ?1? tho Vpaa QrtnfK
An excellent puui iu ocviuo u> . >vv
?verv week W to mtbtribr f*r
TERES MONTHS FOR 50 CENTS,
Your paper will then be sent by mail and will follow
your regiment wherever it may move.
Soldiers should send the Free Sonth to their friends
at home.
It would be almost as good as a
WEEKLY LETTER,
and will contain all the news of the department, and
fnll lists of the killed and wounded and deaths in hospital.
Sent bv mail at $?.u0 per rear in advance or
50 CENTS FOR THREE MONTHS.
The President's Letter.
The Presidents letter to Hon. James
C. Conkling which will be found on our
fourth page will be read by the soldiers
of the republic with satisfaction and applause.
In strong honest words he vindicates
the course pursued by him since
the war began. He shows plainly the
fallacy of the idea that any terms of peace
acceptable to rebels and honorable to the
government can be agreed up du while they
have armies in the field. He makes it
clear that -while their large armies are unsubdued
there can be no compromise
which the nation would tolerate. He
ahows that experience has vindicated the
wisdom of the Emancipation proclamation
and the employment of negroes as
soldiers. Most of the important successes
of the war have been won since that policy
was inaugurated. None of the dreadful
consequences predicted by its enemies
have come to pass. There have been no
bloody insurrections, no midnight massacres.
The black soldiers have proved
amenable to discipline, have fought bravely
and have not shocked humanity by
wild excesses. His tribute to the brave
?- men who have won for us our victories
and for themselves fame, is sincere and
His Concluding paragraph ought to
bring the blush of shame to those who
are denouncing the government of their
country in a moment when she needs the
steadfast sympathy of her sons. We are
now proving in this struggle that " among
freemen, there can be no successful appeal
from the ballot .to the bullet," and it
would be idle and stultifying to stop before
the proof is complete and convincing.
The principles on which onr fathers founded
the nation must not be sacrificed because
a few timid or unsound souls think
that peace is to be preferred before national
safety and honor. This rebellion
onee pnt down, there will never be another,
and therefore it is that we are willing
to make the sacrifices needed to put
it down. When peace and onion are
fully re-established, " there will be some
white men unable to forget that, with
malignant heart and deceitful speech,
they have striven to hinder it." This
memory will haunt all copperheads and
traitors to their graves ; while loyal men
will have the comforting remembrance
* *' A
that in the great war lor tne preservation
of the Union, they stood by the brave ant
patriotic man who was fairly elected tc
the%Presidential office, and who perform
ed his duties with firmness and fidelity
undisturbed by?the nervous fears o
weak-hearted friends, or the abuse anc
clamor of vindiotive enemies.
The MMwaeat V? Col. Shaw.
The Treasurer of the fund for the erec
tion of a monument to Colonel Robert G
Shaw, reports the following sums as tli
result of collections made in the colore*
churches in this vicinity.
Beaufort Baptist Church $55 77
Beaufort Methodist Church 9 5.'
Brick Church, Ladles Island, 107 10
Bluff Church, 44 44 S 75
Paris Idannd, 44 44 27 6*
St Helena Village, 17 03
Port Royal Island, 10 35
Total $239 74
THE FREE SOUTH, SATURDA
Adjt. Gen. Thomas has issued a j
special order dated Yicksburg, Aug. 18,
announcing his purpose to continue the
; organization of all able bodied male ne:
groes into the military service of the
: United States. He intends also to take
such measures as may prove beneficial to
the moral and physical condition of those j
unfit for military service. In view of the i
injurious effects of forming camps and
settlements of negroes within the lines of
our army, where large numbers are allowed
to remain in idleness, he orders that
hereafter women and children shall be
allowed to remain on such plantations as
. may be within our liues. The same evil
effects of bringing large numbers of idle
i negroes into camps has been severely
felt in this department, and Gen. Sax - ,
ton has ever been alive to the importance
! of finding a remedy. Had it not been
i for the demand for lumber by the mili- !
tu*7 authorities he would have had hun- ; (
, dreds of houses scattered over the plan- ,
tations, to which families would have been j
removed^and required to subsist them- j <
; selves. This improvement is now going '
energetically forward under the super- j '
vision of Mr. D. C. Wilson. Before 1
.
Christmas he expects to have four hun- 1
| dred houses completed on St. Helena, :
giving accommodations to 1200 persons.
h
45S?*Last Saturday the raising of a new
garrison flag at the camp of the First Ar - ^'
tillery, was made the occasion of quite a
i pleasant time. A bountiful lunch was
1 prepared by the officers, for a few invited
guests, and after some excellent music
the party repaired to the parade ground,
1 where the men were drawn up forming !
two sides of a square. The flag was raised ,
to the top of the staff by the fair hands i ,
of Miss Trembly amidst the cheer3 of t he ! (
1 assembled soldiers and spectators. A sa- ' (
| lute of thirteen guns was fired in honor <
j of the event by. the battery. Captain i
' Langdon and his brother officers may , i
' well be proud of their command, and will, ' <
we are sure, -wheu the opportunity offers, 1
add new honors to the Star Spangled ban- 1
ner. 1
flQjKWe learn that the President has re- I
ceived a letter from General Grant, in i
i which he not only pledges himself to aid 1
! Adjutant-General Thomas in his labors, 1
' but also heartily endorses the emancipation
proclamation and the raising of col- 1
ored troop :, and earnestly expresses the
opkiion, that with the latter, great results
can be attained. For a distance of ten or
fifteen miles on both sides of the Missis
sippi, nearly all the slaves have been run
I off in the interior by the rebel planters.
| Gen. Grant has sent out two expeditions
' for the purpose of liberating such slaves
' as could be found, and to spread the glad
, tidings amongst those still in bondage.
J6?*The official report of Gen. McClellan
was received to the Adjutant-Generals
' 1 office about a month ago. We under1
stand it is very volumnions, comprising
, from 700 to 900 folios foolscap, and the
1 i accompanying documents cover nearly
^ ! three times as much more paper. The
1 ; pressure of more Important business has
: thus far precluded the possibility, of its
1 j examination by the proper officials. Its
^ publication, with accompaniments, will
} undoubtedly require a special appropriation
by Congress, and its appearance in
* print at present is not to be thought of.
1 ? w ?
1 JST* Our citizens will be glad to be assured
that we are to have no "ice famine"
in South Carolina, whatever may he
the case in New York. Mr. Lloyd hss
had energy and capital enough to bring
* an abundant supply, and is about fittirg
e up another large ice house on Bay street.
^ He deserves the thanks of the'community
for rescuing us from the small pedlars
who have heretofore conducted the ice
business.
fca^Remember the Ice House hours
are from six to eight a. m., and from six
to seven p. m. i
. ?
Y, SEPTEMBER 19,1863.
The Exchange of PritonerN -Statu* of
Officers of Negro Regiment*.
The exchange of prisoners is delayed by the
unwillingness of the rebels to eat their words
about negro soldie'rs.
The first interview between Gen. Meredith, j
the recently appointed commissioner of exchange, j
and Mr. Ould, the rel>el commissioner, took
"* est.- An thn or,! nit Some 1 joints
j'lm u ?i VIM X vim vu %HV ?wv? IU?< ? | j
in dispute were arranged, but arrangements for ,
the excbauge of paroled prisoners were not completed,
and negotiations are still in progress, j
The imprisonment of John Morgan and his offi- I
cers in the Ohio penitentiary has brought the
rebel authorities to terms, and it has been agreed ,
that Col. Streight, and the officers of his command,
who have been so long similarly irnpris- ;
oned, shall be placed on the footing of other
prisoners of war. This will probably be respon- J
ded to by the restoration of Morgan and his officers
to a similar status. Gen. Xeal Dow has .
been turned over to the civil authorities. A
rel>el brigadier general will immediately bo placed
in close confinement as a hostage for him. The
employees of the sanitary commission, who were
captured in Maryland during Lee's last campaign
are to he immediately released, they having been
engaged on a minion of mercy which included
the wounded and sutf'ering of both asmies. The
negro prisoners are an embarrassment to the
rebels. They object to exchanging them as
equals for white prisoners, }?rhaps taking their
market value into account, but they will be 1
brought to terms, us we have a great excess of
prisoners in our hands. Among these are some 1
1,800 confined on Johnson's Island, near San- I
iluskv. Ohio. At Fort Delaware are GOO officers 1
ami 9,000 privates.
The President has been interrogated upon the
subject of the exchange of prisoners, by the
father of a New York officer of one of the colored
regiments, who is a prisoner in ltichinocd. Mr.
Lincoln said he would do all in his power to
effect the release of these officers, and all others
now prisoners, hut he was not prepared, nor
would he consent to make the release of officers
of colored regiments an indispensable condition
to a renewal of exchanges. The Government
was prepared to exchange man for man with the
rebels, even though they should refuse to release i
the officers of colored regiments. This would he i
lone because the Government considered it unfair
to make the case of a few officers a test
juestion, when a much larger number would be
benefitted by a resumption of exchanges, and the
anestion of exchanging these officers left open
1 ~ ?
for future consideration. He wished sincerely
that they could be released speedily, but Jefl.
Davis was a party to be consulted, and they
could not be exchanged unless by some agreement
with the rebel authorities. The question
arisiug in regard to these officers was not covered
by the cartel, and the officers of these reg imcnts
knew when they entered the service the-peculiar
risks incidental to their position, and for the
present must endure the disagreeable consequences.
The President, however, assured the gentleman
that any unusual or barbarous treatment
of such officers, or of colored soldiers, would
cause retaliation.
The late Com. Rodgers.?A Hartford
paper says of Commander Rodgers, who
fell before Fort Wagner : "His fapaily on
both sides have been connected to the U.
S. Navy from the first. His father was
Com. George W. Rodgers, who died in
the service off the coast of Brazil some
years ago, and his mother was a sister of
Commodore O. H. Perry, of Lake Erie
fame. His uncle was Commodore John
Rodgers who surrendered his disabled
ship, the frigate President, to the English
fleet off New York, in the last war. His
brother, C. R. P. Rodgers, is the fleet
cantain of the South Atlantic. So no/Iron."
The Philadelphia Press says it is not
desirous of instructing Gov. Seymour in
arithmetic, but it must say that he does
three bad sums at once. His little calculation
in simple addition not only multiplies
the number of rioters, but substracts
soldiers from the anny.
B^We are indebted to Purser McManus
of the Fulton for our files of NortI era
papers,
A lady complaining that her husband
was dead to fashionable amusements, he
replied, " But then, my dear, you make
me alive to the expense."
*
*
NO. 37.
The Angrlo-Kefcel Eron-Clad*.
[From the Tribune of the 9th.]
From a passenger by the steamship
Scolut, who enjoyed peculiarly favorable
facilities for becoming familiar with the
facts, we learn that the Anglo-rebel ironclads
are being pushed forward to completion
with the utmost vigor. Two
2,0000 tnn iron-clads, combining' the
ram and monitor principles, are being
built by Laird at Birkenhead. One of
these is already launched. They are pla
ted with four-inch iron ; cacn carry
turrets, 12 inches thick, and have formidable
rams projecting from their stems.
Each turret will carry two 200-pouuder
rifled guns, and each vessel will be armed
in addition with two 100-pounder stern
chasers. The guns were ready at Preston,
Lancashire, and would be shipped
and put on board in the Irish Channel.
The ram which was launched was expeotr
ed to sail within four days after the Scotia
left, and the second would be launched
by the time the first sailed. The destination
of these powerful vessels was reported
to be the United States; but nothing
definite was known on that subject.
In order to facilitate their speedy completion,
work was kept up on them day
and night, several gangs being employed
to relieve each other throughout the
twenty-four hours. We are ii cliued to
doubt the statement that either of these
rams will be ready to sail so soon as was
expected. And for this reason, our imformant,
describing the progress on the
first ram, states that when he last saw
her, just before leaving Liverpool, her
smoke stack was up, one turret was on
deck ready to be put in place, and the
other about to be begun. Now here,
where we are supposed to understand
these matters pretty thoroughly, it takes
several weeks to set up the turrets, and
then the work of boring the ports, fitting
the shutters, and other operations consume
a good deal of time. It is evident,
however, that no effort nor expense was
being spared to push forward the work.
?.1 .iil.. ?1?1
oiuciair auu jxluiuj, ui me icuci
were daily in Laird's yard, inspecting the
progress of the vesseis, and urging the
builders forward.
Ram No. 1 was launched under the
French flag, permission for that purpose
being given by the French Consul at Liverpool.
And what is more, the craft still
flew the tri-color when our informant left.
The destination of these vessels is well
known to the British Government. Our
agents have closely followed them from
the beginning, and the evidence accumulated
of their contraband character has
all been laid before the ministry. Yet,
thus far, no effort has been made to restrain
them from sailing.
But these are not all the offeusive preparations
now in progress against us in
"neutral" Great Britian. A large ironclad
sloop of war is well under way in
the yard of a Liverpool ship builder, whose
name our informant has forgotten, anil
five others of a very formidable character
are in course of construction on the Clyde.
One of these, now building by James <fc
George Thompson, over 4,000 tuns burden,
will have four or five inches of iron
plating upon 18 inches teak. She will
not, however, be ready to sail for som#
months.
On the day before the Scotia sailed the
captain of Ram No. 1 was heard to state
at the Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool, that he
would command that vessel. He remarked,
in conversation, that he was a Southerner
and a rebel i but more discreet than
Maury and Sinclair, he refrained from
going near the iron-clads, so as to avoid
bringing suspicion upon their destination.
Public opinion in Liverpool appeared to
have settled down to this point; that the
neutrality laws of England had been evaded
long enough, and it was time that
the farce came to an end. The merchants
and public men had come to the conclusion
that unless the Government interfered
to stop these pirates from sailing,
very grave complications would arise between
Great Britian and the United
States, which, it was by no means improbable,
would culminate in open hostilities.
Whether their opinion * founded
on facts, only the result can determine.
Horatio Ames, of Falls Village, proposes
to make fifty 300-pounder wroughtiron
rifled cannon of ten inch caliber, to
weigh about 35,000 pounds, to carry 100
pounds of powder and a 300 pound ball
to a charge ; price 81 per pound. . The
gun selected for trial shall stand one
thousand rounds without bursting. The
first gun to be delivered within eight
months from date of contract, and one
gun each eighteen days following.
m 9 *
In what case is it absolutely impossible
to be slow and sure ??Iu the case ol ft
watch.