The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-08-05
OUR OWN LONG. BRANCH.

UUD UffN rIUNUc DhANVu.
SULLIVAN,s IsLAND--I TS dTTR4C
TTONS AND WONDERFUL GROWTH
Glimpses of Its Heroic Past-Jasper and
the Flag--The Island as it was Before
the War-Improyements, Actual and
Contemplated--WhoO Own the Proper
ty-Plans for tho Future, sc.
[FRoM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
MoULT.uEFnLE, August L.
DWELLINGS, THEIR s, YIEA AND COST.
To swing at lazy ease In your hammock,
stretched across the broad piazza, and be
famed by the cool Southwestern sweeping in
from the ocean, knowing the while that your
neighbors of the city are swelteriBg in the dry
summer heats to enjoy the luxury of perfect
repose, and a.Sddiet that would be like the;
hush of death,- but for the unvarying
monotone of the surf breaking on the beach;
to be fancy free, with your thosght-p pendulum
vibrating carelessE between the printed
pages of your book and.tbe pictures of still
life painted on Natures canvass all around
you-here, the tasteful cottages of our Island
Arcadians; there, the green fringed shores of
the main land, the distant houses looking.
like. patches of white upon field Of
baize; yonder the man:made tow, populous
with masts and spires, where one can almost
'ssee the stir of the great Babel. yet not feel
the crowd" sea-gulls swooping in graceful
ciScles overhead; waves chasing each other In
Nd glee, shaking their snowy crests and
spattering spray that glistens in the sunshine
like diamond drops; sships undiscovered
dropping from the Clouds" then merging into
stately white-winged shapes and sailing on to
port; Sumter with Its ragged profile, monu-
mental story 6 the war; wrecks slumberingi
halfburied In the ;sard where the captains OF
chased blockaders lighted the torch and left
them to their fate-all these are fragments of
an idle days experience on Sulliyan's Island.
And then to walk the beach at sundown, and
make pictures among the trailing clouds; or,
amid the serene moonlight, to enjoy the broad
expanse of ocean, glrdled by the sky, to frolic.
in the surf among the mysteriously arrayed
naiads of the beach, to fish from the rocks
near by. or, what is better, be chaperoned by
Dayton--a Jolly deity of the chowder pot-to'
the upper end of the island, and drop your
hook and line in Beach Inlet OF off the bar; to,
drive and gather shells, and gambol With the
tribes of Children growing tough and rosy in
the Ocean breeze; to await the arrival OF the
evening boat, and watch the troops of island
dwellers vending their way homeward in om-,
nibus and ambulance, and occasionally to visit,
the city yourself, In order to preserve by con-
trast the illusion that you are the happiest;
mortal in existence, these, too, are some Of,
the pleasures belonglngEto the season and
locality, which ARE fashlonably sought for
without avail among expensive neighborhoodss
elsewhere, disguised as watering g-places.
The truth Is, were Sulliyan's Island as wide:
ly known as 1t is we'll appreciated by those
who are familiar with its attractions, no spot
in The South would entice so many seekers Of
5leasure and comfort during the summer
solstice. There may be no mineral springs,
but what grander bath than dash into the
surf of the ocean; what more health-proyok-
ing panacea than the pure, cool breezesthat
sweep unbroken across two thousand miles Of
sea-an oxygenated benediction-zephyrs
that luR one into; midday slumbers, and
strong winds that stimulate appetites, which
make man wish he were a peripatetfc knife
and fork. .a.s.s
HISTORICAL AND REMINISCENT.
Nor is the island without a history rich in
renown-a history OF, heroic men and deeds, as
well as history Of much that was fascinating 1
in the, social lifeos those who years, age. .were1
wont to make their summer home among its
palmetto groves. '-aa'..,. . {. . = - -
Looking backward into the past, 1 see now
the xnde old fort, then called Fort Sullivan,
from behind which the Continental militia,
under Colonel VIM. Moultrle, achieved; their
victory over the fleet. OF Sir Peter! Parker It
is betWeen1o and II O'Clock on the morning
OF the 28tf'ot June, l776. Monltrie Is visiting
the little sand-hill battery at the northeastern
end of the island Colonel VIM: Thomson is
there;witha;handful of country militia. Ito con-
test the advance Of the British. General Ornton
and Lord Cornwallis, who, with 5000 men,
have landed on Long Island for the purpose OF
crossing the inlet and assaaltng Fort Sullivan
In the rear. -
Fifty of the enemy squadron are In sight,,
and Moutrle discovers the .men-of-war drop
ping their topsalls preparatory to attack. Hs.
gallops down. the beach 10 the fort, q stretch,
of three miles: the; long.roll Is sounded and
the men are rallied to their!guns; powder is
issued from the magazine, and. the onset is
awaited with an armament Of but thirty-one
cannon, of which only o portion are available.
The guns vary fromsnine to twenty-six pound
ers. OF powder there are but .4e0o pounds,
or about twenty-six rounds for each gun, and
twenty rounds Of musketry for each man.
Lead is also scarce, and the window.weIghts
of the houses in Charleston and other material
have been melted into bullets by the patriotic
citizens. A blue flag with q white crescent,
Inscribed with the word aLBERTr," is the
"banner with the strange derice" that floats
from the ramparts of the little; garrison.
, THE BATTLE OF FORT, SULLIVAN.
Ehe flood tide is streng, the WIND. fair from
the south and west, and the English men-of
war, consisting of seven ships mounting.up
wards of two hundred guns, sail up confident
" in stately line. The wharves and housetops
of the city, and the works at Haddrell's Point
and Fort Johnson, are lined with spectators,
awaiting with anxious hearts the trial of
metal and skill about to take place between
-1Y1 fzl