The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1862-08-23
From Port ROYAL.
Correspondence ofthe Baltimore american.
PoRT ROYAL, South Carolina, /
July %, 1862.

On the A4th OF July the steamer Ben
Deford was sent up to North Island, about
twelve miles below Georgetown, South
Carolina, to take aboard six hundred and
twenty negroes who had gathered at that
point from the surrounding islands and
from the mainland. They principally con,
sisted of old men and women and young
children. There were but few able-bod-
led men among the lot. These negroes
had been Abandoned by the planters and
left to the care of the Union forces. As
agreat many are worthless, it will be quite
heavy tax upon the treasury to support
them. The negroes were landed at Beau
fort, and from thence they will be sent
to the islands near that post under the
care of the Gideonites.
The steamers Thomas Swami, Gen.
Burnside and Cosmopolitan, and the
schooner Jessie Woodhouse, two weeks
ago had carried away from Edisto Island,
South Carolina, about LOO, great
many of which were similar to those
brought from North Island. On Edisto
Island the negroes under the care of cot
ton agents had quite number of fields
growing with cotton and corn, and yet all
this is abandoned to the ravages of the
hostile foe. There was plenty of food
on the island for the negroes, but because
the Union forces left the island the ne
groes with all their baggage must be taken
along. 1t seems that the war III this de-
partment is carried on solely for the ben
eft Of the negroes, that expensive trans
ports are set apart exclusively for trans
porting from place to place idle and de-
crepid negroes; that wherever the Union
forces go the negro must be carried, fed
and clothed. Everything is for the Mig
ger. The town of Jacksonville, Florida,
with. White men who had boldly declared
for the Union, and claimed the protection
of the Union troops, must be evacuated
and Union men left to shift for them
selves, but the negro, bless him, he must
be carefully looked after
The negroes that came on the Ben De-
ford at North Island were a squalid, rag
ged and dirty-looking set Of humanity
They had no sense Of modesty among
them, and appeared to be but few de-
grees above the brute creation. They had
a plenty of food with them, having OBJ
tanned rough rice in large quantities from
the neighboring plantations. Their mode
Of hulling the rice was quite primitive
They took a pine log, followed it out to
the depth of two or three feet, and filled
the space with rough rice; they then
took pine stick, about three inches in
diameter; and made plunger out of it..
With this they went to work, and in a
short time they could clean rice enough
to satisfy large family for whole day
They were also plentifully provided with
corn and poultry. The object Of General
Hunter in gathering these large bands of
negroes together is no doubt to get vol.
unteers for his negro brigade.
July 20. About rs, 900 stand Of arms
have been sent to this department from
the. NORTH since last fall-what they were
intended for it is hard to say, but an or
der has come for $4,000, and they will be
sent North in a few days. IS,
General Wright and Staff will start TO-
morrow in the steamer General McClel-
Ian for New York, he having been called
to Washington to a command in Vir-
ginia.
The steamer Mississippi arrived this
: afternoon from Fortress Monroe. Her
object is to take away more troops to Viz
GINA. The soldiers are glad of it. They
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