Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-03-16
From Charleston.
CHARLESTON, S. c., Feb. %,

] -
some degree the enthusiasm with which
it was received throughout the north. |
may tell you nothing which you have
not already heard but being Yer
monter, a constant reader of the HER
| AID, and writing as | do from the spot
where rebellion was spawned, l dare
say you will grant me hearing through
the columns Of your paper.
l entered the harbor of this city on
the steamer George Collins, from Port
Royal after a night Of most excruciat-
ing sea-siCkness; of rolling about in in
describable agony on the cabin floor Of
a dirty little propeller; of being pitched
indiscriminately among chairs, tables
spittoons and joints Of stove-pipe; of
finding nothing to eat and no DISPOSE
tion to eat it; Of suffering from wet and
cold with no means of becoming warm
but on the morning of Feb. 22d, as we
steamed up the harbor passed Moultrie,
passed Sumter, passed Pinckney, passed
scores Of rebel batteries on either side,
and at last walked the streets of Charles
ton, with the stars and stripes floating
over all, never felt more glorious. My
sickness, my cold, my discomfort van
ished l felt like cheering until my
lungs should split, or committing any
other indiscretion by which l might let
out my Joy and enthusiasm.
The first impression on landing is
that it is a city of ruins, OF desolation
complete. Perhaps no one was aware
of the damage that our shot and shell
were doing. l should judge that at least
Oae-third Of the city was rendered unin-
habitable, and the tcbole Of it unsafe for
residence. In the lower part of the city,
comprising most of the business por-
tion and some of the most aristocratic
and fashionable districts, scarcely a
building has escaped. All are shattered
and riddled with shot and shell. Struc-
lures of marble and granite, as well os
those of brick and wood, are pierced
through and through. Every wall ex-
hibits holes ranging from a foot to If
teen feet in diameter. In many cases q
shell seemed to have entered the upper
part of the building, passed through a
half dozen walls and partitions, and
only burst when it had reached the
ground, shivering the whole structure
from top to bottom. Thdstreets Of this
part OF the city are strewn with bricks,
stones, mortar, splinters, and rubbish and
filth indescribable, often opening in
huge holes where a shot or shell has
buried Itself throwing out earth and
pieces of pavement on all sides. Along
these streets, rank weeds and grass have
grown unchecked, and its magnificent
hotels, its churches its stores, its Offices,
and indeed many of its palatial resi-
dences are inhabited only by the bats
and owls. The Mills House, where the
famous Charleston Convention was held,
has been nicely perforated by Yankee
peace-makers, as also that fine structure
the Charleston Hotel St. Michaels
Church, and many other we'll l-knOwn
buildings. The large portion OF the
city destroyed by the confagratiOn of
1851, has never been rebuilt, and fire
and iron hail together have rendered
this portion of the city ruinous and des-
Olate in the extreme. Further up town,
where majority of the people resided,
but little damage seems to have been
done, though occasionally a missile sent
with greater force was dropped down
in that quiet nighborhood, showing that
a residence anywhere in the city must
have been decidedly unpleasant.
OF the $4,000 people formerly residing
here, it is estimated that about 10000
remain. These are mostly foreigners, or
of the poorer class. There are hOwev-
er few noble Union men here, men of
wealth and position who have from the
first stood forth and manfully opposed
secession and rebellion, whom none
have dared to put down, who have
passed through the fiery ordeal un
scathed, and now have the pleasure of
welcoming the Union army and of being
protected by the old starry banner
Probably by no captured city has the
Union army been more heartily re-
ceived than by Charleston-I mean by
that part of Charleston which remains.
Their submission seems more complete
even than that exhibited at Savannah.
SO long have they suffered the horrors
OF the siege, and so terribly have they
oeen punished that they seem willing to
submit to anything that shall give them
peace. But little destruction of prop
erty has occurred since the occupation,
and the utmost quiet has prevailed. |
Many places of business are already
open, and in short time trade win be
brisk. ...
1t is now perfectly clear to all mill
tary men that the city never could have
been taken from the front. The whole
length of Sullivan's Island is a contin-