The free South. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1863-1864, April 09, 1864, Image 2
VOL. II.
ft
THE FREE SOUTH
BEAUFORT, S. C., APRIL 1>, 1884.
ur TukFujc Sol'tii nuj be obtained at lliltou llead .
f FRED. J. ST1MSON, at tbc store adjoining the Ad- |
am* Express Office.
raws BY THE FULTON.
By the arrival of the Fulton we have New '
York tiates to'the 4th inst. We are under ;
obligations to Purser McManus, for files
of papers.
The rebel General Forrest, with 2000
men, attacked Union City, Tennessee, on i
the 25th ulk, and captured the small body j
of Union troops, only 400 in number, gar- |
risoning the town. The garrison made a ;
vigorous defense,repulsing their assailants j
three times before surrendering to superior
numbers. The enemy destroyed the j
fortifications, and immediately marched j
their prisoners southward. On the 25th, j
Forrest, with a force of over 5000 men, attacked
and destroyed Paducah, Ky., the !
citizens flying across the Ohio River. A
large amount of plunder was secured.
Col. Hicks, commanding the post, occupied
the fort below the city, with about
800 men. The rebels made four assaults j
on the fort and were repulsed each time.
Three of our gunboats opened upon the
?ity daring its occupation by the enemy.
Onr loss was 14 killed and 45 wounded.
From 150 to 300 rebels were killed, among
them General Thompson. Twenty-five
houses around the fort were destroyed by
our troops, as they were used by the rebel
sharp-shooters as a ecreen. The headquarters
and Government store-houses
were burned by the enemy. Toward the
end of the battle it was discovered that
our axnunition was nearly exhausted.
** 1 -1 fchon
gave out the fort would be defended with
the bayonet as long as a man remained
alive, which determination was received
with hearty cheers by all the troops. The
negroes in the front, 220 in all, fought
with great gallantry.
The military situation in East Tennessee
remains unchanged. A dispatch from
Chattanooga says that the rebels present a
very strong front at Dalton, that Johnston
is receiving reinforcements from General
Polk, and that a portion of Longstreet's
cavalry had arrived at Marietta, Ga.
A dispatch from Fort Smith brings the
important intelligence that the Army of
the Frontier, nnder command of General
J. M. Thayer, was set in motion on the
25th of March, its destination being Northern
Texas.
WRECK OF THE KINGFISHER.
This noble bark has gone to destruction
in a deplorable manner. It had become
necessary to change her locality from one
channel of the St. Helena Sound to another.
On the 28th of Mcrch, the removal
was attempted; but the accretion of
b&rnacles and sea weed to her bottom had
rendered her incapable of obeying the
helm, after a detention in one spot of
sixteen months, upon blockading service.
A gale was blowing, and this, with the
set of the tide, drove her ashore fci St.
ITolana SLrknn/1 ?hpi>A t.hft scanrls nnif'klv
drifted around her, grasping the vessel as
in a vice. Aid was solicited from Fleet
Captain Reynolds, of the Vermont; but
although every effort was made to rescue
her, all proved to be of no avaiL A storm
quickly followed, and the great waves
that beat in upon her aides opened her
seams, and tore her to pieces. Early efforts
to save her armament were made,
with entire success. One 30 pounder
Parrot gun, two Dahlgren 12 pounders,
and four eight inch guns, as well as her
masts, spars, sails, and much else of value,
were taken out of her. The accident was
unattended with loss of life. Every one
THE FREE SOUTH?BEAUP
of the ship's company from the commanding
officer to the youngest boy behaved
admirably; and to their good conduct, in
a great measure, is due the redemption of
the ship's armament, etc., from loss.
During the long period that Acting Master
Dutch has given to his country in the
Kingfisher, he has become identified with
the safety of the neighboring military
posts and the efficiency of the blockade.
With so many rivers and inlets to watch
and guard with his boats, his may be said
to have been in reality picket duty. Without
a consort, and deprived of all opportunities
of becoming enriched by the taking
of prizes, the officers and crew of
1 the Kingfisher have by their tenacity, fidelity,
and zeal, enobled themselves and
| made their mark in the naval history of
the Slaveholders' Great Rebellion. In
the hundreds of boat expeditions by day
and night, in which they have participated,
it is probable that they have gained
an unparalled knowledge of the intricate
system of inlets, islands, creeks, etc,,
which it was their duty to blockade. In
their frequent visits to the land, they have
deprived the enemy of many cattle, horsi
es and slaves. Indeed, the friendly lamps
| of the Kingfisher were the beacons of lib1
erty by night to many a negro ambitious
| of manhood, to be achieved by perilling
life for freedom. The " dug-outs " of the
natives were paddled across the broad waters
of St Helena Sound, and a hearty
welcome given to all refugees who could
reach the vessel Among the freedmen,
the name of Acting-Master Dutch is synonymous
with deliverance. His true
t sailor's hospitality and sympathy with the
oppressed has endeared him to all who
have experienced or witnessed his kindness.
Although the loss of his vessel is
;nnAkM o nalamitv xl-pi trust that
itl 1/lilO jiutv?uv w v. ^ ,
from the present evil will spring a future
good?the appointment of Mr. Dutch to
| a larger, and more fuseful vessel, and his
i promotion to a rank commensurate with
the increased responsibilities, and with
: his deserts and abilities.
I The Fire Department~Our Chief Engineer.
On Monday evening last, at the regular
1 meeting of the. Company, the following
; gentlemen were elected officers of New
' York Hose Co. No. 1: Mr. Samuel S.
1 Room, Foreman, vice W. H. Hyatt, elected
Chief Engineer of the Beaufort Fire Dei
partment; Mr. G. W. Pond, Asst. Foreman
; Mr. M. J. French, Treasurer.
After the meeting, the company proceeded
to the residence of Mr. Hyatt to
congratulate liim on his new office. A
! large number of choice spirits were on
hand. Mr. Hyatt was presented during
| the evening with a beautiful silver horn
by Mr. G. W. Pond. The recipient of
this appropriate present assured his
friends that though unable to make a
> ii i 1 t i r i,;,
Ispeecn, ixiey suouia near ixum mm, w
occasion, through the horn. An elegant
collation was partaken of by the guests,
who separated at a late hour fully persuaded
that we have a well organized Fire
Department in Beaufort.
. _ t .
Important to Military Officers.?All
officers are warned not to put their claims
for service from date of commission to
date of muster in the hands of attorneys
or other agents for collection at a discount,
as it has been decided under military
regulations that all claims foi
services so rendered are good as againsl
the general government. The process oi
collection is to collect from the State ir
whose service such officer enlisted ? the
-? - * < % ji
State being reimbursed Dy tne govern
ment.
9G&* More particularly is hereafter tc
be observed in granting leaves of absence
or permission for any officer to visit Wash
ington. They ar? now required to address
for this purpose Major Gen. flalleck, ant
must state the business for which thej
desire the permission.
'ORT, S. C., APRIL 0, 18C4.
"
Full Particulars of lhe Destruction of
the Klaple Leaf.
The Maple Ijeof\ steam transport,
Capt. H. W. Dale, left Palatka Florida,
on the night of the 31st of March, at
about 11 o'clock,., and had gone to within
12 miles of Jacksonville, when at about
^ o'clock the following morning, she
I struck a torpedo, floating in the St
John's River, and was sunk by the effects
of the explosion which immediately followed.
Her hnll and engines now lie in
24 feet or more of water. The hurricane
deck alone was above the surface of the
river, two minutes after the torpedo had ,
burst under her port bow. The fore-mast
was hurled out of the ship by the force of
the blow, Four negroes asleep in the
forward part of the boat, below, near the
Point of contact with the torpedo were
killed. They were Eli Foster, and Simon 1
Field, deck hands, and Chas. Simons and
Benj. Wiggan, fireman.
No other casualities attended the disaster.
Immediately upon awaking after
the shock, the Captain assembled his
ship's company, and the passengers upon
the hurricane deck, launched the three
row boats provided for emergencies, detailed
the passengers and boat's crew for
each boat, and saw all the survivors safely
afloat before he would leave his ship.
Among the passengers were the wife and
child of Capt. Chadwick, of Gen. Hatch's
staff. The lady escaped in her night
dress. She exhibited heroic coolness and
intepidity, offering to steer or row in case
of skilled boatmen proving to few for the
occasion. Her husband and Capt. Langdon,
also of the commanding General's
1 "* ?-at- AL. 1_
SIKH Were WltU uic pmtj. r utj -n^ui.
souls in all escaped destruction, and arrived
at Jacksonville, three or four hours
after ihe accident.
Near Buckles Bluff, in the neighborhood,
some rebel pickets witnessed the
explosion. Deeming the party in the boats
too numerous to capture, they did not attempt
to harrass their retreat.
For want of room in his boats, CaptDale
left four rebel prisoners on the hurricane
deck of the Maple Leaf, These remained
unttl the evening of the 1st April,
when the gunboat Norwich brought them
i off. In the interim boats from the shore
j had plundered the ship of all the trunks,
l and other portable property within reach.
Whether from unwillingness to escape or
refusal of the river-pirates to release them,
i the rebel prisoners remained on the vesi
sel and are now in Jacksonville.
The above particulars were furnished
for the Free South by Capt. Dale, late in
charge of the Ala/de Leaf.
? ? ,
Garrett Davis' resolution of inquiry
into the part taken by Col. T. W.
Higginson in the rescue of Anthony Burns
was tabled on the 17th ult. by a vote of
29 to 10. Davis, of course, first made a
long speech, in which the " unpardonable
| sin " of resisting the Fugitive Slave law
was illustrated after the Kentucky fashion.
' In tbe Name of the Prophet, Fig*.
We learn from a frantic Q. M. clerk
that the department has ordered the issue
[ I of red imt to be stopped. Enquiries have
, also been instituted as to what becomes
, of the sealing wax, and all hands are put
, on short {allowance. The government
. means to retrench. We shall hear next
. that red tape is dispensed with.
m 9 m
News from Charleston.
^ Two rebel rams building in Charleston
t i harbor are within the range of our guns
k | on Morris Island. Shot and shell have
disturbed the labors of the workmen employed
on these ships, and the result has
been a mutiny among these mechanics and
> laborers, who do not care to expose themi
selves to almost certain death in return
. for payment in Confederate money.
i Torpedo boats are observed by our
I blockading vessels, moving about in the
j harbor of Charleston. They are closely
watched and guarded against.
NO. 14. >
v'
The J-iuid Diffieuitic*. i
The Government lias sent, we are informed,
n special agent, Hon. Austin
Smith, to this department to investigate
the relative merits of the pre-emption
claims, and the land sales, and to harmonise,
as far as possible the action of the
government with the true intents and
rights of the people, esjiecially the freed111
pn.
We understand lie is a man of great
candor. He should look into the questions
at issue from different stand-points ;
obtain facts from friends and opponents of
the different policies, and not allow himself
to be appropriated to the prejudice of
himself and influence, as is too often the
case by sharing exclusively the kind attention
of either party.
The Southern papers announce
that Gen. D. H. Hill assumes command
at Charleston, and that Beauregard has
gone to the Southwest. Gen. Seymour
reports him in command in Florida.
A Camp of -fOO Rebel Dewerlcrw in
Florida*
A letter dated Lake City, Florida, Feb.
15tli, to the Charleston Courier, contain*
the following:
"Some thirty miles from Tallahassee we
have a large swamp, and I am oorrectly
mfonned that there are about 400 deserter*
nicely located in it. They have been com mitting
some nuisances and depredation*
on the neighboring farms. Brig.-Gem.
Gardener dispatched two companies of infantry
to arrest the parties, but on going
into the swamp, to their place of abode,
where our troops demanded a surrender,
they were astonished to find tlieiji wel
supplied with arms and amunition, and a
brisk fight took place. Our troops were
driven back with heavy loss, and sonn*
taken prisoners. The deserters had tlio
impudence to parole our men. From this
affair we obtained the following fact: That
they received about two Thousand pound*
- 11 .
of amumtion irom me enemy uiuL-wmmg.
together with most of their bread and
clothing, and that they have been all supplied
with Enfield Bifles from the saip?
sonrce, and were in daily communication
with the enemy. These facts having been ?
placed before the Commanding Genera!
I of this District, a detachment of Cavalry,
I Ecoll's Artillery, and some Infantry, was
on Sunday dispatched as a reinforcement,
with orders to capture every man in the
swamp, and my opinion is that when captured,
if their beautiful forms do not dangle
in the air on nothing, then I am mistaken.
"
The wounded at Olustee are recovering.
Capt J. Hamilton, of the 3d U. 8.
Artillery, will soon return to duty.
JfcST* Sergt. Clias. Dutcher, Co. B, N. Y.
Engineers, was last week injured about the
head and shoulders, while blasting a tree.
near beabroon.
Col. Serrell, of the N.Y. Engikeers,
has returned to the Department with recruits
from the North. He was in Beaufort
on Thursday, April 7tli.
The President of the United States
has issued a proclamation explanatory of
his amnesty proclamation, it will be
found in another column.
A New Hotel.
The house so long occupied by Mr. H.
G. Judd, General Superintendent of Port
Koyai, having been purchased at the late
sale by private parties is to be opened as
a hotel on the 15th inst. The location is
excellent for the purpose, and we have the
promise of Capt. Lilly that the house i*
to be a first rate one. See card in another
column.
Promotions in the Third B. I. .Artillery.?This
fine regiment of light and
heavy artillery is now commanded by Col.
Bray ton. His former rank of Lieut. Col.
has been conferred upon tlie late Major
Ames. All who enjoy the acquaintance of
these gentlemen will appreciate the fitness
of the new appointments. Col. Brnytoii
has received from Gen, Gilmore a mark of
estimation in which his commanding general
holds him by the appointment to the
rank of Chief of Artillery upon the General's
staff, during the temporary absence
of Gea. John W. Turner at the Korth.
... ? ,
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