, 1863-11-12

~ A1E Ee1tEo y 4oIlb WuereW1sl Eharlt3t0n
was offended Castle Pickrey, Fort MoultrIe,
and athtr works OF brick aud ;stone,) it must
| the whule. The -shIps and steam Vesaeis:
obliged to pass under It's guns to and from
The city, saluting as they went; the sloops
ana anaA esatt coas!ing under It's shadow Or
shine above it, and il yeasty waves iappIpe
tts abrupt sides euch was, indeed, picture
No1t5y the s.sat and remembrance Of 81
travellers. - :. -
Who Of these could recognize it In thAt for.
1orn-looEiI Mass of rubbish 10 which: the
guns OF Justly incensed fashe1laad h4ve now
reduced It :: On the extreme west corner,
nearest to Charleston, are some faint indica-
lions OF what 1t once WIS.,. A. few esqua1e
fssds tt masonry remain comparatively uu
Lurt- Yet even here the .paraFet Ii knocked
clearly awaJ for . space of fifteen feet, at
ieast, .nd The eye rests on q house stAnding
1tland, hey ond the: North Channel; that in d.
ts1reEes bets cen the land aud the tort. Fol.
ltF tie jsgged outline to the east and 5o1
sec Other houses .Feepfng over tho top of the
reap. " some you can zee: nearly oae:half
frem the crown Of the topfs downwArd+ or
Here vi5ible a few dayr aeo; I'D now the
clcud Of erery .hot, clearing away, shows
-4ou more Of their forms, tu prove that thu
mound tf bricks Il. being gradually decreased
In hight. The shot and shells pound Tay
at the remains, on an average, one In each
Light long the n.o1tars In our advanced 1orks
: 60 on With their pulyerizisg pracsfce: What
structure OF brick or stone, could stand such:
banmeltng, 10 kept up!
.. TIE EAST FACE. -. : !;
Butt IL on the east face, or sea-wall Of
Sumter, that destruction has done Its work,
Hcre las concentrated the fire OF the army
fhe Psts1seo ouf ne %Ss9 ts s
have, since Tuesday. kept up their awfal IRE
Of 15.tnch shells Many Of these fall short.
Some Of them go clear over aud beyond'thelr
mark But Mhen and whero they etrike, the
effects are noticeable In the masses Of n1attor
that immediately 1ly aud fall from the parapet
or tides Of the work. A breach: has been
effected over which q stormlng party could
pass in few minutes; to the interior OF the
Tort! The northeast corner, Partially Under
mined, topples and threatens momentarily to
fall. And stil do the pitiless conicA ehels
800; 200, and 100 pound shots follow them to
complete the overthrow OF what the first have
mined and honeycombed. How mer can live
and move around in Sumter is a myeteay-lt
Is Utmost, indeed, a miracle. They manage
eyery evening to fire from the top OF ihe1 heap,
near the vert angle an 'scyening gun" at sun
tet. and TO; drop the flag But 1attarly
even these ceremonies hare had to bo modt.
fed. The suneet gun is only the firing OF .
bag Of powder, whose flash Is q sigual to the
city that the garrison holds out, Wrapping
the. ragged remnant of the flag around Its
to the declining orb. OF day. The won1d-be
sharp shooters are displaced, and no more
crack their rifles vaiu1y at the gunners in orr
works. The peeping pickets on the base,
near the Charleston Side Of the fort, no lopRer
Ieet tnquisftfrely mud timidly ut u.s. They
are all goLe into The vaults and businesses Of
the 1oft to undergo aa..proeess Of slow: incre.
around and upon them from all sides. An
awful ard futile duty is theIre-to remain on
this memorial Of dissolution, to suffer slow
but certain death, as the exemplhrs of for
titude and tenacity unjustifla bic by the cause
that evoEes and Gxacts fron these men the
sacrifice Of their Hyes
About 80 feet 1t is estimated have been ia.
ken from the average height of Fort Sumter,
except upon the east, OF stsaa face,r whore
mot more than half Of the original structure
1emains: Tbs tlag staff has been thrice ghot
most beyond recognition, and the field Of
white is all gone, cnly portions Of the golden
cross remaining: Still do our patient, i'm
PasEtTe E1nneEs pound away Not cteer Is
heard: The order and method Of. Amschlne.
chop Is observable around us. Except for
tie uniforms, you might Sec in these men
only mechanics and laborera engaged In the
eaily routine of productive indastry. n
deco, they are almost as little interfarad with
by the enemy, as are the workmen In the
Novelty Works, or any other great open-alr
huumtng mortar.she1l from Moultrie, or
simpkins Or johnson; bnt 1t has been care
fully noted from the beginning of Its flight,
AID the methodica1 sentry, calling aloud
. ''coyer; :Meultrie!" warns the men Into their
tmpregnah1e bomb proofs Nota man has
N hr1r ~ 1o1+ fr,,sr
ties have occurred during the entire week.
The surgeons, stretch=r bearers, and ambu-
lances, arc Ill on the spot. But they are lit
tie called for. The eneuy's fire al ways ia an
Inverse ratio to our Own, has almost ceased.
Their guns are worn ont or burst, Or their
clude to save Instead Of wasting their ammu-
nilion. Battery Simpkins, silenced early on
Tuetday afternoon, has barely made itsslf felt
sttce with . few Iitie:shots Mou1trie fires
shells with little effect Johnson's shots fa1l
ehort Into the mud Of the creek. Charleston
shells. As hint to this effect, last Tuesday
100pounder Palrott ii this battery put
three shells {not containing "Greek fise") in
to the city, whereof one, exploding near St.
3iachaers steeple, caueed q heavy smoke for
come time afte1rard. In despair Of hurting
our main works, tbs rebels flfe ut our force5s
on Black, Block, or Bank 1elaod, for 80 IL the
place varlouf1y Eamed. In reply, the gun
boat Commodore McDonough keeps brI5k
tire on the batteries in secessionvlIle, thus
haraeaing the communications Of the enemy,
who pass their supplies to and from tue
southern end Of Jamea 1alaud through the
trnculen!1y- named village just mentioned.
By many officers the paucity of the rebels
fire Is accounted for By supporting that they
are n,aeelng troops and stores fora descent
upon our rear at Stone River. But here they
a.e narrowly watched by gunboats and Gen.
Gilmore, whose headquarters arr near this
Threatened part Of his position, keeps under
arme, night and day, large force ready for.
my emergency. >; "A-,
4 11D1 q WAGNER. :: 2
OF al the pleasantly incongzuous sights
pretentible In war, that Of q lady, with her
delicate curved outlines Of form and lace, and.
midst ot he grlm grns and dirt.heaps Of
fort is the most remarkable Whi1s Wagner
was hoaItely believing at Sumtar to. daT. an
ambulance drove into the Interior, and from
i descended Mrs. Bragg, mother Of Captain
Bragg, OF Gen. Gilmore's staff. This ladf re-
Gently arrived N the department by the
AaEo. She Is. the guest of Gen. Gilmore.
:ihe General, who is As gallant as he is hand
some and brave, happened to be in the works
az. the ean4e moneut and escorted tbs lady
1ver the fort, explaining to her the interest,"
ing features Of his work: The fire from the
to1ts Has very heavy at the time: Rided guns
Of soopounder caliber, and al intesmediate
tizes down to the common:place mortar, were
st work. The 1ady's curiosity and interest
seemed to be very soon satisfied and she 1aft
the fort TO Its distracling din.
TIE DISTRACTIONS. ~ "
The recent high tides have washed away
10o1e Of Morris Island, invaded the floors Of
the forts, and Ewel't ont of Charleston barbor
tie much feared and talked of "obstruc-.
tions." These last float up high and dry on
the beaches Of Norris and Folly Islands, and;
nre instantly seized by the men and converted
Into fire wood and tent frames. Four ful1- !,
sized pine trees, at least 50 feet long, are
lashed traversely with spars, at distances Of
IS feet apart These RATS were fastened to.
Eether, and marked In series bY upright poles
across the north channel Of Charleston har-
toT. Attached to them were torpedocs, made
OF lager beer kegs. fitted with conical ends of
wood and filed with powder, into which
Ti1e was izserted- Beh1nd thete were linked
railroad bars, come of which, entangled with
the RATS, hare also been driven aanore. A
certain Admiral may still find s' lions in his
path" But he may depend upon the fleet he
rather restrafns than commands to furnish
him with a sufficient" number of sea 8amsonB
to encounter and tlay Ill the feline monsters
tutesting the waters between the lighthouse
inlet and Charleston WhHrves. -
, Il GlLLAxr FEAT.
From the n. T.. Times, Nov. Al. ..
:. Monday night one Of the boldest feats OF
the siege was performed By Capt. Ferris, of
the Ecfa1s Perdn regiment Accompanied
By two others, who acted as fowers,' the Can
fhf1 frnn n .