The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1862-01-29
From the Charleston Mercury 2lst inst.
The War on the Seacoast.

We get no news OF speciai interest
from the Coast. The Savannah papers
of Yesterday mention that a Federal boat
party approached our picke,s on Skid'
way on Saturday night and fred on them.
The pickets returned the fire-some TWEEN.
~ or thirty shots beng tired-when the
Federals retired. 1t was bot known
whether they received any damage. |,
was rumorsd that a considerable number
of Federal vessels had made their ap.
pearance in the neighborhood Of Skida
way.
The Savannah News doubts the re
por. that the enemy's vessels have Quilted
Port Royal. 1t quotes the following ex
tract from a letter written since the al
legged departure Of the fleet:
"This evening our picke,s report abou,
forty or fifty vessels few miles from
Gregorie's house. What they design to
do is all conjecture. They may have
been driyen higher up than usual by the
y,cent bad weather. or the vessels may
bs a portion Of the Burnside feet. If,o
they may land at two points, Gregorie's
house and BOYD or at Bolan's Hall,
and thence advance to take the railroad.
Bot do not believe that they will march
far from under cover Of their guns, unless
they have an Overwhelming force. II
they do land in large numbers we will
have time enough to send force sufli.
cient to drive them back to their vessels
with the bayonet, which will be freely
used"
Gregorie's house is situated on Broad
River some fifteen miles from Port Roya
entrance. Hoyd's Landing is one Of ,h'
landings used by the steamers plying be
tween Charleston and Savannah. and il
on y creek leading from Broad river
little higher up the river than Gregorie''
Bolan's is on navigab!e branch O
Broad river, about nine miles distan
from the Charleston and Savannah Rail
road, and is the nearest point accessibl
by water to the rail road. All three O
the aboveIandings are on the mainland
The Port Royal correspondent Of th'
New York Commercial hdrertisr give
tho following account Of the Yankee op
e,a,ions in the Cotton business at Por
Royal:
"The negroes every where in two die
tricts are at work collecting. bai'ing ant
rolling cotton. Thousands Of them hav'
been set at their task. for which they ar,
paid at the rate Of dollar for every hun
dred pounds they deliver. They labou
with a.acrity under this unwonted stimu
lus various assistants and clerks hav
been appointed to oversee their pe'for
mances, and though they need to Se con
s,an,ly directed and shiIlfully managed
yet a good degree of work is really 60,
ten out of them. This is proven by th
fac, that, 10 less than three days, owe
$4,000 worth Of cotton was put aboar
the steamboat WHICH accompanied Co
MOBILES; all this cotton had been bale'
by the negroes themselves, and the bag
made by them it was then conveyed {,
the various landings. at no one Of which
there is q wharf. The supply OF bag,
having been incomplete some Thousand
sand bags were supplied them, and these
had TO be first placed in fiat boats, then
rowed out to the steamer, and again re-
moved 10 the decks, before the labors o.
the blacks were completed. The old dri.
yers were generally retained TO find out
the hands and bring them up 10 the
pIaees where their labor was required.