Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-12-06
Highly Interesting From Port
Royal.

Highly Interesting From Port
4 Royal.
The New York Tines correspondent
writes from Hilton Head on the Goth:
| What has been accomplished at this
place since the battle Of the 7th, though
not SO brilliant, is hardly less important
than the events of that memorable day.
Fourteen or fifteen thousand souls have
been constituted into population, and
by degrees, their various needs very
generally attended to. 1t was labor
of no small difficulty simply to land the
troops, but that was nothing in eompar-
ison with the unloading from the feet
of transports of their cargoes. Two
docks have been built, plank road laid
immense storehouses put up to receive
the contents of the vessels, ovens erec-
ted, post Office established, simultane-
ousl y with the prosecution of more
purely military labors, such as setting
tents, throwing up intrenchments, es-
tablishing camp police, and otherwise
administering the government of an
army. A thousand men at time might
be seen at work along the shore, con-
structing wharves, driving horses
through the water and along the sand,
receiving cargoes, rolling barrels, guard
ing property, while three or four miles
off, another thousand were engaged in
digging trenches, moving guns, and pre-
pairing the new fortifcations which are
to render the place impregnable. Be-
sides these, four or five hundred men a
day were frequently sent off on recon
noissances, for the whole of Hilton
Island was to be explored and occupied.
Then the sites for the various brigade
camps were to be selected, the batteries
at Forts Walker and Beauregard (now
called Forts Welles and Seward) were
to be put anew into order after the ter
rible disarrangement they had received,
! this multitude Of men had to be fed,
and stores for SO many lations at once
brought ashore no matter what else was
neglected, eleven hundred horses were
to be provided for, army wagons to be
put together, heavy siege guns and
their carriages to be got out of the holds
of vessels half mile from land and
transported to the beach, and the tents
of three brigades to be erected All
this to be done in hostile country,
where the possibility of an attack was
to be momently guarded against, and in
! a place unknown before to nearly every
! individual attached to the expedition
! When [ say that all this has been done,
and, on the whole, we'll and satisfactorily
done, I offer the highest praise to all
whose labors have contributed to so de-
sirable consummation.
THE CAMPS QUIET.
The troops are now settling down into
camp life in their new position. Ham
ilton's light battery has the honor of an
advanced position, as has also Col.
Perry's New York Regiment. Others
are placed along the coast, or by the
side of creeks, or otherwise, as the mill
tary discretion of commanders has die
tated. Drills and parades occur daily,
Notwithstanding the great amount of ia
tigue duty still required of the soldiers.
Religious services are held on Sundays
again. Attention is paid once more to
the cleanliness of the men and the police
of the camps. The teamsters are as
signed camp for themselves and their
horses. The hospitals are under ex-
cellent regulations; the system of the
Quartermasters' and Commissaries' de-
partments becomes more apparent; the
men are able to live with greater de-
gree of comfort. Some of the transports
have left the harbor; few of the gun
boats also have disappeared. The
beach does not present an aspect of con-
fusion, such as greeted the eye week
ago; and, altogether, a great orderly
community is taking the place of the
chaotic and disturbed mob Of men and
crowd of stores that were scattered, ap-
parently pellmell, upon Hilton Head
week ago.
THE NEGROES.
One Of the most remarkable features
of the new life in South Carolina, is af-
forded by the negroes. Black servants
have been hired by the officers, as wait
ers and washermen and women. Black
gangs have worked on the shore, or
been used as oarsmen; blacks have
served as scouts and guides in the re-
connoissances. Crowds of the women
and children may be seen in various
parts of the camps, but especially near
headquarters, where they inhabit their
old huts still. There they receive their
rations, there they build fires to cook
their food or do their washing, and clus-
ter into odd-le oking groups, picturesque
for all their squalor. The men and
boys join them at night, and always,
after supper, in dilapidated clubhouse,
is held prayer meeting. [ listened
outside, last night, and heard ardent
CALCULATIONS of thanksgiving for the fav-
orable chance God had given to "my
colored bruddern. The jargon was
absurd, but it was earnest; the singing
was out of time and tune, but it was fer
vent. In some quarters the blacks are
less religious, and held ball to cele-
brate the coming of the Yankees [
have talked with nearly half of those [
have seen; have asked them which they
preferred, the new or the old order of
things, and though some few here and
there spoke kindly Of their cid masters,
there was no mistaking the genuineness
of the gratitude for the change.
At Beaufort, where not few seemed
sad at the pillagipg that had occurred,
yet even these declared they had long
prayed for our coming. They laughed
at the idea of our injuring them, which
all declared their masters had endeav-
ored to instill. The fact that they re-
ceive pay for their labor seems especially
to delight them; and as for comforts,
many have told me that they never
lived so we'll before. None evince