New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-08-09
an ATMOSPHERE FULL OF RAMS.
RAMS AT SAVANNAH.
RAMS AT CHARLESTON.
Preparations to Receive the Rams.
CRITICAL STATE Of AFFAIRS AT HILTON HEAD.



Intense excitement prevails here, and all prepare
tons to receive the Rebel Ram are being vigorously
pushed forward by Maj..Gen. Hunter on land, and
FLAG. offcer Dupont in the harbor.
Last night the Ben de Ford lay on spring cables,
with her fires. resdy, and everything cleared away
TO make charge at the Ram in case of It's appear
ance.
The signal officers have been busy eating direct
road through the woods 70 BraddUck's P0nt--tbe
nearest signal station TO Pulassi. perfect system
Of iocket-signas has also been concerted between
Gen. Hunters headquarters and the Navy, sbich
will give nio nation from the gunboats now sta-
toned above Pulaski Of every movement of the
Rebels in the Sa, annsh river.
Col. Williams o: the let Massachusetts Cavalry,
commanding the Post Of Hilton Head has been
busy with large fatigue parties Of men mounting
heavy guns TO receive the : expected stranger with
due honors 4 powerful battery OF ll-inch Colum-
biads has been erected in the extreme northern
angle Of the work, just beyond Gen. Hunters bead
quarters; aud many guns of the same cAilbef ire
being placed IN position on Fort We'ief.
These labors fall heavily on the men and contra
bar ds-al tie horses Of the Department being in
-ick ard dying condition, owing to the delay Of the
Qnartermasierf Department in furnishing forage.
The requisons drawn for hay, oats, &c, have
been systematically rejected aud tie result is that
al tie horses here now turned out to Craze ar
best they can on the leaves o. the swamp bfushwood,
the rank grasses Of the mtrsb and tie asses Of the
few wiIher,d oorn-patchef on the "p'antations
around u.s. or sixteen Of the strongest horses or
dered yesterday To aid in dragging Of The ord.
nance from tie Ordnance Yard 10 Fort Welles four
fell before advancing one hundred yaris-so weak
eped have they become by want OF the food which
the authorities North have failed TO supply.
Tie Rebel ram il raid 10 have the heaviest arma-
m.ut and most perfect Armor afoat; aud the Rebels
of Savannah are IA high gee at the prospect Of clear
ing ont Port Royal harDor and dcSro,ing the in
nente depots Of ordnance, quarternnsters, and
con.miss,ry stores at Hilton Head. The guns on
Fort Pnlaski can oiIcr 10 ofecual resistance to the
seaw ard passagc Of inch vessel; but porsby, the
heavy metal Of the Paul Jones and the other gun
ats sent up by the Flag-oicer, together with tie
l.ipch coumbiads which Gen. Hunter is csurng To
be mounted at every available point, may suffice to
retard her
Tile ram is tie Engli-h steamer Fingall, which
ran TIE blufhhu" idSl Sllhb WI II u Oh
Enfield r,ies Blakey cannon, Armstroo K guns, and
gray uniform cloth. She has been Gu, down and
massivey rooted and armored with railroad iron,
taken from the roads converging at Savannah; and,
should che do what rhe expects. the position Of the
command in the Department Of the South will be
critical in tie extreme.
Under cover Of Der guns the Rebel who have mass
ed large forces at Savannah, IiaidinvIle, Button,
Grshamsville, &C.. &C., eau cross in the innumcr-
able fat boats which they have built in their shallow
ionnd-running creeks; and the weakened garrisons
Il Hilton Head and Port Royal Island Till have TO
fight for their ises-soperior forces of the enemy
pressing them into their lines Of creeks from The
mainland eide of the islands, aud the RAM in rear of
their works lif they manage ber dexterou-y driving
tne IN cut. We have only the comfort Of knowing
that Gen Hunter is the kind Of officer who will give
them hard fight for il before they can replace the
stars and stripes with tie and bars.
Under the peremptory call Tor re-eniorcements TO
aid Mcclellan, the weak force of this department
having then not nearly enough effective men 10
guara TWO hundred mi es of sea coas, with countless
islsnds-was reduced by neatly half its regiments
many of It's beet regiments under its beet Brigade
Comm. nders, Gems. Ii. G. Wright and j. j. S'evens
McCellan's call was for many thousand men,
that # supplied. il would scarce have lett us sui
6cieut garrlsons to keep up decent show OF guard
mounting and picket duty; but tbese absurd ns'ruc-
tons were counterInandcd by late steamer FROM
the North, aud the many regiments from this De-
partment now ioling away their time to no proht ut
Newport News are all that ale 10 be taken away
from Gen. Hunters command.
Even the withdrawal Of this force, in obedience to
that policy which has perSstently stripped and eo-
dangersd nearly every command III the country,
cau,ed the immediate evacuation Of two Important
isis uds Edsto aud Dawiuskie, both sown with corn
and cotton by the labor OF plantation hands, ny the
exertions OF Gen. Wright, the negroes have been
from these islands previous 10 their evacu
n, ion aud are now scattered over ST. Helena aud
st. Simons Islands, and there need be no appiehen-
sion that the corn and cotton planted by Uncle Sam
will fall into the gransres OF the Rebels, as the
islands are completely under the present command OF
our eunboats, and will be reoecupied the moment
Gen. Iluner is supplied with re-eniofcements.
IL nothing else can be done, and should The ram
get out and threaten the gunboats, IL force can a'
least be l ded destroy the present cr"ps and Id
sure that if we cannot have these products ourselves
no one else sLall-which will DO sort Of dog-ln the
manager compact.
Commodore Dupont has Trustworthy Information
that the TWO RAM being constructed IN Charleston
hsrbor are nearly finished, if not quite so; ana nc
expects that a concerted demonstration VIII DC nado
by the rams of Charleston and Savannah, acting III
with the powerful land forces uncer