The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-10-28

Luckily, ere a second day, the Swamp
Devil exploded with terrific fury destroy
ing those who were working it. So, the
rejoicings of the Yankees were premature.
To comprehend the full elormity of this
transaction let it be borne in mind that no
military purpose could be served by raining
Greek Fire upon the non-combatants in the
city. No amount of Smelling Of the city
could capture it, because its detences are the
forts at the harbor's mouth, 3 miles In front
of the city wharves. Charleston might be
laid in ashes. but SO long as Fort Sumpter
remained intact. the fleet could not enter the
harbor. And Gilmore well knew that the
citizens of Charleston could not surrender, no
matter how strong their desire to do SO
until the confed crate troops were dislodged
from the forts. Hence, the su lden bonn
bardment OF a peaceful and sleeping city,
crowded with women and children, and
aged, sick, or crippled nom combatants (for
all arms-bearing men were at the fortified
UNSUITABLE, uncivilized, and unproductive
deeds that figures In the many chapter :
OF Disgrace aud Barbarism that blackened
the Abolition Flag.
A FUTILE THREAT.
| have before now alluded to the p~eculia.
habit of our leaders to threaten the most
terrible things in Retaliation ;'-theD back
down. Gen. Beauregard, in command at
Charleston, repeated the folly. He wrote to
Gilmore that if the shameless outrage were
re peated, he should bring a column of ten
thousand Federal Prisoners, and expose
them along the city wharves, to incur a
share of the Greek Fire" 1t was a maid
threat for, of course, the blue coated
soldiers ought to be able to endure AS much
as the helpless women and children of the
town-who were themselves prisoners, mas
much as it was impossible for them to leave
their homes aud flee to the swamps around.
1t would have been better had Beauregard
ordered one able bodied Abolitionist to be
hanged to q lamp post, opposite any house
In which a oman or child, was slain. But
as is now known he had no intention of even
placing the Yankees under fire.
The Lincoln Government, however, seiz
ed the opportunity, as usual, to prac
tice in reality that which the confederates
merely threatened. 1t was instantly decided
to ship six hundred Rebel oficers-to be put
under fire of our own batteries in front
nearer than Fort Delaware; but it was believed
the long sea-voyage, would be very fatal to
our poor fellows who were already weakened
to the lowest verge of vitality by the horrors
of this Pen" while those who survived
must soon fall a prey to the deadly fevers
prevalent on marshy islands along the coast
at that period. As is we'll known the
owners of Sea-Island plantations almost in
variabiy flee to the highlands upon the APP
proach of the sickly season. How small the
chance of escape, then, for. our enteebled
and u~nacclimated soldiers, penned in a stock
ade, and sleeping on the damp soil. with
out even sufficient food to keep up bodily
vigor!
MY HARROW ESCAPE.
Truly short sighted, blind, mortals we all
arel My journal has recorded the depths
of my grief on being left behind, when the
wharf to embark. as all thoueht-for James
River. and exchange! And now these
lucky ones" are all returned to their old
quarters Except the one, ont of eUeyy three
or four of them, who will never more re
turn y; and from their tales of suffering 3 1t is
easy to see that we were the really lucky
ones''-though the idea of there being com
p~arative good fortune for persons left behind
in Fort Delaware Prison SHAMELESS predIcates
a terrible i'll fortune for those taken out.
Ii appears the Six Hundred officers were
marched on board a crazy old transport, and
were packed away in the dark sinking hold
less to recline. The weather was blustry,
and as soon as the vessel passed out of
Delaware river, the rough tossing of the
ocean waves, joined with the stencil of bilge
water, and the lack of pure air, speedily
sickened nearly every man of them. How
ever there is no use trying to tell the suffer-
ing of this voyage. Nor did they end with
the passage. During eighteen days, the
prisoners were retained on ship board at
the mouth of the harbor, in the brOiling
August sun, undergoing torturss that re
mind me of some verses by FRENEAU, the
Patriot Poet of the first Revolution, describ.
ing the hardships Of the Rebel prisoners
OIL those days. on the "Hulks" in Wallabout
Bay.
Here doomed to starve, like famished dogs
we tore
The scant allowance that our tyrants
bore.
When to the ocean dives the western sun,
And the scorched Tories fire their evening
Dorm Rebels dozen! the angry S%cotchmeu
Cry.
Damae} dogs descend, or Ly our broadswords
Hef |