Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-12-31
Federal Report. from Charloston.

y correspondent OF the New York inns, writing
f.Om Port Roysl, gives the following:
l have couversed with two Of these men ~(refugses
frcm tharlestoul who are carpenters, and are now work
ing a. their trade here. One Of t7snl, Thomas Pritchard
by name, is a very shrewd, intelligent f low, ard from
him leaned many important facts concerning the state
Of affairs il Charleston. Although a negro, he is evil
IDENTIFY a man OF > keen and observing nature, aud !
am Impressed with the reliability OF his statements.
With regard to the state u feeling in Charleston, he
says that The unauimiiy which has heretofore eXited no
longer prevails. Constant fears Of an attack upon the
city by oar ironclad gunboats have e gendered a very
bilier feeling, aud divided the people in two pRrtiesas to
the best course 10 be pUrsued intease our gunboats should
succeed in passing the I IT'S and batteries and reach the
city. The no surrender party ere nfavor of burning
the place in erent of this, while the others are violently
opposed to such a saeritics, pref RING to eat humble pie
aud surranler the city, as was done ut New Orleans.
The poorer classes are reduced to the most pitisbie
strsi5s, AMI the butter frehng Of animoyity which pre-
vailed among them Mt the beginning OF tn war il com
plrtely changed, and tn Y nov pray for the coming Of
the Yankees to bring th.m food and relieve their dis
tress. There is q greater scarcity Of pr visions than has
eVs'cd, and prices were never SHOWN TO range 50 high
b fore during he war. tioUr IS worth fortye ght dollars
a barrel, tea fifteen dollars a pound, good meat seventy
five cents a pound. The poor are al Kept at the expen-e
Of the city.
The people expected that the city would be attacked
gbOut the 10th Of last month, and a very great many
have left. They are till moving away in dread Of IT,
and a committee of aldermen was convened 10 render
assistance TO those who were unable TO GET away.
They IRE still active, and no mraus u defense is over
looked which can be adopted. There are ivr chou snd
troops in and ab ut Charleston an a new fort Fort
hfptBTJ mas Oeen constructed near the city. IA row OF
sPHes hiss been placed across the ehauLel, eat ndi <
fom behind Fort Sumter T. Jams island leaving Just
sufficient room for a vessel to pass with dfieuity. To
ths-e spies large RATS OF timber have been listened by
means OF heavy chains.
The TWO rams ars both compile ed, but have proved
useless for offensive oDerati ms, the tagiLes not being
strong enough to dive th-m thro gh the wafer with tn
requisite velocity. Thy ase snel Decd in the harbor,
and wi be used as IN addition l means Of defn e. The
frames ara built Of timber ight j, CHI thick, covered
with oneinch plank over tbs il a heavy ar4or of two
iasefs If railroad iron, each oar O. two inches thick and
foHr inches wide nod pla cd parallel and di gouelly.
Eacn We Is one hundred ana TIVE ~ T It org, having
Hu xix inches Of the hull above water, and carr les three
ten-iHrh gaus, and one siiliarger
The "a q consists cf a simple iece of iron, firmly Sc
cured by ron bots, and rGj-ci1g six feet from tho
bcv. II was made in Charleston, at Easton's foundry,
but The rect Of the iron work came from Greeuvi,ie.
The engines to propel them were taken from TWO steam
ers-ou- ffcm III steamer Aid, but the name of tie
steamer my negro informant could not r, member. Tom,
whose Eyes aad ears, it appear-, were continually about
him; one day on the pier overheard a gentleman, who,
conv.rsing with Gen. B-auregard about the rams, re-
marked that, among other defects, the frame work was
altogether too frail to Withstand the violent shock and
concussiO from our guns. This, combined with the i'm
mense weight If tn If armament, would soon shatter
the frame, and the vessels soul fall to piece. When
lowing plan Of operations WIS laid ont a crew was
seut to bling up the steamer Nashville frn The Oge.
chez riTsrrfO attack our vessels b o~ckading the hHIbOr.
The rams were lieu to com to h r ~assistaucs and anni-
hlate Our fleet. During the conflict three st q AelR
lying in The hsIbor were y make their escape This
brilliant plan was subsequently abandoned, but whether
from defec X in tn plan o. from d fects in the rams, IS
not positively kaown-pro6ably from both caa-es
Jnst beforele9Ving charleston, Tom was emp'Oyed
la the auction house Of J. hu J. Miner, to whom almost
all the esrgOes Which reached the city were consigned,
a d who, it seem Is n man of rome considerable iplu-
ence. There he frequently enjoyed the opportunity of
hearing conversations, where opinions and sentinelts
were freely offered, from which e wss enabled to form
a very ,hrewd judgment Of the general feeling prevail
i-F. In some IF there eouv rs lions he heard great sat
bEaction eE Iresseda at the election in New York. Thy
seemed to derive comfort aud encouragement from the
e~lsctiOn Of Seymour, as az Indication hat the people Of
the North viii rot support trefilent Lac Ia in his
emancipation proclamation.