The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, November 15, 1862, Image 4
[ Continued from Second page.] (
information of the General Commanding the forces, '
that agreeable to the orders of the Major-Gcneral ]
Commanding the Department, I reported to Acting (
Major-Geacral Brannan this morning at eight
o'clock?with two hundred and fifty enlisted men '
of the Volunteer Engineers and fifteen officers '
constituting the Engineer forces. J j
Fifltv-four men and t*o officers were assigned to
duty with Col. Barton, 48th N. Y. Vols , and fur- j
nishcd with tools and proper appliances to destroy i.
railroad structures. This detachment was placed ;
under tho orders of Captain Samuel F. Eaton,
Vol. Engs. and has not yet been heard from. The
remaining forces of the Engineers were placed 1
under the immediate orders of Lieut-Col. James
F. Hall, Vol. Eng ; 1 was assigned to duty on the
Commanding General's Staff.
The line of march was from Mackay's point on
Broad River, on the direct road towards Old Poco- i
taligo. 'Ihe general direction is about North from '
the point, and the road is on the right bank of the 1
Pocotaligo River, begiuing at the confluence of1
the Pocotaligo and Broad Rivers and lying from one
(piarter to three quarters of a mile from the stream.
The country through which the road runs is a
rolling, sandy plain, except at two points where it
crosses marshes and small streams, the first of ;
which is about five miles from the point and is on
"Caston's" Plantation; the second is about six 1
and a quarter miles, and the plantation is called
" Frampton," at both of these points serious en- ]
gageuients took place with the rebels.
'i he Engineer Troops were engaged from about
ten o'clock until alter sunset in making and repair- !
ing several small bridges and in keeping the road
in order.
Lu-ut-Col. Ilall reports Acting Lieut , Sergt.
Nathaniel M. Edwards, as especially worthy of 1
notice for his efforts in repairing the bridge at 1
Frampton, under heavy fire, and for his general J
efficiency.
The point reached was within a few yards of the 1
road bridge over the Pocotaligo, on the road leading
from Old Pocotaligo to Cuosawhatchie. This i
bridge was destroyed by the rebels as they retreat- i
ed over it into their earthworks on the easterly i
side.
Timber for the purpose of rebuilding this bridge I
was prepared by the Engineers, and was ready to i
be put together when the retreat was ordered. 1
^ This point is withia-about a mile and a half of I
. ? . JL -... the t l.^rle-tou Knilroa<l Officers ?'
J in the advance report-nffing seen the cars passing, i
A small lunette that had been abandoned was 1
observed on the southerly side of the marsh on <
the high ground near "Caston." ?
I have the honor to be i
Your obd't serv't, 1
rnwiDn \V fi'PRR'ET.T. <
Col. Vol. Eng. and Chief Engineer 10th Army Corps.
Captain Louis J, Lambert,
Ass't Adj't Gcn'l U. S. Forces, Bread River.
Postscript?7$ A. M., 23d Oct., 1862.?I cannot
too highly compliment Lieut-Col. HaH for bia
zeal and efficiency in caring for the wounded
of the whole army during the night.
Capt Eaton has just reported that the detach,
ment commanded byhim nnder the orders of Col
Barton, 48th N. Y. Thb., destroyed a portion of
the railroad at Cooeawhatchie and covered the j
return of the 48th N Y. Vols., bv tearing up and j
destroying the bridges on the road back. .
Your owtaervt.
.SEWARD W. SERRELL, J
Col. Vol. Eng., Chief EngineCV HKfc Army Oft]*.
'?< ' ! t
HEADQU48ISB8, U. 8. FORCES, ,
n* JhfiJMSAL Go. Od. SSL US3. L
Capxaxx :?I have the honor to report my share H
in the recent operations against the Charleston and 1
Savannah railroad; In accordance with orders from <
Gcn'l Mitchel, received on the evening of the 1
20th inst., I left this. Post at 8 o'clock A. M., on 1
the 21st inst., with three hundred men of the 4Bth <
X. Y. Vols., and fifty-men of 3d Rhode Island Artil- i
lery (the latter under command of Captain John >
II. Gould) with three days cooked, and seven days i
uncooked rations?on board the aimed transport, i
Planter. 1
On arriving at Hilton Head I received instrnc- .
tions as to my number in the line of the fleet, and ]
*!?<-? flirpption< to renort to Brbredier General i
Brannan. who commanded the expedition on i
reaching Mackeys Point, for further orders. Soon <
after daylight on the morning of the 22d, I repor. 1
ted to General Brannan on board the Ben Dtford, ]
and was directed by him to proceed wiih my com- 1
mand up the Coosawhatchie river?as near to the 1
town of that name as 1 might deem practicable; and 1
disembarking under cover of the gunboats, which <
were to accompany me, to move toward the town <
and, il possible, reach the Charleston and Savannah t
railroad,and destroy it at that point, and'the bridge ]
on it, over the Coosawhatchie river. i
I was fully instructed, however, not to hazzard ;
? too much in order to accomplish the above, bat, if, t
'I
_ 'J!1!!1 JX. J. ?5.1. MS
opposed by a force at all superior, to fall back unier
cover of the tieet. . There was some delay in
starting, arising from the gunboats being well to
the rear, which, I improved, in borrowing from
L'omiuander Steedman on board the flag ship, Paul
Joucs, a twelve pound dahlgren boat howitzer and
fiftv iwo rounds of ammunition, which proved of
" ' ?i /? ?lul 1
great service tome, unu iur nmui * uuut w uturn
my thanks. I was a'.so furnished, by General
Brannan's order, with fifty men from the N. Y.
Vol. Engineers, under command of Captain Eaton,
provided with the necessary implements for cutting
the railroad, &,c.
We were soon under way and had proceeded
Borne three miles up the river, when the gunboats
turned around and went back, in compliance, as I
was informed, with an order from the tiag ship. 1
howevor, continued on my course in the Planter,
meanwhile signalling to the flag officer for at least
one gunboat?in reply to which he kiudly sent tw o,
viz : the Pairoon and the Marblehead, which followed
al ter the lapse of a few minutes. The rivei
at this point was very narrow and winding, but the
water in most places was over twelve feet in depth,
at low tide. 1 found no difficulty, therefore, in
reaching a point two miles distant from Coosawhatchic,
but it opw being almost dead low tide,
further progress by water was rendered impossible
by the Planter running aground. Throwing a few
shells in the woods, I diseob.irked with my infantry
and engineers m expeditiously as possible, taking
with me tbui boat howitzer, referred to above,
in charge of Cautun Gould, 8d R. I. A., and a detachment
of twdve of his men. The swampy nature
of the gron|ra rendered londiug difficult, but
losing no time, Iadvanced towards the main road
?sendinga reqtest to the officer in command of
the Pairoon, thf gnnboat nearest me?and about
one mile and a 1 alf astern; to cover the road in iny
rear, as I advaneed. I should state here that both
the gunboats Yere unfortunately aground, and
svere thus prevented from takiug a position nearer
to the Planter.
My advance reported squads of Cavalry in sight,
is the main body entered the road, which it did at
right angle, to tjhe point of disembarkation. The
road proved to be an excellent one?hard and firm
?aud evidently repaired but an hour or two before,
the dirt being still frtsh, and the tracks upon it
showed plainly, that artillery, infantry and cavalry
had just passed over it. I continued ray advance
toward the town, driving in the enemy's pickets,
md ski:mfrhinfchi'"-o country as thoroughly as posUtrti:,
uliiu um m."ivm feL* v:'Ugn, I
vbistle of a locottotive was heard. I was inform^
id by the " contraband," who had been furnished
- - 5* irrto tK/i t? rlift troin whi^h fll.
IIS it J?JU1UU, lUAi It H 414) lUVj 1
Ivays passed at that hour, and which he said was
well on its way to Savannah. A few moments however,
proved that he had misinformed me, for when
he main body bad arrived at a point within a few
Hundred yards*/ the town, and when the skirmishers
had already reached the railroad track and telegraph
line?the train was heard and seen coming
3)idly down the road. I quickly placed my bation
in position, and as the train approached, I
Jirocted a heavr and rapid fire upon it, with grape
uuLpanister ana musketry. This fire was very destructive.
Tfco train consisted of eight, cars, six
jf which were platforms, crowded, with men?the
two box caps filted with officers. There were also
two Hght field pieces on board. Many were seen
to lull at thftfirat fire (among them the engineer)
uid twentjMh* or thirty jumped from the train,
most ofwb&uteere maimed or lulled, thereat,
with one es&ptlon, betaking themselves to the
woods and on the otner nae 01 me uwck.
We carried mfr or destroyed here about thirty
stands of ?rml( mostly rifles, and secured one
officer's ^wosaaodcap, and a stand of silk colors,
belonging tortne" Whippy Swamp Guards." We
eft a nnmber of the enemy's dead and wounded |
)& the track. 11 hare since learned, from the Savannah
papers of the24th and 25th, that among the
tilled at mispoint was Major Harrison of the 11th
Seorgit Rogt, which Regiment, with the Qnards
named abo^e, was on the train. Immediately
titer thetridihad passed, Captain Eaton, by my direction,
set wgorously to work, tearing up the rail-,
-oad track, ahd demolishing the telegraph lint,'and
continued $is until the retreat was sounded.
Alter this occurrence I concluded if possible to
push rapldl/iito the tows, and attack the troops,
irhile in the confusion of disembarking, and
a ' M 4 T V.J J I
tiarc bed forward lor uw purpose, x uau |nwgcv
}d but a short distance, however, before I oune
n full view ef the enemy's forces, advantageously
posted on the other side of the public road bridge,
between that And the railroad bridge?they were
lanked on their left by the river, and on the right4
jy a thick swamp, with three pieces of artillery
jomraanding the fridge. They immediately
jpened fire upon us with their artillery and infancy?fortunately
however for us firing too high.
[ fired a few rounds in return,when, as it was now
lcarly night, and the enemy's reinforcements
ibove, were double my Ctatlre force, I marched
ilowly hack to my bo4^ During my retreat, the
*
skiriui.-ihcj3 frequently observed and encountered
small bodies of tbc enemy's cavalry, who were
however easily driven off. I directed ('apt. Eaton,
of the Engineers, to destroy the bridges on the
n ad in ray rear, which he did thoroughly, thns, in
a measure hindering the pursuit. The enemy,
however made his aDDearance and attacked us with
Infantry and Artillery, three several times during
our embarkation, but on each instance wo drove *
thera off with serious loss, as they were directly
under the guns of the Planter and Patroon.
As soon as the ste-.mer again floated, we returned
to Mack eys Point, by order of General
Brannan, and thence, by way of Hilton Head to
this Post.
I regret to report that during the last attack of
the enemy, Lieutenant J. B. Blanding, 3d K.I. A.
at that time in charge of the Planters guns, was
dangerously wounded in the left arm and side?he
is now however doing well. This was the only
casualty on our side during the day.
It affords me great pleasure to state that every
officer and man of my command behaved, during
the entire day, in the most commendable manner,
evincing only a desire to meet the enemy, and regret
at the necessity of retreat.
Major Green act'g. Lieut. Col. 4Sth N. T. Vols ,
and Capt. Strickland, act g. M;tjor do.: were especially
useful.
Captain Gould 3d R. I. A., also, rendered me
most efficient service, as did also Captain Eaton,
Serrels Vol. Engineers, all of whom displayed the
utmost teal, energy and ability, in all they were
called uj.on to peroral.
1 have the houor to be, Captain, very .espectfully,
your obedient servant,
W. B. BARTON.
Col. 48th N Y. S. Vols. Commanding Post.
captain lambkri (
Jss t. Aiyt. General. J
Hilton Head S. C., Oct. 2:th, 1862.
Ciloxel:? I have the honor to report that I
leit:lie Baton at 11P.M., with 12 men and a
negro guide, to capture a picket post; went up the^
river by water to within two mi.es of my destination
landed and rea. hed the rear of the picket a
little after day-break,?sen* six men to occupy a
dyke in the rear, to capture any w ho might escape
me, then advanced and captured two cavalry
pickets, one a 1st Lieut, in Morgan's cavalry, and
lear***m that two more pickets would soon be in,
d to lfct them teas'tu, and
stationed the remaining force about the grounds,
with orders to allow the rebels to enter the line and
then capture thiife, which was done. I then embarked
and returned to the fleot and delivered the
prisoners to Gen. Brannan; the property consisting
of 3 valuable cavalry horses, 4 sets cavalry
equipments, ^ double-barreled fowling pieces, 1
irillc, 8 cartridge boxes and 3 belts to Capt. Coryell,
Quartei master of (Jen. Bran* an s Brigade, by
order of Gen. Brannan. My thanks are duo Master
Orman of the gunboat Paul Jones, who accompanied
me with 8 men.
Your Obt. Servt.,
Lieut. S. M. SMITH, 8d Regt. N. H. V.
Col. Joust H. Jacksox, 3d Regt. X. II. V.
, U8T RECEIVED at the etore under the Post Office, a fresh
(J lot of fine letter and note papers, envelopes, pins, ink
and other stationary ; Military books, Novels in great variety,
knives, pipes, brushes, and a fine lot of English and
French Glove* and other Furnishing Goods for the Army
' The latest daily and pictorial papers for sale ou each arrival
Aran the North. Alao Tan XbwSocth every Saturday
iAMtiiFu a# nn?nT/iiv xirkTmi nnvfDiW
nPKBMVI /I til I .lUV/fUl TV AJ.VU VV.U4
; Nrw York and Bomtoh, October 13th, 1863.
. 8a ??WO have to inform you that owing to the large alTaaoes
ta Stiver, Gold and other Metal*, Precious Stones,
gamttM and Tools, tho American Watch Company have
reduced their discount ten per cent, on their productions.
Yours respectfully,
BOBBINS t APPLETON, 183 Broadway, N. Y,
BOBBINS, APPLETON u; CO.,
153 Washington St., Bosioii.
American watches for American soldiers.
The Amartran Watch Company ot Waltham, Mass., give ?
notice that thoy lately issued a hew staple of watch expressly
designed for soldiers and others who desire a t watch
at a moderate price. These watches are intended to take
the place of the cheap anchors and iepmee of foreign manuflurture
with which the market is lioodel, and uLich, an
every one knows, were never made tu keep time, being refhse
manufactures, unsaleable in Europe snd sent to this
Country tor /tx-.e/oi; and - indlt.iy purposes only.
A? e?V* ie mnc* uiil.i:fflnhii!14niit/liV (bolPil ill fti r.
silver, and is ft reliable and accurate time-piece. It is
offered at a price but little above that v hich is asked for the
trashy anchors and lepines already referred to. We have
named this new series of watches Win. iilery, and they
niay be found at the stores of our agents, Chancey G. Robbins,
Beaufort; Douglas, Steele ? Co., Hilton Head, for the
American Watch Company.
H. A. BOBBINS, General Agent.
b
TUTR. C. G. BOBBINS, BEAUFORT a C., la now estate
1VI lisliod on the corner opposite Stevens House1' He
has always on hand, for sale, the most desirable goods for
this section of the country, and for Army uses, at the lowest
price?.