Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1864-01-28
The War in the Carolina Swamps.

/ A gentleman who has recently travers-
ed Camden and Curritnck counties and
the district of North Carolina generally
within the lines of COL GritinsI cavalry
command, furnishes the Richmond Exam
liner with some Information of rea, and ex-
citing interest. These lines include the
country lying generally between Prank
lin, on the Blackwater and the Roanoke
rivers. Information has been heretofore
given to the public, to some; extent. Of the
atrocities of the enemy in this part of the
Contederacy. But it is difficult to find
woras of description for the pictures given
us by our informant, OF the negro raids i'm
this obscure, but romantic, theatre of the
war. The country is traversed by negro
banditti; they burn houses; they enter the
parlour OF their masters; compel ladies to
entertain them on the piano, and chuck
them under the chin. In the two counties
of Curritack and Camden, there are said
to be from five to six hundred pegroe, who
are in the regular military organization of
the Yankees, but who. outlawed and dis
owned by their masters, lead the lives of
bandltn, rovlng Tue country with fire and
also committing all sorts OF horrible crimes
upon the inhabitants. The authorities at
Richmond have been required to instruct
y
wretcles, who are Outlaws, ana are gem
orally not reclaimed BY their masters; and
it is to be hoped that these instructions
will consign them all to the halter.
It will be recolected that, some weeks
ago, 3 Georgia cavalryman, Daniel Bright
OF the Twenty second Georgia, was hang
| ed by the Yankees as a guerrilla. It now
appears that retaliation has been sternly
NV -, tIot
at the spot of the tragic execution, a few
days ago, our soldiers hung, in retaliation,
, negro soldier from Ohio, and that his
body was left swinging on the very beam
from which Bright was suspended. The
victim was very bright mulatto; he had
been captured near Elizabeth City, and
he must have been brought nearly 20
miles to the place of execution, that the
retaliation M ght be executed on the very
same spo. where the atrocity which occa-
stoned it had been committed. Our in>
| formaut saw the corpse swinging in the
wind at Hampton Cross Roads The fol-
| lowing label was affixed 30 it: zs.sts.r,se
"Not5ce.-Here hangs Sam Jones, Of
| the Fifth Ohio regiment, executed in re>
taliation for Daniel Bright, hung by the
order of Brig. Gen. Wild.
BY order of Gen. PIcKETr. > I
| We have, also, information of the hang
| ing OF another tree negro soldier, the day
before yesterday 4by,our troops, at Frank
| lin. He was executed tor burning houses.
The wretch belonged to a Massachusetts
regiment. He is said to have been much
affected by his fate, protesting that he had
never any idea Of such consequences of
his enlistment. -
| In addition to these fearful and deter
mined acts Of retaliation, we learn that two
hostages were yesterday committed to Cas-
tie Thunder, under the orders Of Col. Grit
| lin; one white man, and the. other q
bright mulatto; and that they will be held
to await the threat. of Gen. Getty, who
commands at Portsmouth, to hang two
women, who are already IN irons, IN res
taliation for the execution of the negro
! Jones. @z%@sfstsF &<s e ftsti} ~
The fat seems to have gone forth for
stern and terrible work on the N North Car
olina frontier, in this dark and melancholy
country Of swarnps, oyerrnn with negrc
/ banditIi, and now the especial theatre ct
/ the wars vengeance. Our informant
states that Capt. Mafht, Of Burroughs bat
TALON, had recently come out from Prin-
cess Ann county and joined Coz. Grifffiin q
command; and that he s, entirely certain
from what he heard from our ofhcers, tha,
seven of Mafit's men, taken by the enc
my, were hung. zss - ss;s 4sss ~
This present theatre of guerilla warfare
1 has at this time, most important interest