University of South Carolina Libraries
The Florida Expedition. Pi.'atka Occupied?The Enemy at GainsviHc? Rebel Attrocity?Fine Scenery Here?Capture of a Rebel Steamer?An Advance, etc. Correspondence of the Xexo South : Pjlatka, Florida, ) i March 16th. 1864. J - ? - ? t* j.-i.; Un the Hth ill SI., an jc?xpeuuri>u icn Jacksonville for this place ; arriving the following morning. No enemy was found h?re. Our forces are now entrenched and hold the town-awaiting patiently for the enemy to come and see us. Reports from deserters and refngess say that Gen. Patten Anderson, is between here and Gainsville, with ton or twelve thousand Confederate troops. These reports must be taken with a large grain of salt; as the credibility of Florida corn-crackers is not wholly reliable. And yet the enemy may be in considerable force in our front; and also along the line of the Fernandina und Cedar Keys Railroad. We learn of a diabolical atrocity, that Chamber's Cavalry committed on two1 negroes here, something like a year or! f"' - i i ! more ago. inese negroes naa run nw?jr from Orange Springs, had crossed the St. John's, and were trying to get to St. Augustine, for Federal protection. They were unquestionably running away from thsir masters, and were in pursuit of Freedom. But they were captured, brought here, and hung on a tree, near the town. They had no civil or military trial; had committed no crime, but were executed?simply to " put down the nigger n in Florida. One of these poor fellows was cut down before life was extinct ?buried alive, as it were, and afterwards his head beaten to pieces with muskets. Such is life in the peninsula of the Confederacy, Tha scenery hers is beautiful, orange i groves, bannana trees, pomegranates and other tropical trees and shrub* abound. * The bay south of the town is magnificent, *nd the noble St, John's is here full three miles wide. Only four families were living here when onr troops took possession of the town. They were too poor or lazy to move elsewhere. -PUatka had 500 inhabitants, aucl four large hotels. It was the head of steamboat trade in tha interior of Florida, previous to the; war. On the 14th nit. on* of onr gunboats captured at Lake George, asmullsteamer called The Shanter, with a small quantity of cotton, rosin and turpentine. The S'tmier has been unloaded and sent up to the lake again, in pursuit of another Confederate steamer, said to have a large lot of cotton upon her. Our command, under Col. Barton, will advance tliis morning, to feel the enemy, and ascertain the correctness of reports as to his being in force. Nothing1 else new or strange. Tcbal-Cain. 1 ?French advertisements are a little peculiar, for example: <4A young lady, j aged twenty-five years, with a very strong i beard, which will attract the curious, wishes to become a domestic in a cafe. Address, etc." ?In a country churchyard we find this . epitaph?" Here lies the body of James Robinson and Ruth, his wife;" and underneath the text?"Their warfare is ac complished." The old perfect of Aeras said : " God created Ponaparte and then rested."' "Would to heaven God had rested a little sooner," remarked Count Louis of Narbonne. i ?"A ladies' shoemaker" advertises1 himself boldly, as one of "the sole her system!" Hasty Condemnation of Officers. A report comes North that Brigadier Genarnl Seymour, the commander of our troops in the late disastrous affair in Florida, has been placed under arrest by orfler of Major General Gillmore. The report has been telegraphed all over the country, and the result is a very general and very severe condemnation of the officer in question. We could have wished that the newspaper critics had learned wisdom by experience, and awaited a confirmation of the story, and, perhaps, the developments of a court of inquiry, before venturing to pass such severe judgment on General Seymonr. It is both ungenerous and unmanly to use such rude haste in casting vituperation upon one whose position precludes him from making a defence of his conduct except before an authorized court of inquiry. It may be that General Seymour is guilty of misconduct alleged. If it be so, the swift judgments of military- justice will soon overtake him ; and he has been long enough a soldier to understand this fully, and to submit to the consequences of any dereliction of duty. But in justice to an officer, whose services commenced with the first outbreak of hostilities, when, with his comrades in Fort Sumter, he earned a titb to the honor of the Nation by a loyal and heroie defence of his flag against traitors, and whose whole thought and best energies have been devoted to his duty as a soldier, fighting in defence of his country, we would that the voice of vituperation had for a moment been stayed. Gen Seymour entered the Army from the Academy in 18-ffi; in 1847 he was bre* * mm _ ? 1 Oi?A 1 veted lor meritorious services; m ioou ne was promoted to the rank of captain in the Fifth Artillery ; as we have before intimated, he was one of the defenders of Fort Sumpter; subsequently Battery C, of the Fifth Artillery, under his command. was assigned to General McCall's division ; in April, 1802, he vwas appointed a Brigadier General of Volunteers, serving with his brigade with much distinction on the Peninsula and at Antietam ; after this he was seat to the Department of the South, where he was welcomed as an accomplished soldier, and a high minded and thoroughly loyal gentleman. In the attack under General Gillmore, on Fort Wagner,though unsuccessful. as has been the case with nearly even* officer in nearly every assault upon regular works, he won additional renown among military men, and continued to gain the confidence of his commanding general and of all his fellow-officers in the Department This is a brief renew of General Seymour's record. It has everywhere been honorable, and one to which he can point ?- *"A T \-inur nf if 1 nf no tfnn Willi JUdl JlllUC. ' . v. .v. ?.. ...?r a moment before w venture to condemn. One of the charges brought against him by a daily newspaper of this city? a journal of such high standing that we are at a loss to understand how it could so readily, and with such violence, join in assailing General Seymour?is, that he is not an advocate of the employment of negro troops, and has always regarded them with suspicion. The same paper attacks General Gilmore on the same ground. We believe the charges to be wholly without foundation. The fact of the employment of negro troops has been accepted by every true soldier, whatever his prejudices, as a part of the declared policy of the Government under whose authority he serves, and to whose commands he owes strict obedience. Professional soldiers like Generals Gilmore and Seymour are the last to combat positive orders, and the true history of the Department of the Sonth will show that they have obeyed not only the letter but also the spirit of their instructions with reference to negro troops, We have seen the camps of the colored regiments in the Department of the South, and have witnessed their inspections, and we knowthat none have been more ready to give them credit for their efficiency and sol dierly bearing than tlie two general officers whom the Evening Post so unjustly assails. We do not write in defence of General Seymour's conduct in the affair on the Olustee. It may be our duty to speak of it in severe condemnation ; but we ask j for him justice, and a hearing.?Army or>d \nry Journal. ZrMEanOMSnMCHHkdMBMMMMMMMMnHHi Interview with the Widow of Ex-j President Polk . ? Correspondence of! the Cincinnati Times records an interview with Mrs. Polk at her bcantiful residence in Nashville : Much has l>een said of Mrs. Polk's se-1 ressirmism. On tins. and a hundred top ics that constituted some of the themes of our converse, we shall hare but little to say, as with this retiring and truly modest woman, " It is a name and an attainment", to shun as much as possible the public gaze. We will, nevertheless, give here some portion of our talk on this theme. I said to her : " Mrs. Polk I have heard [ you accused, since I have been in Nashville, of being a bitter Secessionist ~ how is this * '* She quickly and warmlv responded, in substance, as follows : " Mr. G , that is a wrongful accusation. I never was a Secessionist, and I don't think I ever will be one. I always said there was no excuse for the course taken by ray misguided southern friends. I said that Mr. Lincoln was constitutionally elected, and : i that that election should be acquiesced 1 in by every true patriot. I go, sir, for my Government ? my whole Government." I "In other words, Mrs. Polk," we responded, "you go for that United States of whicL your late honored husband was once the President ?" " Yes, sir,""she responded, with mark-, cd emphasis, "I do, I know my name has been placed before the public?once at least?in a connection that may have ; engendered in some minds doubts of my loyalty ; bnt was so placed against my! wishes and remonstrances. But inas- j much as it was done for a humane and t charitable purpose, I said nothing, pnb- j licly about it. I do not deny," she added. 4'that my womanly sympathies are | | with the Sonth, and that I often catch ? myself exulting over the success of the Confederate arms, but this is only when my reason is taken prisoner and my judgment temporarily suspended at the bid- f ding of my sympathies, prejudices, and | affections. I was born in the South. t From infancy to old age-for my days now, i I you know, . j " Are in the wre and yellow leaf,"? my surroundings have all been Southern. My relatives, my friends, and. more than all, my late, my loved and honored hus-' band, were all of that "sunny clime." Is t it, then, reasonable to suppose that, 4 in i a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,' j with the frosts of many winters upon my [ head, I can throw oft", as I would a garment, all the affections, all the endear- j ins associations, all the nreiudices (if j'ou please) of a long life ? No ! no! this cannot be. And yet, dear sir, notwithstand ull this, I long, and pray, and yearn tor a restoration of my distracted conn- j try to its former peaceful and happy condition : for a restoration of the 4 Union as it was.'" 1 ~ m mm ?A good joke is told of Horn Tooke, whom the tones in the House of Com-; mons thought to cmsh, by imposing upon hhn the humiliating task of begging the Honse's pardon on his knees. > Tooke went on his knees, begged pardon | for the offensive expression lie had used, but in rising up, he knocked the dust off his knees, and exclaimed,loud enough to be heard all over the whole house, 44 It's a dirty house, after all f " Roars of laughter followed this exclamation, and the tories saw clear enough that they had i j failed in their object. ?If some of onr very conservative men 1 had been present at the creation they would have said, "Good God! what is to become of chaos?" ?A confectioner in New York has brought his business to such perfection I that he is now offering to the public his candied opinion. ?Tn all matters except a little matter j of tongue, a woman can generally hold her own. , ?If a woman was to change her sex, what religion would she be ? A He-then. J ?The only chance for some men's hats ever to contain anything valuable is to pa-^s then^ironml for pennies. i ADVERTISEMENTS. CONDEMNED STEAM Eli JOR SALE. TTTTILL be sold at Public Auction to the higheat TV bidder at Li o'clock, noon, on Moxday, the 16th day of May, 1864. the uxxtkd States Steamer DARLINGTON, with the Boilers and Machinecry as she now lays at this place. Sale to take place at the Steamer Terms Cash. Delivery immediately, 4NO. EL MOORE, ('apt. and A. (}. M. Asst. Q. M. Office, Beaufort. 8. 0., Mar. lit, 1804. FOR SALEFive Cases Bologna Sausages, in foil 33 etn. per lb.; without 30 eta. per lb. Cases extra. \V. C. Marshall, 14 '2d Avenue, New York. 77* Photographs, a-c.-the subscribers are now prepared to take Photographs, cartes ( o I-o aA Uaen UV ? ISIW, .UCUMIiuijpcn, UC?r%, ftu, ?v., at a#v???fort, S. C.. near the Arsenal; on Folly Island, 8. C-, near headquarters ; at Jacksonville, Fla., ia Slavonic Hall. Will, open in a few days at Hiltoa Head, over the office of the Palmetto Herald, next south of the Theatre, in a new building soon to be completed. The best of work guaranteed.. NONE BUT FIRST CLASS ARTISTS EMPLOYED Stereoscoptic Views of Camps, Landscapes, Buildings, etc.. taken on Folly and Morris Islands. Ban fort, S. C., and Jacksonville, Fla., now forsale by mar. 12, tt.. SAM. A. COOLEY, k Co.. DR. W. M. WALSH, Office No. 13, Sutler's Row. A full supply of Drugs, Chemicals and Patent Medicines. Aug. 29,1863.-tf METALIC COFFINS, for salt by C.. W. Dennis & Co., No. 4. Sutlers Row. THE LIFE, SCENES, ADVENTURES, SONGS, SERVICES, AND SPEECHES, of Private Miijcs O'Reilly, 47th N. Y. a Vols. ' The Post of Honor is the Privste'sststion." With comic illustrations by Mullen. Price $125. TU?T RECEIVED AT THE UNION SQUARE J STORE, next to the Post Office, the following military publications. We are constantly, receiving new books as fast as they are issued Orders for books premptly executed. PATTEN'S INF ANTE Y TACTICS: compiled agreeably to the latest Regulation from the War Department, from standard milit j inUinritT. Rv Tleut. CoL Geo. Patten. PAPERS ON PRACTICAL ENGINEERING. Official report of the siege and redaction. of Fort Pulaski, Georgia, February, March and April, 1863. Br Brig.-Oen. Q. A. Gillmore, U. 8. Vols. THE C. S. A., and the BATTLE of BULL RUN. By J. G. Barnard. A TREATISE ON MILITARY LAW, and the Practice of Courts MartiaL By Capt. S. V. Benet, Ordnance Department, U. &. Anny. RUDIMENTARY MILITARY SERIES of the use of Field Artillery oo serrice, with especial reference to that ef an Army Corps. By Taubart. MANUAL OF INTERNAL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR M1LN-OF-WAK. By Com. U. 8. Levy, U. 8. N. HISTORY OF WEST POINT, and ita military importance during the American Revolution, and the Origin [and Progress of the United States Military Academy. By Captain Edward C. Boyntou, A. M. We hare also on hau d Big Lick Smoking Tobaseo, Solace Chewing " Meerschaum Pipes, Briar Wood Pipes, Cigar holders. Dorainos, Checkers, Elastics, Cork Serewa, ;w/.oz a, nuui vjra, Tape measures. Scissors, Pocket Ketvr s, Drinking Cups, Tooth brushes, Poeket Combe, Glass Inkstands, Blank Books, all kinds, Sharing Soap, Mathematical fnatruatents. Book Knives, Ivory, Perfumery, Gold Pens, Steel ie. Photogrephie Albums, Drawing paper, Bristol board. Crayons, variegated, Regulation Balls, White Gloves, Hosiery, Spelling Books, Arithmetlos, Maps of Gso? Fla. and 8. C? Cribbegs Boards, Playinf Cards, Carmine Ink. Photographs In greet variety. Linen Hsudkerebiefs, Tin Honsy Chests, r.?^w n?aeain<? Peane ? v*? >ut| vn?, Magnifying Glasses, Marin* Glasses, Charm CompWMi, Bason, Razor Strata. 4e. 4a. BOUND NOVELS. Broken Columns?Was He Succeasfhl?Light on Shadowed Paths ? Peculiar ? Inas?Whip, Hoe and Sword?My Farm at Edgewood ?Tales from the Opera?The Black Plume?Border and Bastile? (jueen Hab, etc., etc. JOSEPH H. SEXRg.