The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, August 29, 1863, Image 2
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THE NEW SOUTH.
Jos. H. Soars. Editor and Proprietor.
PORT ROYAL, SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1863.
Tex New South can be obtained of the following
persons.
H. Shears, P. M., Beaufort.
J. W. Allen, P. M., St. Augustine, Fla.
"VY. C. Morrill, P. M., Fernandina, Fla.
J. B. Hobson, Fort Pulaski.
Chaplain Hill, 3d New Hampshire Yols.
L. R. Brooks, 39th Illinois Vols.
Edwin D. Doolittle, Vol. Engineers. ^
J. A. ihmuth, ooxn ra. v ois.
Sikot. C. M. Gat, Co. M, 1st Mass. Cav.
Gilics Alexander, Co. 1,1st Mass. Cav.
Other regiments should send in their orders
early.
AFFAIRS AT MORRIS ISLAND.
The Bombardment of Sumter?Its EffectsMovements
of the Ironclads?Arrival of
Refugees?Narrow Escape of Beauregard
?Grand Scare of the Rebel Officers, Ac.
[From Our Special Correspondent].
Morris Island, S. C., Aug. 25, 1863.
The bombardment of Fort Sumter has closed.
The Fort is practically reduced, and any continuance
of fire, would be regarded as a waste of am- 1
munition and nroiectiles Two or thrp? irnna i
still kept in play, at intervals, to prevent the garri- a
son from mounting new guns, if they so desired, F
to annoy the navy, when it goes upon the war a
path again.
Since Thursday ^&t,'the date of your iast com- f
munication, the bombardment was continued with t
uninterrupted severity and unparalled effect. The a
gorge wall was so badly shattered and tumbled F
down that only a mass of rubbish was left to tire (1
at. All the damage possible had been indicted e
on the wall. The parapet had been knocked fi
down, and the face of tho wall so shattered, thac It
the arches were visible, and light shone through tl
them from the interior. Of course no guns could t<
be mounted on that side oi the work, and that fact tl
being placed beyond a doubt, fire was directed ir
against the South East face, on Thursday, and that b
soon began to exhibit all the incipient symptoms e:
of disentegration. The clouds of smoke and brick w
dust that issued from the face of the wall when a p
shot struck it, hung for a moment about the wall o
and then slowly drifted away, revealing huge holes t<
or craters in the masonry, or wide gaps in the par- 'i
opet. After a few hours firing, the face of the h
Vm-t ?nnp:ircil .is if It was sniK'rinor from in iriifp B
attack of tho small pox, which had broki n out on ri
it. The craters thfcn begun to run one into auoth- P
or, and huge masses of masonry becoming detach- *1
ed, fell with a crash, below, and enveloped the si
work in clouds of dust. The parapet was com- a
pblclv torrf away by Sunday, and the south bastion
knocked into ruins. Not more than one gun ^
remained on the parapet, and it isdoubtful who*1 e
that is serviceab'e. When the bombardment '
proper closed on Monday night the Fort was prac- ^
tically in ruins. Every portion of it bore marks ^
of the'severity of our fire. It was rendered un
tenable to any but a small aetaeiiment ot men who "
could hide themselves iu obscure corners, ami even ai
they could not escape the effects of our fire. The 0
value of the work is entirely destroyed. It is no ^
longer reckoned among the defences of Charleston. ^
Since Monday, one or two guns have been slowly ?
tiring ht \ the Fort, to complete its destruction.
The last gun on the parapet was dismounted by ^
Capt. (iray's battery, and a little rounding off Of ^
the rough edges will connote the j"b undertaken s'
%
>y Gen. Gillmore. Our flag may go up upon the j
vork in a day and it may not in a month. The
possession of the Fort would be of no value to us, j
lor can the rebel occupation do us damage. So
iie rebel flag is permitted to fly above its ruins.
^ n ? -*?- ?- ?* 4 1?A aa?TAM AC tKA /Ia
un duncisj m^ui mst; uuuu w ? w v* ^uv uw?less..
Admiral Dahlgren went up tbe harbor with
Ive monitors, and tired upon the North-East face
>f Fort Sumter, for an hour or more, making some
good shots, at a distance of about eight hundred
^ards. The attack was made at about three o'clock
1b the morning, and created no little alarm among
the rebels in the encircling batteries. The fog
jbscured the rebel vision, and when they opened
ire they aimed at the flashes of our heavy guns,
ind of course did us little or no damage. The
monitors were continually in motion, and thereby
jscaped the greater portion of the shots directed
igainst them. Some of them were hit several
:imes, but sustained no serious injury. Fort
tfoultrie, Battery Bee, and the Mount Pleasant,
Battery maintained for an hour or more a territic j
ire. Without paying atteution to their furious
* * * a1 ? -X- -11 - ..l ii i
;anonade, tne monitors mrew sueu uucr suen
igainst the shattered walls of Sumter, and opened
lew breaches in its walls. The Fort fired but
hree shots in return, merely to say that it was I
ttill occupied. The fog having become more !
lense, after an hour's firing, the action ceased on '
)oth sides, and the monitors waited for daylight;
0 come out. At about six o'clock the fog thinning
lomewhat, the ironclads moved slowly out, under
1 heavy fire from the batteries on Sullivan's Island
ind Battery Gregg on Morris Island, which repeat- ;
>dly struck them, but did no damage. One man
?n the Montuuk was slightly bruised by a shell,
toother person was hurt during the action. Since
hat time the navy has been inactive, partly on
ccount of the heavy blow, which rendered it im-1
possible to place the ironclads into action to any J
dvantage. ? .
.Three contrabands came into our linos yesterday
rom Fort Johnson. One of them, the most indigent
of the lot, appeared in a pair of drawers
nd a shirt, and was destitute of shoes or a hat.
[e swam Light House Creek, and, after a great
eal of labor in the mud of the marshes, succeedd
in crossing them safely, and reached terra j
rma, and our pickets. His two comrades were !
jft in the marsh by the side of the creek, which
ley could not swim, and were rescued and brought
i us by ore of our boats, which was sent after
lem. after dark last night. They tell some very
iteresting stories. One of them had been the ;
ody servant of a Captain in Fort Johnson ; anothr
had been cook to the officers mess, in which
ere some superior officers, and ha I enjoyed op- j
ortunities ot listening to the conversation of the
fficers at the table, whereby lie had been enabled
) overhear many important matters discussed,
fe reports that on Monday last while some of our
eavy guns were firing upon Fort Johnson, Gen. ;
leauregard came down from Charleston in a cariage,
to visit Gen. Taliaferro, who commands that,
ost and Morris Island. As he drew up before
le door of Gen. Taliaferro's quarters, one of our j
bells exploded about thirty feet over his carriage, |,
nd sent its fragments flying all about mm. unirtunately
none of them struck the traitor, and
e escaped to meet that end which men not born
) be drowned are said to be doomed to meet,
he great rebel warrior quickly descended from [:
is vehicle, and hastily retreated to the shelter of
ten. Taliferro's quarters more frightened than
urt. Another of our shells struck a brick house
se 1 us a barrack by the rebel garrison of Johnson, !
nd went clear through it, and exploded far on the
ther aide. In its passage, it killed and wounded
ve men. who were not looking for a visitation of ,
lat kind, and camo very near knocking one side
( the house out, and the other in. Still another
hell killed some tnen in Battery Simpkins. o.i
'inegar Hill, to the light of Johnson, and knocked
ic sand about the hea ls of the -garrison in high
tylc. Others damaged the wooden houses in the
neighborhood very materially, and compelled Taliaferro
to move his troops from their comlortable
quarters, to the woods near by where they bivouacked,
and escaped further loss.
The negroes also report, that but a small gairi
son has been left in Fort Sumter, a sort of a forlorn
hope, which is to work one or two guns, as a loud
defiance to us to do our worst, keep the flag flying
to the last, and when further defiance is useless, as
in the event of an assault, or a total demolition of
the walls themselves, to apply the torch to the
magazine and blow up the Fort,?losing their lives
in the general ruin.
Thenegroes statements regarding the number of
the garrison varies somewhat. One states it to I e
about thirty; another puts it as high as a hundred.
Probably the true number will bo found to be
about fifty. Whether they will really blow the ^
Fort and themselves up is a question yet to be
settled. For one 1 greatly doubt it. Those who
brag so grandly about what they will do in this
heroic line, are generally the last persons to carry
out their threats, when the pinching hour arrives.
Life is never so sweet as when it seems to draw to
a close; and the bravest resolutions fade away,
when the time comes to cut the golden cord that
binds us to earth. Naturally enough we infer then,
that the.^e brave sons of Gascony, will not execute
their fearful promises, and ;nvolve friend, foe and
Fort in one grand, common ruin.
Another report of the contrabands show hew
fearful the rebels are lest we should capture Charleston,
without being blown out of water and destroyed
en route. They represent the alarm of the
rebel officers, when they heard the Monitor's guns
thundering behind Sumter, on Sunday morning, as
being really pitiable. A dense log enveloped the
harbvjr, and shut out from the keenest eye, a view
ofSumter, Monitors and Sullivans Island. They
could hear the roar of artillery, but could rarely
see the flashes, and their excited imaginations pictured
to them the advancing line of Monitors pushing
forward, by Fort Sumter, towards the city.
After the Are had ceased, they were comident that
the iron-clads had succeeded in passing, and were
silently stealing up the hafrbor, directly under the
? " V? t AnA.l>otSnn nntinn f 'liewlae.
guiiaj uuui uu cvciiaouii^ ucau UVUVII iv v>?ui ivgton,
and every thing that stood under a rebel flag. i
They generally concluded that Clmrleston was "T
about gone up. this time and begun to discuss
probabilities of the next object of attack, which
they determined was Savannah. Whereas they
proposed to get their house in order as soon as
possible, and leave for their native State, Georgia.
Bht when daylight came, and the fog was dispelled
by the sun and wind, and they saw no Monitors
anchored off the city, they grew bold again, and a
few of them began to doubt whether the Monitors
could take Charleston. A majority of them, however,
clung to their first belief, that it was quite
possible, and more than that, very probable. All
were greatly relieved when they saw the Monitors
leave their position near Sumter and return to
their old anchorage. The evil day was postponed,
and that was enough for them. Of the linal result
they did not doubt?it could be but one thing, it a
vigorous attack was made.
Our pickets had quite a sharp skirmish with
those of the rebels last night, in which the rebels
lost quite a number of men. None of our men
were seriously wounded?1 believe only one niau
was hurt at all. The skirmish was carried on with
so much vigor and determination on our part, that
the rebels thought we intended to make a grand
assault on Fort Wagner. No sooner was this idea
started than word was sent to the rebels on James
Island of the new complexion of aflairs. They
immediately opened one of the hottest lircs we
hive yet experienced and kept a continuous stream
of shells upon our lines, and occasioning some
casualties among o!i??rave men. Alter a nerco
contest of an hour dftuorc, the fight gradually became
less vigorous, and finally ceased altogether,
the enemies heavy guns having become less noisy,
and our own firing only at intervals.
To-day nothing of importance is going cn. The
rebels keep up a desultory fire, while ours is also
slow and unexciting.
Offioehs Leave of Absexce.?The following
is an answer to a question which is frequently
asked by officers in this Department. It is the decision
of the Paymaster General, U. S. A.
An officer is entitled to h:llf.nav diirincrfhe enm
of his leave of absence, and is not entitled to any
pav from the time his leave expires til. he reports
for duty?until cleared by a board. If this is done
he is entitled to half pay for the additional time he
has been absent without leave.
It is not the business or duty of Government to
furnish transportation to officers returning from
leave of absence. They are hound to be at their
|M)sts in projKM- time, at their own risk.