The new South. (Port Royal, S.C.) 1862-1867, March 26, 1864, Image 4
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.