Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, June 01, 1876, SUPPLEMENT, Image 5
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STANI
1* - j
~~ VOL. IY. NO, 25.
THE NAVAL RENDEZVOUS.
av TtIum anil Pm>tsnnr Is.
M. 171 I nvju VI 1JWVV vw_?r_.
lands. The debate in the House. Our
Representatives speak out.
. On Weduesday the 24th u!to an interesting
debate took place, in relation to the
establishing of a naval rendezvous at Tybee
or Cockspur Island, or at Port Royal,
in the House of Representatives while
discussing the naval appropriation bill.
Mr. Raudall, of Pennsylvania offered the
following substitute to a paragraph under
discussion :
"For the civil establishments of the several
navy-yards, 885,000; and the Secretary
of the Navy is hereby directed to organize
a naval board of five commissioned
officers in the Navy as soon as praticable
whose duty it shall be to examine fully and
determine whether, in their opinion, any
of the navy-yards can be dispensed with
and abandoned ; and if so, to report the
best manner of making disposition of the
same ; and further to inquire as to the
propriety of establishing a naval rendezvous
at Tybee Island or at Cockspur Island,
in the State of_Georgia, and wheth
er any Government property at said is
lands can be made available and is suit~
' able for such purpose; and said board
Shall, through the Secretary of the Navy,
report to Congress at the commencement
of the next session the result of their in
quiry and the sum of 12,000 is herewith
appropriated to meet the expenses incurred
by said board. "
Which was adopted after amendment
... " that three of the commissioners shall be
' ?
... senior officers upon the active list of the
navy. On the question of adopting the
" substitute Mr. Dauford, of Ohio moved
to amend by inserting after the word "
Georgia" the words "or at any other point
on the coast of Georgia or South Carolina.
He then yielded the balance of his
time to the representative from this dis
, , trict, Mr. Smalls, who said :
I shall ask only that some letters may
be read by the Clerk to show that neither
Tybee Island nor Cockspur Island is a
suitable place for a oaval rendezvous.
The Clerk read as follows :
t* n r> /V???.
rOKT IVUIAb rVAlLKUALI WflrAOI,
Receiver's Office,
Augusta. Georgia, Mag 17, 1876.
Dear Sir : The people of Beaufort
aud Port Royal are greately exercised
over the repoit of the Naval Committee
recommending that Tybee or Cockspur be
~ used as a naval station for the North At(f
lautic fleet. We all feel assured that you
will do your utmost to oppose the removal
of the fleet from Port Royal, and that
from vour practical kuowledge of the harbor
and its approaches we hope you may
be able to show to Congress the great
mistake that would be made by sucn removal.
It was only the other day that a case
occurred which proved the superior advantages
of Port Royal Harbor over Tybee.
The German steamship Berlin had
loaded part of her cargo of cotton at
^ Charleston and came round to Tybee to
^ load up. She lay in the roads while her
cotton and coal were lightered down to
her. When loaded she drew nearly twen1
ty two feet of water. Just at that time
the prevailing wi ds had been westerly,
which kept the tides very low, and the
? Berlin was detained over one week wait'
iug for a high tide to cross the bar, aud
during that delay the captain, engineer,
and agent hired a tug, came to Port Royal,
and sounding all the way up to the
U.OCJV, ?CIC tCi/ LUUUii OUipi.JSW IV UIIU
such a uiagnificeut harbor, with an apI
roach that a steamer double the size ol
the Berlin could come to the dock with
per;cot ease aud safety. Now, if the Berlin
had been a United States ship of war,
ordered away ou an important mission,
how serious might have been the results.
I take the liberty of writing you thest
important facts, which may aid you ir
y 'j; efforts. The test of coal has not yet
beeu made at Port Royal. I am goinj
North to-morrow, and will stay over it
Washington a day and see you.
Yours, truly,
D. C. WILSON,
lion 11 b't. Smalls,
United States Congress Washington
D. C.
Treasury Department, Offici
Supervising Surgeon-General.
PPLEMEXT
HMDs I
IftllV < [
BEAUFORT S- C
United States Marine Hospital Service,
Washington May 22. 1876.
Sir : In response to your letter of today.
asking such information as this Office
may posses relative to the sanitary
condition of the harbors at Savannah.
Georgia, and Port Royal,JSouth Carolina.
1 beg to say that there is nothing on record
in this Office that bears any reference
to the question, beyond the fart*
that at Savannah Georgia, 456 sick and
disabled seamen applied for and were
furnished medical treatment during the
past fiscal year, while at Beaufort, South
Carolina, there are scarcely any applicants
for relief; which facts are, of course,
chiefly attributable to the difference in
the extent of the shipping at the respective
places. It may De stated, however
that a very large proportion of the diseases
of the merchant-marine patients
treated at Savannah is due to u alarial in
fluences.
I am. sir. very respectfully
JNO. M. tVOODWO&TH,
Supervising Surgeon- General.
Hon. Robert Smalls,
W - t ft. . rr / 71 i.iA?
United States noiise or ncpresemunvrx.
Sanitary Report for IS75.
United States Steamer Dictator.
Port Royal, S. C. Jan. 1, 1876.
* * * The average daily population
ot the Navy in Port Royal waters since
April 14 has been 499, which gives an average
yearly naval population of 356 * ul.
There were two deaths in the entire force
one on the Calorado from an injury, the
other rn the Pawnee from drowing. This
makes the annual death rate of the Nuvy
in Port Royal waters 5.6 per 1,000 men.
It an average yearly population of 365
persons not a single death has occurred
from any disease. * * *
JOHN C. SPEAR.
Surgeon United State Navy.
United States Steamer Dictator.
Port Royal South Carolina Oct. 1, 1875.
Sir : * * f The ship's company
has enjoyed remarkable freedom from
malarial fevers during the summer and
autumn months of this quarter. Of the
five cases o{'intermittent reported only one
it due to local cause*, the other four being
recurrent attacks.' The two cases of re- \
mittent reported were contracted here,
but in both there was special exposure
on shore while in a state of intoxication.
Owing to insufficient berthing space b-*low,
half of the crew nl the Dicator is
obliged in warm weather to sleep on deck
under, the awning, and her people are in
consequence specially exposed to any malaria
there may be in the night air. It
therefore seems that the remarkable
healthfulness of her crew, under the cir
cumstances, affords good evidence of comparative
freedom of this locality from
malaria.
The Dictator, during the time referred
to was anchored in Beaufort River, opposite
Mr. English's plantation, half a mile "
from low marshy shores on either side.,
No large body of fresh water empties into
the rivers here, -e that the river water
is nearly a< salt as that of the sea. The
-ea-breeze in July, August, and September,
begins by ten a. m. and continues till
midnight, blowing generally quite fresh.
The mean relative humidity for the quarter
has been found to be 76, day and
tight, which, considering the proximity
of the sea and the extent of swamp lands?
shows that the- climate of Port Royal is
relatively, a dry one. It is possible the
above natural causes furnish an explana
tion as to the healthfulness of the waters
of Port Royal.
When the fleet arrived here in April,
no sufficient supply of wholesome spring
water could be obtained here, and a
water-boat was engaged to bring water
from Charleston, later, however, a good
spring was found near Beaufort, and w iter
from it has been in use on board since
August 31. This water has been found
pure and wholesome, and much better
than that obtained from Charleston.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN (\ SPEAR,
Surgeon United States Navy.
Medical Inspector Samuel F. Cores,
U. S. N.,
, Upited States Flag-Ship Worcester.
Mr. HARTRIDGK of Georgia. If the
; proposition submitted by the gentleman
J | from Pennsylvania [ Mr. Randall] is to
prevail?that is, for the appointment of a
' ' naval commission to examine into the
1 propriety or policy of establishing a naval
rendezvous in the southern waters then I
admit that the amendment proposed by
the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Oanford]
would be cprrect. But, in my judgement
' the proposition of the gentleman from
Pennsvlvania should not be adopted by
this llouse, and for this reason : tf there
2 be any policy or expediency in locating a
naval rendezvous on Tybee Island. 01
t
' f
PORT ,R(I)V
MMME
: JUNE 1,187t>.
Cockspnr Island, In the Savannah River,
that expediency and policy extend to its
foinjr done at ence.
It is recommended by a head of a Bu*1
^ riAf Kv <?i.
rear in trie xiavy i/e{>i*nujGu*. uu? *?.. ~.
fizens of the locality which may be benefited
by it. not by any sanitary department
which simply gives it* opinion that
there is less sickness at Port .Royal than
at Savannah, when the fact is that, as
shown hy the reports, the Savannah sliipI
ping takes into that port thirty thousand
seaman anntially while but a few hnn Jred
go into the port of Port Royal. I refer
to the report printed in the Record and
submit ted by my colleague, who is on the
Committee on Appropriations, [.Mr.
Blount. |
I ask the attention of members of this
committee to a few facts in that report to
which I will hastily advert. The fleet is
now kept at rendezvous at Port Royal.
The harbor of Port Royal is entirely of salt
water ; it has no facilities of fresh water
for the monitors to lie in or for crews to
drink. Commodore Am men declares
that pure fresh water can be obtained at
Savaunah at all seasons of the year, at
the head of Elba Island, or at a distance
of about ten miles from the entrance of the
river, and several milesdower down during
a considerable part of the year. This
would not only be of great advantige and
economy for drinking, but also in preventing
rust and t he accumulation of barnacle
I ana other animal and vegetable growths
I nn Kntrnm< iron vrtssfllx. This fiOTldi
tion is of marked contrast to Port Royal.
The gentleuiaa from Penn>y!vani: says
that he desires this commission to sit and
report to Congress six months from now.
and he asks it in the line of economy. In
that connection I ask him to listen to this
statement by the chief of the Bureau of
Navigation of the Navy Department:
The fresh-vater bills of the Die a
tor for six months amount to $4,584,18, at
the rates of $9,168.36 yearly. With the
force now making rendezvous at Port
Royal the cost for drinking water will be
not less than $100,000 yearly.
Mr. SMALLS. Will the gentleman
yield for a moment ?
Mr. HABTRIDGE. I have not time.
It would appear from this statement that
postponing this matter for six mouths
would cost the country in drinking-water
alone $50,000. Commodore Ammen says
further that there are no fortifications at
Port Royal while there are fortification at
Savannah ; that the climate at Cockspur
Island and Tybee Island is salubrious aP
the year round. He goes on to give other
advantages of Tybee Island over P*rt
Royal or even Bruuswick, in my o*n
State. He says that he knows these /act
from a personal knowledge of the locality '
themselves. He is a disinterested wi.ue.ss,
not a party having a ninterest in the locality,
but an officer at the head of one of the
chief Bureaus of the Navy _ Department.
V?tT?nfKctnn4irnr this, it is nrnnoscd bv
wtn?uu?.u?..e ...?, .. ? , , .
the gentleman from Pennsylvania to continue
the present condition of things for
sis months longer. It may be slid that the
Secretary of the Navy can remove the
rendezvous now if he sees tit, hut the answer
to that is that he has sot done it.
Mr. MACKEY, of South Carolina. I
move to amend the substitute by striking
out the words '' at Tybee Island or Coekspur
Island, in the Stat* of Georgia.
Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from
Georgia [Mr. Hartrpgk] who has just
spoken has laid considerable stress upon
the^nemorial of the citizens of Savannah
and upon the endorsement added thereto
by the Chief of Bureau of Navigation.
Now, had it been Inown to anybody interested
in Port Koyal^ that this officer
had given such an opinion steps would
have been takeD to obtain the opinions of
officers of the Navy and of tne Coast
Survey, equally competent to give an
opinion in regard to the comparative
merits of the two places, Tybee Lslaud,
and Port Royal. *
I: this opinion, however, be correct,
and if according to the information received
by the gentleman from Georgia
the Secretary of the Navy thinks it proper
to establish a naval rendezvous at
Tybee Island, why was Port Royal selected
ovet a year ago in preference to Tybee
Island by the Secretary of the Navy?
The facts srated in Commodore Ammeu's
communications were as well known then
as they are now. The truth is that those
who know more about the two places
than v-ommodore Ammen differed in
opinion from him then as they do now.
Port Royal was selected because in the
opinion of almost every competent authority
it afforded superior advantages as
a naval station to Tybee Island or anv otherplace
on the South Atlantic coast.
Upon an examination of the Savannah
memorial, which the gentleman from
' Georgia [Mr. Blount] presented last
Friday in justification of action of com,
mittee. and to which the other gentlemer
from Georgia (Mr. Hartridge) has al
4
AL ' ^
$2,00 Per Ami,
luded to-day, we find in the lait*r portion
of it the real reason why the memorialists
seek to have the rendezvous now established
at Port Royal removed to Tybeo Island.
It is, in the very words of the memorial,
" the fear that such outlays at that
port (that is, Port Royal,) to the serious " *
and lasting detrim nt of the commerce of
the city ot Savannah and other ports in
the State ot Georgia.
Jealousy of Port Royal and fear of it a>
a growing commercial port alone actuate
the Savannah memorialists in asking the
change. It is to be hoped that such considerations
will have no weight whatever
with this House. These Sivannah memorialists,
while admitting tlatthe harbor
of Port Royal affords an advantage for i
floating a larger number of vessels than
any other harbor on the Soith Atlantic
coast, claim that " this advantage is over
come by other considerations of greater
value.
The first of these considerations is the
fact k" that Port Royal is wholly undefended
by fortifications, " whife 11 the pert
of Savannah is protected by Fort Pulaski."
What protection Fort Fulaski affords
may be nest understood ly the fact that
during the late civil war batteries were
erected by the Union foices all around it
almost without the knowledge of thegirrison,
and that in thirty hours after the
first gun was fired against it, it surrendered,
notwithstanding it was well garrisoned
and ftilly supplied. But, admit
ting that Jfort fultfKi may oe a prcitvtion
to the city of Savannah, what possible
protection cin it be to Tybee Wand
where it is now jought to establish i naval
station ? Bhmember that during the
war when thoroughly earrisoned it was
unable to present the Union forces from
erecting a single battery on Tybee Ioland.
In fact, as I have already stated, batteries
were erected on Tybee Island without
the garrisch in Fort Pulaski even being
aware of their location until after they
had opesed fire upon the fort. That
Fort Puhski is no protection to Tybee Island
setrns to be partially admitted by
these Savannah gentlemen when they
state % that the Government holds two
huncVed and ten acres of land on Tybee '
Island, intended for the rite of additional
for;>ficntiom." What need for additional
fortifications if Fort Pulaski affords ample
protection ? As an offset, however, to
raese two hundred and ten acres on Tybee
Island, the . government owns
five hundred and twenty acres at
Port Roval, and the natural advantages .
of Port Royal are such that it requires
much less expensive and less extensive
fortifications for the defense of the harbor
there than at Tybee Island. In this
respect, therefore, Tybee Island possesses
no advantages over Port Royal worth considering.
In fact it is very questionable
whether any fortifications are needed at
all for the protection of a naval renuezvous.
Certainly they are not needed
now, and will not be, perhaps, for years. ,
It is further claimed that '4 the Government
aheady owns ample available
land accommodations in Savannah Harbor
for the purposes of a naval station,
namely, the whole of Cockspur Island, on
which Fort Pulaski rests, and two hum
. dred and ten acres of land on Tybee Island.
" If this be a matter pf any importance
in the decision of this question,
then Port Royal possesses superior advantages
in this respect, for the Govern- t
ment owns two hundred acres on Hilton
Head and three hundred and twenty acres
on Bay Point, or three hundred and ten
acres more than it possesses, in Savannah
Harbor. As to Cockspur Island, on
which Fort Pulaski rests, it is nothing
but a marsh island with veiy little solid
ground except that upon which the fort
rests. iMoreover, it is an exceedingly
unhealthy spot, as is clearly showu in the
following extracts from a report by Surgeons
T. N. Roberts and I N. Niles,
Cnited States Army, and therefore unfit,
never mind what may be its othei advantages
for a naval station :
In it-* present condition the island is constantly
overflowed, in a large part of its extent,
by the tides while the water from the
rainfall settles into the low spots of marshy v
1 ground and becomes stagnant. There js
an abundant generation of malatia^ in .
those low places, which causes the diferent
forms of paludal fever prevailing here
during the hot seThis cau<e (malarial
would opperate here with much
.greater istensity were the miasma not
carried off or greatly diluted by the
breezes from the sea.
The difficulty and expanse of obtaining
fresh water for drinking purposes at Port \
Royal is urged as an additional reason
~*V** *V./? nrtr.il rnrvr?.Tfvnn? should be re
11 Jf llic iiaiai ivuuvii-v?o .....
, moved from there to Tybee Island Over
i a year ago when the naval rendezvous
; was first established at Port Roj*al this
objection might have been urged witn
i some force ; Dut all difficulties of that
kind have been removed, as will readily
I
i