Carolina Watchman

              c a r 0 l i n a w a t g h iyi a n wkkkly vol xx salisbury n c august 11 1862 number 12 j j luil ner ■ li proprietor i from the richmond examiner july »• h rhe recent attack <»*> beclehaa'i l'l and ■ l_ii<-iimi>iihiit h at ne o'clock on friday morning last i ma iy persons in this city and in the coun i for miles above heard a terrific cannon i g ; n the direction of drewry's bluff i liie firing continued without lull or cessa i • in for an hour and half and was as ra i md distinctly audible as at any time i during the recent battles every flash ofl , . bh from our bills illtttn i ii hting the southern horizon like summer i lightning i after daylight ou friday morning and i luring li foi n the cannonading w.*i i theme of every conversation on thel .•,,., t rners and conflicting w.tc the ru 1 uiotirs of its cause and result since moll i lav last it bad been surmised by the know 1 ng ones that an attempt was about to bei made to intercept mccloilan's oommunica 1 lion on lames river and the most of our i litizens inclined to the belief that the firing i beard was the result ol the attempted exe-l ition o this design many however be i lieved lhat an attack had been made oul 1 irewry't bluff by the yankee gunboats b about iiuoti speculations on the subject were put at rest by a telegraphic dispatch i from petersburg announcing that an at i tack had been made on the yankee fleet b and encampment at berkeley by a large fl number of our artillerists whose cannon i had been planted during thursday at cog i spin's point and other places lower down i fames river the disprtch further stated i that the gunboats replied to our artillery i without effect that though the damage i sustained bv the fleet was unknown a i great crashing had been heard in thel ■ ver during the cannonade and that i when friday morning dawned not a vessel ol the act was visible — all it wnssuppos-l - i having dropped downed the river i friday night several members of theb hanover artillery arrived herein charge of i tlio bod of tiieir comrade win t i al i on who had been killed during the at i tack they could give no clear account i of the engagement all day saturday the i mind of lhe community was exercised on 1 the subii ' if the result of the attack but i ______ no satisfactory information could be ob i tained from tiny quarter lt was thought i that a renewal ot the attack at a point i lower down the river was meditated and i that there ire anv news of the fight ofl friday was kept from the public for fear i lest the enemy should be put ou his guard i as however there appears now no reason i for withholding them we shall lav before i our readers such particulars of the engage i meet as have come to our knowledge i captain miles c macon ofthe fayette i artillery returned to this city saturday i evening and fiom him we have obtain i ' i ed some interesting facts connected with i the expedition i general pendleton with many power 1 ful batteries left richmond tuesday morn 1 ing and arrived in the neighborhood ofl city point on wednesday the attack i on the enemy fleet was to nave been made i that night but owing to a misunderstand ing of orders the different batteries failed to rendezvous at the appointed place and it was of necessity postponed 1 ti thursday ( lolonel brown and cap tain macon and watson the latter of the second howitzers made a thorough re mc of the river and the south . opposite mcclel ian s encampment at maycock's landing directly opposite svestover they tied their horses iu the woods an i iept close to the river bank a large and splendid steamer said to be ipied a quarters by mcclellan's princi pal officers was lying close ashore at the westover landing between her and the southern shore and as far as tbe eyecould reach ap and down the stream were great numbers of large steamers and transports some of the latter were within four hun j ards ol ! he southern shore i'he sound of voices in conversation • ■ plainly heard while the officers isei val ma a st amer arriv from below and cast anchor in tbe midst ol the fleet iiiiiue.liat.dy a number of tea from the vessels were heard calling in new vork herald and enquiring it pope was doing to the enquiry it i i a man on board the bteamer replied 0 is got everything right give them h — ii having eted their reconnoissance « ithdrew at a quarter to tk our batteries were in tbe igned them the hanover • ned at coggin's point ; ave artillery at maycockv half a pue below the second howitzers were ■'■ position just below maycock's and tbe othei batteries still furthei down tbe banks by i prec mcerted plan tbe firing of long tom by the hanover battery was t be tbe signal for the other batteries to open fire li was a calm starlight night ; not a son nd broke upon the ear the river unruffled by i hre.itli of air flowed silently by while on its tranquil bosom floated in fancied security the navy ofthe i'nion the lights from the rigging end cabins alone indica ting when the vessels lay tho largo gteamer supposed to be officers quarters was seen at that late hour brilliantly illu minated bv lights which twinkled through every window the witching hour of night drew on space as our tneii auxiou-lv awaited the signal for opening fire eight bolls was struck bv tin gunboats in llio river ; the sentries cried " twelve o'clock — all's well l as tho last word died upon the ear a sheet of flame darting out from coggin's point followed by a deafening report told that long tom had spoken and tbe fight was begun simultaneously blaze followed blaze from point to point i miles down the river tho fleet was iii an instant thrown into commotion veils i and oaths and shrieks mingled with the i repeated civ of put out that light were i heard from every steamer and schooner at i once and very quickly were the lights i extinguished but om pieces having been i previously trailed into range this was a i matter of small consequence for tbree i quartern of an hour our tire was poured i forth uninterruptedly the crashing of our shot through the ships timbers could be i heard at every discharge and hundreds of the shdls were seen to explode on board i the vessels the order from general ten idletnti was to tire thirty rounds to each i trim and withdraw we had nearly tired i this complement before the gunboats had i steamed up and cleared lor action when i thev did open with their broadsides it was i with more notes than effect before they i obtained the range our men had tired their i last shot and were on tho retreat the i enemy however showed that they had i perfect range of the road which runs par lallel wilh the river by which they knew i we were retreating almost every shot i fell within fifty yards of this road and it iseeins miraculous that though our artille irv lined it for miles not one of tbem was i struck hv half-past one o'clock the last lot our men bad retired to a safe distance i but the gunboats continued to shell the i shore for hours afterwards i our loss in this entjajjement was wil iliam t dalton killed and thomas far iquhar and patrick graham of the llano i ver battery wounded by one of the etie bmv's shells alexander th acker of the b/'a^e battery wounded by tbe premature explosion ofa run ; and three men ofthe i albemarle battery seriously wounded by i the upsetting of oue of our caissons dining hour retreat i of the damage done the enemy we are byet without the means of making an esti hraate his loss of life and property must i however have been terribly large our i guns threw at least between twelve and i fifteen hundred shot and shell and the re i molest object at which we fired was with lin point-blank range of our smallest guns b'l'he most ofthe vessels were but from five i hundred yards to a half mile distant l>u brini the engagement the crash of our shot i through the wooden sides of the vessels i ;.!-! steamers could be distinguisned above b'.io roar ofthe guns and our shells were bseen to explode over and within the ves bseb and a number of them within mc bt'h-llau's encampmeot on the opposite i shore i on saturday morning captain macon i rode from petersburg in tbe direction of i the scene ofthe previous day's engagement i the gunboats had renewed the shelling of i the shore near city i'oint lie met one lof our videttes who had just been driven i from the river bank by the enemy's pro ijectiles and who bad been present during lour attack and remained after our artillery i bad retired this picket assured captain i macon that thirty-one ofthe enemy's trans i ports had been sunk where they lay at i anchor and that a number of others had i been towed down the stream friday morn ling in a shattered condition he alsosta ifed that the fine steamer to which we have i alluded to as the officers 1 quarters was lit lerallv torn to pieces ' me wheel house i was shot away and there seemed to be i scarcely a whole plank on her sides and i upper deck i th petersburg express of yesterday i states that on friday there wen ninety hve--ok of all kindb remaining in the river i near berkeley and forty-five had been i towed away i we are reliably informed that on sat i urday afternoon mcclellau sent a me i ger under a hag of truye to inform gen i lee that in a day or two transports ladtn with paroled confederate prisoners might i be expected up lames river and advi-ing him to caution his artillerists how th \ i brlle'8 island prison depot i belle's island in the james river here i tofore little known and without any hero i ic interest is destined to figure hereafter i more conspicuously as the depot for the i confinement of the several thousand van i kee prisoners taken in the late battles be i fore richmond and confined for sometime i afterwards in the libby and other prisons i of the city but within the last four weeks i removed to the island i he island is about i one mile in length and ft quarter of a mile i in breadth with iwo branches of the river i that forms clasping the shores on cither h ( n a hvel portion near the landing is i located the camp of the prisoners contain h ing between 4()0 and 600 tents closely i huddled together with a broad avenue i running throne the centre which has i been named broadway after tbe famous h new york thoroughfare this yankee i settlement now numbers upwards of 4,600 i inhabitants and in the evening when their i promenadeoommeuces broadway on belle i island rivals broadway in new york cer i tainly in the grotesqueness of costume h the encampment of the guard is loca i ted on a hill overlooking tho yankee en i camptnetit the guard numbers about i three hundred men including day's light i *' t_____h artillery battery pa ptain norri montgom i ery who superintendents the whole p dice i arrangement captain montgomery and i his officers havo their headquarters in i i school house in the hollow near the van i kee settlement a railing surrounds the i camp and bevotid its confines none of the i prisoners are allowed to intrude except un i der guard a bathing spot has been se i lected under the trees in the river and the i the prisoners are conducted out in bquads i o ten and enjoy a bath of a few minutes i which thev seem to enjoy very much the i whole day is occupied in this manner until i the whole four thousand odd hundreds i have made their ablutions i'he health ofl the prisoners has improved to a retii.u ka i ble degree under the influence of the wa i ter and fresh air of the island i only fifteen deaths have occurred since i the island was occupied inside of the i camp enclosure of the yankees they are i allowed to exercise any form of municipal i government they please many of them i display the usual amount of yankee inge i nuitv in the arrangement of their domestic ib quarters wells have been sunk in vari i ous parts of the camp from whence excel i lent water is obtained i but while this people exercise their in i genuitv and skill we are sorry to state i that they are practising among themselves i the vices which distinguished them while | ______! enjoying the opportunities at large in \ ir ■ giuia they are the most inveterate thieves i and on every opportunity depredate upon i one another for one to takeoff his shoes i or a piece of his garment and fall to sleep is to invito a theft from his comrade and i every day complaints are made to the i commanding oflicer of the guard of such i depredators i numbers have lost their shoes and puces of their clothing and go about bare footed or in their stocking feet and half naked one of their own sutlers captured with the prisoners has established a sutlership and the prisoners make purchases from him of such articles as are not furnished in the daily rations tbey loudly com plain of bis extortion however and th teat en to have him sent to the rip raps when they get back their funds are i mining short too and many are compelled to part with whatever they have saleablo about them they are all looking hopefully forward to an exchange and are very persistent in their enquiries concerning the prospect a few nights since five of the prisoners at tempted to escape by swimming the river ( tne of them succeeded in getting nearly across but all were captured and are now kept under guard everything about the island suggests : cleanliness comfort and strict discipline the island is accessible by boat from the lauding below the tredegar iron works ' we learn that a communication from our government enquiring whether but ler's course in new orleans was counten anced by bis government not having been responded to another communication has i u dispatched with the accompanying notice that an explicit answer will bu ex pected in a given time and that in the absence of such the silence of tho lincoln government will bo construed as an affir mative reply — examiner tiik kill tamtiks of tiik emmt i rptaliatoi j mum of the on federate gov i rrnineiit h richmond august 2 — an important i general order no 45 from the ad i jutant and inspector general's office has i been published the substance of which is i as follows : i article i states that the following or j his are published for the information and ob-i rvaiice of all concerned : h the next five articles are in the form of i a preamble h article 1 1 r cites the order issued by the ih secretary of war of the united states di i recting the military commanders of that i govemmenl lo seize and use the property i i*i al and personal belonging to tho irhabi i tants of this confederacy and state that i i no provision is made lor any compensation i to the owners of private property thus soiz i article ih quotes ( jen pope's recent or i der for the iirrest of " till disloyal malecit i i/.etis who are to be conducted beyond i the lines ofthe united states army etc i article iv recites the order of brigadier i general steinwher u s a for the arrest i of the " most prominent citizens of page i countv va 1 to bo held as hostages and i to buffer death in the event of any of the i soldiers of the said steinwher beinj shot i _________ by " bushwhackers — by which term are i meant citizens of this confederacy who i have taken u*nis to defend their homes i article v and whereas it results from th above orders that some of the military authorities of the united states not con i tent with the unjust and aggressive warfare i waged with savage cruelty against an un i offending people and exasperated by the i failure of their effort to subjugate them i bave now determined to violate all rules i and usages of war and to convert the hos i tilities hitherto waged against armed forces i into i campaign of robbery against unarm i ed citizens and peaceful tillers ofthe soil jl article vi and whereas the govern i ment bound by the highest obligations of i ilutv to its citizens is thus driven to the i necessity of adopting such just measures of i retribution and retaliation as may seem i adequate to repress and punish these bar ii barities and whereas the orders above re i cited have been onlv published and made i known to the r°vernraentsincethesignature ii nf the cartel for the exchange of prisoners i of war which cartel in so far as it provides i for an exchange of those hereafter captur i ed would never have been signed or agreed i to by ibis government if the intention to ii chancre the war into a svstem of indiscrim i inate robbery had been made known to it jl and whereas a just regard to humanity for i hiils that the repression of crime which ib's government is thus compelled to en jl force should be unnecessarily extended on i the enlisted men in the army of the united i states who mav be the unwilling instru ll in tits of the savage cruelty of their com i manders so long as there is a hope that i the excesses of the enemy may be checked i or prevented by retribution on commission i ed officers who have the power to avoid i tbe guilty action by refusing service under i b government which seeks their aid in the perpetration of such infamous barbarities — i vii therefore it is ordered that i mai gen pope brig g-en steinwehr and d commissioned officers serving under iheir respective commands be and they are iiereby expressly and specially declared to h not entitled to be considered as soldiers md therefore not entitled to tbe benefit of j he cartel for the parole of future prisoners , f war ; ordered further that in the j jveot of the capture of maj cen pope or brig ten steinwehr or any commissioned ifficers serving under them the captive so taken shall be held in close confinement so long as the orders aforesaid shall continue in force and unrepealed by the competent military authorities of the united states and that in tbe event of the murder of any unarmed citizen or inhabitant of this con federacy by virtue or under pretext of any of the orders hereinbefore recited whether with or without trial whether under pre tence of said citizen being a spy or hostage or anv other pretence it shall be the duty ofthe commanding general of the confed eracy to cause immediately to be hung out ofthe commissioned officers prisoners afore said i number equal to the numberof our own citizens thus murdered by the enemy by order s.cooper adjutant und nspector-*gen'i c s a a correspondent of the macon telegraph stati ■ some ol the spoil of the hue victories i richmond as follows : y m i ten thousand one hun dred and twenty small arms 30,000 17 iniiles telegraph wire and appurtenanoes 10 loooaxes spades and shovels enough to lour army a twelve month ; 250 to 100 hore les and mules tents blankets knapsacks and i medical stores innumerable atrocious personal at tack un coi va.nck wc make the following extract front tho state journal ono of the special organs of gov clarke " it might be too invidious to ran the contrast for comparison is out nf the question between colonel vance an 1 ool johnston into per sonal appearances and we will touch these only slightly and with due re gard to ool vs opinion of himself as they are both married men it cannot effect either very berionsly with our female patriots col vance is decidedly ugly col johnston if not handsome is quite comely — ool vance's eyes are somewhat the appearance of two twenty-penny nails driven into the centre ofa three pound turnip which lias been cover pd with a wig in comparison with iwhose dull somnolent expression icol johnston's are as two sparkling llhtmonds inserted in a globe of pare bold and adorning a countenance ra iliant with smiles ool vance's lait is that of a superanuated ani inal of the bovine species lazily am bling tothe pasture ; col johnston's lhat of an arabian charger saddled or the chase when he hears the liorn of the huntsman col vance l)uys fine clothes made up by the inost fasionable tailors but owing lo the rotundity of his person and lhe irregularity of its surlace they liever lit llence he is always at iwar with himself or with his tailor land even in his finest holidays his luxternal appearance is that ofa dutch banner col johnston buvs good substantial clothes kno.ve how to ipreserve and how to put them on lias always a good fit and his iwhole oppearance is that of a neat itidy methodical american gentle inan and man of business col vance's foot and what a foot is like his head out of all shape and f prodigious dimensions between lo part of which and the ground a ibug could find shelter from a storm r refuge from an enemy and is in limes like these hard to protect from stumps in summer and frosts in win ler col johnston has quite a res pectable foot but it is that of a fat ly's in size and symmetry com par id with col vance's personally liatnre never intended col vance lor a governor and the people will liot violate the laws of nature by ma iling him one i therc mam a slip uwixt the cup and mite lip — among tho prisoners taken at blurfreesboro is one capt o 0 round f the ninth michigan regiment who v raptured by lieut graham of lawton eav idry under peculiar cirenmstances rotecbs ivas provost marshal of murfreesboro and r*ot into favor with a union family at that bdace and was to he married to a damgh ler of that family on sunday night the i 8th ult but lieutenant graham the biearlless man took him prisoner early that bnorning instead of enjoying the dehghts if early wedlock he is now in prison at oa and his inamorata is discon solate she should immediately start for hlichigan where she can meet her " lov - brier when he is exchanged a>nd have lhe knot tied i lieut craharn it seems found on bvhero the captain was stopping — at the biouse of his new love " — bo enamored of lier charms that he was not or the look but for rebels and was caught napping — hie went to the house and was met by the baptain's intended wife who hi answer to biis inquiries assured him that capt rounds lva not in the house some patriotic b*outhern ladies who bad at first informed inm of the captain's whereabouts and were bear by looking on assured him that the b^aptain was in the house upon which lt l-raham walked in and commenced a b*'*;irch lie oon discovered him under thi l«ed ; and seizing him by the foot dragged bum out and received from him his swor i the subjects of the royal ahe wl cotton in tli vicinity ol hunt arrested by a party ol alabama k they in company witb a fedori passed through hen ;•• ■ r i • i . ling on their way to moot ornery it ithey had 7,701 it gow in their po i norm courier