Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-05-13
Incident at hilton Head.
stroyed.

FORT PULASKI, April %, 1862.
An incident recently transpired in this de-
partment which l think is worth recording.
At Hilton Head is restaurant, which being
the only one in the place is of course COM
mon resort, and common ground for persons
of all shades of opinion and practice few
days since it was filled with officers and civil
ians, engaged with their dinners, when from
one of the tables a voice was heard in tones
of vociterous vituperation, damn the Mig
gers; damn the abolitonists damn the black
republicans. L wish the niggers and the abo-
litionists both were in Africa. or in hell. 1t is
the abolitionistS that have brought on this
war" 1t appears that this explosion proceed
| ed from STRIPPING who wore the uniform of a
captain in the Sd Rhode Island regiment. and
! who bore the evident semblance of having
dined at a board not spread by Mr.. Cough or
Mr.. Delavan. He was continuing his TRADE
! when another voice was heard in a tone of
| dignity that commanded attention. The
| speaker was a lieutenant colonel of a Con-
nectcut regiment that a few DAYS before had
won enduring honor in the trenches before
Pulaski. Sir he said, II wish you to I'M
derstand that there is an abolitionSt sitting in
my chair. l am as black as tar"
The young man turned, apparently design
ing to make an insulting reply, but his coun-
tenance changed as he saw that the speaker
was of a rank several grades above his own.
Il see" he said, ''that you are my superior
in rank and perhaps l ought" mo mat
ter about that returned the other, Il have
no desire to continue the conversation |
meant only to remind you of the gross impro-
priety and inciviity of making such speeches
IN place Of common resort, when you could
not tell whom you were hitting" The young
man had by this time risen from the table and
| approached the gentleman who had interrupt-
ed him. Il will not withdraw my words" he
SAID, but l must say that | respect you for
coming here to fight. You are the only abo-
litionist l ever saw who was bold enough to
do that. They are ready to talk loud-when
the time comes to act, they stay at home.
| There are indeed some of Them" he added
| with a supercillous glance at a gentleman sit
ting at the table, miserable scribblers. who
| come here and write letters. but they take
good care to keep out of danger"
instantly the gentleman at whom this in
Sulting allusion was aimed (the exceedingly
intelligent correspondent of the Tribune } rose
from his seat and confronted the irate cap
tam. IF you have anything to say to me-"
he said i wish you to say it to my face and
not to somebody else" The young man at
tempted to preserve his supercous air. Il
do not know you," he said; Il know nothing
about you" The correspondent replied in the
most marked and pointed manner possible =
II 6eLlere that 10 be deliberate lie" The
young man, smarting under this deserved
truthful rebule, and maddened by seeing that
every face glOwed with satisfaction at the re-
proof he had received, attempted some inso-
lent reply. You scoundrel,' said the cor
respondent, eff you give me any more of
your insOlence I'll knock you down. The
correspondent is a man though slight vet of
active and well knit frame, and his nerve and
courage no one could douM who had seen
him, as did, few days before, standing upon
the rampant of the most exposed battery on
Tybee, jotting down in his note book the in
cldentS Of that sharp scene, and as calm
while shot and shell were falling about him,
as if he were writing in snug sanctum. The
young man, seemingly convinced that he
should gain nothing by provoking an encoun-
ter and feeling that the unmistakable svmpa-
thies Of the bystanders were against him pos
slbly his mind enlightened by a dawning idea
tlau ne was making 1901 OF himself, stood
for moment, the embodiment of impotent
rage, and then rushed out of the door.
learn that the youth in returning to the
camp Of the respectable regiment to which he
| is attached, gave his own version of the affair,
| but met with no great success among his COM
| rades, who estimated his spirit and valor at
their true value. 81 don't know why / did
not knock him down." he said in relating to a
brother officer the rebuff he had met with
81 know" replied the other, 1T was because
you didn't dare to-" And thus did the volun-
teer champion of pro-slavery fiunkeyism come
to grief. Why such men enter the army in
this war is certainly a mystery. But let us
hope that their number in ''the department of
the south" is diminishing. Those Of them
who are capable of receiving new ideas find
their views modified and their convictions
changed by the ''stern logic of events" and
the incorrigible fools are every now and then
extinguished as in the instance Just alluded to.
and are heard of no more.