The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, November 01, 1862, Image 2
PORT ROYAL, SATURDAY, ROY. 1,1862.
; Death of Gfener&l MitcheL
It becomes our paintul duty to announce the
death ofMajor-GcneralOaMSBY M'KstoHT Mitchel,
commanding this Department. This aid Intelligence
reached us last Thursday night, just as our
paper was ready for press. A malignant fever
j contracted here, wa> the cause of his death, which
occurred at t^ o'clock, at Beaufort, whither he
had removed for a change of air and scene.
In the death of fhrmsby M. Mit hel, our
country hos lo?t one of her ablest Generals;
Astronomy and Science one of their most gifted
sons. They will vie with a grateful country, in
honoring his name, while his memory wi.l be
cherished by all. His operations here for the
short period that he held command, are so well
known as to scarce need allusion. He exhibited at
the outset an energy of purpose which foreshadowed
great events, while his course with regard to
the negro, here, was such as promised, had Providence
scared his life, to result in great good to the
canse of humanity. Alas! the brilliant career of
this extraordinarily gifted man has ended, and
he died?~not on the battle-field, but by a swift and
fatal fever?a martyr to his Country's cause.
The following brief sketch of his life has been
taken from a late journal:
"This able Astronomer and General was anative
of Kentucky, and born in 1808 He entered Wes:
Point iu 1825, and was breveted 2d Lieutenant of
? Artiiery on the 1st of July, 1829; he was acting
Ans.stant Professor of Mathematics from August,
l 1829, to August, 1881. in 1836 he was made
Chief Engineer of the Little Miami railn ad, and
letained that position for two years, ne had already
been made, in 1834, Professor of Mathematics.
Philosophy and Astronomy in tlje Cincinnati
rollege, Ohio, which he resigned in 1844. In
1845 he founded the observatory >.t Cincinnati, aud
became itsiuana.ing director. In 1846 he commenced
the publication < f an astronomic J journal,
entitled the Sidereal Messenger, which h - edi ed up
to the time of the rebellion Among other honorable
offices he has held, is that of Adjutant-General
of Ohio, and i hief Engineer of the Ohio and Mis;5isn
ppi Railroad. In 1861 he was made a Briga<
iierAieneral, and assumed a command in the West.
jEiis recent exploits there, such as the capture of
j Ifuntsville. l ecatur. and other places, interrupting
i ihe communica-ion < f the rebels in the West with
* Richmond are too fresh in the recollection of the
i public fo riVed recapi.illation."
Doctors Crane and Mitchel, U. S. A., attended
I him in his last sickness and every possille effort
- *as made to save his valuable life. Rev. Dr.
Strickland. 48th V. V. Vols., was w th him till h.'
1 neathed his last Calin, resigned an i even happy,
] le died as only the Christina Soldier can die.
His remains were borne to their resting place in
1 lie graveyard of the Old Episcoj>al Chnrch in
1 Beaufort, S. C., at 12 o'clock, yesterday, followed
1 >y regiments of Arti'lery, Cavalry and Infantry,
t leoerals Brannan and Saxton, Admiral Du Pout.
< yiipt. Rogers and many other prominent officers
< ?f the Army and Navy, united in the funeral
s olemnitiea.
" Oh J for the death of thoM
Who for their Country diet
Oh! be like theirs my laSt repose.
A? in the Krwre they tie."
__ CoL Hath uriel W. Brown.
Again we have the sad duty to announce the
*1 e&th of one of the Chiefs of our "Expeditionary
C !o-ps.v Col. Nathaniel W. Brown, of the 8d K.
1 . Raiment, died October 29th of Bilious Intermitt
JW Fever. Ouly a few days ago we saw him at
] Icadqnarters conferring with Gen. Ritch l. Col
] inowa was born in Dighton, Mass., in 1811, and
1. it interesting family of w.fe, two sons and two
d bow ottupy the bouse in vryeb be was
K
I
. "" I ?
Iborn. For many yeftrs -he was a merchant in
Providence, R. I., aud at one time President of a
bank of that city.
We h ive heard it said that when he took command
of the Sd R. I. Regt. it was in anything but
good condition, but his great executive ability and
fine soldierly qualities soon brought it to a high
state of discipline. We all know it is now one of
X !- iL. 1 AAL
ine o 'st as 11 is me largest regmieui m iue ivm
Army Corps. Truly, "Death loves a shining
mark."
Captaix Warfield.?It is with the deepest regret
that we notice the death of Captain L. A.
Warfield, from fever, on Monday last. Captain
Warfield was connected with this expeditionary
corps from its inception, as Chief Commissary
of the 2d Brigade under the lamented Stevens,
until within a few weeks of his death when he was
placed by the General commanding in charge of
the Commissary Department of this Depot. He
possessed of business talents which rendered
him peculiarly fit for the responsible duties entrusted
to him; while the excellent qualities of
his mind and h.art wron for him the friendship of
all with whom he came in contact.
Death of capt. Williams.?We regret to have
to Chronicle the death of Capt. J. C. Williams,
Aide-de-Camp to Gen. Mitchel, from fever, on
the 29th ult. His body was sent North on the
steamer Uvited Statu. Where will these fearful
ravages of death cease.
[Communicated.
Dun.?On the 29th ult., Nicholas W C arstens,
much beloved son of N. Carstens, aged 20 years
and 11 months. Beloved by all who knew him
New York papers please copy.
Last Week's Work.
The record of the Pocotaligo expedition, the
particulars of which were published at length, in
our last issue, is a fair one; and we see no cause
to quarrel with the result. While there is nothing
to be ashamed of, there is much to take pride
in.
In the first place, we cannot speak too highly
of the behaviour of the troops, x>th officers and
lm?n tkuv fnnorbt. snnprhlv all aiTCfi that the\* I
J ~0~' 1 J 7 -O *
stood to the work like heroes, General Brannan
and General Terry, who had command in
the field, handled the troops with great skill,
and conducted themselves most admirably. In
the second place, the enterprise was put through
with almost perfect art. In this respect, there <
has been, we venture to say, no military move- :
ment like it, before, in this Department. All
was rapidity and despatch, giving us a genuine
taste of Gen. Mitchell celerity. The expedition
started from this place at about 12 o'clock,
on Tuesday night steamed up the river
some twenty miles to the landing place; the
troops, horses, guns, wagons, everything, were
landed; thei* a march of five miles, before meeting
any thing to fight with; and by 12 o'clock on
Wednesday our boys were cracking away at the
rebels, and soon scoured thera out of that position.
All this in the brief space of twelve
hours. It was mighty quick work, and reflects
aroHit nn nrnrontTi nor and otopii.
J ? ?- ? o 1>
tive faculty of the General commanding. And
in less than forty-?ight hours after the starting
the troops were all back here?the men pretty
well fagged out, indeed, but as full of spirit and
mettle as ever, their hearts rather fired than!
i
dampened by what they had gone through.'
liking them all together, we reckon them to be
as noble a set of fellows as eyer drew swords
and pulled triggers.
The enterprise has certainly been a nice bit of
practice and experience for the uaen. After
such a pulling together, they can hardly fail to
hftvc coahdeuce in themselves aud in each other.
This is a great acquisition; almost enough of
itself to pay the cost of the enterprise, deep as
this is, and deeply as it must be felt by all true
men. Moreover, the troops were resting in
idleness, and needing some such exercise to
prepare them for the service they will be put to,
when proper reinforcements arrive, if that time
should ever come. *
A HEW CITY
On the opposite side of our harbor, just above
"Station Creek" on St. Helena Island, is a long,
high bluff of land called "The Jenkins Place.',
Since the capture of these Sea Islands by the
Union forces we have had our eye on this, as the
only proper site, hereabouts, for A New C y of
the South.
The bluff extends along the shore of the mouth
of Be.iufort Kiver, which is here broad and deep.
By reference to soundings we tind the deepest
water to be from 400 to 800 feet nearer the shore
than at the point on HLton Head now garrisoned
by our troops. There a large fleet can lay at anchor,
protected from gales in any direction and always
in quiet water, which is not the case on our
of th? hav Admiral Dnoont vt rv wiselv
selected the other side as anchoring ground for
the numerous vessels of bis fleet.
The land, too, lies beautifully for building purposes
and is said by all who have visited it, to be
far superior, every way, to our present location.
The well-water, especially, is said to be very pure
and sweet.
We solicit communications from persons acquainted
with the locality and wish to give the
subject a thorough examination for it is quite certain
a city is to spring up somewhere on the shores
of this broad and beautiful bay, and it is growing
more and more certain that the point uow garri
soned by us is not the proper site for our New City
of the South. S.
The Pocot&ligo Expedition -4
In the hasty account of the "Pocotaligo Expedition,
' which appeared in our last week's issue,,
we omLted make mention of mauy tacts and ,
iucidents worthy of record. Desiring to give credit
to whom credit is due in this atTair, wherein the
duties of each department were per.ormed so well,,
we are induced to publish the following additional,
particulars:
Fifty men from the N. Y. Vol. Engineers, under
command of Capt. Eaton, were detailed to
the command of Col. Barton, up the. oosawhatchie
and opened the roa i for them at the landing-.
After delivering their fire into the traia of cars,
they commenced teari.ig up the track with the
heavy clawbars they had carried, and destroying
the telegraph, but were soon ordered to retreat,
which they did, covering the retreat of the whole
force by destroying all tne Driages in mo rear aim
making the roads impassab.e ior artillery. This
undoubtedly saved great loss of lile as the boats
were aground and presented a fair mark for the
enemy.
Tue Battalion of Engineers under command'of*
Lieut. Co.. James F. Hall was with the main b dy.
of the troops and at once commenced the work of
repairing bridges, part of w hich was- done under
heavy tire The timber was cut and all preparations
made for rebuilding the bridge across the
Poco.aligo, when the troops were ordered to retire.
Lieut-Col. Hall, assisted i.y his command,
notwithstand.ng the greai.fatigues of the day, took:
charge of the wounded as. they were brougwtJm.
alter examination b\ the Surgeons, and couy.eyed
them on board the Itansports
Upon enquiry we tind that, in our report we
were guilty of an involuntary injustice to the 7th
^ * ?: *
V^UllllCUUt'Ul rC^iUlCMij V/UI. XIAWiVJ* X UVi inu
regiments which protected the retreat were the.
47th Pennsylvania and 7th Connecticut These
two regiments, by alternately forming in line at
right angles with the road, kept the enemy iu check,
and covered the retreat of the main body.. We
desire especially to. make his correction for the
reason that the excellent behaviourof these two regit
ments, boih on this occasion and in the field, wasthe
subject of particular comment from the com-nianding
General. Agaiu, it was Capt. Gray of.
the 7th Connecticut (not 7th New Haupshire).
regiment, who was sent to capture the pickets at..
Mackey's points The laiiure in this was entirely
due to the negro guides who took him two . r three
miles beyond ihp proper landing place.
Lieut. E-Gitung* was in command of Light.