The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-04-18

FROM CHARLESTON.
Trip Down the Misunderstanding Descrip-
tion of Fort SUI mter.-aiorrfs iaa"a''
Scenes in the City. sc.
tsrpc1.1 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. or raE plsrArcHl

ESPECIAL coRRgsposDEscE OF TIE DIsPArcH]
~ CHARLESTON, April 10.
For a especial correspondent" who arrives
on the scene twenty hours after the special
occasion is ended, there remain only lew |
scraps Of intelligence to communicate, ana
they are not new This m orning boat from the
city went down 10 Fort sum ter, and the ex-
cursonists on board had very good oppor-
unity of viewing the scene OF the iate msnt.
AS Won leave the city you find Castle PINK
ney on your left--a low, circular lort'hcatoh, 1
pain ted bright yellow. On the narrow ledge
around 1t are seen several awkwaro squaos
drilling their officers trotting them around at |
| a rapid rate. Those soldiers sent 10 TINS Iort
are chiefly recruits who are drilled Tor the
lower poin is in the harbor. But rev mo- |
ments elapse before you have good we" OF
Fort Sumter but how changed All the
chimneys that rose above the Walls OF the loIt
are shattered, and there Is not a square ytro,
hardly square foot, in the wall, that mas NOT
the impress ion of cannon ball AZ one
point spot four feet square has nine balls IN
! it, In some ca the balls have buried them
| selves in the bricks, in Others large spot Is
| chipped off and the iron missile lis buried |
| in the water into which IL rebounded. TN
| the western side of the fort the greatest dam
age is done, and every ball from the rine
! cannon, presented by a South Carolinian IN
4 England TO his State, has told with wonderful |
1 effect. The slight breach was probably much
aided by this piece of artillery.
The parapet protec ton erected by MAYOR
Anderson in the corner of the fort fronting
| Morris Island is completely blown to pieces
and could have afforded but brlef covering
for the soldiers. 1t was about four feet high,
posed of stakes enclosing sand tightiy
packed, and affording what would seem, but
proved not to be. very efficient protection
4 This seems to have been marked out particu.
larly by the gunners on the other side; and
about two feet to the left of it there is a clear
breach in the wall, about two feet wide, aud
extending down the same depth from the pa
| ra pet. The appearance of the inside can
| hardly be described. The officers quarters
are burnt up, and the whole area within the
walls looks as if fire of hell' (as the French
said at the Crimea) had blackened and blasted
| it. The ground is strewn with balls, buTs ted
! shells, fragments of brick and mortar, broiten
| timber, dismOunted cannon, and Sprinkling
of old cartridge boxes, &c, and presents fair
| pic ture of the results of fierce and persis tent
lbombardnent. ..
On the boat was a lady-not an old looking
one, either-who had three sons on duty IN
| the harbor. One of them is now in the fort,
and sent his mother very excellent collec-
: : ton of the curiosities within, and the mes
senger, very handsome young soldier, was
the cen re of attrac ton with the ladies on the
boat lille he remained. The curiosities con-
| sisted OF pieces of bombshe!i, splinters of the
| flag staff, &c. While we were lying off Fort
Sumter a number of little boats were plying
| TO and fro, the oars being pulled by men who
| locked as if they had never had much to do
S with as rough work before. In the sterns
\ | were seated the officers, who We're being car
| ried from point TO point with orders. a da-
| guerreotypist was in the fort taking views OF
e the in terror, and in the meantime favcring the
i | boys in there with copies OF their faces to
: | send 10 their friends.
n Beyond Sumter Won see Morris Island,
which to-day presented an unusually ami
r | mated spectacle A large Charleston steamer
was lying short distances off the Island, land
q ing battery of flying artillery, besides other
l. troops, and additional supplies OF fresh pro
: | visions. a few minutes after landing, the
: artillery could be seen vending its way along
IS the sand beach to Stono, where the u :. yes
II sells expected to land troops. "A large
l. number OF troops are being sent 10 that point,
j. and every preparation is being made to give
+, the invaders warm welcome. Stono Is the
y farthest point towards the sea which com
l. mands the entrance to the harbor and as you
n look along the beach between that and Morris
l. | Island, yoI see it dotted with flags, each one
d | indica ting that at that point is located bat
e terry, varying in strength, am told, from two
l. | to six cannons.
p AS the boat returned we passed quite nea,
IN to Moul!rie, and with glass could see plain
ly the manner i'll which the port-hoies are
battered around the edges. MaJ. Anderson
rg | paid particular attention to this point, ;tRt
N the firing from sumter seems to have beer
:" very accurate The Floating Battery, whiei
le lies the other side OF the Bay looks i'll iron
n like 4 little one-story house painted black
" with four unusually large windows. Their
is a hole through the roof.
Looking to seaward from Fort Sumter, yol
le can plainly see the war steamers and charter
Ut ed transports which Maj. Anderson so earnes I
ne ly signaled to come 10 his relief. Weran out Ii
IN about mile of them. They are lying clos
together about six miles from Sumter. Tn
lie as great towards for not attempting to assis
IL, | their companions i'll distress.
ed As We passed the Mercury office this after
ng noon, we saw company of about one hun
W dred men, from Lancaster county, >. =
marching down the street to embark for on
ur OF the posts in the harbor. They were strong
r. firm king fellows, dressed in grey, aud eaI
"s | ryiug satchals instead of knapsackS, Tin cups
eA canteens, &c. Their marching MAS athe
III M'.o awkward, but all that will be taken out
AZ, them before they have been many days be
.ie hind the sand bags Hley gave three rousin
IloI I cheers for the Mercury.
Us I.incoln's Proclamation was published her
'' this mo ming. Nobody seems 10 care for II
indeed nobody seems to care for anythln
~ that may be done by the Administration an
- its Northern hackers. The people seem
Fal expect war, are ready for war, and would b
Ter | had nearly said, disagreeably disappointe
'or if they don't have war. If Iincon's Proofs
S. nation is Duster, aud gotten up Tor eiect,
- will have no effect here or elsewhere III u
in Confederacy. l heard some Nirginiahs u
M day laughing heartily at one of the Telegram
me to the effect that reqnIs ton was 10 De mat
ed on Vtr0iafo for 600 men to aid in coercion.
er- Examining the baggage is one of the new II
the stitutons that has come i'll with the ne Co
els federacy, and as | was tCo late for the con
on- bat, you must take II description of this
place of more interesting matter. IL does II
at occur directly upon your crossing the line D
of tween North Carolina and South Carolina
hat You are allowed to go on until you rea'
TO Florence, >. O., which Is the inspt ton pom
ate The cars run up TO Il tall pole, bearing the fl
of the Confederate States. Then comes I
ned revenue inspector, a good looking, poll
list young fellow, who calls out tor passengers
I'M hand over the KEYS of their baggage. En-
led trunk is taken ont of the baggage car, and
owner furnishes the key and aids the inspt
nty tor ia turning up the contents, and satisi
lrst him that there is nothing contraband ih the
ort There is no getting off from this, and
feigned loss OF keys, nor bogus pretence
rusty lock, can save you. After one trunk
me- looked through, the owner and sufferer wa
n of to witness the same operation on his fells
tho travellers, and 4 modest man is inexpressit
| pained at the exposure OF his inexpressib
and other delicate articles of clothing. I
e to little private bottles of 'ssperrts' expos
to would astonish you, and the quantity Is OF
res, eo ualled by the agility of the owners in Je
cir | ing 4 vest coat over them. Of course
that crowd don't laugh, nor jeer nor the victn
nee | face don't turn red; of course not. This,
IS 1t A. Ward would say, is ironically
ates As we passed Goldsboro', n. G., conf
di- | down, the news of the surrender of Fort Su
the ter had lust reached there, and the town v
way ablaze with tar barrels. Every man that
riss n gun was out and firing it, and this depon'
the firmly believes that if any man had been
raid sane enough then and there to cheer for
Northern Confederacy, he would have had o
nye minutes between him and 4 Confederi
the 80 very far South that the process OF ac'
"a, | nation therein is so tremely warm as 10
With niSny @ sa sra.t Question. but / venture
rer saw hat there is not 4 town in the Confe
ish- | rate States more true TO southern rishts u
Colds boro'.
charleston is not very much excited, an
@ 81 stranger is surprised to find such GOODNESS
. m | a city which, for two days past, mas been
. = ~ ~ hearing of a bombardment. business goes
-. | as usual, and around the courier anu Mere
boards haven't seen crowd to-day one II
as large as YOU have around the Dispdtch
l han sn