The free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, May 23, 1863, Image 2
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VOL. 1. .
THE FREE SOUTH.
SEA'iiFOUT, S. C., -I VY ?3, 1803.
Ageuts for the Free South.
Tayl** Jfc Co. Hilton Heed, and St Helena Island.
C. C. Lxion, No. 1 Mercer street, New Y^-k.
Tke News from the Southweit-The
Groat Strufgl* for tke
Our latest news from the Southwest indicates
a successful issue to Gen. Grant's
inland movement in Mississippi for the
reduction of Jackson and Vicksburg.
The advanced detachments of his army,
wherever they had come in contact with
an opposing column of the enemy, had, ;
after a severe contest, invariably routed
it. The last reported engagement of this
character, (according to a rebel despatch
to the Richmond Enquirer, was on the
12th or 13th instant, at Raymond,) some
five or six miles from the Jackson and
Yicksburg Railroad, from which point, ;
after a fight of several hours, the rebels j
fell back to Mississippi Spring, where
they had reinforcements, but the Chattanooga
Rebel of the 16th says that t^e reb- !
els were driven out of Jackson on the 14th
after a hard day's fight, not being* able to j
bold that city. Meantime the main body i
of Gen. Grants army was at Willow
? Spring and among the hills in that vicing
? ty, come thirty * milefc *bel Jw TiJfYrnond,
and in close communication with his base
of supplies at Grand Gulf. With his army j
strongly intrenched against the possible ;
contingency of a rebel sortie in force down
th^ country from Yicksburg, Gen. Grant
was awaiting the reinforcements that i
were moving jo his support from warious
points along the Mississippi River between
Memphis and Baton Rouge.
With Admiral Porter in occupation of
* iAjfxandna, on the Red River, we may
^consider the work of the subjugation of
the rebellion on the west side of the Mississijfpi
as substantially completed: With
jur occupation oi Vicksbnrg the works of
reducing the remnants of the rebellious
States on the east side of thf river will be I
a comparatively simple and easy operation.
Meantime a rebel journal at Atllanta,
Georgia, of the 5th of May, positively affirms
that Port Hudson has not been evac^
uated. "VJjp hope that our next intelli
gence from that quarter will be that the
, place has been visited by a Union land
and naval force which has settled the
Question. t
Thus Urthe whole campaign iu th<*
* southwest. since General Grant's movement
below Yicksburg, hal worked and ii
progressing prosperously. Let the war
0 office see to it that while Grant is strengthened
the rebel armies elsewhere are given
abundant employment, and we shall soon
have a victory that will abundantly com
pAnsate us for the failure of the attack upon
Cha^eston and the inexplicable retreat
? of General Hooker.
s, # I 4 Heavzxly Sights.?The pale moon was
Hf ^ on the move ?mid the fternft stars last
? * * night, and al> nature was as still as the
e * ' # oracular voice of fate. Everything in the
heaven* was ominous of peace, and the
twinkling of each sparkling star that decks
the cerulean concave, seemed portentous
of coming events. The Moon and Venus
were in conjunction, and as they walked
* side by side down the starry pathway to J
their hidden chambers in the west, we ;
4 thought the heavens could scarcely prq- j
duce two tnore lovely creatures than Diana j
n<1 +V>o rriftiosfip HpsT>f*ms. It was a beau-#:
tiful sight t<? see thepe two ornaments of
# the firmament treading the heaven^ as it
tare, hand in hand, while far away in the
east, separated frcm them toio c<rloy stood
Jupiter, Hie ruler of the lesser stars, gazing
fondly at the maiden?outshining him
in splendor?who had so often caused the
jealous tears of the queenly Juno to flow.
i The heavens were decked in their most
gorgeous array to celebrate this meeting
of the fair ones?the belt of Orio^ and his
flaming sword shone brighter, Sims looked
more benignaftit, and the Great Dipper
appeared to invite us to take a drink. We
accepted the invitation !
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THE PREE SOUTH, SAT
SBIEBSOVS EXPEDITION.
Last week we gav.e a synopsis of tlie
movemeets of Colonel Grierson, as far as
known to our authorities, north of Vicksburg.
On Sunday, May 3d, he astonished
our forces a? Baton Rouge ^y appearing
in their midst. His expedition was a magnificent
success. He cut his way through
the enemy's cc^intry with two regiments
of cavalry, destroying on his route millions
of rebel property, capturing over a thousand
men and twelve hundred horses, demolishing
a camp of instruction, with all
its equipments, cutting the communication
on the Great Northern and New Orleans
and Jackson railroads and destroy'
ing a large number of cars, telegraph wire,
water tanks and army stores. After passing
through many dangers and working
terrible damage he arrived at Baton Rouge
on the 1st instant, to the great surprise of
the inhabitants.
The importance of^this expedition can hardly
be realized without some reflection on what hat
been accomplished.
In seventeen days the troops marched over
eight hundred miles. They traveled through
the very heart of rebeldom, fighting at every
point where they met with opposition. They
have killed and wounded a large number of the
enc^py, and have destroyed over four millions of
Jollv^Torth of fn-opqri.y which woukl have
of immense assistance to the rebels iu the pros^
cution of the war. On two imj>ortant railroaas
they hare completely cut off all communication
with the strongholds of the enemy. They have
taken over a thousand prisoners, captured over
twelve hundred horses, and jnenaced the enemy
at points where they were least expected.
An idea may be gained of the activity of Col.
Grierson's command, when the fact is stated that
in thirty hours, while in pursuit bf a rebel cavalry
force, they t?veled seventy-five miles,
fought four battles, skirmished considerably,
forded a river, and all the time neither men nor
horses had anything to cat.
Every effort was made by the rebel Generals
Gardner and Pembertqn fiir their surprise and
capture; but in every instance the enemy was
oompletely outwitted by Colonel Grierson's stratagems
and rapid marches. The mails and couriers
captured kept our forces constantly in possession
of the latest news concerning the movements
cf the rebels and their intended plans for
our capture. During their march an effective
force of at least five thousand cavalry w^ sent
against them, which, whenever met, was defeated
by our men, with heavy loss to the rebels.
SC#?K8 AND INCIDENTS. ;
While several of our scouts were feeding their
horses at the stables of a wealthy planter of secession
proclivities, the proprietor, looking 01^
apparently deeply interested ii^ the froceedin^
suddenly burst out with?" Well, boys, X j
say I have ^pything against you. I don't kutw
but that on the whole I rather lift you. Ton,!
have not taken anything of mine except a little
corn for your horses, and that you are welcoml
T 1 1 J _/ _ 11 AL ? -ft *
iu. i nave nearu 01 you an over me cwuuiiy.
You are doing tbe boldest thing ever done,
you'll be trapped, though; you'll be trapped,
mark me." % * {
5kt another place, where our men* thought !f
advisable to#?Aresen^tl>eB?e]ves J^kso^Jp,
cavalry, a wnore company was vejfk graciouslj^
entertained by a strong secession lady, who in- |
sisted on whipfrog a negro because he did n?t j
bring the hoecakee fast enough. * I
On one occasion se#n of Colonel Gr^rsotf s
scouts stopped at the house of a wealthy planter
to feed their jaded horses* Upon ascertaining
that he had been doing a little guerilla business
on his own account, our men dhcouraged him ift
the belief that, a* they were the invincible Van
Dorn cavalry, they would soon* catch the Yankees.
The secession gentleman heartily aj*
Droved of what he supposed to be their intentions.
and enjoined upon them the necessity of making
as rapid marches as possible. As our men had
discovered two splendid carriage horses in the
planter's stable, they thought, under the circumstances,
they would be justified in making 4n exchange,
which they accordingly proceeded to do.
As they were taking the saddles from their own
tired steeds and placing them on the backs of |
the wealthy guerrilla's horses the proprietor discovered
them, and at once objected. He was
met with the reply that, as he was anxious the
Yankees should be overtaken, those after tbcin
should have good horses. "All right, gentlemen,"
said the planter; " 1 will lieep your animals
until you return. I suppose you'll be back
iu two or three days at the farthest. When you
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\
URDAY, MAY 23, 1863.
return you'll find they hare beeu well cared for."
Our soldiers were sometimes asked where they
got their blue coats. They always replied, if
! they were traveling under the name of Van
: Dora's cavalry, that they took them at Holly
Springs of the Yankees. This always excited
I A
i great laughter among the secessionists. Our
i seouU, however, usually wore the regular "aeccsli"
uniforms.
From Folly Island.
"We Lave received several letters from
our soldier friends in the Sixth Connecticut
now stationed at Folly island. From
them we glean a few items, showing how
they are getting on in their new quarters
so close to Charleston.
"Sixth "says "it is anything but a
paradise. Probably it received its name
| from the extreme folly of calling it an is|
land at all or giving it a name, for it is
! nothing but a sandbank with a few palj
metto trees sprouting out where nothing
but that filthy looking tree and crabs
; could exist." He considers that the former
proprietors of plantations on that delictable
spot were fully justified iifc seceding.
The Sixth are making the best of
it, and seem to be in very good health.
1 The water is wretched stuff, "about the
\ color of burnt brandy," Scipio says,
j From, his latter wo leajq^ that furloughs
| for thirty days are being granted to three
! men of each company every ten days,
j The officers receive but twenty days each.
; Of course all are anxious to avail tliem j
selves of this privilege, and the best apir-'
ft animates the men. They feel that the
government recognizes the factHhatr they
/fare men as well as soldiers, and is willing
to incur s&me trouble and expense to give
them an opportiftiity to visit their loved
: ones at home, after the toils and perils of
t two years service. The effect upftn the
spirits of the regiments is excellent.
J The Fourth New Hampshire is at the
upper end #f Morris island. The rebel
! picket^ are stationed along the shore of
Cole's island, and are not over fifty yards
! from our boys. The Palmetto and the
; Granite State meet on very friendly terms,
b^idy words on the news from the Eappalian^oqjc,
and trade tobaeco for'coffee.
; The rebs ar(4 very*lionest in their trading
operations and wt have heard of no instances
wjiere they have been made the
victims of displaced confidence by receiving
provisions of the wooden nutmeg ordqj
in return for genuine pig-tail.
Both parties are fortifying their positions.
Negro women as well as men are
? 1~ J ti?\ viflo rkii-o in eirrV*f
CUipiU^VU UJ?muniug up iuicjuw iuui^u?
fcof our pickets. Rebel ladies often come
.down an the beach tojiave a look at the
*
horned Yankee* The rebg Are more communicative
than onr boys a*e allowed to
be^ One of them called over that a new
general had assumed command, and that
tyia naxpe was General Starvation.
W Most of them. seem to regard their
noes, if they have any, as too good for
wrfy day wear, as they nJay be seen on
picket every day bare footed. They say
they hope for a battle soon, as by that
means they hope to replenish their ward
robes.
We are very much pleased v?it^ these
gossiping letters of our friends in the
Sixth %nd hope they will favor us often.
We may as well answer here an inquiry
'which has been put to us by several cor- ;
respondents at Folly island. We have
no means of sending papers except
J through the mail, and cannot furnish
them unless they are paid for in advance,
together with the postage.
t
J6&- Gen. Blunt, of Kansas, is organizing
a force of whites, negros and Indians,
to operate against Arkansas and Texas.
The ivansas regiment of negros is now
full, and is made up of refugees from Mis- i
souri and from the Cherokee country.?
Capt. Hoyt, who has seen much of them,
assures us that the Cherokee negros, who
have mfcre or less Indian blood, are the
most desper^e fighters he has ever seen.
ail our Presidents, not one was a
citizen of a great city. '
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NO. 20.
FROM GEN. HOOKER'S ARMY.
[From thp New Terk Times.]
THE BATTLE OF SATURDAY.
In the morning, as we stood on the balcony
of Chancellor's house, the attention
Trati'ftrmiKpH hv a sharo rattle of nmsketnr
coming from a column of rebels coming
up by the main Fredericksburg plank
road, directly in front of us. Knapp's
battery, however, which was planted directly
in front of the petition, opened
upon them, and, after a few rounds, forced ?
them to retire. *
Immediately afterwards a battery opened
from the height which I have mentioned
as having been gained by Sykes yesterday
and then abandoned by us. One
of our batteries was immediately opened
in reply. The third shot blew up one of
the caissons, and a subsequent shot blew
up another, and this settled their account.
Subsequently a reconnissance was sent
on our part, consisting of the Twenty-sixth
Pennsylvania Volunteers. They went out
on the plank road, deployed 011 both side*
in the form of a letter V, chased the rebel
skirmishers a couple of miles, till they
came to a heavy double line of battle, -with
artillery in position, when they retired,
bringing ns that piece of intelligence.
Another reconnoissanee was next sent
out on our right, consisting of Berdan's
Sharp-shooters. They met the enemy's
pickets, drove them handsomely,
and at four o'clock returned with fifty
prisoners of the Twenty-third Georgia.
At four the rebels moving down in
force on the plank road, where we had a ""f
little before made a reconnoissanee.?
Geary's division of Slocum's corps is sent
on the double-quick into the woods, their
bayonets flashing in t ho sunlight. A sharp
contest ensues, and in a few minutes they k
come back in disorder. A portion of f
Kane's brigade, composed of raw troops,
hn/1 hrr?lr?n mid thrown the column. ill!*
confusion. e
An aid from Slooum comes to ask Ge?. " ..
Hooker if he can liavo reinforcement*.
"Not he must hold his own. Howard
will, of course, support him from the
right. Let Geary's divfeion, however, be
thrown to the right of the road, so thafe
the artillery may be able to sweep the enemy
on the left." This treatment presently
repaired the damage, and checked
the hope of the rebels of being able t?
pierce our centre.
Foiled in this, they now prepare to make
a still more desperate -lash on our right
flank. We were aware that thev had bee?
massing against that point all the afternoon,
and the terrific treble of the demoniac
yell with which the rebels itiways rush
into battle announced theit approach from,
the woods by the "ulpepper ?lank road.
Jackson's whole corps, reinforced by D. i
H. Hill's division, numbering in all fortythousand
men, had precipitated them elves
on Howard's corps, f(fining our extreme
right wing. This corps is composed |
of the divisions of Shurz, Steinwehr and
Deven, and consists in^great part of German
troops. "Without waiting for a single
volley from the rebrfs, this corp%disgracefully
abandoned their position behind,
their breastworks, and commenced com
lug, pttuw-suy&cuf uov\n me iumi, upwards
headquarters. Ouf light *aa thus
completely turned, and the rebels in a fak*
way oi doubling us ujfc *
ft wa#a critical situation^and brought
out the suparb resources of Gen. Hooker.
He was in tnf saddler in a moment,'calm
and cool, the ^naster of a situation fit to
overmaster, the ljaost. Ttfe first thing was
t<*ichedAth% rebel advance, which must
becoAe fatal* if allowed to go- on muck
further.
It was a terrib^ animated scene. Th*
whole open plain presented such a specto- *
cle as the simoon might make in the deaert.
Through the dusk of? nightfall a
rushing whirlwind of men and artillery
swept ovef the plain. The shattered,
fleeing columns of Aen were nishing down,
antl over at headquarters. <
Hooker's dispositions were made in a
moment. Whom, of all others, should lin
send at this fearfully critical moment, but
the darling child of his own creation, hia
own old corps, now commanded by tie*.
Berry.
44 General!" shouted the commander.
^ 1W 1 *-\ f A ill A 1 ?* / > /lb VM/t/vt trA.
11HUW JUIU 1IIL11 UlkU tuu UIUOCU , XCUC'lVtr
the enemy on your bayonets ; don't fire a
sliot; they can't see you!''
Oh! it was a sight to see that glorious,
band rnsh at the double-qftiek to the rescue!
Pressing up in their horrid array of
glittering steel, the enemy's advance wa?
quickly checked, and he had to withdraw
to the line of breastworks jutf vacated bj"
the Eleventh corps.
Batteries were* immediately sent up in
thunderous clamor to the front, and Captain
Best, chief of artillery of Sloe urn's
corps, massed twenty pieces 011 the crest
near Gen. Sickle's headquarters, and a
terrific fire was opened on the enemy, and
kept up far into the night.
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