Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

\ <|{;t ^cralb. , BY 8. W. MASON AN'D CO. | PORT ROYAL, THURSDAY. APRIL US, 1SW. m NEW COMMANDING OFFICERS. IMPORTANT CHANGES. Col. Joshua B. Howell, 8.">th P. V., who has for the past three months efficiently commanded the District of Hilton Head, was on Tuesday relieved by Col. W. W. H. Davis, of the 104th P. V. The latter has announced the following officers upon W?o ofott . Ifo'ia. "P Q Raimn llUth P UU CHilU iOdjVl JL4? Ut AV kwi* A | V., Acting Assistant Adjutant Gttaeral; J st Lieut John McCoy, 104th P. \Acting Aide-de-Camp. Col. ltedfield Duryee, Gtli C. V., has been succeeded in command of the post at Hilton Head by Col. Heniy M. Hoyt, of the 52d P. V., who announces the following as his staff: 1st Lieut. James G. Stevens, ">2d P. V., Post Adjutant: 1st Lieut. Edwin Fretz, 104th P. V., Acting Aide-de-Camp. Col. Howell leaves a position which he has long filled most acceptably, with the best wishes of hosts of friends, won by his uniform courtesy, efficiency as an : officer, and all the sterling qualties of a i true gentleman and a soldier. We be- j l!? navoAn amiiAniiOil with f'nl UTTC CfWJ pv?ovu ??V^WMU?VX* ?? ?** WM ITowell's administration of affairs during tlie time he has commanded the District, will testify to his faithfulness and efficiency. CoL Duryee, as Post Commander, has also won mnch well-deserved praise by the manner in which he has filled that responsible and perplexing office, and many friends will regret his retirement from it. CoL Davis, the new Commander of the District, and Col. Hoyt, Post Command- | ant, both come well qualified for their positions, having seen much service, and being familiar with their duties. While we regret the retirement 01 uois. nowen and Duryee, we congratulate the troops on the tried ability of their successors. ARRIVALS FROfl THE JORTH?LATE A.\D IJIP9RTA.TT HEWS. Brilliant Federal Tletory in iana?Three Rebel Generals Killed ?Tike Enemy Completely Routed? The Massacre at Fort Pillow?de., At,, At. By the arrival of the Arago, Captain Gadsden, on the 24th, we received New York dates to the 20th, and by the Continental, on Wednesday, Philadelphia news to the 22d. We are indebted to Purser Fred. W. Ely, of the Arago, and Purser S. Lathbury, of the Continental, - - 1 -a! Tl' - for files of papers ana outer wvon. n e condense from the late papers the important intelligence. The most interesting news relates *T a great battle betwe&t Gen. Banks and Gen. Kirby Smith, on the Red River, in which the enemy suffered a total defeat. The papers of the 20th had a report of a defeat on the 8th, much exaggerated, in which Gen. Ransom, commanding the cavalry was wounded, our forces routed, and our loss over 2,000. The rebel re ports put our loss at 14,000. The Pliila.delphia papers of the 22d, how ever, contained the following Cairo, April 21.?Advices from Grand Ecore, Red river, to the morning of the 15th, have been received. The battle <m the 8th was fcught at the Sabine Crofh Roads. The rebels were commanded by Generals Magruder, Holmes and Taylorall under General Kirby Smith. The rebel loss in the first day's fight is pl-ieed at 1,500. ! The second day's was at Plet&nt j I Hill, where the enemy was most xluri-: I ou.?ly routed, and driven trom the|fieUl ; ; by our forces under General A. J. yjpith, j General banks commanding in chi& Tlit' enemy's loss is heavy, and uflfeast j two'to our one. Among their kille<Bfere Generals Noi ion and Parsons. \ Alter the tlrst (lay's tight, Gen. tfuik>. being short of rations, sent word to the Admiral to return with the fleet, which hud advanced to within eighty miles of; Shrcveport, and was preparing to blow i up the steamboat New Falls City, which ! the rebels had sunk in the channel. On j the reception of General Banks' dispatch i the fleet turned back, and on the way ; down was attacked by large numbers of | | the enemy on both sides of the river,who > attempted to capture the transports. A tight ensued between the guntoats and the rebels, in which the iatterAere splendidly vnepulscd, with .">0u o^tJOO killed, and a large number wounded, while none of our gunboats were injured, j General Greene, commanding the rebels 1 in this action, had his head blown otf i by a shell. Mr. Deli. Randolph Keim, Special J correspondent of the New York Herald at Cairo, describes the massacre at Fort Pillow as follows: "On April 13th, at daylight, the ene my, numbering six thousand, under the , immediate command of Forrest, mfcte | his appearance in the vicinity of Fort j Pillow, a lortiticd post on the Tennessee i wide of the Mississippi river, about two | hundred miles below this point. At $i.\ i in the morning the enemy comiueij^yd | the attack, in the most vigorous manner, I opening with two pieces of artillery. ] The garrison in the fort consisted of the ' First Alabama negro regiment and a reg- j iment of Tennessee cavalry, all under j command of Major Booth.* A spirited 1 reply was immediately made by the gar- j rison. The enemy commenced deploying his colanms until the entire fort w:is : invested from river to river. In the ! course of several hours a charge was j made upon the fort, but was gallantly ? repulsed. After repeated attacks garrison was finally overwhelmed awl obliged to surrender. The fight lasted from six A. M. until three P. M. In the legitimate engagement our loss was about titty killed and wounded. The enemy lost about a hundred, possibly more; tbr his charges were made mainly through open fields. " After the troop had surrendered ; their arms, a preliminary butchery com-1 meuced. Tlie negroes, becoming alarmed, fell behind their otticers. The enenjy | immediately fell up<m the latter, and, af- j ter massacring all, resumed upon tKe j negroes, the murdering now being promiscuous. Persons that were on the field state that no quarter was even shown the wounded, who, already dying from the loss of blood, had but strength enough left to raise their hands in signification of a cry for mercy. Even these touching i marks were also disregarded, and the j miseries of the unfortunate sufferers, euded in cold-blooded murder. Out of; six hundred that originally^ constituted j the garrison, but two hundred, and those 1 mostly wounded, are left to tell the tale, j But seven negroes are* known to have i escaped. Major Bradford, one of the j escaped prisoners of Streight's command was in the Fort during the tight, and lias not since been heard from." LATEST FROM FLORIDA. ' j Gen. Hatch has been relieved from the J command of the District of Florida, and ! i is succeeded by Brig. Gen. Wm. Biniey. | j The latter took command on Wednesday : 1 ot last week, announcing the following as his staff:? 1st Lieut. R. M. Ilall, 1st U. S. Artille- j rv, A. Asst. Adj't General, j 1st Lieut. D. V. Purington, 7lh U. S. C. i T., Chief Quarter Master. Captain S. II. Swctland, C. S. Chie^ ' Comnlissary of Subsistence. 1st Lieut. T. C. Yidal, Signal Corps, U. S. A., Chief Signal Officer. Surgeon S. W. Gross, U. S. V. Medical Director. 1st Lieut Cha?. R. Suter. U. 9. Eng'r* Chief Engineer. , 1st Lieut. W. Burns, Jr., 1st N. Y. V. j Lng'rs, Chief of Ordnance. I.t. Col. U. Doubleday, &1 U. S. C. T., j Chief of Artillerv*. Capt. Lewis Ledyard Weld, 7th V. S. i r T Pr,u-ntt *" "* 2d Lieut. It II. Waters, 52d Penn. V., j Asst. Commissaiy of Musters. W. H. Dennis, U. S. Coast Survey, at- i tached as Topographical Engineer. Capt. P. F. Young, 107th Ohio V., A. Aid-de-Camp. 2d Lieut. Henry E. Burton, :1.7th U. S. C. T., Aid-de-Camp. There is nothing of importance to report. either of our own or the enemy's movements, except that the rebels are supjx>scd to be rapidly withdrawing their ! forces, who are m routt to reinl'oree tlftj I relkol army of the Potomac. IMPORTANT CAPTURE. We learn that a force of from fifteen to twenty rebels, while scouting in Vincent's Creek, Morris Island, daring the night of Friday last, were captured in i their boats by our pickets, who were sol- ; diers of the 54th Massaeousetts (colored) I troops. The prisoners did not seem at ! mi ui.wuiu'iau at uivu ia]jiuic, ui?i, while professing loyalty to the rebel j cause, openly expressed their satisfaction j at being in Union hands, though they i evidently did not relish the idea of being j taken by negroes. They brought no; very important news, but confirmed the j reports that the armies for the defence of Richmond are being strengthened at the i expense of more southerly points. NAVAL MATTERS. We loam that a bold attempt was I made on Monday night of last week to I destroy the frigate Wabash off Charles- ! ton harbor. A low, Vdgar-sliaped steatn-!, er. supposed to Ik* one of the newly-ln- j vented "Davids," such as blew up the ! Housatonie, was descried al>out four hun- ! , dred yards from the frigate, and heading j directly for her. The Wabash instantly slipped her cables and got away?not, i 111MM Tl lf ? uuuiii 111111^ a uwn 11 win i her broadside guns. The strange craft was seen no more, and it is presumec I that she was sunk. The steam sloop-of-war Pocohontas. j Lieut.-Com. M. Patterson Jones, arrived j at this post a few days since to coal. Si*1 is l>ound for the West Gulf Squadron. Commander Aaron H. Hughes has ! been detached from the Cimeronefand j ordered North. He is relieved by Lieut. Com. John H. Russell. Capt. Thomas T. Craven has been confirmed as Commodore, dating from 18H2. The gunboat South Carolina, Lieut. Kennison commander, remains at her station in Tybee Roads, with the mortar schooner Ward, doing blockading duty. The South Carolina captured, the other' day, the Anglo-Rebel steamer Alliance, l with a valuable cargd, and sent her to this port preparatory to being sent north . for adjudication belore the Admiralty Court. The South Carolina has rendered j very efficient service in the squadron for , more than two years past, anil is now 1 doing most valuable duty before Savan- i nali. The following is a list of her officers:?Wm. AV. Kennison, A. V. Lieut, commanding; Frederic F. Baurv, Acting Master and Ex. Officer; ("has. F. Taylor, Act. Ensign ; John Gunn, Act. Ensigu ; ' Samuel W. Tanner, Act. Asst. Paymaster, Hiram C. Vauglian. Act. A^st. Surgeon; { Felix Collins^ Paymaster's Clerk; John 1 II. Rowe, Act. 2nd Asst. Engineer, in charge; Henry Gormley, Act. 2nd Asst. j Engineer; F. W. II. Whitaker, Act. 2nd Asst. Engineer: Daniel Gorman, Act. 3rl Asst. Engineer; Montgomery , West, Act. 3rd Asst. Engineer; Ansel S. Hitch. Act. Master's Mate; Kliphalct Holbrook. Act. Master's Mate; Samuel S. Wellington, Act. Muster's Mate; Augustus Sedcraft, Pilot. - j To 111: Officers of (\>eouki> Tiioom. ?.Major iiencr.ii uunnore, ny auiuoruy of the President of the United States, lias commissioned the following parties as oilieers of Colored Troops. Each has satisfactorily sustained a most rigid examination as to military ability and moral standing: Private Joseph W. Dickinson, 33th Illinois Volunteers, to be a captain in the 21st U. S. C. T. Quartermaster Sergeant Adrian us Jansen, 1st N. Y. Volunteer Engineers, to be a 1st Lieutenant in the 21st U. S. C. T. Private llenry M. Jones, Co. M., 1st U. S. Artillery, to Ik? a 2d lieutenant in the 21st U. S. C. T. Sergeant Henry W. Cass. 111th X. V. Volunteers, to Ik* a 1st Lieutenant in the 34th U. S. C. T. Peter Meagher, Civilian, to be a 2d Lieutenant in the 21st U. S. C. T. 1st Lieut. Abraham W. Jackson, 33d U. S. C. T., to l>e a Captain in the samy Regiment, vice Randolph, resigned. 2d Lieut. Henry A. Beach, 33d U. S. C. T., to be a 1st Lieutenant 111 the same Regiment, vice Jackson, promoted. 2d Lieut. Enoch WT. Robbing :?:?d U. S. C. T., to be a 1st Lieutenant in the same Regiment, vice 1 leach, promoted. 2d Lieut. Robert \V. Perry, 34th U. S. C. T., to be Adjutant of the same Regiment, vice diaries, dismissed. Sergeant Richard Gowcrs, Co. E, 1st X. Y. Vol. Engineers, to l>e a 1st Lieut, in the 21st C. S. C. T., to fill an original vacancy. 2d IJeut. Charles -S Allen, 21 st V. S. C. T., to Ik? a 1st Lieutenant in the same Regiment, to lid an original vacancy. % * 2d Lieut. James S. Dungan, 21st U. S. n i1 ?n iu> ? r ?i.? . v i 11 a liii uu ii.iiii in iiu- .niuic Regiment. to till an original vacancy. Badge of the Tenth Armv Cocpm.? The system of Army Corps badges, tirst introduced by the lamented (Jen. Kearney, has now been extended to nearly every corps or department. By the simple device of flannel which the soldier wears upon his cap. his place may at once be known. It' lie Is found away from his regiment or brigade, he may be returned to it 44 and no question asked.' Hence the Army Corps badge serves to prevent straggling on the march, as well as to biud together by the closest ties , * those who wear it. Recent!y a badge has Ik'cn adopted for the Tenth Corps, under Major General Gillmore. Its design is most appropriate, being an outline representation of a square fort, witlr bastions. The badge is punched with a matrix, from red, white and blue flannel, the first division wearing the red, the second the white, and the third the blue. Inasmuch as the Tenth Corps has won its reputation in the performance of siege duty, at the reduction of Fort Pulaski, the des trucfjon <>t Fort Sumter, and tlie capture of Forts Wagner and Gregg, we tliiuk no more fitting design could liave been selected as a distinctive badge. Pkhrosal.?Lt.-Col. William Ames, of the :td Rhode Island Artillery, recently promoted from Major, arrived here from the North on Tuesday, and is stopping at the Port Royal House. His many friends will be glad to learn of his return to the Department. Sergeant B. F. Weeks, 1st Conn. Artillery, has been continued by the Senate' r>9 a Commissary of Subsistence. j