CHARLESTON MERCURY
January 1863 – January 1865
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 8, 1863, . 1, c. 4
A Female Soldier.--Among the strange, heroic, and self-sacrificing acts
of women in this struggle for our independence, we have heard of none which
exceeds the bravery displayed and hardships endured by the subject of this
notice, Mrs. Amy Clarke. Mrs.
Clarke volunteered with her husband as a private, fought through the battles of
Shiloh, where Mr. Clarke was killed--she performing the rites of burial with her
own hands. She then continued
with Bragg's army in Kentucky, fighting in the ranks as a common soldier, until
she was twice wounded--once in the ankle and then in the breast, when she fell a
prisoner into the hands of the Yankees. Her
sex was discovered by the Federals, and he was regularly paroled as a prisoner
of war, but they did not permit her to return until she had donned female
apparel. Mrs. C. was in our city on
Sunday last, en route for Bragg's command.
Jackson Mississippian.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 9, 1863, p. 1, c. 4-5.
The
Jews and the War.
To the Editor of the Richmond Examiner:
Among the prevailing fashions, none perhaps has grasped the public mind,
with a firmer hold, and none withal is fraught at times with more cruel
injustice than that of seeking in a particular individual or a separate class
scapegoats for the general disappointment at failures or indignation at crimes.
For the occasional blunders of our finance or disasters of our arms the
officers of the government punish the ready and oftentimes the appropriate
victims, and I esteem it among the attractions of our political system that it
provides ex officio shoulders for the
bearing of these public burdens. But
the practice now generally obtaining of ascribing the faults of a whole
community to a particular class or the kindred error of condemning a race for
the criminal conduct of individuals is so unjust, ungenerous and unfair, that it
behooves those who see its injustice to cry out in earnest protest against it,
though all Babeldom should clamour [sic] in consequence.
Conspicuous among the examples of this conduct is the indiscriminate and
perpetual assault upon our fellow citizens of the Hebrew faith.
Of that remarkable race which has survived a tragedy of forty centuries,
preserving through an ordeal of exile persecution and torture, that makes the
heart curdle with horror, its creed, its prejudices and its blood, which has
stood by the cradle and the grave of so many mighty empires, itself the spoil
and sport of them all, and which, to-day, without a home, a nation or a name, a
temple, a sacrifice or a priesthood chants the triumphant paean of Miriom or the
sublime dirge of Job, or the magnificent prophecies of Isaiah in every civilized
land under Heaven--a race which amid the scoffs, the insults and oppressions of
private sentiment and public law has even in our day asserted its claim to the
brotherhood of genius by giving a Mayerbeer to Music, to Finance the Rothschilds,
to Literature and Politics the D'Israelis, to Painting David, to the Drama the
immortal Rachel. Of this race I do
not blush to be the apologist, but their true defence is the record of their
life and character. True, you will
find them thronging your marts, devoting their acuteness of mind and activity of
energies with untiring zeal to the accumulation of wealth, mortally offending
therein many whom they distance in the race of industry, economy and address;
but there are places where you will not find them.
Go to your almshouses, your workhouses, your jails, your criminal docks,
your penitentiaries, your houses of correction, your tippling houses, your
worse-houses, and you may search long and search fruitlessly for the marked
features of the scattered children of Israel.
What, then, are the crimes which debar a people so orderly and so thrifty
from the boon of simple justice in the criticism of the street and the press?
It is asserted that they have not furnished their quota of men for the
public defence. To the extent that
this charge is well founded, and it is not true to the extent that it applies to
other classes of our people, it is attributable mainly to two causes.
In the first place, our Jewish fellow-citizens rarely mix in politics,
either in its toils or its gains. They
are noted wherever they live for the readiness with which they accept any
Government, and their indisposition to take part either in its conduct or
overthrow. But the main reason is
their avocation. Trade (and the
Jews are all tradesmen) is proverbially conservative, peaceful, timid.
The fighting of the world in all battles for freedom has been done by the
farmers and the gentry, the artizan [sic] and the professional man.
Moreover, to the considerations which impel all men to avoid the perils
of war, there is added, is the case of the man of trade, the extraordinary
inducement of the unexampled profits of which a time of civil disorder furnishes
the occasion, the temptation and the means.
Let us look around among our Gentile trade community, and ask ourselves
if the same feverish anxiety to obtain an exemption, or "put in a
substitute," is not the prevailing character of all?
And which conduct is more reprehensible, that of the Jews, who have
remained in their old channels of business, enlarging and extending them, or
that of those Gentiles who, from every profession and pursuit, from that of the
clergyman to the seller of "truck," have rushed into the wildest
speculations? When we add
that many of the latter were among the most blatant of our secession friends,
the Jews have still less reason to shrink from the comparison.
The main reason why the number of Jews out of the service seems so very
disproportionate is the fact that so large a number of them are unnaturalized
Germans, and while I do not propose to defend the policy which permits
foreigners to feed upon the distresses of the country, I protest against the
Jews being made the victim of especial blame until it can be shown that they are
peculiar in claiming the privilege which public legislation accords them; above
all when we see the eagerness with which so many of the native born avail
themselves of every shadow of excuse to avoid serving the land that gave them
birth in the throws of immortal agony.
I have said the Jews were not as justly amenable to the charge of
shirking the public defence as others. Will any one point out a class more wealthy, more honored,
more influential, more keen to see the main chance in peace or war than the
Scotch? And yet as far as I am
aware there is not a Scotch regiment, battalion or even company in the
Confederate service, to offset the splendid Scotch regiment which so stoutly
upheld the banner of our foes on the first field of Manassas.
Their victories are in the bloodless but profitable fields of
speculation, and yet we hear no sweeping imputation of their loyalty or
denunciation of their greed.
The other charge is that of "infamous extortion."
If extortion means buying as cheaply as possibly and selling as dearly, I
know one Gentile firm in Charleston that has profited more by extortion than all
the Jews on Broad street, and I fancy that a woolen firm in
Richmond or a certain flouring establishment or a certain foundry might
run a similar race with considerable prospects of success.
Those who make this charge and turn to the great cotton factories, to the
iron factories, to the tanneries, to the commission houses, to the railroad
companies, to the importers, to every conceivable branch of business; but
especially to that vast storehouse of villainous corruption and vast profits in
which, as in all I have named above, Christians enjoy an undivided monopoly of
extortion, will have occasion to pause ere they assign to our Jewish fellow
citizens the palm of superiority in that great trade vice which gnaws, like the
Promethean vulture, at the vitals of the body politic.
No, Mr. Editor, for bold, unblushing thievery the above mentioned
establishments owned and managed by the longest faces and the broadest
phylacteries at synod and conventicle, the most immaculate purists in patriotism
and Puritans in faith, claim a proud precedence over the worst and wickedest
extortion ever charged against the petty trader or the larger dealer who so
excited the indignation of these worthies.
Dry goods are not, perhaps, the forte of these Christian gentlemen, and
the
"Compound for sins they are inclined to,
By damning those they have no mind to."
When the crime of extortion ceases to stalk abroad with so satisfied a
post in every thoroughfare of life; when the press ceases to content itself with
those glittering generalities of criticism which satisfy the editorial
conscience without affecting the subscription list; when pampered extortioners
cease to flaunt their ill-gotten gains unchallenged in the face of the
sanctuary; when dastard pulpit orators arm themselves with the thunders of the
church, and launch its righteous wrath against his crying wickedness in high
places; and when public opinion and the potent voice of the law cease to connive
at, if they do not absolutely applaud, all this gaudy crime, timidly shrinking
from a contest with the monster, or meanly admitting their impotence to subdue
it--then, and not till then, will it become us to pluck the mote from the eye of
our Jewish brother, or reproach him for his blindness.
If, finally, it be true that many of our Jewish fellow-citizens have
accumulated fortunes in the progress of this unhappy war, it is no less true
that among those who have given of their abundance with lavish hand to every
enterprise having the benefit of the soldier for its object, a conspicuous place
may be claimed for the men and women of that faith.
I attest the reader's experience for corroboration of the statement, that
in whatever tended to the army's weal, in camp or field, barrack or hospital,
Jews have leant their aid with untiring energy and munificent generosity.
They have been appointed committee men, and worked well; they have been
approached for assistance, and have paid well--better in many instances that
have come under my own observation--far better than those who find employment
for their malice or a cloak for their own crimes in vilifying them.
Such, Mr. Editor, are the candid sentiments of a volunteer, "who
does not sign himself Moses," and
is
NOT A JEW.
Petersburg, December 22, 1862.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 12, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Relief of Soldiers' Families.--We have received a copy of the Report
of the Board for the relief of the families of soldiers in the Parishes of St.
Philip's and St. Michael's. It is a condensed and interesting account of the operations
of this excellent State establishment. The
Board recommends to the Legislature another and further appropriation as
absolutely required for the good work. The
report says:
The Board has now to provide for over six hundred soldiers' families,
numbering about eighteen hundred persons; it has paid out the past year near
thirty-seven thousand dollars, during the greater portion of which time the
prices of food and provisions were fifty per cent. less than now; still, when it
is known that the number of soldiers' families requiring aid is daily increasing
from the harrowing truth that without credit and no work there is no alternative
left but to apply for aid or starve, and, when, too, food and the indispensable
necessaries of living are commanding and obtaining prices appalling to humanity,
it is the advised and deliberate judgment of this Board that the recent
appropriation by the Legislature of $59,5?2.23 to aid the soldiers' families in
these Parishes is inadequate and insufficient for that purpose.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
Woman
and the War.
What a beautiful tribute to the women of the South was that paid by
Bishop Elliott, in his recent sermon at Savannah.
Said he:
"The attitude of woman is sublime.
Bearing all the sacrifices of which I have just spoken, she is moreover
called upon to suffer in her affections, to be wounded and smitten where she
feels deepest and most enduringly. Man
goes to the battlefield, but woman sends him there, even though her
heart-strings tremble while she gives the farewell kiss and the farewell
blessing. Man is supported by the
necessity of movement, by the excitement of action, by the hope of honor, by the
glory of conquest. Woman
remains at home to suffer, to bear the cruel torture of suspense, to tremble
when the battle has been fought and the news of the slaughter is flashing over
the electric wire, to know that defeat will cover her with dishonor and her
little ones with ruin, to learn that the husband she doted upon, the son whom
she cherished in her bosom, and upon whom she never let the wind blow too
rudely, the brother with whom she sported through all her happy days of
childhood, the lover to whom her early vows were plighted, has died upon some
distant battlefield, and lies there a mangled corpse, unknown and uncared for,
never to be seen again, even in death! Oh! those
fearful lists of the wounded and the dead!
How carelessly we pass them over, unless our own loved ones happen to be
linked with them in military association, and yet each name in that roll of
slaughter, carries a fatal pang to some woman's heart--some noble, devoted
woman's heart. But she bears it
all, and bows submissively to the stroke. He
died for the cause. He perished for
his country. I would not have it
otherwise, but I should like to have given the dying boy my blessing, the
expiring husband my last kiss of affection, the bleeding lover the comfort of
knowing that I kneeled beside him."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
Save
Your Rags.
This would perhaps, in ordinary times, be quite an unnecessary piece of
advice, but at this moment it is of vital importance.
As our readers know, the price of paper has advanced enormously, and as a
consequence, publishers have been compelled to make a corresponding advance on
their prices. One great reason of
this increased tariff on paper is the scarcity of rags with which to manufacture
it. The manufacturers inform us
that rags are exceedingly difficult to obtain, even when, as is the case, the
rates paid are higher, by at least 800 per cent. than formerly.
We write this article solely with the view of calling public attention to
the scarcity, that it may, as far as possible, be remedied, and that speedily.
The press is one of the most potent auxiliaries of this Government in
carrying forward its objects, and subserving its interests.
As a medium of communication, in times like these, when every day adds
some memorable event to our history, the newspaper is as indispensable as our
daily food. And it is essential to
our individual intelligence, and as a record of current events.
And as we sit down to read the pages of the favorite book or journal, let
us not fail to remember that the materials for its manufacture must be obtained,
or we shall have no book or newspaper. Until
the blockade is removed--a desideratum altogether among the uncertainties--we
must rely upon our own resources. Let
then every family carefully save up all the rags--all the shreds--all the
scraps—either linen, cotton, or woollen, and furnish them to the Paper Mills,
and the proprietors of those mills will pay them handsomely therefore.
Husbands, tell your wives to see to this--and not only the wives, but let
every member of the family, white and black, commence the saving of rags to make
paper. The possible contingency of
a country like ours deprived of newspapers is shocking to contemplate.
And we will not believe but what, as we have thus sounded the note of
alarm, every one interested (and who is not?) will do all in his or her power to
keep the mills supplied with rags, that the press may thereby continue to
dispense intelligence to the people.
Augusta Chronicle.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
Large Arrival of Ladies.--Between five and six hundred ladies and
children, who arrived at City Point by the last truce boat from the North
reached this city on Saturday by the trains from Petersburg.
Many of them are from Baltimore, and have long been waiting for Lincoln's
permission to join their relatives in the South.
They looked travel worn and fatigued, and as they plodded wearily through
the mud from the depot to places of temporary refuge, their first impressions of
the Confederate capital seemed anything but agreeable.
Still, they are now in a place where they can wear the Dixie colors
without the fear of a dungeon before their eyes.--Richmond Whig.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 2-3
Richmond, Tuesday, January 13.
. . . Among the five hundred women and children who came from the North a day or
two ago, is said to be the wife of Fitz John Porter, the Yankee General. What she came for we know no more than we know why and
wherefore all the rest came. So
crowded is this city that many of these ladies and children had to stay all
night in the cars at the depot. Large
fires were kept up in the stoves, and they were made as comfortable as
circumstances would admit.
Are your readers aware that Gen. Jeb Stuart carries with him wherever he
goes, in all his circuits and raids, a brother of Joe Sweeney, the famous banjo
player? Such is the fact.
Sweeney is also a banjoist, and Stuart calls him his band.
He carries his banjo behind his saddle, wrapped up in a piece of oil
cloth, and whenever the cavalry stop, even to water their horses, the band
strikes up on the banjo and picks a merry air.
The performance of the banjo band in Pennsylvania drove several Dutch
farmers raving distracted, for Sweeney swore that his banjo strings were made
out of the viscera of their departed relatives and friends!
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
Ice is selling in Richmond at eight cents a pound, or four dollars a
bushel.
At the Orphans' Fair, in Mobile, the astonishing sum of $17,223 was
raised on the occasion.
The death of Miss Julia Pardoe, the well-known novelist and "boudoir
historian" is just announced.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
A new species of food for army uses, called the extract of flesh, is
highly commended for invalid soldiers and others.
A half ounce represents the whole amount of nutriment in a pound of fresh
beef. The method of preparation is
thus described: "The whole
process consists in taking lean beef, free of bone and fat, chopping it fine as
when used for sausages or mince meat, and mixing it with its own weight of
water. It is then slowly heated to
boiling and allowed to boil briskly, for a moment or two, when it is strained
through cotton cloth to separate the coagulated albumin and florin.
The evaporation to dryness of the solution must be conducted at a low
temperature by a water bath or a steam heat.
The powder is readily soluble in water.
When properly dried it will keep for months.
Enough can be stored in an ordinary watch fob to sustain a soldier a
week. An ordinary porcelain lined kettle, holding a gallon, is
sufficient for the preparation of the extract.
To dry the solution, put the kettle into a larger vessel containing hot
water."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 17, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
Mobile, Ala., January 10.
Mobile is a charming place, except in rainy weather, which invariably
transforms the city into a kind of muddy Venice.
The Mobile ladies are the most beautiful and hospitable that I have seen
south of the good old State of South Carolina.
And Mobile is quite a literary spot in our Confederacy.
Here reside the celebrated madame Octavia Walton Le Vert, now, as ever,
dispensing hospitality to strangers, and making them feel at home in her elegant
mansion; and Miss Augusta J. Evans, the authoress of "Beulah," who is
generally seen, not in the ballroom or in gay assemblies, but beside the couch
of some ill or dying soldier, many of whom daily pray for the health and good
fortune of their beautiful friend. Rumor
says that Miss Evans has another work, superior to "Beulah," nearly
ready for the publisher, the scenes of which are laid in Germany. While I am writing of authoresses, I must not forget to
mention a young writer of much promise; and I am told that she is one of the
most beautiful young ladies of the Gulf City.
Her nomme de plume is "Augusta Washington," and report says
that she is the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants of Mobile.
On the 8th instant the Hebrew young ladies of this city gave a ball and
supper, the proceeds to be given to the 32d Alabama Regiment, who have nobly
distinguished themselves in Tennessee. The
spacious hall (Temperance Hall) was crowded, and, your correspondent speaks for
self, all enjoyed themselves to their heart's content. . .
Leigh.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 17, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Substitute for Gum Arabic.--Gum Arabic is used in some cases to increase
the strength and brilliancy of starch. For
fine clothes, the gum which exudes from plum, peach or cherry trees, when
transparent, answers this purpose well. For
making and sealing envelopes, the gum from the common red cherry tree is a good
substitute for Gum Arabic.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Richmond, Tuesday, January 20.
. . . Speaking of Vicksburg, I give you an instance of female heroism recorded
in a letter from a friend, who reached the City of the Hills too late to take an
active part in its defence. He is
an officer of high character and undoubted veracity.
He says: "I must tell
you of a feat performed by a young girl, as told me by one who saw it, on the
day of the hardest fight. Her
brother belonged to one of the batteries, and hearing that he was wounded, she
started out alone and on foot for the battle field; and, against the
remonstrances of all who saw her, walked along the line of entrenchments and
across an open field, swept by a murderous fire of musketry, grape and canister,
as if she had been going to church to show her new bonnet, to the point where
his battery was. You can imagine
that the men whom she passed did not fight the worse for the sight." . . . Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Woolen Factory Burned.--On Monday, the 12th instant, the large Wool
Carding Factory, located near Lincolnton, N. C., accidentally took fire and was
entirely consumed, together with all the machinery, much of which was entirely
new. The property was owned by Col.
L. D. Childs, one of the proprietors of the Saluda Factory, near Columbia, who
lost by a similar cause some weeks since, an extensive cotton factory situated
at the same place. There was no
insurance.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Israelites in the Army--There was a paragraph in one of the city
papers the other day, to the effect that General Beauregard has said there were
40,000 Hebrews in the army, and hence, when applied to, had to decline the
request made to him on one occasion, to permit them to be absent for a time from
the army, in September, 1861. What
General B. really said will be found in the letter herewith:
Headquarters,
}
1st Corps Army of the Potomac,
}
Manassas, September 1st, 1861.
}
Dear Sir: Your letter of the
23d ult. has been received and duly considered by the General Commanding, who
instructs me to reply as follows:
The advance brigades of the army are now bivouacked in full view of the
Capitol of the late United States, and have daily small conflicts with our
invading enemy; therefore, to grant your application to give furloughs to the
soldiers of the Jewish persuasion from "the 2d to the 15th day of
September, so that they may participate in the holy service" of your
ancient religion for this period of the year, is impossible, as you and all
Hebrews serving with this army will surely understand.
It would seem, indeed, the Ruler of nations and God of battles is guiding
and aiding us, as certainly and visibly in these days as when, of old, He
released your people from Egyptian bondage; and the General sincerely believes
that all Israelites now in this army will do quite as acceptable service to
Jehovah, at this momentous juncture, in standing here, at their posts, ready to
battle for their homes, their liberties, and their country, as if their time
were passed in the strictest observance and celebration of the sublime rites of
Judaism for this period of the year.
Confidently trusting in this, and assured that on reflection such must be
the conclusion of all of your religion,
I have the honor to be,
Respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Thomas Jordan,
A. A. General.
To M. I. Mechelbacker, Rabbi Preacher.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 4, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
One of our exchanges publishes a new recipe for making coffee, which we
recommend to the steward at our boarding house.
Take coffee grains and pop corn of each an equal quantity.
Roast the same together. The
corn will pop out, and what remains will be unadulterated coffee.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 5, 1863, p. 1, c. 3-4
We find in the London Times another long letter from Mr. Lawley, its
correspondent in the South. We make
some interesting extracts:
Culpeper Court House, Va.,
November 14, 1862.
. . . Meanwhile, in the shelter of the dense woods about Culpeper, in wonderful
spirits, with physique greatly improved since the bloody day at Sharpsburg, are
clustered the tatter-demalion regiments of the South.
It is a strange thing to look at these men, so ragged, slovenly,
sleeveless, without a superfluous ounce of flesh upon their bones, with wild
matted hair, in mendicants rags, and to think when the battle flag goes to the
front, how they can and do fight. "There
is only one attitude in which I never should be ashamed of your seeing my men,
and that is when they are fighting." These
were General Lee's words to me the first time I ever saw him; they have been
confirmed by every other distinguished officer in the Confederacy.
There are triumphs of daring which these poor, ragged men have attempted,
and attempted successfully in this war, which have never been attempted by their
Sybarite opponents. Again and again
they have stormed batteries formidably defended at the point of the bayonet;
nothing of the kind has ever been attempted by the Federals.
Again and again has Gen. Stuart's cavalry surprised Federal camps at
night; no Confederate camp has been surprised since the beginning of the war.
One or two regiments of these tattered men will stand firm, though
attacked by overwhelming numbers of the enemy, and will constantly under such
circumstances successfully hold their ground.
Reverse the conditions, and see how long Federal regiments would bear
such a blunt. Lastly, even a small
body of these men, under a favorite commander like Stonewall Jackson, have again
and again thrown themselves on the flank or rear of immense armies of the
Federals and done desperate execution. Where
has anything of the kind ever been attempted by their opponents?
It is a never failing source of wonder and admiration to the observer to
see these men, so miserably found in every respect, so sparsely fed, so
destitute of blankets, and yet so cheerful and light-hearted under every
privation, so resolute and indomitable in suffering and in doing, so
irresistible in the field. It is a
lesson in the duty of every day life which no man can watch without improvement
and advantage. Say what anybody
likes, these are the true heroes of the memorable struggle for Southern
independence. No one would wish to
deny to the commanding Generals their full mead of praise for the conduct of
operations in the field; but they would be the last men to deny that higher
praise is due to the suffering but indomitable rank and file who have borne cold
and hunger and inadequate food and endless privations without a murmur, and yet
have never bated a jot of heart or hope. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 9, 1863, p. 2, c. 3
Grand
Masquerade Ball!
at
South Carolina Hall,
on
Friday Evening, Feb. 20, 1863,
Commencing at 9 O'Clock.
----o----
A Full Band is Engaged.
----o----
Price of Tickets................................................$3.00
----o----
Tickets for sale at the following places:
Courtenay's, 9 Broad-street; Welch & Harris, 68 Broad-street; Mills
House, Charleston Hotel, Calder House, Teetotal Restaurant, King-street.
1*
February 9.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 12, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
To Slave Owners.--During the past few days several parties have been
brought before His Honor the Mayor, for neglecting to get badges for their
servants. As our city laws are
extremely rigid on this point, it would be well for those owning slaves, and who
have neglected to procure badges, to do so at once, else the fines at the
Mayor's Court will amount to more than the cost of the badges.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 19, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Novel Idea.--During a recent debate in the Confederate Senate, Mr.
Phelan, of Mississippi, adverted to the fact that they had seen white women, in
"hoopless skirts and broad sunbonnets," guiding the plow in Southern
fields. He invoked God's blessing
upon such women and hoped that they would be "mantel ornaments in the
parlors of Paradise."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 2, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Bombardment
of Vicksburg.
Vicksburg, February 18.
. . . As usual, the ladies again acted a conspicuous part in this
scene, and the hills were covered with crinoline to look at the flying monsters
as their noise indicated the direction in which they were coming.
The remark was frequently heard that "this looked again like last
summer." There are a great
many women and children in town yet; many have nowhere to go; others have no
means to take them away, and some obstinately refuse to leave.
At present there is a serious break in the Southern railroad, which
prevents many from going, as that is the only route by which they can get away.
If General Pemberton's order is enforced it will create a good deal of
suffering in this inclement season. If
the poor must leave town the country people should open their doors wide for
them. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 3, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Thanksgiving
Service.
Camden, February 27th, 1863.
Bishop Davis sets forth the following special services for the
congregations of the Protestant Episcopal Churches of the Diocese of South
Carolina, to be used on Thursday next, March 5th, being the day of
"Thanksgiving, Humiliation and Prayer" appointed by the Governor of
the State:
Begin with the sentences "Rend your heart," etc., and "O
Lord, rebuke me but with judgment," etc.
For the Psalter, use Psalms 51st, 25th and 54th.
First Lesson--Daniel, 9th chapter to verse 25th.
Second Lesson--St. John, 16th chapter.
The Long or entire Litany.
After the General Thanksgiving, this special
Collect
of Thanksgiving.
O Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we poor sinners lift up our hearts
to Thee, to bless and praise Thy holy name for all Thy manifold and great
mercies to these Confederate States, from the first day even until now.
O most Mighty and Gracious Good God, Thy mercy is over all Thy works, but
in special manner hath been extended towards us, Thy people, whom Thou hast so
powerfully defended. Thou hast
showed us wonderful and terrible things; but Thou hast continued to protect and
bless us; that we might see how Powerful and Gracious a God Thou art; how able
and ready to help those who trust in Thee.
O God, with deep thankfulness of spirit we worship and adore Thee for Thy
protecting power and grace. Be Thou
still our God, our Guide and Mighty Defender.
And make us, we beseech Thee, truly sensible of Thy mercies.
And give us hearts always ready to express our thankfulness, not only by
words, but also by our lives, in being more obedient to Thy Holy Commandments;
that we, whom Thou hast saved, may serve Thee in holiness and righteousness all
the days of our life; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
Amen.
Then the following
Prayer:
O most Powerful and Glorious Lord God; the Lord of Hosts; that rulest and
commandest all things; Thou sittest on the Throne, judging right; and,
therefore, we make our address to Thy Divine Majesty, that Thou wouldst take our
cause into Thine own hands, and judge between us and our enemies.
Our trust is in Thy Mighty Power. Stir
up Thy Strength, O Lord, and come and help us; for Thou givest not always the
battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few.
O let not our sins cry against us for vengeance, but hear us, Thy
servants, begging mercy and imploring Thy help, and that Thou wouldst be a
Defence unto us against the face of our enemies.--We implore Thy protection and
power against those who have invaded our soil and our homes.
We humbly look up unto Thee, O Lord, and say that we have done them no
wrong. Raise up Thy Power, and come
among us, and with great Thy Power, and come among us, and with great might help
us. Be Thou our Stronghold in the
day of our calamity. We flee unto
Thee for succor, and our hope is in Thy Great and Glorious name. Defend, O Lord, and establish our cause.
Endue us with power and strength; give us victory over all our enemies,
and make it appear that Thou art our Saviour and Mighty Deliverer; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Also the prayer set forth for the soldiers now "fighting the battles
of our country."
The Ante-Communion service, with the Collect for the third Sunday in
Lent, and the following
Collect.
O Eternal God, Wonderful in Counsel and Infinite in Power, who rulest in
the Heavens above and in the earth beneath; hear the supplications of Thy
servants on this day of humiliation and prayer.
We beseech Thee, O God, favorably to behold this Government and people,
now bending before Thee in deep humility of heart; confessing their own sins,
acknowledging Thy Divine Sovereignty, and earnestly imploring Thy Heavenly
Benediction and Grace. We are
sinful, but Thou, O Lord, art Holy and Merciful.
We are weak, but Thou art Mighty. Draw
near and help us; pardon our sins and receive and answer our prayers.
Bless our rulers, direct their counsels, unite their hearts, strengthen
their hands and prosper all their undertakings.
And may it please Thee, O Lord God, to visit and bless this whole people
in this time of danger and trial. Be
Thou our present Helper and Defender, and a strong Tower against the face of our
enemies. Give courage and strength
to our army and navy. Fight with
us, O God, against those who are threatening our homes, our firesides, and our
families. Confound their counsels,
bring to naught their wicked devices, subdue their pride, break their power and
deliver us from all their oppressions and wrongs; that we, Thy people, being
hurt by no persecutions, may be preserved evermore to glorify Thee, Who art the
only Giver of all victory. Grant,
this, O Father, Almighty, for the sake of Thy Blessed Son, our Redeemer and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Epistle, 1st Peter, 3d chapter, from the 8th to the 18th verse.
The Gospel, St. Matthews, 24th chapter, from the 3d to the 14th verse.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 5, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
A
Prayer for Our Country.
O Lord, Thou who bringest the counsels of the heathen to naught and
makest the devices of the people to be of none effect, and castest out the
counsels of princes, when they have offended They; have mercy upon this
Confederacy; forgive and pardon the sings of this people; turn Thee unto them
and bless them, that the world may say--Blessed are the people whose God is the
Lord Jehovah, and blessed are the folk that He hath chosen to Him to be His
inheritance. Lord, hear and grant
for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
Lord, bless our country, that religion and virtue may season all sorts of
men; that there may be peace within the gates, and plenty within the palaces of
it. In peace, we beseech Thee, to
preserve it, that it corrupt not; in war, so defend it that it suffer not in
plenty, so order it that it riot not in want, so pacify and moderate it, that it
may patiently and peaceably seek Thee, the only full supply of both men and
states; that it may continue a place and a people to do Thee service to the end
of time; through Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer.
Amen.
O Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, we beseech Thee, let Thy
anger be turned away from this City, this State, and this Confederacy, and cause
Thy Face to shine upon whatsoever is desolate therein; for Jesus Christ's sake.
Amen.
----
Grant, we beseech Thee, our God, to the people of this Confederacy grace
"to hearken unto Thee, and to walk in thy ways."
"Put down," we entreat Thee, "our enemies, and turn Thy
Hand against all our adversaries;" yea, against our every spiritual and
national adversary, do Thou turn Thy Hand--so that by Thy grace and strength we
may ever continue to win one victory after another over every ghostly and human
foe, until our hearts and lives, our churches and homes, our politics and
government, our army and navy, be purified from all sin and corruption, and our
land be freed from the presence and power of its every enemy.
And, O Lord of Hosts, "the Great, the Mighty, and the Terrible God,
who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before Thee,
that hath come upon us;" but "let now," we implore and beseech
Thee, "Thy sword be quiet; let it now put itself into its scabbard and
rest, and be still. Let its charge
against the sea shore be withdrawn, and its appointment thereon be ended."
For our Saviour's sake, hear and answer in mercy; and to the ever blessed
and glorious Trinity be all praise and worship.
Amen.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 19, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
A book as big as the palm of your hand, and about as thick as two batter cakes,
has been published by a Texan, who calls himself "A Young Revelle."
Its title is "Abram," and I am told it sells readily in camp
for a dollar the copy.
Snow or rain in the offing.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 20, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Substitute for Tea.--A new style of Confederate tea, which is very much
approved by those who have used it, is made by mixing half a teaspoonful of tea
with a table spoonful and a half of blackberry leaves, which have been cured by
drying them on a cooking stove. The blackberry leaf can be found in any seasons in sheltered
places, and will soon be abundant.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 23, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Novel Impressment.--Fifteen or twenty women, the leader of whom carried a
revolver, in Atlanta, on Wednesday, went around to a number of grocery stores,
seizing bacon, meal, and vegetables, paying such prices as they thought proper.
They were dispersed by the police. The
Confederacy says the women were only imitating the example set them by
Government officials.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 25, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Another Female Food Riot took place in Salisbury, N. C., on the 18th.
The women concerned in it compelled the merchants to share with them
their stock of flour, and also robbed several families of the stock laid in for
home use. Salt, snuff and molasses
was also taken.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 2-3
A
Prayer for the Times.
Compiled from an Old Writer, With Alterations and Additions Suitable
to the Present Condition of the Confederate States of America.
Gracious Father, the life of man is a warfare upon earth, and the dangers
which assault us are diversely pointed against us.
We humbly beseech Thee be present with us in all the course and passages
of our lives, but especially in the services of our various callings, in the
Secession we have undertaken, and in every stern consequence in which it has
involved us. Suffer, we entreat
Thee, no malice, or treachery, or stratagem to hurt us; no cunning to circumvent
us; no surprises to overtake or discomfit us; no violence to assault or conquer
us; no falsehood to betray us; no sickness to enfeeble, and no mortality to
diminish our forces; no inferiority in numbers or in the outward appliances of
war, and no incompetence in our officers and in those under their command, to
occasion our overthrow, or to defeat or impair our successes.
That which we cannot foresee we beseech Thee to prevent; that which we do
not fear we beseech Thee to unmask and frustrate; and that which we cannot
withstand we beseech Thee to master--particularly the possession of so many of
our cities and forts by the enemy; their presence and strength in our waters and
upon our soil; and the blockade of our ports:--And, as all these national
calamities have their counterparts in our spiritual existence, wrest, we beseech
Thee, from our ghostly foes, and take into Thy own keeping, every stronghold of
our hearts; destroy within us the dominion of the world, the flesh and the
devil; and remove every obstruction to the free ingress of Thy Holy Spirit into
our souls, and to the fullest returns of our love, or obedience and our
gratitude to Thee--that, being delivered from all dangers of spirit, soul and
body, we may praise Thee, our Deliverer, and experience how secure and happy and
triumphant a thing it is to make the Lord of Hosts our Protector and Helper in
the day of fear and trouble, of peril and distress.
Amen.
O Merciful God, though might and numerous States, and armies, and navies
gather together against us, yet let them be driven away from our borders as the
smoke before the wind, and as the dust before the whirlwind; and though they
take counsel together, bring it to nought.
For though they pronounce a decree, yet it shall not stand, of Thou, O
God, be with us: Be with us,
therefore, O God, for Jesus Christ's sake.
And since at this time we need thy more especial assistance both by sea
and by land, for the mercy of Christ deny us neither, but vouchsafe us both in
the fullness of Thy Omnipotence to save. Grant
that our enemies' ships may find no new ways in our seas, nor any further paths
in our floods; and wherever their fleets and armies are already within our
watercourses and our territories, grant that they may find no abiding place in
either. Defeat, we implore Thee, the designs and confound the
machinations of all who seek our subjugation and ruin.
Baffle their plans and subvert their enterprises; turn their expeditions
back by the way which they came, and by Thy own Almighty Power render powerless
against us their every invention and expenditure for our injury and destruction,
and especially everything now in preparation against our city--against the
capital of our Confederacy--against our every sister city throughout the length
and breadth of the land--may "the mischief they intend, and the devices
they imagine, be such as they are not able to perform. [Ps. xx:12]
Grant that their spies and emissaries, and every secret foe and traitor
among ourselves, may be speedily detected and effectually banished from the
country. Amen.
Preserve us, Most Merciful God, from plague, pestilence, disease,
sickness and mortality; from famine, from scarcity and high prices of food, of
raiment, and the common necessaries of life.
O Father, we beg Thee to feed, clothe and shelter our soldiers.
Place under them Thy Everlasting Arms and over and around them Thy
All-watching Wings. Make them all
soldiers of the Cross of Christ no less than soldiers of the Confederacy. Rescue them and the whole country from the inhuman grasp of
the speculator and the extortioner; have mercy upon these unhappy instruments of
so many of the woes and sufferings which now afflict us, and turn their
affections and energies from the groveling, transitory accumulations of earth to
set them upon the elevating and ever enduring riches of Heaven.
Look in the city upon the poor; raise up friends for the succor of the
helpless, the sick, and the aged; and bless the young and healthy with
employment, and active, persevering industry.
Amen.
Deliver us, we implore Thee, from war and tumult, invasion, and from
battle, murder, dueling, from assault, from personal conflicts of every kind;
from all recklessness and rashness, from mistakes and carelessness, and from
injurious and fatal accidents; from wounds and from loss of limbs, of feathers,
and of life, but above all, from praylessness, from forgetfulness of Thee, from
neglect of Thy Word and Commandments, from sin, and from spiritually sudden
death. Blessed Saviour, Thou Great
and Compassionate Physician, be present at every bed of suffering and death;
speak to the sick and wounded, to the languishing, the desponding, and the
despairing, the word of healing power which bids them "arise and
walk"--and that word of a yet better healing, which bids them "go and
sin no more." Lord, now that
Thou art in Thy kingdom, remember us and our dying friends; remember, too, our
dying enemies, and impart to us all the repentance and faith of Him who was
crucified at Thy dear, bleeding Side; and make the day of death to each of us
the day of our being with Thee in Paradise.
Behold in tender pity the thousands of our bereaved people, and according
to Thy own most precious promise, be Thyself the husband of the widow--the
father of the fatherless--the All-Sufficient One who remembers when nursing
mothers forget or die--the friend that sticketh closer than a brother--and cause
the parental heart, even in its keenest anguish and most lonely desolation, to
experience that Thou art better than many sons and daughters. Thou hast made us to weep and bow before Thee as a nation of
mourners--make us to the same extent to humble ourselves in Thy sight as a
nation of submissive, sanctified penitents, and as each loved one departs to be
no more seen on earth, bless us with so sensible an increase of Thy presence in
our spirits, our lives and our households, as may constrain us to feel that in
exchanging the finite for the Infinite Friend, our loss has become an
unspeakable gain. Amen.
Almighty God and Merciful Father, guard us in each State of the
Confederacy from sedition, conspiracy, rebellion, or insurrection; and in our
Army and infant Nation from disaffection and insubordination, from mutiny and
desertion, from cowardice and panic, from intemperance and blasphemy; and from
the want of generalship which fails to obtain an advantage, or to improve it
when obtained. Make all in
authority in every ecclesiastical, civil, military, and naval department,
examples of holy allegiance and Christian fidelity to Thee, of sobriety and
truthfulness, of self-denial and fortitude, of courage and prayerful dependence
upon Thee. Take not from us the
sharpness and the point of the two-edged sword; but enable us to win one victory
after another over every spiritual and national foe, until our hearts and lives,
our Churches and homes, our politics and our government be purified from all
sins and corruptions; and our land be freed from the presence and power of its
every enemy. Protect our soldiers
and citizens from capture and imprisonment, and from cold-blooded, murderous
executions; and extend deliverance to those already in the custody of our
adversaries--whether shut up in their own cities or within the walls of some
foreign Bastille; and accept our heartfelt praises for the many whom Thou hast
so graciously restored to their homes and country.
Amen.
Lord of all Power and Might, be Thou Thyself the Defence of our defences
[sic], and the Shield of our entire coast; of our forts and harbors; our inlets
and rivers, and of our railroads and bridges.
Be the guardian of our persons and the persons of our slaves; of our
churches and our homes; and of our substance of every kind.
Keep us and all that we are and have sacred from the touch, and safe from
the shell, the cannon, and the torch of our adversaries--that we may glorify
Thee for these deliverances no less than for Thy signal presence and power with
us in the Bloodless victory of Sumter. We
supplicate Thee that the lives of our soldiers may again be as precious in Thy
sight as on that day of miraculous preservation, when the waters of death saw
Thee and fled--so that "the sum of the men of war being taken, there lacked
not one man of us."--Num. xxxi:49. "This
was the Lord's doing: and it is marvelous in our eyes."--Ps. csviii:23.
"For God is our King of old, the help that is done upon earth, He
doeth it Himself."--Ps. lxxiv:13. "Now,
therefore, our God, we thank Thee and praise Thy glorious Name."--1. Chron.
xxiv:12. And like the Samaritan
leper, we return to give Thee glory, and to beg that our gratitude may like his
be accepted and commended by the Saviour. Amen.
Abate, we beseech Thee, the pride, appease the wrath, and assuage the
fury of our enemies--soften their hearts, and change their unnatural hatred and
cruelty into Christian love and humanity. Let
them, and let us, see this whole conflict in the Light of Eternity.
Let us understand it now, as we shall when we look back upon it from the
better world of unbroken harmony and everlasting peace. Have mercy upon both Republics, and put a speedy end to our
bloody distractions. Speak as of
old to the Destroying Angel--"It is enough; stay now Thy hand."
Once more let the command go forth, that "he put up his sword again
into the sheath thereof."--1 Chron. xxi:15-29.
May the fall of this Great Babylon, the Union, which we have so long and
so audaciously claimed to "have, built by the might of our power, and for
the honor of our majesty--Dan. iv:30--rebuke forever into silence our vain
self-reliance, and wholly extinguish our trust in everything which is not
Thyself. Withhold us from becoming
a second time inflated into a nation of Nebuchadnezzars, and restrain our
impious desires and impotent hands from again attempting to build a "Tower,
whose top may reach to Heaven"--Gen. xi:3.--lest in Thy holy wrath and
righteous indignation Thou uproot us from among the kingdoms of the earth, and
blot our names from among the living; from which doom, Good Lord deliver us, for
Jesus Christ's sake.--Amen.
If it be Thy Gracious and Merciful Will concerning us, grant that the
North may have no more "portion, nor right, nor memorial" in the
South.--Neb. xi:20. Fit and prepare
us for a right reception and improvement of an early termination of the war; and
then bless us with an equitable and abiding Peace:--so abiding, that henceforth
Thy Word may be our Country's only sword; prayer our only wrestling; and faith
its triumph. Father of Infinite Wisdom and Love, do Thou Thyself regulate
for us Thy own institution of slavery; set Thou the bounds of our habitations,
and cause us and our slaves to grow up within them into "a chosen
generation a royal priesthood; a holy nation, a peculiar people;" 1 Pet.
ii:9--and provide for us, from every Sovereign State of the Confederacy, able
men, such as fear Thee--men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over
us to be our rulers.--Exodus xviii:21. "Govern
us" Thyself, "and lift us up forever."
Vouchsafe to keep us without sin in our time of our tribulations, and in
all time of our prosperity. Help
us, Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.
O Lord, save us, Thy people, and bless us, Thine heritage;" and, in
Thy good time, make us to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting.
May the severe lessons and bitter sufferings of the past be turned into
self-knowledge and self-abasement, into humility and repentance, and into wisdom
and purification; and grant that for the future, being sheltered by Thy grace
and favor from every spiritual and temporal evil, and cleansed from all personal
and national vices, we may continue from generation to generation to obey and
serve thee in such purity of spirit and holiness of life, that we may ever abide
a place and a people to do Thee service to the end of Time, through Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Saviour; to Whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all
praise, worship and dominion. Amen.
And we will stand up and bless Thee, the Lord our God, for ever and ever;
and blessed be Thy glorious Name, which is exalted above all blessing and
praise."--Neh. ix:12. Amen and Amen.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 8, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Want of Printing Paper.--The Augusta Constitutionalist, of Saturday
last, appears in a half sheet. The
editor says:
The destruction of the Bath Paper Mills, from which was derived our
supplies of printing paper, may entail on us the necessity of suspending the
issue of the Constitutionalist. At
this time it seems impossible to obtain paper from any other sources.
All the paper mills of the Confederacy are now monopolized to their
fullest capacity by press engagements. Under
these circumstances, we prefer not to receive any more subscriptions. We request all persons contemplating remittances by mail or
express, to withhold them, at least until we can announce definitely whether we
will be able to continue the issue of this paper. Should we be compelled to suspend, we will resume our
publication as soon thereafter as practicable.
It is wholly impossible, however, now to make any calculation as to when
that can be.
The remarks apply equally to the publication of The Southern Field and
Fireside.
It would be vain for us to attempt to express the depth of our regret at
this great calamity. It is one of
those terrible providences to which we must bow, and we feel our subscribers
will do so likewise, without any other sentiment towards us than that of regret
at a common misfortune.
Under these circumstances, we will be compelled, for the present, to
publish our daily on a half sheet, and to condense, or perhaps leave out, our
contract advertisements.
The Macon Telegraph, of Monday, also appears on a half sheet.
The editor says:
What we have for a long time foreseen and dreaded as inevitable, has come
upon us. We are obliged to take to
a fragment of a sheet and even then can only promise that it shall be as large
as possible. For the reasons which
impel this step we refer the reader to an article copied elsewhere from the
Charleston Courier of the 3d instant--and so stringent are they as to force that
old, wealthy, and influential sheet to a suspension for a few days.
Nothing remains for us and all other Confederate newspapers, but to
diminish our consumption to the lowest possible limit consistent with keeping
our readers advised of current events, and this must be done by throwing out all
standing advertisements, and restricting that branch of our business to the
smallest possible limit.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 9, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
Advance in the Price of Richmond Papers.--The Richmond papers have all
been compelled to advance their prices. The
Enquirer and Examiner have gone up to $15 for twelve months, and $8 for six
months. The Whig has advanced to
$12, and the Dispatch to $10. The
Sentinel, a new paper, is mailed at $10 a year.
These rates are high, but do not begin to correspond with the advance in
everything else.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Frank Vizetelly.--This talented artist and accomplished observer of men and
things, we are glad to know, has spent some time in Charleston, busily employed
in professional labors for the London Illustrated News.
His pictures of life and the events of the war are calculated to convey
more correct ideas of the Southern people than any which have yet reached
Europe. They greatly assist the
popular mind. Portfolios of his
sketches, as engraved and printed, would, after the war, be quite interesting
and desirable as ornaments for the tables of Southern families.
A day or two since we had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful drawing of
the Battle of the 7th in this Harbor, to follow many preceding illustrations in
running the blockade. We wish Mr. Vizetelly all success.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Wooden Shoes.--Mr. A. Pudigon, the well known florist, has established a
factory on the Neck for the manufacture of the "French sabot," or
wooden shoe, and has now five experienced workmen, directly from Paris,
employed. Mr. Pudigon manufactures
men's, women's and children's shoes from a solid piece of wood, and the articles
look much more convenient than the idea of a wooden shoe would suggest.
They are most admirably adapted for overshoes in wet weather.
A specimen pair may be seen at our office.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 15, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Richmond, Saturday, April 11.
. . . The paper famine rages here as fiercely as with you.
The publishers look glum, and the shop keepers are at their wit's end
almost. It is funny to see them
pinching their wrapping paper to the merest scrap, hardly enough to cover the
parcel you purchase. In a few days
we will have to toat [sic] things in our handkerchiefs. . . . Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 15, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
That noble charity, the Free Market of Charleston, is, we regret to
learn, badly in need of support. Nearly
eight hundred families of soldiers now in the service are dependent upon this
beneficent institution for sustenance. A
heavy outlay is required to meet the wants of so many worthy and destitute
persons. The expense foots up fully
$10,000 per month, and the task of providing this large amount has fallen of
late upon a small number of liberal gentlemen.
But the burthen has now grown too heavy for them longer to sustain alone,
and unless our citizens come to their aid, the Free Market, which is already
$5000 in debt, must close on the 5th of May.
We trust, for the fame and humanity of Charleston, that this good
enterprise, which is absolutely indispensable for the alleviation of want in our
midst, will not be suffered to fall to the ground in this the crisis of our
fortunes as a community.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 16, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Cure for Mange.--A great desideratum for sportsmen is a certain, simple
and cheap cure for mange, and one that can be easily procured in the country.
I have kept a pack of dogs for many years, and have tried, with various
success, every variety of mange ointments, both of scientific and simple
applications. The most speedy,
certain and simple that has yet come under my observation is the following,
which I have used with entire success:
1 pint common soft lye soap
}
1/2 pint sugar,
}
1/2 pint powder of sulphur,
} well mixed together.
1 pint coal tar,
}
A simple application, well rubbed into the skin (not merely daubed on the
hair) will in two weeks time effect the cure.
Tie the dog, after the application, in the sun for two hours, until dry,
with his head well up, so as to prevent rolling, and then let him go until the
gradually wears off, which will be in about two weeks.
Try it.
Hunter.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 17, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Shoe Pegs.--The Staunton Spectator describes the process of making shoe
pegs at the factory in that town. A
maple tree is felled in the forest one day--hauled to town--delivered at the peg
manufactory--in less time than a stammering man can say "Jack
Robinson," it is manufactured into shoe pegs, and in a few more days some
of the pegs are on the shoes of our soldiers, chasing fleeing Yankees.
The proprietors are now furnishing the Government at the price of $10 per
bushel, and sell to individuals at $16 per bushel.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 20, 1863, p. 4, c. 5
Cultivation
of the Garden Poppy.
To the Editor of the Mercury: As
the prospect of cultivating the Garden Poppy on an extensive scale is very
encouraging, and having received a number of letters asking information relative
to the planting, management and preparation of Opium, I send you the following
directions, which I have extracted from a work, recently published, entitled
"Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests," by Surgeon F. Peyre
Porcher, C. S. Army.
Thomas Lining,
Medical Purveyor, C. S. A.
Garden Poppy.--The variety most preferred is that whose heads or
capsules, when ripe, assume a slightly bluish tinge.
The color of the flower is unimportant.
The seed is either white or black; some persons think that the black
seeded variety is more productive, others give the preference to the white in
this respect. The structure of the
capsules is of more consequence; for there is a variety in which the envelope of
the capsule dehises [sic?] spontaneously when ripe, so that the seed is easily
shed; and another, in which the seen remains enclosed within the capsules, which
must be opened in order to extract it. The
Poppy may become one of the most profitable corps, if we have the means of
disposing of the seed, or if we knew how to extract the oil.
By proper cultivation it might be made to produce from nine to ten
bushels of seed per acre, and one bushel yields twenty-four pounds of good
oil.--This oil, especially the first portion, which is cold expressed, and mixed
in the mill with slices of apple, is doubtless the purest kind of oil for the
table, and the most agreeable that is known.
It is inferior to none excepting the finest Nice or Lucca oil.
It is preferable to the second rate oil of those places, and the peculiar
taste of the olive oil may be imparted to it by the addition of a small quantity
of that oil of superior quality.--The oil of the Poppy is bland, and not
narcotic. It is used both for food
and light, and is considered a fifth more valuable than that of the Coliza.
The cakes remaining after the expression of the oil are valuable for the
fattening of swine, and the stalks for fuel.
The ashes which remains after burning it are of the best kind for manure.
The oil expressed in cold weather is much superior to that obtained in
warm weather, and the two must not be mixed.
The largest seeds, which are employed for medical and domestic use, are
obtained from the single-flowered kind, not only for the purpose of extracting
Opium, but also on account of the bland esculent oil which is expressed from the
seeds, which are simply emulsive, and contain none of the narcotic principle.
For the latter purpose, if no other, its culture in this country is
worthy of attention. The annual amount of Opium imported into the United States is
valued at upwards of $407,000. The
Poppy, it is said, produces better when planted in the fall.
The seeds should be planted in the month of September, by which means the
plants attain sufficient size to endure the cold of winter; they were also found
to produce more opium than those planted in March.
Having a tap-root, their size will consequently be proportioned to the
depth of earth they are enabled to penetrate--hence the necessity of land that
will admit of deep ploughing [sic]. The
finest of the surface, too, is very essential.
As the seed is small, and the plants on their first coming up so
exceedingly tender, that the brush harrow should always be used after those
which are commonly employed. They
should be so cultivated that the gatherer may not disturb the plants in
collecting the juice. The
successful cultivation of the plant, however, requires the provision of a good
soil, appropriate manure and careful management.
In obtaining Gum Opium, the capsules are cut longitudinally only through
the skin, though some advise that it should be done from below upwards.
The incisions should be made in the afternoon, the hardened gum being
scraped off the next morning. If
the incisions be too deep, the juice passes within the poppy head.
In England, forty pounds were made in one season by one person.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 27, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Latest Fashions.--The London Illustrated news, containing the fashion
plates, has arrived through the blockade--from which it would appear that the
costume of the ladies is returning to a simple style.
Hoops are assuming rational dimensions, and the ball room dress, compared
with the past styles, is almost denuded of ornament.
This change is especially true in relation to street costume.
Trains have entirely disappeared. The
dress falls hardly below the ankle, leaving the whole foot exposed.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 28, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
We have received from Mr. Samuel Hart, Sr., a copy of the Stonewall Song
Book, being a collection of patriotic, sentimental and comic songs, published by
West & Johnston, Richmond, Va.
Field and Fireside.--The last number of this interesting weekly announces
its discontinuance after that date for the want of paper.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 29, 1863, p. 1, c. 1-2
Resources
of Our Fields and Forests.
In compliance with the suggestion of the Surgeon General, we begin to-day
the publication of extracts from the valuable work of Dr. Porcher.
We call the special attention of farmers and planters, of house-wives,
gardeners, and all who deal with herbs, to these extracts, in the hope that they
will devote themselves with energy to the patriotic task of collecting and
preparing medicinal plants for the use of the soldiers in the field and in
hospitals. A vast deal of good may
be done, and an immense stock of native medicines may be gathered before next
winter sets in, if the hints here given are attended to.
Of course, a fair price will be paid for all medicines, and a ready sale
will be found for them:
Sassafras.--Whilst engaged in active duties as Surgeon to the Holcombe
Legion, whenever a soldier suffered from measles, pneumonia, bronchitis, or
cold, his companion or nurse was directed to procure the roots and leaves of
sassafras, and a tea made with this supplied that of flax seed or gum arabic.
Bene (Sesamum).--The planters and farmers throughout the Confederate
States should save and cure all the leaves of the Bene now growing, to be used
in camp dysentery, in colds, coughs, etc., among our soldiers, in place of gum
arabic or flax seed. One or two
leaves in a tumbler of water imparts their mucilaginous properties.
Dogwood (Cornus Florida)--Since the war, the bark has been employed with
great advantage in place of quinine--by physicians in Sumter District, S. C.,
and elsewhere--particularly in cases of low forms of fever, and in dysentery, on
the river courses, of a typhoid character.
It is given as a substitute for Peruvian bark.
In fact, in almost any case where the Cinchona bark was used.
Wild Jalap (Podophyllum Peltatum).--This can be used as a laxative in
place of rhubarb or jalap, or whenever a purgative is required.
Every planter in the Confederate States can produce the opium, mustard
and flax seed that is required, either for the army or home use.
Podophyllum peltatum, L. Wild jalap; May Apple.--We have employed this plant among
negros [sic] as a substitute for jalap and the ordinary cathartics, and find
that it answers every purpose, being easily prepared by the person having charge
of them. Thirty grains of the root
in substance were given, or an infusion of one ounce in a pint of water, of
which a wine glassful three times a day is the dose; employing the Liriodendron
tulipifera as a substitute for quinine during the stage of intermission of all
mild cases of intermittent fever. We
would invite the particular attention of planters to the extensive use of these
medicines upon their plantations. We
have caused them to be used on one on which upward of a hundred negros [sic]
resided, and we found that during a period of seven months, including the warm
months of summer, they were used in all cases, and apparently fulfilled every
indication.
Papaver Sumniferum. Opium
Poppy.--"The poppy may become one of the most profitable corps if we have
the means of disposing of the seed, or if we knew how to extract the oil.
By proper cultivation it may be made to produce from nine to ten bushels
of seed per acres, and one bushel yields twenty-four pounds of good oil.
This oil, especially the first portion, which is cold pressed, and mixed
in the mill with slices of apple, is doubtless the purest kind of oil for the
table, and the most agreeable that is known.
It is inferior to none, excepting the finest Nice or Lucca oil.
It is preferable to the second rate oil of those places, and the peculiar
taste of olive oil may be imparted to it by the addition of a small quantity of
that oil of superfine quality." The
largest heads which are employed for medical or domestic use, are obtained from
the single flowered kind, not only for the purpose of extracting opium, but also
on account of the bland, escurent [sic] oil that is expressed from the seeds,
which are simply emulsive, and contain none of the narcotic principle.
For the latter purpose, if no other, its culture in this country is
worthy of attention. Certainly, it
is an object worthy of public encouragement, as the annual amount of opium
imported into the United States is valued at upward of $407,000.
If this was true some years since, how much more essential to us is its
production now (1862), when gum opium and morphine are so very difficult to
obtain? Occupied in researches upon
these subjects during the month of June, under the order of the Surgeon-General,
I was enabled to collect, in a few days, more than an ounce of gum opium,
apparently of very excellent quality, having all the smell and taste of opium
(which I have administered to the sick), from specimens of the red poppy found
growing in a garden near Stateburgh, S. C.
I have little doubt that all we require could be gathered by ladies and
children within the Confederate States, if only the slightest attention was paid
to cultivating the plants in our gardens. It
thrives well and bears abundantly. It
is not generally known that the gum which hardens after incising the capsules is
then ready for use, and may be prescribed as gum opium, or laudanum and
paregoric may be made from it, with alcohol or whisky.
The poppy, it is said, produces better when planted in the fall.
In obtaining gum opium, the capsules are cut longitudinally only through
the skin, though some advise that it should be done from below upwards.
I find longitudinal incisions the most economical.
This is generally done late in the afternoon, the hardened gum being
scraped off early next morning. Boys
and girls can easily attend to this. If
the capsules are cut only on one side, the same operation may be repeated on the
other side, and a fresh supply of opium obtained.
A knife with three or four edges, cutting about the twelfth or fourteenth
part of an inch, is some times used. If
the incision is too deep, the juice passes within the poppy head.
Liriodendron tulipifera, L. Tulip tree; white wood; poplar.
Grows in swamps; diffused. Collected
in St. John's, Charleston District; Columbia; Newbern.
Fl. June.
This plant is tonic diuretic, and diaphoretic, and is generally
considered one of the most valuable of the substitutes for Peruvian bark.
Dose of bark xx to xxx grains. It
is a stimulant tonic, slightly diaphoretic.
The infusion or decoction is made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint
of water; dose, one or two fluid ounces.
Aconitum uncinatum, L. Aconite, monkshood, wolfbane.
Shady banks of streams among the mountains of Confederate States, and
northward.
The tincture of aconite is more manageable, and is useful as an external
anesthetic in frontal neuralgia, local pains, etc.
No remedy, save chloroform, equals it when applied locally for the relief
of pain. The tincture may be
combined with oil and chloroform, as a liniment in rheumatism.
Cornus Florida, L. Dogwood.
Well known; diffused in rich shady lands; Newbern, Va.
In our present need of astringent and anti-periodics and tonics, the
dogwood bark powdered will be found the best substitute for Peruvian.
Internally and externally, it can be applied wherever the cinchona barks
were found serviceable. The dogwood
bark and root, in decoction, or in form of cold infusion, is believed by many to
be the most efficient substitute for quinine, also in treating malarial fevers;
certainly it might be used in the cases occurring in camp, to prevent the waste
of quinine, as it can be easily and abundantly procured.
Dr. Richard Moore, of Sumter District, informs me that he not only finds
it efficient in fevers, but particularly useful, with whisky or alcohol, in low
forms of fevers, and dysentery occurring near our river swamps.
During convalescence, where an astringent tonic is required, this plant
supplies our need. See eupatorium
(boneset) and Liriodendfon. These, with the blackberry and chinquapin as astringents, the
gentians and pipsissewa as tonics and tonic diuretics, the sweet gum, sassafras
and bene for their mucilaginous and aromatic properties, and the wild jalap (podophylum)
as a cathartic, supply the surgeon in camp with easily procurable medicinal
plants, which are sufficient for almost every purpose.
Nitrate and bi. carbonate of potash are most required, and with calomel,
may be procured from abroad. Our
supply of opium can be easily procured by planting the poppy and incising the
capsules. Every planter could raise a full supply of opium, mustard and
flax seed. The wood of the dogwood,
like the willow, is preferred in making gun powder. See Salin. A
tonic compound, as advised by the herbalists, is made with the bark of the root
of dogwood, colombo (Frasera), poplar, each six ounces; bark of wild cherry, six
ounces; leaves of thoroughwort, four ounces; cayenne pepper, four ounces--sifted
and mixed. Dose, a teaspoonful, in
warm or cold water, repeated. It is
stated in the Newbern Progress "that a ripe dogwood berry taken three times
a day, before meals, will cure ague and fever."
Cucumis pepo, W. Pumpkin. Cultivated very successfully in South Carolina.
The fruit which should have been dried as a winter provision for our
army, ahs been converted into brandy, and dried fruit will probably be very
scarce. An excellent substitute may
be found in the pumpkin. Cut into
slips and dried either in the sun or in a dry room, it is said to be little
inferior to dried apples.
Ricadus communis. Castor oil
plant.
Mode of Culture.--Break up the land with a plough, and lay it off in rows
six feet apart, each way. The best time to plant is from the middle of April to the
second week in May. Drop three
seeds in each hill. Half a bushel
of seed will plant ten acres. Treat
the plant in the same manner as corn. Be
careful in looking after the cut-worm, which gives it the preference to corn.
When the plants are six inches high, they should be thinned to one stalk
in a hill. New lands, broken up the
same season, are not suited. One
hand can tend five acres. In a
good, dry soil, the yield will be from fifteen to twenty bushels per acres, each
bushel yielding seven quarts of pure oil.
Gathering the Seed.--About the middle of August the seeds begin to ripen,
and will continue until checked by the frost.
A writer in the Western Plough Boy, of 1832, says:
"Previous to the ripening of the seeds, the yard for spreading on
should be prepared. It should be
made on ground of a gradual descent, open to the sun, and made very smooth and
firm. The first and second parcels
that ripen must stand till the pods on the ear begin to crack, otherwise a part
of the bean will be imperfect. Later
in the season, when the stalk is more mature, they must be cut, when two or
three pods begin to open, or they will waste.
They are laid in the yard one layer deep.
In warm weather a layer will pop out in three days. When all have opened, the stems are raked off.
The hulls are swept off with a broom made with naked switches; which, if
carefully done, will not leave more than one bushel of hulls in eight of beans.
They may be cleaned with a common wheat fan, with a riddle suited to the
size of a bean."
Mode of Extraction--The oil is obtained both by coction and expression.
The former method is performed by tying up the seeds, previously broken
and bruised, in a bag, which is suspended in boiling water till the oil is
extracted and rises to the surface, when it is skimmed off.
This is the usual mode adopted by farmers. The smallest quantity of water, however, remaining in the
oil, causes it to become rancid.
I trust our planters will see the necessity of preparing to plant the
castor oil bean extensively. The great value of the oil as a purgative is in the mildness
and rapidity with which it operates. It
is much needed by the brave defenders of our soil. It has saved thousands of lives; and if we cannot obtain it,
thousands must perish by our inattention to the production of this necessary
medicine. That the profits,
under moderate prices, are greater than the production of any other article, I
am fully aware.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
1, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
Spoken like Cornelia.--A young lady of Louisiana, whose father's
plantation had been brought within the enemy's lines, in their operations
against Vicksburg, was frequently constrained by the necessities of her
situation to hold conversation with the Federal officers.
On one of these occasions a Yankee official enquired how she managed to
preserve her equanimity and cheerfulness amid so many trials and privations, and
such severe reverses of fortune. Our
army, said he, has deprived your father of two hundred negros [sic] and
literally desolated two magnificent plantations.
She said to the officer--a leader of that army, which had for months
hovered around Vicksburg, powerless to take it with all their vast appliances of
war, and mortified by their repeated failures:
"I am not insensible to the comforts and elegancies which fortune
can secure, and of which your barbarian hordes have deprived me; but a true
Southern woman will not weep over them, while her country remains.
If you wish to crush me, take
Vicksburg."
Canton (Miss.) Commonwealth.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
19, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
At Brownsville, Texas, molasses is selling at 50 cents per gallon.
Shoes, of good make, eighteen dollars per dozen.
Hats, at the same price. Domestics,
twenty cents per yard. Two hundred
barrels of flour sold at auction at ten dollars and fifty cents per barrel.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
20, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Richmond, Saturday, May 16.
. . . A letter just received from Baltimore states that Mrs. General Foster, at
a dinner, some week or two ago, displayed a set of magnificent diamonds. Glancing complacently at the brilliant cross on her bosom,
she said: "Some of the spoils
of war, sent me by the General." Some
one intimated that the General was no better than a common rogue, whereupon the
lady burst into tears, and left the table in a huff.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
20, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
General
Bragg and the Tender Passion.--
A correspondent of the
Mobile Advertiser, writing from Shelbyville, says:
An officer in General Bragg's army had obtained a short leave of absence
to permit him to go home and attend to personal interests demanding his
presence. Before his time of
absence had expired he requested a further leave of absence for thirty days, and
promised to return a better soldier than he had ever been before.
His request was approved by the various officers in command over him, who
knew him to be a tried and faithful man, and finally by General Bragg.
Before the thirty days' time granted had expired, he again forwarded a
communication desiring a still further leave.
His officers were astonished at his impudence and audacity, and each one
in turn through whose hands it passed marked it "disapproved."
Before the communication reached army headquarters, General Bragg was the
recipient of a letter from this officer, who stated that he had made application
for further leave, and gave as his reason that while our army was further
advanced he had become engaged to a young lady from whom he had received a
letter, which he enclosed. This
delicate missive contained a sad and touching farewell to the young officer who
had gained her affections. She
explained that since the enemy had gained her homestead, they had destroyed her
property, taken everything from her, and well nigh made her penniless.
When she had engaged herself to her lover she was the possessor of
property, and was in different circumstances.
With this state of things existing, hard as she felt would be the trial
to her, she had determined to release the object of her affections from an
engagement made in her prosperity. This
noble missive was couched in such loving and gentle, though prudent and touching
language that it might well have drawn tears from the iron warrior to whom it
was presented. The officer added
that the misfortunes of his affianced had only the more endeared her to him, and
this manifestation of her disinterested love and spirit had only inspired a
stronger affection for so noble a woman. He desired a still further holiday that he might go to her
and marry her, proving that his love was as pure as her own, and by making her
his wife endow his property upon her in case he was made the victim of a bullet.
Gen. Bragg sent directions to his bureau officer to send him the
communication so soon as it should arrive, and regardless of the endorsement of
"disapproved" made by officers unaware of the circumstances, he marked
it "granted for thirty days," and endorsed upon the letter, "The
lady is worthy of the best and bravest soldier, and from what I learn I believe
you are worthy of the lady.--Braxton Bragg."
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
21, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Southern
Silk.
We recollect the silk excitement of twenty odd years ago, which, under
the stimulus of Yankeeizing speculation, was turned into the murus multicaulis
mania, the unlucky consequence of which brought discredit upon the really
laudable enterprise in which it originated.
We had believed that the silk culture in the South was completely broken
up, but we are happy to learn by the following notice in the Atlanta
Commonwealth, that we were mistaken:
We have received two skeins of beautiful sewing silk manufactured by Mrs.
Thomas Gibson, near Mayfield, Warren County, Ga.
It is smooth, strong and glossy, and sufficiently fine for all practical
uses. We learn that Mrs. Gibson in
1831 procured about 10,000 eggs, and put up about forty cuts on a common reel of
about 120 yards each. This she put
into skeins to the number of 500. This
year she has about 30,000 worms, and if they do as well as they did last year,
she will have 1500 skeins of silk. She
has disposed of all she made except a few skeins.
She has a sufficient amount of mulberry trees to feed 200,000 worms.
We take peculiar pleasure in noticing this successful experiment in silk
culture, and trust that it may be an incentive to others to engage in the same
laudable work.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
30, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
A
Substitute for Hemp.
To the Editor of the Mercury: In
times like the present, any information which may aid in developing the
resources of our country should be given to the public.
I enclose to you a sample of what, in my opinion, would prove an
excellent substitute for Hemp. It
is made from the bark of the Okra. This
specimen was taken from stalks which had been exposed all winter, and it must
have lost some of its strength by such exposure.
It is very easily separated from the stalk, and I presume the manufacture
would resemble that of Hemp. There
are thousands of acres of land in our State, too wet for the cultivation of Corn
or Cotton, and not suitable for that of Rice, which would grow this plant
freely, and thus, perhaps, add another to the list of our staple productions.
It grows with equal facility in every part of the State; and every
planter and farmer should have a quarter of an acre of it to each family of
negros [sic] on his place. This
would furnish an abundance of a very wholesome and nutritious vegetable during
three or four months of the year; and in the autumn, the fibrous bark might be
baled up, and form no mean portion of the marketable products of the plantation.
It is well worth the attention of agriculturalists.
The specimen sent I twisted by hand.
Subscriber.
The specimen sent may be seen at the office of THE MERCURY.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
30, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
New Orleans Refugees.--The people of Mobile have exerted themselves most
energetically and humanely to provide for the transportation from Pascagoula and
shelter in their city of the large number of refugees which the barbarous edict
of the Yankee Government has driven from New Orleans.
It was estimated that they numbered from five to six thousand!
They embrace all ages, sexes and conditions of life.
It would take many days, and the Mobile Register says possibly weeks, to
remove them from their place of landing on Pascagoula Bay to the city.
Such a scene of wholesale exile has not been witnessed in modern times.
It carries back the world to barbarous ages, and exhibits the Yankee
nation in the light of one of the most cruel, unrelenting and brutal of the
races of men that have flourished in any age.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
30, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Another paper mill burned.--One of the Paper Mills at Greenville, S. C., was
partially destroyed by fire on Wednesday. We
trust the damage is not sufficient to disable the mill long.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 1, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Paper Mill Burned.--With deep regret we announce the destruction, by
fire, on the night of the 25th inst., of the paper mill of Messrs. John W. Grady
& Co., near this place. The above mill was used exclusively for the manufacture of
writing paper, and its destruction will prove a serious loss and inconvenience
to the country. The loss to the
proprietors is estimated at about $30,000, on which there was no insurance.
Messrs. Grady & Co. have, with commendable zeal and industry, already
commenced removing the debris of the late fire, for the purpose of rebuilding
the mill and resuming operations. This
they hope to be able to do in the course of the next sixty days.
Whilst the machinery has been damaged to a considerable extent, it will
not prove a total loss, and can, it is thought, be put again in running
order.--Greenville Enterprise.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 2, 1862, p. 1, c. 1
Chased by Ladies.--The following paragraph we clip from the army letter
of the Mobile Tribune: "We
were driving Sedgwick's infidels across Bank's Ford, when a Yankee officer was
seen making his way through the streets of Fredericksburg, where we had no
troops at the time, in order to gain the opposite side of the river.
A number of ladies, standing on a porch at the time saw the runaway, and
cried out "stop him, stop him," when a Miss Phillippa Barbour, a niece
of Col. Phil Barbour, of Virginia, with a number of other ladies, gave chase,
and ran the Yankee officer nearly down, who, convulsed with laughter at the
sport, and the idea of being pursued by ladies, became nearly exhausted, and
gave up on being hemmed in at the corner of a garden fence!
The ladies took him prisoner, and locked him up in a room until our
troops again entered the city.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 5, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
War
Upon Women and Children.
[From the Staunton (Va.) Spectator.
Brigadier General Roberts came into
Weston week before last, after our forces under Gen. Imboden had passed
through, and commenced a series of tyrannical acts alone worthy of abolition
commanders.
They delivered copies of the annexed orders to numbers of families, some
of whom have reached this point--having been sent through their lines as far as
Kernestown, at which place they arrived at night, and were there left to take
care of themselves. Sixty-three women and children were sent out with the
lady who received the order from which we copy, and sixty-two who did not have
natural protectors in the South, were at the same time started for Camp Chase.
This treatment is hereafter to be dealt out to all Southern sympathisers
[sic] who may be found in their lines.
What a valiant set of warriors, who, as long as our forces were in
Western Virginia, kept aloof from danger, and after their departure charge into
defenseless towns and wreak their vengeance upon helpless women and children!
Headq'rs Ind. Div'n Middle Depm't, }
Weston, N. W., Va, May 16,
'63. }
General Order No. 63.
I. The Major General
Commanding the Department has directed that all families within the lines of
this army whose natural protectors have joined the rebellion against the United
States, by taking up arms or going and remaining within the country occupied by
the Confederate armies, be sent beyond our military lines.
II. All officers and
military commanders, within the lines of the army, will see that these
instructions are strictly carried out.
III. The humane policy of
the Federal Government to give protection to families of rebels within our
lines, on the observance of strict neutrality, has been so shamefully used as
the means of treacherous and treasonable intercourse and information with the
enemy, that its discontinuance has become a necessity.
By order of Brig. Gen. B. S. Roberts.
(Signed)
Jas. McC. Bell,
Capt. and A. A. G. U.S.A.
(Official.)
L. Markbeit, A. D. C. and P. M.
---
Hd Qrs. Ind. Div. Middle Dep't,
}
Provost Marshal's Office.
}
Weston, W. Va., May 16th, 1863
}
Madam: I have the honor to
inform you that yourself and the grown members of your family are hereby
required to hold yourselves in readiness to proceed outside the Federal lines on
Tuesday morning, May 19th, 1863.
The following regulations will be strictly observed:
I. No person will be
permitted to take with him or her more than 60 lbs. of baggage.
II. No person will be
allowed to take with him or her more than $1000 in United States funds, gold and
silver included. No limit placed on
Confederate scrip.
III. Persons who cannot
provide themselves with transportation will be furnished such by the Government.
By order of Brig. Gen. B. S. Roberts.
L. Markbeit,
A.D.C. and Provost Marshal.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 5, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
The
Productive Power of the South.
. . . We have plenty of arms, and can make our own powder, and the
production of iron is rapidly increasing. Then
what indispensable article do we lack to render us entirely independent!
It is that of clothing; and, singular to say, very little attention has
been paid by our public authorities to increased production, now almost
indispensable to our safety. Our
old stock of clothing is fast wearing out, the production is not half equal to
the demand, and it has become a positive and pressing necessity to increase our
means of supply. If this war is to
continue, we will need new factories, and the old ones must be extended; the
hand of industry must be induced to take hold of the spinning
wheel and hand loom in every
hamlet and hovel in the country. The
question with us is, not how cheap we can be supplied, but how we are to get
cloth at all. It will be safe to
assume that we will have to rely mainly on home production, which leads to the
inquiry--how we are to increase the means of supply? It will certainly not be done by legislative restrictions on
prices; high rates must be looked to as a moving cause.
That our safety should depend on high prices--yea, extortionate
rate--is an uncomfortable reflection, but that is an ordeal we are doomed to
pass through, and the difficulty ought to be willingly met and overcome by every
lover of his country. Prices must
go up to a point that will remunerate the hand-loom and spindle, or we will be
without a sufficient supply.
Capitalists will not engage in new manufacturing enterprises unless they
have a prospect of great gain; and prices must be unrestricted by legal
enactments, or our factories will be suffered to wear out and burn up without an
effort to renew them; and as for new establishments being reared, that is out of
the question with the present state of public sentiment, in and out of Congress
and our State legislature.
If half the amount that has been expended in importing calicoes,
brandies, wines, cheese, fancy soaps, and the thousands of jim cracks of Yankee
manufacture that load the ships coming through the blockade, had been expended
in machinery for the manufacture of every needed article, we would now be in a
situation to carry on the war within ourselves, and to put the Yankee at
defiance; but, unfortunately for us, public opinion has sanctioned the idea that
he who exchanges our last golden dollar and imports Yankee ten cent calico and
sells it for three dollars a yard, is a benefactor to his country, while the
ingenious producer at home is branded with infamy and indicted for extortion for
selling a similar article made at home for a dollar and a half.
Our experience in the salt production affords a valuable lesson on the
stimulating effects of high prices. The
unrestricted high price of salt stimulated the production of that article and
saved our country. But for the high
price of salt last summer, the salt kettle would have been idle, and meat could
not have been saved; and so it will be with cloth.
If prices be kept down by legal restrictions, the hand spindle and loom
will be restrained and discouraged, and will not be put in operation as a matter
of profit; or who will purchase high priced cards to spin and weave for a
livelihood, while there is no better prospect than that of competing with
factories at 40 and 50 cents a yard? You
may traverse the country from one end to the other to find persons who can earn
their bread at such prices.
Twelve to fifteen thousand pairs of cards industriously worked will
produce as much cloth as a factory of eight thousand spindles and three hundred
looms; but so long as factory cloth is sold for forty and fifty cents a yard,
the twelve to fifteen thousand pairs of hand-cards will not be industriously
worked. They are now being made and
coming into the country by tens of thousands, and they must be set to work in
order to save us. . .
.
Domestic Industry
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Tuesday, June 9.
. . . Prices have gone up and down. Gold
from $5 to $7.50; wool hats, from $20 to $40 or $50; chickens, from $6 to $2,
and butter the same. Meal is very
scarce again. The taxes (State,
Confederate and city) on whisky amount to $3.50 a gallon, and some dealers are
closing up. . . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
The
Southern Army as Seen by a Northerner.
[From the New York World's correspondent, captured at Vicksburg
and exchanged at Richmond.]
. . . The pay of the
men and officers is about the same as our own, the cost of living is much
dearer; the consequence is they must expend their accumulated substance or live
more plainly. This they do both in
food and raiment. In clothing,
indeed, this is very apparent. Upon
returning to our own lines each officer (not in the open field) seems as if he
were dressed for a court ball. It
is a misnomer to call their apparel "uniforms;" it is multiform and
parti-colored, patched up of odds and ends, the prevailing tone being a sort of
stone gray and rush color; it is coarse home-made cloth, with all manner of
devices to add to the insignia of rank. It
is evident that they have made large use of captures in this respect. Too many of their men and officers are wearing our blue coats
and pants--taken from us. In this
we cannot retaliate.
Mobility
of Forces.
Another remarkable feature of their armies is their mobility.
They are unencumbered with such a vast amount of baggage, stores, tents
and camp chests. They have no
sutlers, and consequently no Government transportation is used in this traffic. The rapidity with which they can march is surprising to us,
but we should by this time admit that it is one of the greatest momenta
of success. Some of their marches
are, we believe, unexampled. We go
to the field ever ready for a stay, they always ready for a march. The suffering is intensified to them, but on
their theory it is by so much shortened. We
can readily believe that some of their marches have been sustained for days
where man and beast alike ate corn with perhaps the difference of parching. . .
.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 26, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
The London Times contains a letter from Charleston, dated March 4th, from
which the following interesting extracts are taken:
I had good reason to feel gratified with my reception at Charleston.
I staid [sic] about a week in the town, visiting all places of interest,
and enjoying Southern hospitality. One's
first idea, after speaking to the people, was they that they are an intolerable
set of boasters; but I came to form a better opinion of them.
I found that they never express resolutions without making a determined
effort to carry out their purposes. The
more I see of Southern ladies, and the more I hear of their actions, the more I
wonder at their heroism and self-sacrifice.
Words, indeed, cannot express my admiration for them.
The war could not have gone on without them.
The women of all classes have sent, without a murmur, their husbands,
sons, and those they hold most dear, to the wars; and in the absence of the men
they have tilled the fields, made clothes for the troops and nursed the sick. .
. .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 7, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
Confederate
States of America
Medical Purveyor's Office,
}
Columbia, S. C., June 24, 1863.
}
The following indigenous plants are wanted at this office:
Wild Ginger
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Red Pepper
Dried Pods
25 cents per lb.
Hemlock
{
Dried Leaves
15 cents per lb.
{
Seed.
30 cents per lb.
Dogwood
{
Inner bark freed from
{
wood and coarse outer
{
well dried
10 cents per lb.
Columbo
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Calamus
Dried Root
20 cents per lb.
Boneset
Leaves and Flowers
5 cents per lb.
Ipecac or Hippo
Dried Root
50 cents per lb.
Gentian
Dried Root
25 cents per lb.
Indian Physic
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Yellow Jessamine
Root
10 cents per lb.
Henbane
{
Leaves
25 cents per lb.
{
Seed
30 cents per lb.
Hops
Dried Flowers
1 dollar per lb.
Butternut
Dried Bark and Roots 10
cents per lb.
Tulip or Poplar {
Dried Inner Bark
Tree {
freed from wood and
{
coarse bark
3 cents per lb.
Lavender
Dried Flowers
50 cents per lb.
Georgia Bark
Inner bark dried
20 cents per lb.
May Apple
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Ginsing
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Blackberry
Dried Root
5 cents per lb.
Seneka Snake Root
Dried Root
75 cents per lb.
Puccoon Root
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Hardhack
Plant
5 cents per lb.
Marsh Rosemary
Leaves
20 cents per lb.
Mustard
Seed
30 cents per lb.
Snake Root
Dried Root
75 cents per lb.
Sarsaparilla
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Fever Root
Dried Root
30 cents per lb.
Slippery Elm
{
Dried Bark freed from
{
outer coarse bark
5 cents per lb.
Arnica
Dried Flowers
75 cents per lb.
Bene
Seed
20 cents per lb.
New Jersey Tea
Dried Leaves
15 cents per lb.
Potato Fly
{
Killed by throwing into
{
boiling water for a few
{
minutes, and then dried
{
in the sun
$2 per lb.
Castor Oil Bean {
Hulled
$7 per bush.
{
In hull
$3 per bush.
Apples
Dried
$2 per bush.
Peaches
Dried
$3 1/2 per bush.
Pumpkins
Dried
$1 per bush.
Okra
Dried
$4 per bush.
Sumac
Leaves, Bark, Root
5 cents per lb.
Marsh Mallow
Root
30 cents per lb.
The above named articles, if carefully gathered and dried in the shade,
will be purchased at the Medical Purveyor's Office in Columbia, S.C.
J. J. Chisolm,
Surgeon and Medical Purveyor C. S. A.
July 7
tuS
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
Recipe for making Worcester Sauce.--Mrs. Dr. Gage, of Union District,
sent to the State Agricultural Society of South Carolina, 1858, the following
recipe for making Worcester Sauce, which is said to be excellent:
Take one gallon of ripe tomatos [sic], wash them in three quarts of
water, boil it half down and strain it through a sieve.
When all is drained, add two table-spoonsfuls of ginger, two of mace, two
of whole black pepper, two of salt, one of cloves, one of cayenne; let them
simmer in the juice until reduced to one quart, pour in half a pint of best
vinegar, then pour the whole through a hair sieve, bottle in half pint bottles,
cork down, tightly seal, and keep in a cool place.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 21, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
To
the Ladies.
Charleston, July 20.
To the Editor of the Mercury: Large
numbers of our sick and convalescent soldiers are being sent into the interior
weekly. They leave in the half past 6 o'clock train--too early for
supper; and large numbers of them having come from the Islands and the coast,
have not had their dinner; and in this condition they travel all night without
any nourishment. Will not the
wisdom of our benevolent ladies provide some way for mitigating this evil?
A word to you is sufficient. Let
your baskets and coffee-cans appear on the platform of the S. C. R. R. Depot
every night before the cars leave.
A Fellow Laborer.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 22, 1863, p. 2, c. 5
Fine Florida Leaf Tobacco.
La Criolla, 107 Market Street.
10 cases of fine Florida leaf tobacco.
For sale at La Criolla, 107 Market Street.
Jose Jara.
Spanish Segars [sic].
La Criolla, 107 Market Street.
45.000 Spanish Segars [sic].
Just received and for sale at La Criolla, 107 Market street.
Jose Jara.
Fine Chewing Tobacco.
La Criolla, 107 Market Street.
50 cases fine chewing tobacco.
For sale at La Criolla, 107 Market street.
Jose Jara.
Garibaldi Smoking
Tobacco.
La Criolla, 107 Market Street.
3 cases of the celebrated Garibaldi smoking tobacco.
For sale as above.
Jose Jara.
July 21
tuths3
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 22, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
A Well-Deserved Compliment.--Some of the "Daughters of South
Carolina" have sent to us a beautiful wreath of laurel, bound with the
Confederate colors, with the request that it be forwarded to the gallant
defenders of Battery Wagner, who covered themselves with glory in the fight of
Saturday last. The wreath was
suspended in our Office yesterday, and won general admiration.
In accordance with the wish of the fair donors, it will be sent to
Battery Wagner to-day.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Letter
from Florida.
[From an Occasional Correspondent.]
Chuleotah, Fla., July 1.
. . . One planter, not distant from here, will this is year kill four hundred
hogs, and his wife has clothed her family with cloth of her own making. She counted two thousand yards that she had made for her
negros [sic], and then stopped counting, but not working. The ladies here have learned to do a variety of work, and are
every day devising means to meet the exigencies of the times.
They prove themselves very ingenious and skillful.--The most refined and
cultivated accommodate themselves to their new life, and give their personal
attention to the manufacturing of fabrics.
With "the energy of delicate life" they give their hearts to
their work without morbid repining. The
gentlemen in this house wear handsome black cloth, spun, woven and dyed at home.
We are not at Judge ----- -----,
Chuleotah, Madison county. . . .
M.B.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 17, 1863, p. 1, c. 5-6
Services
for Fast Day.
Camden, August 13, 1863.
Bishop Davis sets forth the following special services for the
congregations of the Protestant Episcopal Churches of the Diocese of South
Carolina, to be used on Friday, 21st, being the day of "fasting,
humiliation and prayer" appointed by the President of the Confederate
States:
Begin with the sentences, "I acknowledge my transgressions,"
&c., "Hide thy face," &c., and "If we say that we have no
sin," &c.
For the Psalter, use Psalms 13th, 31st and 60th.
First Lesson, Isaiah, 64th chapter.
Second Lesson, St. Matthew, 24th chapter, from 29th verse.
The long or entire Litany.
After the General Thanksgiving, the following
Prayer:
O, Eternal and most Holy God, who from the throne of Thy glory lookest
down upon the children of men, and dost rule and judge them according to Thy
will; mercifully regard us, Thy servants, the people of these Confederate
States, now coming to The in deep humility of heart.
Behold we are before Thee in our sins; we acknowledge and bewail our
transgressions; we seek not to justify ourselves,--but confess that we are
unclean. We have sinned with our
fathers; we have done wickedly; our trespasses are grown up to the heavens, and
our iniquities testify against us. Yet,
O merciful Father, hear the prayers and supplications of thy servants, for Thy
dear Son's sake. Be not extreme to
mark what we have done amiss, but absolve us from our offences, and remember
them no more against us forever. We
do earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for our misdoings.
We also confess unto Thee the ignorance and blindness of our hearts; we
know not ourselves as we ought to know. Give
unto us, Thy people, grace, and light, and truth; show us wherein we have
offended against Thee; correct us for our sins; root out of our hearts all evil
and corrupt affections. Rebuke and
put far from us falsehood, covetousness, and self-seeking; all hatred, malice,
and the spirit of detraction; amend in us whatsoever hath been displeasing unto
Thee; and grant to us Thy Holy Spirit, that we may see and confess our
iniquities, and turn unto Thee, the Lord our God. Thus may we ever come before Thee with clean thoughts and
pure hearts, and be a people acceptable in Thy sight. And now, O Lord, hear the prayers of Thy servants, in this
time of our great necessity and trial. Save
us from desolating calamities and judgments.
Defend us against our enemies, who seek our hurt and ruin.
Our land is laid waste--our substance is taken from us--our cities are
desolate--our homes are destroyed--and the blood of our children and brethren
crieth unto Thee from the earth. Arise,
O Lord God, and help and deliver us, for Thy mercy's sake.
Stretch forth Thy hand, Thou Judge of the earth, and come and help us. Fight for us, O God, against those who fight against us; they
are many, and we are few,--but our trust is in Thy mighty power; we seek not
their destruction, but our own peace and rights.
Be with us, O Lord, and strengthen our hands. Give wisdom to our rulers; skill to our hands.
Give wisdom to our rulers; skill to our generals; courage to our
soldiers, and patriotism and piety to all.
Enable us with one heart and mind to seek our country's good, and the
glory of Thee, our God. May it please Thee, O Almighty God, in Thine infinite
goodness, to put an end to this dreadful struggle, and establish once more for
Thy people truth and equity, quietness and peace, through Jesus Christ, our only
Lord and Saviour. Amen.
And this
Collect.
O God, our Heavenly Father, in this time of public distress, hear our
cry. While Thy judgments are abroad
in the earth, may we learn righteousness; and so turn to Thee, with penitence
and prayer, that Thou mayest remove from us all those evils which our sins have
deserved. Strengthen our faith in
Christ, our Saviour; send unto us the Holy Ghost the Comforter; fill our hearts
with love to Thee, and sure confidence in Thy mercy; give us a holy reliance
upon Thy goodness, and perfect submission to Thy blessed will.
With pure hearts and minds may we follow Thee, the only God, and enable
us to rejoice evermore in the hope of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Also, the prayer set forth for the soldiers now "fighting the
battles of our country."
The Ante-Communion service, with the Collect for the fourth Sunday in
Advent, and the following
Collect.
O Almighty Lord, who art a shield to the oppressed, and a rock of
strength to those who call upon Thee, deliver us from all the assaults of our
enemies. They beset us round about,
and dig pits for our souls; they hate us wrongfully, and are madly enraged
against us. They would destroy us
without a cause;--O Lord, thou knowest. Defend
us from their tyranny and malice; scatter Thou their mischievous imaginations;
let them not triumph over us; break and destroy their power and turn them back
again:--that we, thy people, may be delivered by Thy mighty hand.
And, O Lord, grant unto us Thy heavenly grace.
Preserve us by Thy help and goodness; make us to be true and just to all
men; give us always calm and equal minds; in Thee may we be strong and holy, and
raised above the tumults of the world. Thus
may we be steadfast in faith, and rejoice in Thy holy comfort; and may it please
Thee in Thine own good time to restore to us peace, and assure our hearts with a
joyful sense of Thy favor and protection:--So shall we talk of Thy righteousness
and of Thy praise all the day long, and give Thee thanks in the great
congregation of Thy people, because thou Lord hast holpen and comforted us, and
hast redeemed us from the hands of our enemies.
Hear us, O Almighty Father, and grant these our petitions, for the sake
of thy blessed Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Epistle: James, 4th
chapter.
The Gospel: St. Luke, 18th
chapter to the 9th verse.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 26, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
[From
the Chattanooga Rebel.]
One of the most impressive scenes we have ever witnessed occurred in the
Presbyterian Church on Friday last. The
services were being held by the Rev. Dr. Palmer, of New Orleans, and the pews
and aisles were crowded with officers and soldiers, private citizens, ladies and
children. A prayer had been said, and one of the hymns sung.
The organist was absent; "and I will be thankful," continued
the minister, "if some one in the congregation will raise the tune."
The tune was raised; the whole congregation joined in singing, as in days
gone by; the sacred notes rose in humble melody from the house of God, swelling
their holy tribute to His glory; and dying away at last like echoes of departed
days; the second, or what is known as the long prayer, was begun, when out upon
the calm, still air there came an alien sound--the sullen voice of an hostile
gun--ringing from the north bank of the river, and echoing back and back among
the far off glens of Lookout Peak. It
was sudden; it took every one by surprise; for few if any expected the approach
of an enemy. The day was one of
fasting and prayer; the public mind was upon its worship. Its serenity had not been crossed by a shadow.
And it was not until another and another of these unchristian accents
trembled in the air, and hied themselves away to the hills, that it was
generally realized that the enemy were shelling the town.
Without a word of warning, in the midst of church services, whilst many
thousands of men and women thronged the several places of public worship, the
basest of human foemen had begun an attack upon a city crowded with hospitals
and refugees from the bloody pathway of their march, and in nowise essential to
a direct assault.
There was a little disturbance in the galleries; the noise in the streets
grew louder; near the doors several persons, who had other duties, military or
domestic, to look to, hastily withdrew; the mass of the congregation, however,
remained in their places, and the man of God continued his prayer.
It was impressive in the extreme. There
he stood, this exile preacher from the far South, with eyes and hands raised to
heaven, not a muscle or expression changed, not a note altered, not a sign of
confusion, excitement or alarm; naught but the calm, christian face uplifted and
full of the unconsciousness to all save its devotions, which beam from the soul
of true piety. Not only the
occasion, but the prayer was solemnly impressive.
The reverend doctor prayed, and his heart was in his prayer; it was the
long prayer, and he did not shorten it; he prayed it to the end, and the cannon
did not drown it from those who listened, as they could not drown it from the
ear of God. He closed, and then,
without panic or consternation, although excited and confused, the dense crowd
separated whilst shells were falling on the right and left.
All honor to this noble preacher, and to those brave women and children.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 3, 1863, p. 1, c. 1-2
The Refugees.--Who are they? Not
only the poor who have been driven from their humble homes by the approach of
danger, and whose simple habits will be satisfied with any shelter which will
protect them while these troubles last; but the rich, who have spent their days
in the midst of refinement, and who have been accustomed to all the elegancies
of life. These, also, come among
us. They are banished for the time
from their once happy homes. They
are strangers and wanderers. These,
also, seek for shelter. When at
home they were distinguished for their hospitality.
Every traveler through the lowlands has recorded it of them.
The stranger and the wayfaring man was never turned away from their
doors. And now, in their distress
and desolation of spirit, they come among us for refuge till the storm be past.
And what does duty--what does the supreme grace of charity (in its
noblest sense)--what does the great law of love to man (illustrating a genuine
love to God) require at the hands of our people?
Answer, all ye who roll in wealth and rejoice in spacious homes, whose
property and families are still secure--what does humanity require at your
hands? As you pity these homeless wanderers, and as you would invoke
their pity and help if your places were changed, and the ladies and tender ones
of your families were thus driven away among strangers--open wide your doors,
and bid them welcome to your homes. Many
of these refugees are refined and elegant, and their society would be an
acquisition to any household. They
are ready to pay for all they receive; but the memory of a good action is worth
more than money, and your entertainment of these strangers may make you
co-workers with the angels of God; for "are they not all ministering
spirits sent forth to minister to them who are the heirs of salvation?"
Minister, then, dear friends, to these afflicted ones; give them what
room you can possibly spare; help them in their time of great distress; and God
may bless you as he did the widow of old, whose oil and meal were not
diminished, though she fed from her little store the prophet of the
Lord.--Sumter Watchman.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 8, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Poppy Plant.--The cultivation of the poppy plant being one of great
importance, we remind our readers that the time for sowing the seed is now at
hand; and those persons intending to cultivate should get the seed into the
ground as early as possible. The
seed sown in September will yield treble the amount of opium to that sown in
March. One acre properly cultivated
will yield fifty pounds of opium.
Any of our friends having in their possession more seed than they intend
to sow, will oblige us to forward to our Office, or to the Medical Purveyor in
this city, for distribution, as much as they can spare.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 17, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
The Marietta Paper Mill, the largest establishment of the kind in the
Confederacy, has been suspended for want of laborers.
The stoppage of an establishment of this magnitude and of this
description, is not merely an inconvenience, it is a positive misfortune, not
only involving the people, but the Government itself.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 19, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Richmond, Tuesday, September 15.
. . . The gossips of the city are quite beside themselves over a scandalous
story that a prominent officer in Lee's army, who was married some months ago to
a Virginia lady, is about to be confronted with another wife just arrived from
Texas. . . . Hermes.
CHARLESTON
MERCURY, September 28, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
A Passport for Non-Combatants.--The Columbia Carolinian
vouches for the following "case:"
A lady presented herself at Branchville to enter the car for Charleston.
The sentinel told her it was contrary to law, and she could not go.
She ordered him twice to take down his musket, which barred the entrance.
He refused. She drew a
revolver, and pointing it at him, threatened to shoot him if he persisted in
excluding her. With some surprise,
he demanded, "Are you a man in woman's clothes?"
"No," was the reply, "I am a woman."
"Then come in," said the sentinel, "for hang me if I fight
a woman, or be killed by one; you can't be classed with non-combatants, and they
are what I am ordered to keep from going to Charleston."
So she was recognized as a belligerent power, and allowed to pass.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 29, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
A Prolific and Patriotic Family.--D. B. Maroney, who is 53 years of age,
is a member of the 1st Georgia cavalry. He
has two brothers older than himself and seven sons in the army.
He also has a sister who has nine sons in the army.
His father, who is still living, besides these three sons, has
fifty-three grandsons in the service. Is
there a family in the Confederate service that can beat this?
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 30, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Miscellaneous.
The other day we published an "official" letter from Queen
Victoria, interdicting crinoline. It was one of Punch's inventions and not genuine.
The handsome young ladies who recently attended the tables at the Crystal
Palace Fair, near London, sold choice segars [sic] to their admirers and
obtained an enormous advance on the common price by simply biting off, first,
the end to be placed in the smoker's mouth.
"Jennie Jane," discoursing on fashions, says, the scarlet cloth
talmas and circulars have obtained a "rage" as great as that of the
"white bonnet." Feathers are to be the most distinguished ornament of stylish
bonnets for the coming winter; and already there is a great demand for, and a
terrible scarcity of, brilliant scarlet plumes.
Crinoline, now and then, makes some amends for the disasters it has
caused. At one of the London
theatres a trap door was left open, through which a favorite actress would have
been precipitated had not the abundant size of her crinoline filled up the
vacancy and suspended her fair frame between the world above and the realms
below until succor came.
The medical men of Paris recommend the following way of administering
castor oil to children: The
quantity of oil prescribed is poured into a small earthen pan over a moderate
fire, an egg broken into it and stirred up so as to form something like what
cooks call frittered eggs. When it
is done, a little salt or sugar, or a few drops of orange water, or some currant
jelly, should be added. The sick
child will eat it eagerly and never discover the fraud.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 9, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Black Lead Pencils.--Mr. E. J. Potter, an enterprising citizen of
Greensboro', Ala., commenced some months ago, the manufacture of black lead
pencils, and is, we are glad to learn, succeeding well.
He turns out an article that, it is said, could be easily sold for the
famous Faber pencil, and finds ready sale for all that he can make, at good
prices.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 13, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Bonnet for the Season.--The prevailing bonnet in Paris this fall, and of
course, in this country, too, is the "Marie Stuart."
The sides of this bonnet sit closely to the face, and the front is heart
shaped, drooping slightly at the extreme edge toward the forehead.
The crowns are usually made round and firm, though a few are soft and
sloping. Velvet bonnets of gray and
purple, and straw ones cafe au lait and silver in color, predominate.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 15, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Empty Sleeves.--The Lynchburg Republican aptly remarks:
We frequently see passing along our streets, silent momentoes [sic] of
heroism. They are empty sleeves dangling by the side of war-worn
privates. We never look upon the
possessor of one of these empty sleeves, but to our mind's eye arises the sight
of a venerated mother sitting at the stoop with knitting in hand and spectacles
on nose; stopping to wipe away a tear at the thought of her darling boy with one
arm. And the poor fellows hobbling
along on crutches with only one leg spared to them--they are objects of tender
sympathy to the whole people. Doubt
it not, ye soldiers, who probably miss the sympathies of home.
All look upon you as heroes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 19, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Revolution in Ladies' Fashions.--The fashion writers from the great
fashionable centres of Europe announce that no lady of ton
will dare to promenade with trailing dresses or long petticoats.
Short dresses are now the "style."
They are scalloped around the edge, and are worn over Balmoral jupens, of
sufficient brevity to display the kid boot, or else the skirt is looped up at
every seam, nearly to the knee, showing the colored petticoat of mohair,
cashmere or silk, trimmed either to match the dress or in graceful contrast to
it, and in correspondence with the shade of the hat or mantle worn.
The leather boots have very high heels, colored, perhaps, and strings and
tassels of leather also. The
petticoat is short enough to disclose the instep, at least.
To every dress suitable for walking, French modistes now attach little
rings, through which pass cords, running through to the waist to join another
cord, which is drawn at will around the waist when a lady prepares to promenade,
and loosened with in doors, thus allowing the dress to resume its original
length in the salon. Hoops and
skirts are quite exploded in Paris; flounced mohair skirts being used instead,
to enable the dress to fall more gracefully.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 23, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Eugenie and Striped Stockings.--The Paris correspondent of the Liverpool
Courier says:
The Empress, you are aware, possesses the immortal glory of having
invented, or at least revived, crinoline petticoats.
Such a brilliant act would have fully satisfied the ambition of an
ordinary woman. But Her Majesty has
a lofty soul, and aspires to the glory of making another revolution in female
costume. I know, more, French
ladies have been faithful to the white stocking, and they have firmly set their
faces against the attempt of English ladies to introduce the red one.
The Empress, thinking that the eternal white had become rather
monotonous--that red was too glaring, and blue too literary--asked herself if
some other color could not be adopted. She
thought long and anxiously; and at least inspiration came--the stocking might be
striped! The day after this mental illumination the Imperial ankles,
and some little space above them, came forth, adorned with stockings of blue and
white stripes, and all the courtiers proclaimed the union of the two colors
ravishing to behold. By this time
next year, no doubt the new fashion will be as prevalent as that of crinolines.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
The New Fashion in England.--Women as Smokers.--The custom of smoking by
women has lately been introduced in England, and, according to the Court
Journal, is likely to "become very prevalent."
The authority says:
Fashion holds such a tyrannic sway over society that we need never be
surprised at seeing the most astounding change in manners, custom and dress
brought about through its magic influence.
High waists, short waists, no waists at all, chimney pot bonnets, flat
bonnets, powdered hair, disheveled hair, rouge, patches, enamel, sandals, high
dresses, decolletees dresses have all had their day; we have lived to see the
time when duelists and four bottle men no longer exist, and when every man, high
and low, rich and poor, old and young, indulges in the German and Dutch luxuries
of the short pipe and mild Havana. But
a more startling change is likely "to come over the spirit of our
dream;" ladies belonging to la creme
de la creme of society have introduced cigarettes.
We could mention the name of many of England's aristocratic daughters who
openly indulge in mild Latakia. A
clever contemporary has alluded to "fast matrons;" let us hope that
unmarried ladies will be slow to follow the example of those who would introduce
the noxious weed into female society.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 26, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Richmond, Thursday, October 22.
. . . We had a woman's mob on a small scale yesterday.
There was no fighting and no need to call out the military, but there was
a deal of scuffling. Somebody sent
down the canal 100 barrels of flour, which were sold by Tardy & Williams,
free of charge for commissions, at the rate of $27 a barrel.
It was affecting to see the poor women crowding and clamoring at the door
for a chance at the coveted staff of life. Plenty of flour is hid away in town, yet people in good
circumstances are buying it by the pound. If
we vote down the maximum to-day, the provision market will be easier. . . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 2, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
Prices of Meat.--During the past week beef has been selling in our market
at $1.50 a pound, and fresh pork at the extravagant price of $2.50 a pound.
We are pleased to learn that the Mayor and Alderman have taken this
matter in hand, and that in a very short time the city will be able to furnish
an abundance of prime meats at about fifty cents a pound.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 9, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
The Yells of Our Army.--The soldier of the Army of Northern Virginia is
essentially a yelling animal. He has a yell peculiar to himself, by which his success in
battle is denoted even at the very moment of victory.
When he is pleased, he yells as an outlet for his exuberant spirits; when
he is displeased, he yells at the offending official as an opening of the safety
valve restraining his pent up passions. If
he is cold, he yells in order to force his blood into more rapid circulation; if
he is too warm, he yells out the heat, and thereby relieves his excited
feelings. The history of the
Confederate yell requires a skillful pen to portray it, in all its
peculiarities, so I will drop the subject by merely noticing the latest subject
for the exercise of Confederate yelling powers. Whenever a surgeon approaches a regiment, a by-stander would
think that the annual migration of all the ducks in the universe had commenced,
and that they were concentrated in that particular spot, for the air resounds
with "quack, quack, quack," and the unfortunate quack, I beg his
pardon, I mean surgeon, rides off, endeavoring to preserve his dignity as best
he can.--Army Letter.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 9, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
Fashions in the Outside World.--We are so remote from the centre of
fashion that it is only occasionally that we get a peep at it.
We had information that in Paris ladies are learning to smoke tobacco and
carry canes, like men. We have
later news to the effect that bogus jewelry is becoming the "rage," as
will be seen from the following extract from a London organ of the Mode:
Another thing which rather astonishes us is, to see how very much jewels
are now being worn even in out of door dress.
The style in vogue is the Oriental--crescents, large round sequins and
long drooping ornaments being preferred.
Very large ear rings, brooches, clasps and studs are worn to match, in
dimensions hitherto unheard of, and either in plain gold or in gold and coral,
or enamel. These jewels, being but
a passing whim of fashion, need not be of the purest gold or precious gems.
Even French ladies, who have always been very particular on this point,
now wear imitated jewels without the least scruple.
Combs for the hair now come within the sphere of jewels.
They are made with a wide, flat piece turned back from the teeth, and
composing a very rich ornament, set with gold and precious stones.
These combs are worn in the back hair.
Smaller ones are also sometimes used to keep back the hair in front.
Necklaces of very thick chains have become indispensable with a low
dress, and are also worn with the high chemisettes and Swiss bodies.
The large round jet or coral beads are preferred for demi-toilette, and
married ladies often wear the thick gold chain.
Crinolines still hold their own; but in Paris they are decidedly being
worn much smaller, especially at the top; they are less round, and,
consequently, more graceful in their appearance.
The skirts of dresses are likely to be very full and immensely long.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 14, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Sisters of Mercy.--There is probably no one in this city whose eyes
have not followed with interest the quiet and modest figure of some Sister of
Mercy, as she passed upon her rounds.
It is to this gentle impersonation of christian [sic] benevolence, and to
her associates, that our sick and wounded soldiers owe the tenderest of those
ministrations which are better than medicines in their effect upon the
languishing invalid. Nor is the
large kindness of these ladies solely displayed in the personal cares which they
bestow upon the sufferer. They give
generously from their stores at the same time; and many a want is thus supplied
which might otherwise have been left ungratified.
Since the beginning of the siege of Charleston their presence has
diffused its blessings in every hospital, and their unwearied attentions to the
soldier have done incalculable good.
In this labor of love the Sisters of Mercy need and deserve the
assistance of our citizens. Any
contributions in their behalf will be thankfully received at this office.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 21, 1863, p. 1, c. 6
Fashions
for Winter.
[From the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine for October.]
Winter fashions are being created and decided upon in the recesses of
fashionable dressmakers' and milliners' repositories, but the autumn fashions
are best to be admired on the shore at Biarritz or Trouville.
Two things strike one as particularly novel in ladies' costumes at
Trouville; first, the very pretty chamois colored leather boots, coming half-way
up the leg, and either buttoned or laced at the side, the tops being ornamented
with a silk cord and two small tassels; and, secondly, the cannes,
or, in plain English, walking sticks, sported by the most elegant among the
votaries of fashion.
These canes are simply wooden sticks, more or less carved or ornamented,
with flat gilt tops, and finished off, like the boots, with a cord and tassel.
It is to be hoped that these novelties in female attire will not be
admitted to town; they are very well to climb rocks with, or to walk in the
deep, soft sand so tiring to the feet, but they would be quite absurd in the
streets or in the parks. This is,
however, no reason why they should be condemned by Fashion, since wisdom is so
very rarely consulted in her decisions.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
A Badge of Female Disloyalty.--We find the following paragraph in the
news columns of the New Orleans Era:
Not to wear crinoline has become a badge of secesh principles in the
Southwest. Although hooped skirts
are plentiful at Memphis, the rebel women have agreed among themselves not to
wear them. It is their secret
sign--their badge--their rebel flag. No longer allowed to flaunt past our brave fellows with their
emblems of treason pinned to their dresses and bonnets, they have hit upon this
plan. They will wear no more hoops.
That is their rebel mark now, and one the other day, when asked if such
was the reason, tossed up her head and said:
"Yes, it is, and you Yankees can't make us wear hoops,
neither."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 24, 1863, p. 2, c. 2
Eugenie's Dressing Room--How the French Empress Selects Her Dress in the
Morning.--The Empress never appears twice in the same dress, but changes the
material and color every day. She has set the fashion of dressing from head to foot in the
same color. If brown be chosen,
then everything is brown--bonnet, shawl, dress, parasol and boots.
Her Majesty seems to give her mind to dressing.
It is said that in the front centre of the ceiling of her private
dressing room there is a trap door, opening into a spacious hall above, with
"presses," each containing a dress exhibited on a frame, looking like
an effigy of the Empress herself. In
a part of these presses there is a little railway leading to the door, through
which the dressed effigy descends into the presence of the Empress.
If it pleases her majesty the dress is lifted from the frame and placed
upon the imperial person, if not, it is whipped up and another comes down in its
lace, and perhaps another and another.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 28, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Death of a Sister of Mercy.--Died, at the Convent of the Sisters of Our
Lady of Mercy, on Thursday night, the 26th instant, Sister Mary Bernard Frank,
aged thirty-nine years.
The deceased was one of the most esteemed and valuable members of that
institute, to which our sick and wounded soldiers owe so much.
Attached to the Convent for the space of twenty-five years, she had
become an adept in all those gentle ministrations which allay suffering and
arrest disease. Devoting herself
with earnestness, and with the energy that always accompanied earnestness, to
the cause of Charity, no labor came amiss to her.
In December, 1861, she went to Virginia, where she passed eighteen months
in the sedulous discharge of her duty as a Sister of Mercy.
To her kind offices many a poor soldier is indebted for a care which may
have saved his life.
While engaged in this mission of love, she contracted a disease which
made it necessary for her to return to the Convent in Charleston.
There she continued to reside, in a state of ill health, until the day of
her death.
The funeral services of this worthy lady will take place at nine o'clock,
this morning, at the Church of St. Joseph, Anson street.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 7, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Latest "Fashions."--Our ladies will, doubtless, be glad to
learn something of the styles of dress in vogue this winter in the Northern
cities. Our items of information
are few, but entirely reliable, as we derive them from one who has "been
there." The hat, which was
much worn during the summer, is entirely out of fashion.
The bonnets were worn quite large, the centre of the front reaching over
and arched; but these went out of style at the commencement of cold weather, and
are supplanted by smaller and more tasty ones.
The new style fits more closely to the head, and does not expand so much
in front, while a pretty, indescribable bend gives a lovely shape to the sides. As crimson is the rate as a color, bonnets are mostly trimmed
with it. Crimson cloaks, such as
were formerly worn to the opera, are much worn, and crimson Balmoral skirts are
the only kind used. Hoops are worn
very small, and the dresses fit tightly and mostly trail--all those in style
being braided. Small, plain white
linen collars and cuffs are worn outside the tight fitting sleeve, with sleeve
buttons, are universal. Walking
dresses, with two little flaps dropping from the waist over the skirt behind,
like pigeon tails, are worn by all. But
most sensible of all is the ladies' gaiter, which is heavy, with thick sole.
Gaiters the color of the walking dresses were coming rapidly into
fashion. The great "rage" is crimson, which ornaments every
article of costume and is seen everywhere.
Buttons the color of the dress worn are used in great profusion.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 10, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Women of the South.--The army correspondent of the Chicago Journal
thus speaks of the Southern women:
I shall never be done admiring the patriotic faith and undying devotion
of the loyal women of the land, but I must tell you that the rebel women of the
South are worthy in everything but the sacred cause of their Northern sisters.
There is nothing they will not surrender with a smile; the gemmed ring,
the diamond bracelet, the rich wardrobe. They
cut up the rich carpets for the soldiers' blankets without a sigh; they take the
fine linen from their persons for the bandages. When 400 of Longstreet's men came up to Nashville, prisoners
of war, about the roughest, dirtiest, wildest fellows the sun ever shone on, and
a flight of stairs in the building they occupied fell, killing and wounding a
large number of them, you should have seen the fair young traitoresses come
forth from old aristocratic mansions, bearing restoratives and delicacies in
their hands, mingling in the dingy crowd, wiping away the blood with their white
handkerchiefs, and uttering words of cheer; should have seen them doing this,
with hundreds of Union soldiers all around, and smiling back upon the
blackguards of rebels as they left. But
in all there was a defiant air, a pride in their humanity strange to see.
Of a truth they carried it off grandly.
And almost all those girls were in mourning for dead rebels, brothers,
lovers, friends, whom these same girls had sneered into treason and driven into
rebellion, and billowed all the South with their graves, and the least they
could do was to wear black for them and flaunt black from the window blinds.
Clothed be their souls in sackcloth!
I said they were worthy of their sisters of the North, in all but a
righteous cause, but I said wrong. There
is a bitterness, there are glimpses of the Pythoness, that makes you shrink from
them. But they are fearfully in
earnest; they are almost grand in self sacrifice.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 15, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
Message of the Governor of Texas.--. . . The penitentiary of Texas is
doing good service to the public. From
December 1st, 1861, to August 31, 1863, it manufactured 2,258,660 yards of
cotton goods and 293,298 yards of woolens.--There was at the latter date 28,962
of cotton and 6,789 of woolens unsold. Of
the whole amount disposed of the army received 1,276,920 of cottons, and 257,751
of woolens. The gross earnings of
the institution for the time mentioned were $1,174,439, and the expenses
$468,653. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Blockade Gas.--Nearly all our Southern cities are now supplied with gas
manufactured from pine, and it is an undeniable fact that it is equal to that
manufactured from stone coal, if it is only manufactured as it ought to be.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 21, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
A Yankee Opinion of Their Friends in East Tennessee--Among the letters
captured by our forces around Knoxville was one from D. G. Griffin to his father
in New York. The opinion expressed
must be very flattering to the Unionists of East Tennessee:
Our Union friends have fanaticism and enthusiasm enough, but they are so
ignorant and ill bred as to disgust any gentleman.
The women know how to make "corn dodgers" and dirty little
Federal flags, "ginger cakes and the like," and to curse and point out
their superiors--rebel ladies and rebel gentlemen--and that is about all.
The rebel ladies are intelligent, well bred, and good looking--dignified
and bold in their demeanor. But
they won't talk to us--consider themselves our superiors, simply from the fact
that we are fighting for their inferiors, the Union ladies.
They are not to blame. I
often blush when I think of the common herd that I am perilling [sic] my life
for. God save me from such ignorant
trash.
You have often heard of majorities for the Union in East Tennessee; but I
must confess, taking into consideration, if the rebels are entitled to any
country, it is this. Their friends
are many, strong in their fidelity, and seem to have some plausible reasons for
their rights, &c.
The name of tory seems to suit them very well.
I don't wonder at the promotion of Gov. Johnson, Horace Maynard and
others. Such a people can be easily
demagogued. All they know is to be
"Union folks."
I can't think that we shall remain here very long, even the rebels
permitting. The rebel Gen. Faughn
and others are continually annoying us, so much so that we cannot see any peace
for them. We didn't expect to fight
the rebels when we came here, but find that our personal safety will force us to
fight them hard and often.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 22, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
A trip on the Mississippi--Yankees and Confederates as Travelling
Companions.--A correspondent of the Mobile Advertiser furnishes that paper with
an interesting account of a trip up the Mississippi.
It shows that the people of the two nations are as distinct as if they
had never lived together and experienced the mutual pleasure of fleecing and
being fleeced:
On Friday we took passage from Memphis on the beautiful river palace
Belle Memphis. How quickly was the
line of demarcation drawn between the two classes--Northern and Southern; the
former overbearing and inquisitive, the latter independent but cautious.
Fortunately quite a number of the old dwellers of the sunny South were on
board, and we had a pleasant little clique of our own, and among ourselves
talked over the topic nearest our hearts, while searching Yankee eyes gleamed at
our party with suspicion. It is
surprising how soon each finds his own party element, and even on this
Government boat how rapidly the opposing elements of society discover and
heartily hate each other with mutual bitterness. There is but little association between the oppressor and the
oppressed, the latter with dignified hauteur
evading the aggressive advances of the other.
From the lips of the party on the opposite side of the cabin, composed
chiefly of officers' wives, we frequently catch such eloquently malignant
language observations as "dirty secesh;" "wish the guerillas
would let flicker and hit them;" and one woman, whose little girl was
nearing our party, cried out--"Come back here, you little devil!
Don't I tell you those are the dirty 'secesh that broke up the Union and
burn the boats.'" Without giving evidence of hearing their language, the little
party of patriots conversed on in whispers, like a small band of Italians in
Venice while under the searching eye of the Austrian oppressor.
True, this is submission to the tyrant's power, but the deep sentiment or
hatred which is revealed in the gleaming eye, betokens the presence of that
spirit of patriotism which will yet nerve each arm to strike once more for
liberty! When the supper table has
been cleared, an excellent negro string band strikes up the enlivening air of
our "Dixie," and the festive dance begins.
It is observable that each party introduces its members in the dance, and
the same stern hauteur is observed,
which permits of no compromise between these embittered enemies.
Sharp anomaly--they dance but will not speak! The subjected party waits until the vile Yankee oppressors
have locked themselves within their state rooms and then the dulcet tones of
Southern girls ring out upon the midnight air the inspiriting "Southrons
hear your country call you," and having thus given vent to their pent up
feelings, and expressed their gratification, each, with a warm shake of the
hand, bids the other good night. There
is a bond between them stronger than friendship--a sympathy in their oppression,
the high resolve of patriotism, a faith strong as life itself, that the day of
their disenthrallment draws nigh, and that their release will be the signal for
them to wreak vengeance upon the oppressors.
But few Yankee officers are travelling upon the boats, and fortunately
they do not often inflict their hated presence upon those who are quartered in
the ladies' cabin, but show their mean instincts by walking around behind and
peeping in at the windows, just as when, in the South, they go to the negro
quarters or admit themselves at the back entrance--a sense of their own meanness
restraining them from acting as white
people. A special Government agent is on board each boat for the
purpose of examining baggage, and a rigid search is made for silver ware, more
especially, as the Yankees have a presentiment that large quantities of plate
owned by rebels are sent northward to relatives for safety.
So when silverware is discovered the unlucky possessor becomes
dispossessed, and is informed that metallic charms are especially pleasing to
"the Government." Without misstatement, this is the principal incentive
for keeping such agents upon the boats. In
coming down the river all goods are taxed five per cent., and care is taken that
no smuggling is carried on, both baggage and stateroom berths being carefully
examined. A lady bringing with her
goods which are not made up subjects them to confiscation.
Those who are wise are careful to oversee the examination of their
baggage, or they will find such l little valueless articles as money, gold, and
jewels very apt to take flight with the honest agent of his country.
No passports or papers of any kind are required in order to travel the
river; but any information that you are from the "land of cotton, persimmon
seed, and sandy bottom," will insure a careful watch of your proceedings by
some of the innumerable detective force. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 22, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
Tournament and Barbecue--St. Peter's Guard.--Captain Smart's fine cavalry
company complimented the ladies of Hardeeville and the vicinity with a handsome
entertainment, near their camp, on Wednesday, 16th instant.
There was tilting at the head and ring; a cavalry drill, and also a drill
on foot, as light infantry. The
dinner was amply provided, a good many extra sized turkeys and geese meeting
their fate in advance of the usual Christmas killing.
The feature of the occasion, however, was the presence of a large party
of ladies, many of whom had journeyed for thirty miles to be with the gallant
swordsmen. It is almost needless to
say that not a few of the gentle visitors were surprisingly beautiful, and the
only accident that occurred was occasioned by a dashing cavalier rashly
venturing a glance at a most lovely girl while giving point at the ring--he was
not only lost his aim, but almost his seat, and came off from the contest a
little damaged, but in no wise cured of his habit of gazing at the
beautiful--Among the military guests present were Colonel C. J. Colcock and
Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Johnson, 3d S.C. Cavalry, and others from the
neighboring camps.
The St. Peter's Guard is made up of a fine body of young men from St.
Peter's Parish and Lower Barnwell, and are in excellent training.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 1
What a Woman Should be Alphabetically.--A woman should be Amiable,
Benevolent, Charitable, Domestic, Economical, Forgiving, Generous, Honest,
Industrious, Judicious, Kind, Loving, Modest, Neat, Obliging, Pleasant, Quiet,
Reflecting, Sober, Tender, Urbane, Virtuous, Wise, Exemplary, Yielding, Zealous.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 25, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
The same necessities of our present situation must materially abridge the
various pleasures and delights of the season.
Shoes and stockings of the dear children need no longer be hung in the
chimney, by the urchins ere they go to bed on Christmas eve.
Where will the fond parents find the pretty toys, the playthings,
dresses, decorations, and bon-bons now, with which to fill them?
Sugar at $3 per lb; candy at prices which mock even the surfeit of
Confederate currency; toys of Paris and London cut off by the blockade; and a
tiny gold watch, such as we give to the damsel of sixteen, requiring $2000 to
procure! The dear young ones must
be content, with their parents, to feed upon hope, and find it in the faith
which teaches us to look to the Lord of Hosts for more important and essential
blessings--peace, security, independence!
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 28, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
We get the following from the [Mobile] Advertizer's [sic] local column:
General Banks had but recently returned from the Rio Grande, and on the
7th, by his order, a salute was fired in honor of General Grant's victory; on
the night of the 8th Mrs. Banks gave a grand fete
in honor of the same glorious event, and on the 9th the "trois
grands journees" culminated in the first negro insurrection of the war!
Mrs. Banks' party was a splendid affair.
We were shown one of the cards, which feel into the possession of the
Confederate prisoner, who made use of it by spending an hour among the Yankees.
The card is in a new style, precisely five inches long by two and
four-tenths wide. We give a copy
for the edification of the ton of
Mobile:
"Mrs.
Nathaniel P. Banks
requests the pleasure of your company Tuesday evening,
December 8, at 8 1/2 o'clock.
on dansera.
Coliseum Place."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 4, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A Good Idea.--We observe that the ladies of Mobile, in keeping with the
fertility of resources and industry that has immortalized their sex during the
war, are making socks from carpet ravellings [sic].
They are a little heterogeneous in color, but not a whit the less warm
for that, and will be most acceptable to the soldiers, or to those who need them
at home.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Fernandina Under Yankee Rule.--A correspondent of the Gainesville (Fla.)
Cotton States writes:
I have lately conversed with a person who has recently escaped from
Fernandina, and have gathered from him the following facts, which may prove of
interest to many refugees from the "Island City."
The town would scarcely be recognized by any of its former citizens.
Most of the fences have been used for fuel, the weather-boarding of the
unoccupied buildings has shared the same fate, while the shattered windows, and
doors and broken plastering tell a mournful tale of ruin and wanton destruction.
The flower gardens are barren wastes, while the beautiful grove around
the Park has been leveled. The Patton House, Major A. H Coles' residence, and a dwelling
house near the Presbyterian Church, have been destroyed by fire.
The Baptist Church has been converted into a theatre, the Presbyterian
Church into an Academy of Sciences, where sundry Connecticut "school marms"
are engaged in the laudable occupation of teaching the youthful Ethiopians to
sing hosannas in praise of freedom and "Massa Linkum."
Sammis, of Jacksonville, and another Yankee of the name of Reed, are the
Commissioners for the confiscations and sale of real property.
Robinson, of Jacksonville, is the Provost Marshal, and Helper, a brother
of the author of the famous "Compend," is the general overseer of the
contrabands.
Most of the property abandoned by the "secesh," both real and
personal, has been disposed of at auction.
Judge Livingston's and Mr. Dawson's residences were sold at $5 each, and
are occupied by Yankee teachers. Mr.
Yulee's brought $200, and was purchased by the Colonel of the 11th Maine.
Mrs. Mendenhall's was bought at $101, by a negro woman named Rachael,
belonging to Mrs. Crichton, of St. Mary's.
Dr. Lesesne's was bought at $60 by a Mrs. Call, a baker, from
Jacksonville. Col. Coachman's was
purchased at $200, and is occupied by Commissioner Reed.
The brick block, containing Savage and Wilson's stores, was purchased by
Robinson, of Jacksonville, for the sum of $400.
All the iron, trucks, wheels, tools and other materials of the Florida
Railroad Company, were bid in to Robinson at $500, and shipped by him to New
York. They were seized on their
arrival at that city, by the Yankee Government, and sold at $10,000.
The above prices indicate that the present occupants of Fernandina do not
regard the tenure of their ill-gotten property as altogether valid and
permanent.
An attempt has been made to cultivate cotton upon the Island, which
resulted in a signal failure. The
negro fellows are organized into a regiment, five hundred strong, and are
principally employed on Fort Clinch, which now mounts sixteen guns.
A battery, commanded by negroes, has also been erected in front of
General Finnegan's dwelling. The
white troops are encamped on the bluff, between Colonel Dell's and Duncan
Bryant's. Swann's and Coachman's
stores are occupied by the commissaries. Colonel
Dell's dwelling is used as a hospital for the white, and the Pioneer Hotel is a
hospital for the negro troops. Much
sickness has prevailed--many have died, and at times there have not been more
than ninety men fit for duty.
The harbor has again been supplied with buoys.
Frisbee, Moony, Briet, Donley, Appel, Ross and Andrew Wightman, all
former residents of Fernandina, have been very active in giving aid and comfort
to the enemy, and in furnishing information.
Arnett and Farrow are dead. Phelan,
in token of appreciation of his unwearied efforts to supply the Yankees with spiritual consolation, has been decorated with the order of the
"ball and chain," and sent off to recruit his health in the salubrious
atmosphere of Hilton Head.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 5, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Salaried Men in Richmond--How Do They Live.--The Richmond correspondent
of the Atlanta Appeal, who is known to be a gentleman of rare literary
acquirements and the most undoubted veracity, thus narrates the sufferings of
some of the Government clerks from the inadequate salaries:
. . . But, while the gallant followers of Lee and Hardee demand and receive our
hearty and active sympathy, there is another class who deserve and who do not
receive it. I refer to the clerks
in the several Departments of the Confederate Government. . . There is a
gentleman here in the Treasury Department who made his choice, at the beginning
of the war, between North and South (living then in a border State) and came
over to the Confederacy, knowing that by joining his fate with the South he gave
up affluence and ease for hard work and indigence, himself the son, and bearing
the honored name, of one of the most distinguished men in the old Union, and
who, upon the miserable pittance of $1500 per annum, supports three little sons,
too young for work or military service, if that can be called support, which is
one continued and terrible struggle against hunger and cold!
This gentleman rents an unfurnished room, for which he pays $50 a month.
Thus goes $600 of his salary. He
cannot afford a fire. Since the
first day of May last he has not sat down, with his poor boys, to one meal,
except when asked to share the hospitable board of a friend. Their only food is dry bread, and this costs two dollars a
day (four loaves at 50 cents); and here goes $730 more of his salary.
The sum of $170 remains for the tuition and clothing for the boys and the
wardrobe of the gentleman himself. He
cannot buy a pair of boots, or the whole $170 is swept away in a moment.
Observe too, that boys and father must not think of such a thing as
getting sick; such indiscretions would never do; medicines and doctor's bills
would swamp the entire allowance. Take
another case. Here is a man of
sixty-two or sixty-three years of age, a learned man, with several languages in
his mouth, who has filled high positions under the old Government, and who gave
up a comfortable office in Washington to serve the Confederacy--head of a family
of five, wife and daughters, in taking care of whom he is assisted by a son,
clerk in the same office with himself.--Between them they have $3000 a
year--1$800 [sic] of which is consumed in providing a very small and poorly
furnished tenement for the family to live in so they have $1200 for all things
else, and this will not buy them the plainest food.
The Government ought to do something for these men.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Federal Prisoners in Texas.--A letter received in Boston, dated
Vicksburg, says that the late officers of the Harriet Lane have arrived there on
their way North; and all the officers, soldiers and sailors, captured at
Galveston in January last, have been paroled, and are on the way to New Orleans.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
English Method of Curing Beef or Pork.--For the benefit of those who are
salting beef for the use of their families, we publish the following on the
subject:
For one hundred and twelve pounds (one cwt.) of beef or pork, take ten
pounds of common salt and one half pound of saltpetre.
Let the meat be well cleansed from those particles of blood which will
hang about it when cut into pieces of about four or five pounds each; this is
best done by washing it in salt and water, or any weak offal pickle, provided it
be sweet. Lay the meat in rows, and
rub the upper side moderately with salt, then lay another layer of meat, and
repeat the operation as on the first layer; in this manner continue the same
proportion of salt and saltpetre, till you have the quantity you wish to cure
all heaped up in a tub, or some other vessel (not of lead), in order to preserve
the pickle from issuing from it. In
this state it must remain three days, then turn it into another tub, sprinkling
it with salt as you turn it; when all is turned, let the pickle procured by the
first rubbing be gently poured about the meat.
In this state let it remain for a week, and it will be excellent for home
use.
Should it be wanted for exportation, pack it in this state into such
casks as your order may express. But as the greatest care for its keeping good, abroad,
consists in the packing, you must put a layer of salt in the barrel, then a
layer of meat, packed very close (with your hands only), and in this manner the
cask must be filled up. When
headed, you must carefully filter the pickle through a coarse cloth (not boil
it), and when perfectly fine, fill up the cask by the bung-hold. In this state let it remain until the next day, in order to
observe whether or n not the cask leaks, then bung it up.
By this method, I have never known an instance of its failing to cure
properly. My mother used the former
part of it for family use, and it always kept any reasonable time.
The too great rubbing of meat will not keep it the better; it frequently
retards the operation of salt by filling the outward pores of the meat, only to
the destruction of the middle of the piece, which frequently perishes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 9, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Richmond, Monday, January 4
. . . Reports of a want of food in Lee's army circulated yesterday.
Some officers say there is an insufficiency of food, and of shoes and
blankets. Others say there is a
plenty, at least to eat. Many
officers are here in town and they look blooming.
Really some of them are splendid looking young fellows--healthy,
handsomely dressed and game looking. The
privates may not fare so well, but I hear of no complaints.
They make excellent coffee out of toasted "hard tack," use
fodder blades for yeast, and by hook or by crook get along finely.
Talking about substitutes for coffee, let me advise you to try persimmon
seed parched and ground. It is the exact thing, so far as taste is concerned.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Washing the Hair.--The beauty and permanency of the hair are best
promoted by the strictest cleanliness. * * * Some writers strongly disapprove of
even wetting the hair, and muster up we know not how many evil consequences
likely to follow the practice. This, however, is a ridiculous prejudice; no possible injury,
but on the contrary much good, will result from ablution of the head.
It is even a mistaken idea into which many have fallen that there is
danger of catching cold from this practice, unless the greatest care be observed
to prevent exposure subsequently to the open air.
No such fear need be entertained--especially when the practice of washing
the hair has been commenced and constantly observed from early life.
M. Arago, in his late voyage around the world, remarks that the South Sea
Islanders, who have fine long hair, with a beautiful silky gloss, promote its
beauty by frequently washing it.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Fashion--Past
and Present.
We do not seem likely ever to come to any basis of agreement as to the
ridiculous in manners and costume. It
would appear to be the fate of the human race that its little clans shall always
seem grotesque and ludicrous to each other. . . . Nay, it seems to be the doom
of this generation that the one which succeeds it shall think its ways, and more
especially its habits, utterly droll and preposterous than the plates in a book
of fashions of twenty-five, nay, fifteen, nay, ten years ago? . . .
Now could we of to-day feel anything but contempt for such a costume
[1830s]--we whose refined eyes are delighted by the charming and rational
spoon-bonnet, with its bocage of evergreens and roses; whose civilized and
enlightened taste is gratified by the sight of the majestic crinoline so
admirably adapted to the human figure, so sylph-like, so convenient to the
wearer and all around, so secure against dangerous accident, so natural and so
beautiful in its undulations, so marvelously contrived, to satisfy at once
grace, delicacy and comfort? Yet,
exquisite as these costumes seem to us, and deeply as we regret that Phidias
never had an opportunity of immortalizing in marble the outline of crinolined
female, we cannot disguise from ourselves the melancholy fact that an irreverent
generation yet to come will mock at the costume of to-day as we do at that of
yesterday. All men, and still more,
all women, think all men and all women ridiculous but themselves.
The Parisians need not satirize themselves through the mouth of an
Oriental ambassador. Their sons and
daughters will hereafter laugh, quite simply and naturally, over a
representation of the most gorgeous state ceremony, the most bewitching costume
of to-day.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Gay Cloaks.--The New York Sunday Times says:
It is not too much to say that the pretty peripatetics of Broadway
present a dazzling spectacle. Bright
yellow cloaks with scarlet hoods, scarlet cloaks with yellow hoods, blue cloaks
with white hoods, purple cloaks with orange hoods, striped and checkered cloaks
with crimson hoods, moving continually in prismatic procession through the great
exhibition thoroughfare, threaten with "color blindness" the man of
weak vision who ventures into the flare. It
is not "a sight for sore eyes," but is calculated, like the glare of
an Egyptian desert, to produce ophthalmia and inflammation of the optic nerve.
The saffron, bright red, green, azure, and white and cream colored
feathers, wherewith the ladies in conflagration decorate their vivandiere
hats--planting the flaming tufts, like torches, in the fore fronts of the
same--add much to their incendiary and auto dei-feish aspect, and
deepen the unpleasant impression produced upon feeble retinas by the blaze of
their garments. It really seems as
if New York beauty and fashion had determined to substitute for the fancy balls
that were so much in vogue last winter a general street masquerade.
One would never surmise that a tremendous war was sweeping off by
thousands and tens of thousands, the very flower of our population, were it not
that the splendors of this gorgeous show are blotted in short intervals by
groups and single wayfarers swathed in crape--the widowed wives and sonless
mothers, the brotherless sisters, the orphaned daughters, made desolate by the
sword.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
It appears from a recent report from the Conscript Bureau to Congress
that there are only 546 employees in all the newspaper establishments in the
four States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
In the State of Georgia there are only 147 men exempt by reason of
employment in printing offices.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
How to Make Lard Candles.--To every eight pounds of lard add one ounce of
nitric acid; and the way of making it is as follows:
Having carefully weighed your lard, place it over a slow fire, or at
least merely melt it; then add the acid, and mould the same as tallow, and you
have a clear, beautiful candle. In
order to make them resemble sperm candles, you have only to add a small portion
of white bees wax.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Coffee and Its Substitutes.--The use of coffee as a beverage seems to
have originated among the Turks in Arabia, from whence it was carried to Europe
in 1669. It has gradually become a
national beverage to Europeans and Americans, as well as the Moslems, and it has
been called one of the chief necessaries of life among the people.
The coffee bean is the seed of the Coffee Arabica, a shrub which grows to
about the height of 30 feet, but it is usually cut down to about six feet, to
increase the yield of the bean. Its
cultivation was confined until within the past century to Egypt and Arabia, but
it is now cultivated in the West Indies and East India Islands; also in Brazil
upon a most extensive scale. A
single tree sometimes yields about 20 pounds of beans, and about 1100 pounds are
obtained as the crop of an acre of land. There
are a number of varieties of coffee, but Mocha or Arabian is still the most
famous. Its beans are small and of
a dark yellow color; Java is a larger bean, and the color is a paler yellow;
West India and Brazilian coffee is of a bluish grey color.
Physiologists have endeavored to account for the extended use of coffee
by ascribing to it a peculiar quality for preventing the waste of animal tissue
in the living being. This principle
is called caffeine, and is composed of carbon 8, nitrogen hydrogen 10, and
oxygen 3 parts. Roasted coffee
contains about 1240 parts of caffeine. In
roasting coffee great care should be exercised not to overheat it, because the
caffeine in it is so liable to volatilize.
The best temperature to roast coffee is 362 degrees Fah., and the
operation should be performed in a close revolving vessel.
When the beans have assumed a bright brown color, they should be cooled,
if possible, in the vessel in which they have been roasted, so as to retain all
the aroma that has been developed by the roasting operation.
Burnt coffee beans are just as suitable for making an infusion as charred
wood. Upon no account, therefore,
should coffee beans be so heated in roasting as to char them.
Coffee should never be boiled, because the boiling action volatilizes the
aromatic resin in it, and this constitutes nearly three per cen. of the beans.
It should be ground as finely as possible, and scalded with water heated
to the boiling point. It can be
clarified with the white of eggs or isinglass.
This information relates to pure coffee.
In Germany and England the poorer classes, who cannot afford to buy
coffee, use mixtures of it, and in many cases, other substances as entire
substitutes. In Germany dried
yellow turnips and chicory root mixed together are employed as a substitute;
chicory is also very generally mixed with common coffee in England.
Lately several mixtures and substitutes for coffee have become more
common among our own laboring people on account of the great rise in the price
of coffee. In some of our country
villages German families roast acorns, and use these as substitutes for coffee.
Roasted rye is an old and well-known substitute, and so is "Cobbett's
coffee," which consists of roasted corn.
Many persons roast white beans and peas, and mix them with coffee; others
roast carrots and beets, and make a mixture of them with coffee.
In some parts of France a mixture of equal parts of roasted chestnuts and
coffee is used.
It makes a very superior beverage to chicory, turnips, and all the other
articles mentioned. The substitutes
for coffee are innumerable, and so far as taste is concerned, this is a mere
matter of cultivation. If any of these substitutes for coffee contained caffeine or
a similar principle, they would answer the same purpose, and their use should be
inculcated; but in all the analysis that we have examined of chicory, turnips,
carrots, beets, peas, beans, corn and rye, no such substance as caffeine is
mentioned, therefore they are not true substitutes for it in a chemical and
physiological sense. We have been
unable to obtain a satisfactory analysis of chestnuts and acorns, but it is well
known that these contain tannic acid, and it is certain the caffeic acid is very
nearly allied to it: hence they may
have a close resemblance to coffee, in taste, and perhaps in effect
also.--Scientific American.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 27, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Glass Factory.--A glass factory has been established in Columbus, Georgia, under
favorable auspices. This we believe
is but the second in the Confederacy--the other being in Richmond.
The process of making glass is, in a measure, simple, and the materials
necessary not very numerous, nor hard to get.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Substitute for Quinine.--An Article in the Medical
and Surgical Journal is devoted to "the External Application of Oil of
Turpentine as a substitute for Quinine in Intermittent Fever."
Surgeon Kennedy reports the successful trial of this application, without
failure, in over thirty cases. Of
seven cases reported at the General Hospital Guyton, Ga., the result was
immediately successful in all, but in three of the cases the chills returned
afterwards. The mode of application
recommended is: "Half an hour
before the expected paroxysm, a bandage wet with the turpentine, is applied
around the body at the lower part of the chest, the linen replaced and the
outside clothing buttoned. If
convenient, the patient should be placed in blankets. When there is a probability of the return of the
paroxysm on the seventh or fourteenth day, the application should be repeated.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 29, 1864, p, 1, c. 2
Slaveholders
and Non-Slaveholders of the South.
We believe that there is not in the world a more harmonious population
than the white population of the Southern States.
Every white man feels and knows that the negro is not of his race, that
one race is the superior race, and he is one of the superior race.
A Northerner may prate his dogma all day, of all men being equal; and may
strive to persuade the white man of the South that he is on a dead level with
the negro; but he will strive in vain. Facts
are stronger than theories. The
white man knows his superiority, and disdains the logic which would degrade him
to the level of the negro. With the
same privileges and rights, his affinities are with his race.
All his aspirations, his security, his interests, are bound up in their
destiny. Nor is he left to
speculation to know the fate of white men in the community of liberated negroes.
Where are the white non-slaveholders of Hayti?
Slaughtered or driven out of that grand paradise of Abolitionism--where,
in Port-au-Prince, there are six married couples out of a population of fifteen
thousand.
Suppose the object of Northern Abolitionists then accomplished, and the
four millions of slaves liberated at the South--what becomes of the poorer
whites? The rich--the
sagacious--will leave the country. None
will remain, but those who are unable to leave it, or who do not realize the
fearful terrors of their condition. A strife will arise between the white men who remain in the
South and the negroes, compared with which the atrocities and crimes of ordinary
wars are peace itself. The midnight
glare of the incendiary's torch will illuminate the country from one end to
another; while pillage, violence, murder, poisons and rape will fill the air
with the demoniac revelry of all the bad passions of an ignorant, semi-barbarous
race, urged to madness by the licentious teachings of our Northern brethren.
A war of races--a war of extermination--must arise, like that which took
place in St. Domingo. Or, possibly, suppose no antagonism between the two
races--and harmony and identification takes place--amalgamation
must be the result. There is no
portion of our people who contemplate such a fate with as much horror as our
white non-slaveholders--because they are the people who will be exposed to it in
the wreck of our institutions. With
the continuance of these institutions, not only their industrial occupations,
but their political and social station--their domestic safety--the purity of
their homes--is identified. And the
white man of the South is as proud as the haughtiest aristocrat that walks Wall
street or lives in a Fifth Avenue palace with his wife and children.
The consequence is, that there are no people in the South who abhor
Abolitionists more than the non-slaveholders of the South, or who are more ready
to resist their machinations. With
them, it is not only the patriotic hatred of a public foe who would involve the
country in convulsion and ruin, but it is also the hatred of a social, personal
enemy--the Black Republican--who would force upon them the alternative either of
the most terrible degradation and barbarism, or of slaughtering the negro, or
being slaughtered by him, in a war of extermination.
The people of the North cannot, or will not, understand this state of
things. They gloat with secret joy
at the anticipations of conflicts among the citizens of the South, by which
their fiendish policy will be consummated.
The few negroes they have amongst them do not jostle them, in their
public marts, their theatres, their ballrooms.
They do not enter their households as visiting equals.
They are down in holes and cellars, filling their jails and poorhouses,
and coming not at all "between the wind and their nobility." But if Abolition meant the
existence suddenly of four millions of emancipated negroes amongst
their laboring population, their equals, there would not be a single
Abolitionist even in New England. The
doom they are ready to visit upon the poor white man of the South they would not
dare to propose to the white laborer of the North.
They would be crushed out, like grapes in the wine press.
Our people--slaveholders and non-slaveholders--they will find not
unworthy of the great and free destiny before them.
They are one in sympathy, interest and feelings.
They have equal rights and privileges--one fate.
They will stand together in defence of their liberties and institutions,
and will yet exist at the South a powerful and prosperous confederation of
commonwealths, controlling the welfare and destiny of other nations, but
controlled by none.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Suicide of a Boy.--A Southern exchange says that a son of a Mrs. Forrest,
about thirteen years of age, residing in Chocktaw county, Miss., committed
suicide one day last week. It appears that this boy was exceedingly anxious to go to the
army and had become a great annoyance to his mother about going, which she was
decidedly opposed to--he being too young. So
his mother whipped him, and he then took down a double barrel shot gun, cocked
it, put the muzzle to his head, pulled the trigger with his big toe, and shot
his brains out.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Planters.--We observe that the planters of Georgia are holding county
meetings to fix the prices of produce, and urge the Governor to call a
convention of all the planters of the State in February, to determine upon an
uniform price to be asked for corn, pork, bacon, peas, fodder, etc., while the
war lasts. They invoke similar
action on the part of the planters of other States.
The citizens of Houston county agreed upon the following prices for the
support of the army: Corn, $3 per bushel; field peas, $3 per bushel; wheat, $5 per
bushel; Sorghum syrup, $3 50 per gallon; stall-fed beef, 50 cents per pound; fat
hogs, gross, 60 cents per pound; nett pork, 75 cents per pound; bacon, $1 25 per
pound.
We hope that the planters of South Carolina will take some similar
action. The planter who does this
is equally a patriot with the man who shoulders a musket.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
The
Horse Infirmary in Georgia.
Johnson County, Ga., January 25.
Having ever felt a deep interest in that noble animal, the Horse, and
especially since the commencement of the war you will pardon me if I ask at your
hands space enough for the following account of a visit I have just made to the
Infirmary for the treatment and care of diseased, wounded and disabled animals
belonging to the Government.
The Infirmary is located in Laurens county, near the line between that
county and Johnson, on the lands of Dr. Thomas A. Parsons, and about twelve
miles from Oconee Station, on the Central Railroad, and one mile from the Oconee
River. The locality is healthy; the
land rolling and productive; the water facilities excellent, and the pasturage
very good in spring and summer. The
Government rented 3009 acres of land from Dr. P. last summer, and immediately
began the work of erecting stables, lots, corn and fodder houses, and other
necessary buildings. There is
considerable cane on the tract, and over 200 acres of luxuriant Bermuda grass,
both of which afford fine pasturage for the horse.
Horses that have become diseased, or been worn down, or otherwise
disabled in the public service, in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, are
sent here for treatment. Large
comfortable stables and shelters, and high, dry lots, have been provided for
them. If they are suffering from
glanders, or any other contagious disease, as farcy or distemper, they are
assigned to a hospital for that particular disorder, which is located at a safe
distance from the other stables and lots. If
they have been wounded or crippled, or have a bad case of fistula, or scratches,
each one is put into a comfortable stable to himself; and so, if they have been
disabled by hard usage, they are placed in roomy stalls at night, and turned out
to graze and exercise during the day. Each
animal is curried and rubbed daily, his legs and feet washed, and his particular
malady or hurt carefully attended to. Indeed,
all the diseases to which the horse is subject are here thoroughly treated by
experienced and practiced veterinary surgeons and farriers, whose zeal is highly
commendable, and whose success has been remarkable.
The establishment is systematically arranged and managed, and hostlers
conversant with their duties are assigned to the care of the animals, under the
superintending care and direction of the farriers.
In certain diseases, as in glanders and farcy, gentle exercise is
prescribed, and the horses are led or ridden for short distances.
The general opinion is that glanders is a fatal disease, but I am assured
that over thirty cases of it have been cured at this establishment.
Of the whole number of diseased and disabled animals thus far sent to the
Infirmary, nearly eighty five per cent. has been saved.
Many of them, after being cured and recruited, have been returned to the
army. Others are improving rapidly,
and will soon be in a condition for service.
The rule adopted by the commander of the post is not to send back any
animal until it has been thoroughly recruited and rendered fit for duty.
Such as can never be made available for active service, especially mares,
are advertised and sold at public outcry to farmers.
Some of the animals were received in the lowest condition, but, under the
close attention and skillful treatment given them, they are now doing remarkably
well. A number of cases of lameness
sent to the infirmary arose from non-attention to the hoofs and feet.
The commandant of the post is Captain J. G. McKee, of Columbus, Ga., an
officer of rare zeal and fidelity, who has been disabled in the service.
He is devoted to his business, and is one of the most energetic men I
have met with in the public service. He
has in his employ fifty negroes and eight white men.
He is now preparing accommodations for 2000 more horses, which are
expected to arrive soon, and this will render it necessary to employ additional
help. No white man is employed
except disabled soldiers and persons unfit for service, by reason of age or
other infirmity. The farriers and
veterinary surgeons attached to the infirmary are Messrs. W. P. Davis and J.
Disbrow, both of whom are devoted to the horse, and exceedingly skillful in the
treatment of the diseases to which he is subject.
Indeed, all the employees at the post, white and black, manifest a zeal
and an earnestness that is truly refreshing in these days of shuffling and
affected patriotism. The horse
receives here the same care and attention as the sick or disabled soldier does
at the hospital.
How much better is this than the practice which has prevailed heretofore,
and which still prevails in many parts of the Confederacy.
Previous to the establishment of this Infirmary, horses worn out or
disabled in the service were turned out to perish around the camps, or left
behind on the march, whilst all animals having the glanders, heretofore
considered incurable, were taken out and shot.
The places thus made vacant were filled by the impressing officer, one of
which is known to have seized a fine stallion in this State, and appropriated
him to his own use. The impressed animals were taken to the army, where they were
neglected, abused and disabled, and where, in their turn, many of them finally
perished. The drain thus kept up
upon the stock of horses in the country has been enormous, the prevailing idea
seeming to be that the supply was inexhaustible.
It has been fortunate for the Confederacy if the authorities, both civil
and military, had sooner appreciated the value of an able-bodied man and a good
horse.
In a country like ours, bounded on one side by a cordon of hostile
States, and shut out on the other by a blockade which effectually prevents us
from recruiting our wasted armies from other parts of the world, the worth of a
capable soldier or horse in incalculable.
But the authorities have at last taken a step in the right direction.
Let them follow it up by establishing other infirmaries at points where,
as at this, there is an abundant supply of corn and forage.
There should at least be one in the Trans-Mississippi Department, another
in Alabama, and another in North Carolina. Without the horse we can neither grow provisions for the
army, nor move its supplies, nor keep proper watch upon the enemy.
What further motive does a sagacious and patriotic government require?
Cor. Mobile Advertiser
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 3, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A City Without Gas.--Charleston has passed a dismal night.
The streets were dark, and no light was to be seen anywhere, save the
occasional flicker of a tallow dip from the window of some unfortunate, whose
work happens to carry him far into the night.
We wonder whether the Gas Company meant to perpetrate a joke on the
public by cutting off our gas on Candlemas Day. If so,
the day having now duly passed, we trust that the joke may pass with it.
Seriously, the cessation of the gas supply is too great an inconvenience
to last, and a remedy of some kind ought to be provided without delay.
At any rate, there was a wonderful rush for candles and candlesticks,
which of course rose in price with a corresponding "rush."
The stock of candles now in town is pretty well exhausted already, and we
trust, therefore, that something may be done to-day to return to us our gas.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 4, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
High--Cocoanuts are selling in Mobile at $10 a piece.
People who can afford to eat them at that price, ought to be able to
stand a pretty heavy tax for the support of the war.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 5, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
To Keep Beef.--A country friend says he has been taught by necessity,
since the war began, how to keep beef without salt, and desires us to tell our
readers. According to his
experience and taste, beef is never fit to be eaten in steaks until a week after
being killed. He says that if it is
suspended by a hook or string, in a cellar, so as not to touch the wall, it
will, even in the hottest of summer, keep from one to two weeks, without a
particle of salt, and in winter for a much longer time.
He has now some which he has preserved in this way ever since the 1st of
December last, and thinks it greatly improved.
It is more tender, palatable and wholesome.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Tardiness in Clothing our Armies.--The Columbia Carolinian is very
indignant at "the hartless [sic] policy of administrative officers" in
regard to clothing our troops in the field.
It says that fifty thousand pairs of shoes, two hundred thousand pairs of
socks, and piles of blankets are awaiting to-day in the city of Augusta a
Government purchaser.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 9, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
What Texas is Doing.--Through the energy and enterprise of General Kirby
Smith, the towns of Shreveport, La., and Marshall, Tyler, and Houston, Texas,
have become large manufacturing places. There
are already three powder mills in successful operation, and foundries are
working the Texas iron into ammunition for ordnance, and they will soon commence
making heavy guns. This department
is fast becoming self-sustaining.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, February 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
For Knitters.--A lady, in an exchange, tells those who are knitting socks
for the soldiers, that the yarn should be bluish grey, No. 22; the needles No.
15 or 16; the leg knit with 27 stitches on the needle; the ribbing three inches
long, and then seven inches of plain before setting the heel; the heel itself
should be three inches long before narrowing and closing.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 10, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Spinning Jenny.
North Santee, January 28.
To the Editor of the Mercury: Is
it not a matter of surprise that, although the scarcity and high price of cloth
has been one of the most important evils inflicted upon us by the blockade, we
have failed to make use of a remedy entirely within our reach?
I allude to the spinning jenny, invented by Hargreaves, nearly a century
ago.--Almost two years since, learning that one of these machines was in the
neighborhood, I thought it worth while to pay it a visit of inspection.
I found it quite simple in construction, and such as any good carpenter
could make, excepting the spindles of iron or steel, and the metal steps in
which they turn. Its operation is
easily understood, and with it a woman can spin a bunch of yarn, as I was
informed by the owner of the one in question in one day, instead of a month--the
time required to spin a bunch of five pounds with the single spinning wheel now
in general use all over the country; or, to make the contrast still more
striking, one woman, with the jenny, would spin as much in a year as she would
in thirty yarns with the common wheel. Further,
with the spinning jenny in universal use, as much yarn would be spun in the
Confederate States in a month as would require thirty months with the single
wheel, excluding the factories.
The yarn can be spun of any fineness; and our experience since the
commencement of the war teaches us that, by using coarse yarn, warm clothing can
be manufactured of cotton as well as wool, although, of course, not quite equal
to the latter material.
In the making of cloth from the raw material, the most tedious and
discouraging of all the processes to be gone through, is the spinning of the
yarn. To obtain a bunch of 5 lbs.,
sufficient to make about 15 yards of cloth, it is required, day after day, and
week after week, to continue drawing out the yarn yard upon yard, and mile upon
mile in length, until a month is consumed.
In short, the operation would discourage any but the more patient nature
of woman. A good carder can card a
pound of cotton per day. A weaver can weave then yards of cloth; both operations being
far less tedious than the spinning. If
then the jenny supplies this great want, is it not important that at this time
there should be generally introduced throughout the country, when the procuring
of them is in our power. A few days
since looking over some of the old numbers of the "Penny Magazine," I
came across a description of Hargreaves' invention in the volume of 1836, and it
agreed exactly with the machine I had seen, and several of them are scattered
through the country. The original
cost of the one I saw was $9 (nine dollars); and before the war, when cotton
yard could be bought at eighty cents to one dollar per bunch, it had sold for
one dollar!
N.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
What
General Scott Said--How Yankees and Taught to Shoot.
The Richmond correspondent of the Mobile Register, remarks that old
Winfield Scott is stated to have said that the South would have it all its own
way during the first year of the war, but after that the greater teachability of
the Northern masses would manifest itself in superior discipline, and each
succeeding year of the war would make the fighting qualities of the two people
more and more equal, until in the end the discipline and numbers of the North
would prove more than a match for the valor of the South, and thus, in time, the
triumph of the former would be sure. McClellan,
in taking supreme command, acted in accordance with Scott's ideas.
For six months he lay in front of Washington, organizing and drilling his
army of 200,000 men. Northern
papers abused him, but he adhered firmly to his purpose.
Southern papers laughed at his sham battles, but they had a meaning.
The battle of Williamsburg showed how greatly the Yankee soldier had
improved in steadiness since the rout at Manassas.
As time wears on we see that the Yankee approximates the Southern soldier
in fighting qualities, is more obedient, and more easily managed.
But, what is most remarkable, the Yankee is now a good shot.
How is this miracle wrought? Easily
enough. A sand bag is placed in a
tripod, and on the bag a gun is laid. The
raw Yankee is brought up to this gun, and made to snap caps until he can do so
without winking. Next he fires
blank cartridges until he stops flinching and shutting his eyes. When he is no longer afraid of a gun, he is taught to take
aim and fire from a rest, and then off-hand.
After this comes the important business of teaching to fire at long
range. This is done by placing a
number of men at intervals of fifty yards until the extreme range of modern
weapons is attained. The recruit is
made to examine each of these men carefully, to ascertain, by the visibility of
certain accoutrements and the form of the body, what can and what cannot be seen
at certain distances. He soon
learns to elevate his sights in accordance with the greater or less clearness of
certain objects, and can tell with wonderful accuracy the distance of these
objects.--And here is the secret of the death of so many of our officers.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 16, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
The
"Starvation Parties" in Richmond as Seen by an Englishman.
[Richmond (Nov. 27) Correspondence of the London Telegraph]
The crops this year have been good, but, owing to the difficulty of
transportation and Government impressments, prices are high in Richmond.
There are not a few individuals sorely strained in circumstances,
especially the Government clerks and employees; but there is no whimpering or
thought of surrender. Without noise
or a particle of bluster, everybody is for fighting it out, and few, if any,
look to Europe for aid of any sort. There
is a disposition to bear cheerfully the inevitable hardships of the war and the
blockade.
It is said that the matrimonial market is unusually active, and the
bidding spirited. The young people
plainly have not the fear of Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward before their eyes.
There are, it is true, no bloated "shoddy contractors," to give
expensive entertainments. In lieu
of these they have in Richmond what are called "starvation parties."
These are now all the rage. There
are no wines, or game, or confectionaries, or fruits; but there are bright eyes
and happy faces. The rooms are
filled with ladies who wear their old dresses, but who do not talk through their
noses, and whose voices sound "low and sweet."
I do not believe there is one of these who would not feel insulted by a
proposal to exchange places with Mrs. President Lincoln, albeit arrayed in all
her diamonds and paraphernalia. They
are the same ladies who for three years past have ministered at the hospitals
upon the wounded or dying soldier, and brought comfort by their thoughtful care
even to the bed of death.
Never was there a greater mistake than for the Federals to imagine that
the South is even beginning to be depressed, and to despair of success.
On the contrary, there has been a visible improvement in the temper of
the people, and the simplest observer cannot fail to note that there is a
fiercer determination to sacrifice all for independence than there was even six
months ago, or has been since the struggle began.
The campaign of next spring will open on the part of the Confederates
with undiminished armies and a sure faith in final success.
The atmosphere of illusion on this subject, in which the Federals are now
living, will be dissipated by the shock of arms, and not improbably by the
invasion of their own soil. The
South is quietly getting ready for a long war, and nourishes no dreams of peace
on any terms save independence and a separate nationality.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Paris Fashions.--The latest Paris fashions state that the bonnets of the
present season are worn moderately high; very close at the side.
Le Follet declares that the Mary Stuart is no longer admissible.
They are generally--indeed, almost always--made with a mixture of
materials. Thus a very pretty
bonnet for neglige--had the front and curtain of black velvet, with the soft
crown of quilted satin--blue or violet; at the side, a tuft of black and colored
feathers, fastened by a band of velvet; feathers inside, and satin strings.
Another had the front and curtain of velvet, pineapple color, which is
just now so fashionable; the soft crown of plaid plush; very short piled, the
colors blue and white. At the side a bouquet of blue velvet flowers, with fern
leaves, formed with pine-apple colored feathers.
No blond across the top, merely a bandeau of blue velvet and fern leaves
to match those on the outside. Plaid
velvet strings. Plaid trimming for
bonnets is still much in favor, and will continue to be during the winter.
White and plain colored satin capotes are gaining favor.
They are trimmed with flowers, or feathers and lace, or even simply with
lace. The strings must be of satin
ribbon. White and plush bonnets are
also gaining favor. The plush used
has a very short pile, and is therefore more durable than that used formerly.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 24, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
. . . The roads about Dalton are in a horrible condition.
Of the ninety prisoners brought in from Alabama, one is a woman in man's
apparel. She goes on crutches, and
belongs to the 16th Illinois, so says the Knoxville Register of the 21st.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 26, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Washington's Birthday was duly celebrated in Fort Sumter last Monday by
the Washington Light Infantry of this city.
The Eutaw Band was in attendance, and furnished appropriate music.
The following were the regular toasts and the responses made to them on
the occasion:
1. The Day we
Celebrate--Illustrious in History as the Birthday of Washington.
May we, as soldiers of the South, ever strive to emulate that devotion to
duty, that consistent piety and self-sacrificing patriotism, which rendered him
the hero of the first Revolution.
Music by Band--"Eutaw Banner Song"
2. The Commandant of Fort
Sumter--His chivalric bearing and soldierly demeanor justly entitle him to the
confidence and esteem of his countrymen.
Response by Lieut. Col. Elliott. Music
by Band--"Hail to the Chief."
3. The Engineer Corps of
Fort Sumter--Who, with energy, courage and skill, have continually met and
overcome, apparently insurmountable difficulties.
Response by Captain John Johnson. Music
by Band--"Root Hog or Die."
4. The Medical Staff of Fort
Sumter--The dispensers of the healing art.
With courtesy and skill they are ever prompt to administer to the wants
of the suffering.
After which, the Surgeon's call was sounded, and response made by Surgeon
Hasel. Music by Band.
5. Our Departed
Comrades--Their names are now inscribed on the Roll of the Martyrs of Liberty.
Their sacrifice shall ever impart to us a sacredness to the cause of
Southern Independence.
Drank in silence--company standing.
Music by Band--"Rest, Spirits, rest."
6. The Women of the
South--Whose heroic fortitude, patriotic devotion and Christian virtues have
rendered unconquerable the armies of their country.
Music by Band--"Am I not fondly thine own."
After a number of volunteer sentiments and songs by the "Glee
Club," the company dispersed, highly pleased with their entertainment.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Spirit of the Knoxville Ladies.--The Federals in Knoxville are having no
easy task in subjugating the rebel ladies, if we may judge by a few instances of
spirit which have come to our knowledge.
Mrs. H_____n, a remarkably handsome dark eyed widow lady, was required to
leave without more than an hour's notice, and no opportunity was offered her to
dispose of her furniture for her own benefit.
The harpies were even besieging her door, with the expectation of
appropriating the entire contents of the residence the moment she should vacate
the premises. Aware of this, by
some little dexterity, she kept them at bay, whilst she manufactured a loblolly,
consisting of her pickles, sweet meats, wines, marmalades, preserves, flour,
vinegar, mustard, sugar, slops, &c., and deliberately spread this over her
parlor carpets; broken mirrors and crockery were quickly added, whilst a bucket
or two of ashes and suds completed the ruin of her household treasures,
sacrificed within hearing of the enemy.
It is beyond our power of description to portray, the rage, and
astonishment of the Yankee crew, as they rushed in to seize upon the widow's
property, and became aware of the trick which had prevented them from satisfying
their keenest appetite upon her "goodies."
Mrs. H_____n's remark to the officer, who escorted her out of town, was
an admonition to him, to make haste back to her residence before his brother
officers appropriated his part of the plunder, and eat his share of the
entertainment she had provided for them.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
In Front of Dalton,
February 25--10 a.m.
Dalton is a grand bivouac--bustling but not excited.
It has doffed the peaceful attire of civil times, and I find it
"armed in proof" and robed in the fierce panoply of war. Most
of its citizens have departed. Those
that remain manifest little, if any, apprehension about the proximity of the
enemy, and view the scenes of preparation for strife, and listen to the echoes
of its approaching step with the utmost unconcern.
Even as I write the distant peal of musketry and cannon can be distinctly
heard along the entire front, but the music has grown familiar to Daltonian ears
as the ring of anvil or tavern bell. . . John Happy.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
February 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Punch says that many of the Confederate ladies are making their own
gaiters. They may well say with
Shakespeare:
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends."
Yes, says the Rebel, and we should say, from the looks of some of those
they manufacture, that an additional word of the above quotation might well be
added:
"There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Yankee Villainy in East Tennessee.--A correspondent of the Atlanta
Register recounts many of the outrages perpetrated by the Yankee soldiery during
their occupation of East Tennessee. We quote the following.
Splendid mansions of Southern men have been made but barns and
commissaries. Their splendid
furniture, bed and wearing material, has been wrested from them.
Many opulent families have not a blanket nor a bed quilt.
I will relate one instance of Federal tyranny.
Whilst Knoxville was invested by Gen. Longstreet, Foster, the present
commander of the enemy's forces in East Tennessee, was quartered in Tazewell. He went to the dwelling of Mr. Blackburn, a prominent
Southern citizen of that place, and forced his family into one small room.
He then ordered his horses to be put in the dining room, where he kept
them during his stay in the village. His
staff drew their pistols on her daughter, a lady of very delicate health, which
resulted in a very severe spell of sickness, from which she will never recover,
being now at the point of death. Another
equally as base, I'll relate.
Mr. Hipshire, the representative elect from Claiborne county, was forced
to leave the country on the advance of the enemy.
The force stationed at Tazewell took some twenty negroes from his lady,
all of her hogs, sheep and cattle, all subsistence and forage.
His lady, a quiet, amiable woman, flattered h herself that so long as
they had robbed the farm, barns and smokehouses, that they would not molest her
again. Some few weeks since, as she
was providing a scanty meal for her little babe, she was startled by the rushing
into her private room of a Yankee officer and some seven or eight privates.
What was the mission of the rogues?
To rob and plunder. The
ceiling of the room was soon torn away, and money that she had hoped to conceal
taken. They took a fine set of ware
that was very costly, and packed it up carefully and sent it to Tazewell.
The Yankee officer then labeled the box containing the ware to his wife
in Indiana. The actor of this
outrage is one Major Lovelace, of an Indiana regiment.
Let the press pass him around.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 3, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Letter
from the Women of the South to
the Soldiers of the Confederate Army.
Soldiers: The President,
Congress, the Public Press and your Generals, have told you their high estimate
of your noble devotion to re-enlisting for the war.
We, also, as your mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends, claim
the right to thank you. It is the grandest act of the revolution, and secures
immortality to all concerned in it. It
awakens anew the enthusiasm with which we began this struggle for Liberty, and
removes all doubt of its eventual success.
Such men, in such a cause,
cannot be overcome. In the
dreariness of camp life, you may sometimes have imagined yourselves forgotten or
little cared for. Counting up your
privations and dangers, you may have doubted their full appreciation, and
fancied that those who stay at home and
risk nothing, while you suffer and
bleed, are more esteemed than yourselves. We
beseech you harbor no such thought. You
are constantly present to our minds. The
women of the South bestow all their respect and affection on
the heroes who defend them against a barbarous and cruel foe.
In the resolution so said you, they are as firm and determined as you in
yours, not to lay down your arms 'till independence be won.
When that sacred vow shall have been accomplished your reception by us
will more than attest our sincerity. It
shall also be shown while the contest goes on, by our efforts to increase your
comforts in the field and to lighten the burden of the dear ones left at home. For your stricken country's sake and ours, be true
to yourselves and our glorious cause. Never
turn your backs on the flag, nor desert the ranks of honor or the post of
danger. Men guilty of such infamy
sell your blood
and our honor, and give up the
Confederacy to its wicked invaders. In
after years, from generation to generation, the black title of tory and deserter
will cling to them, disgracing their
children's children. But no stigma
like this will stain you and yours. Brave,
patriotic and self sacrificing in time of war, you will be honored in peace as
the saviours of your country, and the pride and glory of your countrywomen.
We beg you to keep near your hearts these memorials of affection and
respect and to remember them, especially in battle, and we invoke for you always
the protection of a kind and merciful Providence.
[list of signers]
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Paris Fashions.--The Empress Eugenie (says a late Paris letter) has made
some curious sumptuary edicts this season, one of which is, that every visible
article of ladies' clothing must be of the same color as her gown.
For instance, a lady wearing a yellow dress, must wear also yellow boots,
yellow gloves, yellow trimmings on her hat or bonnet, a yellow cloak and a
yellow parasol. Those wearing
yellow, or lilac, or blue, or green, or pink, must form into distinct troupes or
regiments so as to constitute a striking coup
d'oel. So you see it will not
be according to Hoyle for a ringed, streaked and speckled lady to walk along
Main street with a cuire colored
damsel. The female creation will be
parceled off by this law according to color, like matched horses.
A very pretty novelty in costume is about being adopted by the most
stylish among young ladies. It is a long, white, plaid scarf in bright scarlet and other
gay colors. this is tied around the
neck, and one end left to float aside over the left shoulder, its length
reaching nearly to the edge of the skirt of the cloak.
The scoop bonnet is still in full force.
The brim has become very small--it still projects over the forehead, but
presses closer at the sides, and is frequently tied down with a scarf, which,
passing across the top of the crown, reminds us of the old time gipsy hats, of
which our bonnets are either a corruption, or a modern improvement.
Evening bonnets are white, blue or rose colored, tied down with a scarf
of lace.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 7, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
An Editor's Experience at Dalton.--John Happy, the funny man of the
Atlanta Confederacy, has been to Dalton, whence (to use his own phrase), after
confronting "the front," he returns affronted.
We let him tell his own story:
Had a hart time of it "in front."
To a many of my years and wrinkle of physiognomy, who hasn't had any
"field experience" for better than a twelve month, "camping
out" is not the most luxurious thing in the world.
Old messmates laughed immoderately at my awkwardness in reposing on the
top of a worm fence, and siestacating in a pine tree fork.
Found Dalton desolate, and oppressed with pickets, and limpers to the
rear (with bones in their legs). All
the bedclothes had gone to the rear, and all the boys had been invited out to a
little fancy dance, in which Chattanooga Thomas and Palmer were vis-a-vis,
Southern rifles the music, and Joe Johnston the floor manager.
Vis-a-vis made one "forward and back," but failed to
"right and left through." Vis-a-vis
was as badly fooled and the old Darkie fisherman Ben Hill told me of, over his
barracks fire, the night I reached Dalton.
. . .
The enemy having prudently retired upon my approach, I continued to
advance steadily in pursuit. Passed
sundry regiments of soldiers going on the same pilgrimage.
One of them yelled out "kum outer that biled shurt, you
Quottamasters clurk, you!" Respectfully declined the invitation and was derisively
apostrophised in the name of Longhome. "Hey
oh Longhome!" Thereupon I
assumed an expression of court-martial, and gazed sternly upon the
interlocutors. This provoked a
laugh, the laugh set fire to a shout and that broke out into a yell two or three
regiments in length. "He's
chawed," suggested one creature with no seat to his pantaloons--"he's
chawed--his face's red."
If a modest man could run such a gauntlet of merciless criticism without
a red face, he must be a man of muscle of brass.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
News for the Ladies.--A glance over a late fashion plate, which comes
through the blockade, will inform our lady friends of the styles now in vogue
across the water:
First, the bonnet is still sky-scraped, very deep from crown to the
front, no drooping at all over the face, or mashed in, gutter style, a la Marie
Louise, both of these being now passe. A
profusion of flowers, lace and ribbon ornaments these immense head pieces.
The prevailing taste in dress silks seems to be for small figures on
solid grounds. Apple green,
chocolate brown and Marie Louise blue are the favorite colors.
The lower edge of the skirt is always trimmed, sometimes with a puff,
edged with a quilling of worsted braid; oftener an elaborate pattern worked in
velvet, ribbon, and medallions of velvet and lace.
The bodies are detached from the skirts, and have double points both back
and front. Girdles are worn with plain waists; they are made of moire,
corded with Russia leather, and trimmed with leather buttons.
Open sleeves are always worn in full dress.
Garibaldi waists are now made with yokes.
For mourning costume, linen sets, narrow collars and broad cuffs,
stitched with colored thread, are worn. Sleeve buttons are indispensable, jet and gold being the
favorite style. Nets and fancy
aprons are worn.
Hoops are still in high favor. Small
standing collars and fancy or black velvet neck-ties are also worn.
For children's dresses, Sultan plaids are the universal style; these,
with Swiss waists, bretelle and postillian girdles, are novelties.
Balmoral bootees, laced half way up the leg, and white petticoats,
trimmed with red braid, make the little demoiselles look quite distingue.
Plaid scarfs [sic] are worn by both girls and boys, tied to hang over the
left shoulder, or passing through a loop at the waist in front, over the
shoulders, and hanging down the back.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Refugees.
What a world of thought does this word suggest!
In every town and village, on every railroad train, in every vacant
cottage, you meet these homeless wanderers.
There is something very touching in their condition.
Their homes were once as sweet, their circle as cheerful as ours.
The green laws of Tennessee, the noble mountains of Virginia, the
vineclad porch of Louisiana, the broad oak avenue and the jessamine hedge of
Carolina, these are the spots on which their memory turns, and the emigrant
sighs to think of the once happy hours of his now deserted home.
Where are the loved ones who once assembled in these cheerful halls?
The gray-haired sire, the care-worn mother, the blooming maiden,
unconscious childhood, only are in our midst.
The stalwart youth has gone forth at his country's bidding, and many
never again to cheer by their presence those who loved him so well.
Some languish in a distant prison--some sleep beneath the sod of a far
away land; and the blue violet springs on their graves--alas! never to be
watered by the tear of affection--never to be tended by the hand of love.
But with all his sorrows and his trials--with all the sweet memory of
home and happier days--with all a father's sorrow for his martyred boy--and all
a mother's tender love for him she has nursed on her lap--whose infant brow has
so often been bedewed with her kisses and her tears--the refugee does not
murmur. If not gay, he is not sad.
His home is his country--his heart is her cause--his prayer is her
deliverance--his home is her future!
Never did poetry or song find a nobler theme than the refugee--this
banished man, this exile from a scene where all the refinements of life
clustered around him, in the endearments of family and friends.
Our hearts yearn to thee, noble patriot.
We are lifted up in wonder and admiration when we see thy cheerful
endurance, thy uncomplaining spirit. We
respect, we honor thee. Comfort,
wealth, occupation, all have departed, but love of country never will desert
thee. The green hills of their country are not more dear to the Tyrolese than
thy beloved South to thee. You have
sealed your love by the cheerful sacrifice of all material comforts--a broken
circle--a desolated home. And you
have crowned all these by the gift to your country of the bone of your bone and
flesh of your flesh. Keep up your
heart, thou cheerful uncomplaining sufferer.
For you again will the green lawns be bright--the orange trees will
blossom--the jessamine shall again perfume the air--and though the circle will
still want its numbers--the arch of your country's greatness will have been laid
in the blood of him you love so well, and the "flower which has faded upon
earth will bloom again in Heaven."--Columbia Guardian.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Barter!
Barter!
The Graniteville Manufacturing Company will barter cloth for produce on
the following terms:
One yard 4-4 sheetings, drills or osnaburgs for one pound of lard or
bacon,
Two and a quarter yards 4-4 sheetings, drills or osnaburgs for one bushel
of corn, peas, or one hundred pounds of fodder, put up in bales.
Forty yards 4-4 sheetings, drills or osnaburgs for one barrel of
superfine flour.
Three yards 4-4 sheetings, drills or osnaburgs for one gallon of sorghum
syrup.
If 7/8 or 3/4 shirting be desired, the same weight, but a greater number
of yards of cloth will be given.
The produce must be delivered at Graniteville. An
Express Receipt, specifying the full value, with freight prepaid, will be
considered delivery. Packages and
letters must have owners name on them, and addressed to "Graniteville
Company," at Graniteville.
February 26.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
A
Gala Day in Johnston's Army
Dalton, Ga., March 16.
Everything talked of to-day was the grand corps drill and sham battle of
Hood's corps, which was something never witnessed in this army before, and, had
it not been for the severity of the weather, would have been a splendid affair.
But, notwithstanding the keen, cutting blast that swept down the valley,
long before the hour the streets were filled with lookers-on, all hurrying out
to the field. And, after debating
the propriety of witnessing it for some time, I resolved to brave the weather in
order to give your readers the benefit of what I saw. . .
The
Grand Review.
The drilling was superb, and the troops were put through various
difficult evolutions in a manner which reflects great credit upon General Hood,
and drew forth warm praise and admiration from the large number of general
officers present, among whom I noticed Lieutenant-General Hardee, Major-General
Forney, Brigadier Generals Jarvis and Findley, who were lookers on.
Mimic
Battle.
After many evolutions had been gone through, and we were nearly frozen,
and blinded by the smoking camp fires, a staff officer came dashing up and
announced that the battle would soon begin.
All was now bustle and excitement, and all seeking for good positions,
which were soon secured, regardless of our being posted in front of the
"reserve," and between them and the main line.
Opening
the Ball.
The skirmishers are now thrown out on every side.
We see gaily dressed Generals, with their brilliant staffs and escorts,
dashing about, regardless of horse flesh, whilst the skirmishers are now
scouring the wood where the enemy are supposed to be.
Now a ragged volley is heard, quickly followed by the heavy report of a
battery on the right, which is shelling the wood.
"Forward!" cries the Commander-in-Chief, and in a moment the
whole plain is covered with staff officers and couriers, who deliver their
orders and return but to perform the same journey again.
The whole line is now in motion, and a dozen bands send forth the
stirring "Marseillaise." Sharp
firing is heard in the wood now, and on the left and right the "red
artillery" is giving forth its sullen roar and filling the air with the
perfume of villainous saltpetre, and we, the spectators, are excited beyond
measure.
The
Veteran Chief.
The heavy line is now nearing the wood, and all the Generals are seen
urging forward the men, but conspicuous above all towers the manly form of _the_
"Sergeant," whose voice rings out upon the gale, above even the roar
of the artillery, and once more is he seen, as of yore, dashing through the
lines upon the same steed that bore him into the thickest of the fight beside
the "Stream of Death." All
eyes are turned to him, an each seems to feel that though maimed and scarred, he
is still left to us to lead where victory waits; and with a cheer that almost
deafens us, the whole line plunges into the wood.
The
Charge.
We hold our breath for one moment only, for the next the wood seems on
fire, and a roar that shakes the earth and is reverberated back again from the
mountain side, comes to us, and all is lost in the smoke that envelopes them,
whilst on each flank the artillery is belching forth its flames in one
continuous roar. Suddenly a number
of riderless steeds emerge from the wood and speed away across the plain, this
serves till more to increase the reality of the scene.
Bring
up the Reserves.
But now an officer appears riding as if pursued by Tam O'Shanter's
fairies, and we wonder what is to come next.
"Forward with the reserve," he shouted.
And the next moment we are struggling to extricate ourselves from the
lines of the reserves, who are near running over us, and only escape that to get
mixed up with the artillery, which comes lumbering by, only to file off to the
left and take the road to camp, and all is over.
The "Sergeant" and staff now come sweeping down the line, and
cheer after cheer greeted the new commander of the veteran corps.
Almost frozen I gladly return to give you this at the risk of being too
late for the mail.--Correspondent Atlanta Confederacy.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The
Superfluous Man.
It is ascertained by inspection of the registers of many countries, that
the uniform proportion of male to female births, is 21 to 20; accordingly, in
respect to marriage, every twenty-first male is naturally superfluous.--[Smith's
Treatise on Population.
I long have been
puzzled to guess,
And so I have frequently said,
What the reason could really be
That I never have happened to wed;
But now it is perfectly clear
I am under a natural ban;
The girls are already assigned--
And I'm a superfluous man!
Those clever
statistical chaps
Declare the numerical run
Of women and men in the world,
Is Twenty to Twenty and one;
And hence in the pairing, you see,
Since the wooing and wedding began,
For every connubial score,
They've got a superfluous man!
By twenties and
twenties they go,
And giddily rush to their fate,
For none of the number, of course,
Can fail of a conjugal mate;
But while they are yielding in scores
To Nature's inflexible plan,
There's never a woman for me--
For I'm a superfluous man!
It isn't that I am a
churl,
To solitude over-inclined;
It isn't that I am at fault
In morals or manners or mind;
Then what is the reason, you ask
I am still with the bachelor clan?
I merely was numbered amiss--
And I'm a superfluous man!
It isn't that I am in
want
Of personal beauty or grace,
For many a man with a wife
Is uglier far in the face.
Indeed, among elegant men,
I fancy myself in the van,
But what is the value of that
When I'm a superfluous man?
Although I am fond of
the girls
For aught I could even discern
The tender emotions I feel
Is one that they never return;
'Tis idle to quarrel with fate,
For, struggle as hard as I can,
They're mated already, you know--
And I'm a superfluous man!
No wonder I grumble at
times,
With women so pretty and plenty,
To know that I never was born
To figure as one of the Twenty;
But yet, when the average lot
With critical vision I scan,
I think it may be far the best
That I'm a superfluous man!
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
March 31, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Snow
Fights in the Army.
Camp Stanford's Battery, near Dalton, Ga.
}
March 22.
}
Our optics opened wild with astonishment this morning, when we peeped out
from our "shanty" and saw mother earth's bosom covered with a snowy
mantle, four or five inches thick. As
soon as we had gotten our "grub," we were ready for fun, and
immediately the boys of our battery engaged in an indiscriminate snow-balling
frolic.
Pretty soon, word came to us that the Eufaula battery was preparing to
engage us, and feeling the honor of Mississippi was at stake, we formed in line
of battle and met the Alabama boys on the line that divides our camps.
Here we had a spirited engagement for fifteen minutes or more, when
hostilities ceased; and as neither party could claim the victory, we formed an
alliance, offensive and defensive, and proceeded to charge Fenner's Louisiana
battery, also in our battalion. The
gallant Louisiana boys feeling that it was a point of honor for them to protect
their territory from invasion, turned out en
masse, and having advantage of position, withstood all our assaults.
They held a gap on the hillside, and as their flank were protected by a
thicket of bushes, we could gain but little ground.
The battle had been raging for half an hour with alternate success, when,
looking down the road in our rear, we saw two regiments of infantry (the 16th
and 25th Louisiana I believe), approaching us rapidly and fully armed for the
fray. They came over for the
purpose of whipping out Fenner's battery. As
soon as we learned this, we immediately struck hands with our late antagonists,
and all the batteries now united, we marched to meet the common foe.
The conflict was a desperate one, as we were determined to drive the
invaders from our camps. The
enemy's battle-flag, an old silk handkerchief tied to a pole, advanced near our
lines, when some of our gallant boys made a charge, and after a hard struggle,
effected its capture. At length,
after many hard blows on either side, the enemy sent forward a flag of truce,
when hostilities ceased, and another alliance was formed.
The officer commanding the infantry detachment then proposed to take his
regiments and the remainder of his brigade (Gibson's Louisiana brigade), and
with the aid of our artillery battalion, commanded by Maj. Eldridge, we would,
altogether, make an attack upon Bate's old brigade, encamped about a mile
distant.
The proposition was agreed to--we soon formed all our companies and
regiments, and tramped through the deep snow to the enemy's camp; when near it
we formed in line of battle and deployed skirmishers in front.
We found the foe fully prepared to meet us.
They were drawn up in line, with their colors flying to the breeze.
Our skirmishers now advanced and drove in those of the enemy.
Our whole line followed in a tremendous charge, cheering and yelling,
while our officers gallantly led us on. The
first charge broke the lines of the enemy, and we followed them to their camps,
capturing a battle flag and several prisoners.
They soon rallied, however, and rushed on our left flank with so much
impetuosity that our ranks were broken, and another Missionary Ridge scene was
enacted. The victorious enemy
pelted us severely, and pursued our routed columns, taking many prisoners. I had the honor of bearing one of our standards--the
aforesaid pocket handkerchief we captured on the occasion. While I was "changing my base," a tall, daring
fellow from the enemy's lines rushed forward, overtook me, and seized my flag;
about a dozen others ran up to his assistance, and in spite of my valorous
struggle, and shouts for help, they took me off a prisoner, and secured the
captured colors. From that time I
was only a spectator. More stirring
scenes were to be enacted. Heavy
reinforcements now came to the relief of our scattered brigade and battalions.
Clayton's, Stovall's and Baker's brigades, all of Stewart's division,
were seen advancing. Two long lines of battle were formed--our routed columns
again restored to order, and the command forward was given, which was followed
by a yell that would have done credit to a legion of Camanches [sic].
Bate's old brigade had also been reinforced, as I was informed, by the
Kentucky brigade, General Lewis, and perhaps others.
The charge was sounded by our buglers, and the brigadiers and colonels
gallantly led on their respective commands.
When the contending columns met, the shock was terrible--the air was
filled with whizzing snowballs, and above the confusion rung out on the clear
cold air the shouts of the combatants. Here
and there might be seen some unlucky hero placed hors
du combat, with a red eye or a bloody
nose. Field officers seemed to be
the most desirable game, and many a major, colonel and brigadier was soundly
pelted, and in some cases captured, horse, equipments and all.
Our column, heavily reinforced as it was, proved too much for Bate's
division. The enemy's ranks were
broken; and our now victorious braves drove them into their camps, where they
were glad of the opportunity to take shelter in their cabins.
We captured several battle flags and a number of prisoners.
But our victory was dearly bought. We
lost two or three standards, and have to mourn the loss of many gallant officers
and men. Major Eldridge commanding
our battalion was captured in the first charge; also, Adjutant Colwell,
commanding the Eufaula artillery. Time
and space fail to tell of all the gallant deeds performed by our braves. The enemy being routed in the last charge, our scattered
forces were collected, and the victorious host marched back to camps, every man
well tired, well bruised, but with all in good humor, each one feeling himself a
hero. The snow continued to fall
during the day and attained to the depth of six inches. Our army here is in splendid fighting trim.
Full confidence is felt in our gallant commander.
The troops are in good spirits, and their physical condition unsurpassed. If the Yankee host of Thomas see fit to try our mettle, they
will find us ready, and will assuredly meet with something warmer than a
snowball reception.
[Correspondence Atlanta Appeal.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
A young lady, living in the vicinity of Danville, presented a trooper
from a Southern State with a serviceable sword, with the charge to run it
through Beast Butler.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Richmond, Monday, March 28.
. . . Since the passenger trains were reduced to one a day, traveling has become
a frightful misery and struggle. Ladies'
car abolished. Soldiers to be
seated first, then ladies, but not their escorts, and then anybody who can fight
his way in.--Trains never connect. At
Weldon, yesterday, there were 1500 people waiting--the cars, inside and out,
platform and top, all crammed, and hundreds begging and offering bribes to be
admitted. At Petersburg it was
nearly as bad. . . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 2, p. 1, c. 4
An Exhibition of Parisian Folly.--The Paris correspondent of the Boston
Post has the following:
The most striking of the dresses worn by the ladies was that of the
Duchess de Morny as an English lady of the last century, and the Princess Anna
Murat as a peacock, her train being of white tulle covered with "peacocks'
eyes," her petticoat of yellow satin, peacocks' feathers in her breast and
in her hair. Her ornaments were a
band of magnificent emeralds and diamonds, worn from one shoulder to the waist,
as Queen Victoria wears her royal ribbon--a necklace of the same, and the
aigrettes of peacocks' plumes in her head confined by an immense brooch.
The Princess is said to be frequently bedecked with the Empress' jewels;
she is the only lady of the Court on terms of absolute intimacy with her
Majesty, whom she always addresses as "my aunt."
The Princess Troubeskoi was dressed as a cat--cat's head upon her bosom
and sleeves and in her hair. Another lady as an aviary, with a lace dress covered with
birds in real feathers--her head dress consisting of a bird cage nearly six
inches square, in gilded wicker--a bird inside with another perched upon her
head. The bosom of her dress was
covered with red berries; birds nested upon shoulders, another wicker cage hung
from her side in which were several canaries.
One lady represented photography--small photographic cards forming the
trimming of her berthe; larger sized ones formed the basque, still larger the
trimming of the skirt, which was of white satin. The necklace was composed of very small pictures set in gold,
and the ear rings of likenesses of her hostess, the Duchess de Morny, also, set
in gold. The head dress completed
the eccentricity of this costume. It
consisted of a camera, the front of which was a mirror, instead of an ordinary
glass.
One of the most elegant dresses was worn by a very beautiful English
woman, very tall and well formed. She called herself Roma; her dress was of black velvet; upon
the train was embroidered the wolf, with Romulus and Remus; her hair fell in
waves to her waist, and upon her head she wore a turret like a diadem of gold.
A belt was embroidered with the name she had chosen.
Another extremely pretty costume was worn by Madame de Girardin as snow. The dress was formed of tulle, covered with swan's down in
flakes; a mantle close around her throat, trimmed in the same way, fell to her
feet. The hair was powdered, and
glistened with diamonds.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Southern Songster.--We have received from Mr. J. C. R. Taylor, firm of A.
E. Miller & Co., Taylor's Southern Songster, No. 1, containing all the favorite songs and
ballads of the day. They also have
in press Southern Songster No. 2,
containing a variety of new and favorite songs and ballads, just received, for
sale at A. E. Miller & Co., printers, over Welsh & Harris, King, near
Calhoun street.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Infamous Sacrilege--During the recent Yankee raid in Jackson, the
Lincolnites found out the rooms occupied by the Catholic Church since their
Church was demolished, stripped the room of the altar furniture and vestments of
their worthy pastor, threw them into the mud and completely destroyed them.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Richmond, Wednesday, March 30.
. . . We have in this city a number of stores where provisions are sold at cost
to the poor. Heretofore the crowd
before the doors of these stores has consisted almost entirely of females
belonging to the humblest walks, but of late I notice many ladies evidently
refined and well born.
To give you an idea of things, here is the cost of a little treat given
by an acquaintance last Saturday. Nine drinks of French brandy, six small scollops [sic] of
oysters and two Florida segars [sic]--$189.
Remonstrance was made, and the restaurant man, as the Yankees say,
"rebated" about $30. . . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 5, p. 2, c. 1
Life on the Frontier.--Persons residing in the interior can form a very
inadequate conception of the trials to which those are subjected who live in the
overrun districts. These trials,
however, seem only to increase and intensify the patriotic ardor of the
inhabitants of the border counties. We make the following extract from a private letter, written
by a lady of Winchester, Va.:
If you could be blindfolded and set down here you would not know the
spot. Except for a patched up
enclosure around the houses, there is not a panel of fence left.
My pretty flower garden has been trodden to pieces by Yankee horses--the
riders casually telling me they had nowhere else to pen them.
But I do not complain. I am
glad they do behave so towards our people.
Every blow falls upon us as upon iron, driving us closer together and
making us more capable of resistance. Occasionally
letters from friends, who live where they only hear of the war, reach me, and I
read them with a feeling akin to that with which I used to read "Fairy
Tales"--everything seems so different from the stern, lawless, pitiless
life around us.
We Catholics here never see anything connected with our faith, except the
bare walls of the chapel, which the Yankees plundered, and turned into a stable
last winter. The crosses on the
walls, and broken grave stones around, alone tell of its former use.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
A
Worthy Example.
Editor Mercury:--Our Legislature passed a resolution, approving that
Charleston shall be defended, and if ever given up, only as a heap of ashes.
The people sealed it with these words, "Nothing
less will satisfy us." Our
Commanding General advised all non-combatants to remove from Charleston, that he
might defend it. They have done so,
and sought shelter in every village, town and district in the State.
The inhabitants of Society Hill have received them with the greatest
hospitality; they have rented houses at the lowest rates; and sell them bacon at
25 cents per pound; butter, $1 per pound, and other articles at the same
generous rates. One gentleman
employs a servant to catch shad, and sells them to refugees at 50 cents each,
allowing every family to purchase two. By
their acts they prove themselves patriots and christians; no
Yankee there! Why do not the
planters and farmers throughout the country make arrangements to supply a market
at least once or twice a week, in every town or village, that refugee families
may purchase at a reasonable price from them, and not to [be] left to
extortioners? We are one
Confederate family, and it is the duty of every one of us to use his heart,
head, and hands to serve his country and his neighbor as himself, and
particularly those who have given up their homes for the honor and welfare of
the State and Confederacy.
Society Hill, S. C.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 7, p. 2, c. 1
Culture of Vegetables.--There is nothing we shall want more during the
coming season than an abundant supply of vegetables.
The army will need them to preserve its men from scurvy.
The people will need them to make up for the inordinate price of meat.
It is the duty, as well as the interest, of everybody to cultivate as
large a quantity as possible. There
is not a yard in any city or town which should not be made to contribute
something towards the general store. Among
other inducements, it may be mentioned that vegetables, with few exceptions, are
exempted from the tithe, and that they are not taxed beyond the income tax on
the profits from their sales. A
little attention and a little labor given to this end would do incalculable
good.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Firing
in Battle--Hints to Company Commanders
" A Company Commander, in Hood's corps, writing to the Atlanta
Register, asks the co-operation of all company commanders on the "Army of
Tennessee" on the following points:
Teaching the men in battle to aim their pieces with more accuracy, and
the great importance of being cool and collective, and wait until the enemy are
within easy range, exhort them all to act together in the heat of battle, and go
into it with that idea prominent in their minds, and try for once to impress it
upon the minds of each man to deliver his piece as if he was firing at a target.
I feel the greatest necessity of this, and I am confident that if we can
get even one volley fired in this way, we can whip any number the enemy can
bring against us. If you were never
in a battle you would not guess that there were half the random shots fired
there are. Why, sir, I have seen
whole regiments and brigades deliver their fire when I was sure they did not
even wound a single man. Such
firing, besides wasting the ammunition, does not intimidate the enemy at all; on
the other hand, it makes them feel that there is but little danger;
consequently, he is more bold and delivers his fire more accurately; besides, if
men are allowed to make these random discharges, it seems to become a habit, and
they become so excited at it that they would oftener miss a man at ten paces
than they would hit him. Just in
that way battles are often lost, while the company commander, if he would only
stop it, and show them that they were doing no good, they would soon become
collected, and after they once saw their folly would soon, of their own accord,
fire deliberately, and probably save the day after it had been comparatively
lost.
Why, sir, in battle you often see company commanders charging around with
their swords flourishing above their heads, crying out, give it to them, boys,
give it to them, manifesting in themselves and creating in others all the
excitement possible; now a second thought would show to their better judgment
that they were doing more harm than good, for men become so excited under such
circumstances, that they would miss an elephant ten steps.
You often see the above blustering around when the enemy are at least off
a distance of one thousand yards, and to hear the roar of musketry and the
excited commanders, you would think they would soon come to a hand to hand
contest. What is it that excites a
man in battle? Why, it is the danger. If
you shoot at a man once, he is very much excited; shoot at him a hundred times
and miss him every time, and all his fear and excitement is gone; but reserve
your fire until you can do some execution, and when they come, fire into them,
cut his clothes, wound his neighbor, kill the second man from him, and let him
see it, and I tell you seventy-five Yankees out of every hundred will break and
run, and then a charge, with our infernal yell, and the day is ours.
Another very important point after we have whipped and routed the enemy:
Let us all resolve to keep each and every man in his place, ready to
follow up our advantage and secure the fruits of the victory; not such things as
we can get from the dead and wounded; but, first of all, prisoners, and then his
artillery, wagon trains, etc., etc.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Dalton, Ga., April 12.--Miss Mary E. Walker, Assistant Surgeon of the 52d
Ohio Regiment, was captured by our pickets and brought here yesterday.
She is quite sprightly, and says that she only wished to deliver letters
to our pickets, and had no idea of being arrested.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 13, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Atrocities
of the Enemy in North Alabama.
The darkest chapter in the history of this cruel war, if not in any other
war, will record the atrocities of the Yankees wherever, in the Confederate
States, they have been permitted to march their thieving brutal hordes.
Their deeds, so in violation of all the rules of civilized or humane
warfare, entitle them to a place in history with the Goths and Vandals who
overrun and laid waste Southern Europe. Intent
upon their barbarous errand, they have shown themselves entirely wanting in the
instincts of common humanity, much less possessing any of the traits of a
civilized or humane people. They
have not bee satisfied to take possession of a portion of Confederate territory,
they must needs make it a waste, howling wilderness, by destroying the
provisions, buildings, fences, agricultural implements, stock, etc., and driving
defenseless old men, women and children into the woods, in many instances
setting fire to their homes over their heads.
We take from the Montgomery Mail
the following account of their atrocities in North Alabama:
In no portion of the Confederate States have they acted more barbarous
and cruel than in the Northern portion of Alabama.
A journey through parts of Jackson, Madison, Limestone and Lauderdale
counties would recall to mind the descriptions of Greece through which the
Turkish fire and sword had gone, or the utter destruction of whole sections of
Poland by the Russian hordes. We
have been lately put in possession of the facts in detail of certain Yankee
atrocities in Limestone and Lauderdale counties, which it is well to put on
record for the information of the world. In
the former county the outrages were committed by the 9th Illinois Regiment,
commanded by Lieut. Col. Jessee J. Phillips, of Belville, Illinois.
On January 25th General Roddy, with a small portion of his command,
attacked the forces of Lieut. Col. Phillips, who were encamped near and in the
grove of Mrs. Coleman, the widow of Judge Daniel Coleman, deceased.
The enemy's pickets were driven into the encampment, when they with those
of the forces who were in camp, took shelter behind the dwelling house of Mrs.
Coleman. They fired a few rounds
and fled in perfect consternation.
One of our secret scouts, who was in the enemy's lines a day or two after
the raid, says that the treatment of Col. Phillips' men to Mrs. Coleman and
family was unparalleled in the history of the war.
Our men, having accomplished their purpose, were scarcely out of sight,
when the Yankees rushed back to their encampment perfectly infuriated because of
their defeat. To avenge themselves,
they rushed into the house of Mrs. Coleman with fire brands, and built up a
large fire in one of the handsomest parlors.
The mother and daughter implored them not to burn the house, but they
heeded not their entreaties. They pushed them violently out of the house, drawing pistols
on them both. In a few hours that
portion of the command which was on a scout at the time of the attack by Gen.
Roddy, which was commanded by Major Kuhne, returned to camp. They rushed into the house of Mrs. Coleman, and commenced
plundering. Mrs. Coleman appealed
to Major Kuhne to control his men and to give her his protection as a
defenseless female. He ordered her
from his presence, saying: "Woman,
to away, I have no protection for you. Men,
pitch into her house, and sack it from bottom to top."
The vandals needed no encouragement from their officer, but immediately
obeyed his order to do their work of destruction.
Mrs. Coleman had with her two little boys, her only protection, she
having lost in this cruel war two as noble and brave sons as mother ever had,
and her oldest son is now absent in the service of his country.
Her little boys were torn from her in the night, put under guard, and
carried to the jail. Their mother
plead with the Colonel for their release, when he added to her already
unutterable anguish by saying that he would have to send the older one of the
boys to Northern prisons. He,
however, relented in a few days after torturing their mother sufficiently, as he
thought, and released the boys from their imprisonment.
Mrs. Coleman and daughter were driven from their home in the night to
seek refuge in the town of Athens, which was about one mile distant.
The furniture, which was of the finest rosewood, was split up.
The marble slabs to the bureaus and washstands were broken into pieces,
mirrors were shattered, handsome Brussels carpets cut up into saddle blankets,
beds dragged out into camp with all the bed clothing, including the finest
blankets and Marseilles quilts.
The portrait of Judge Coleman, also that of Mrs. Coleman, were so pierced
by their bayonets that they could not be recognized.
All of the table ware and several pieces of silver were taken out into
camp. Several handsome silk dresses and other articles of clothing
belonging to the family were taken. A
little trunk which Mrs. Coleman prized more than anything else, because it
contained the mementoes and letters of her noble sons, who had given their
precious lives to their country, was broken open, and their precious contents
destroyed by their infamous hands. The
books of a large and select library were scattered through the camp and
destroyed. All of Miss Coleman's
music was taken. After the
completion of their work of destruction, the officers, Major Kuhne and others,
took possession of the house and are now quartered in it.
Mrs. Coleman, daughter, and two sons, were ordered out of the Yankee
lines. Mrs. Coleman's health would
not admit of her coming out, hence her order was rescinded.
Miss Coleman and her two little brothers are now exiles in our lines.
Col. Phillips took Mr. Crenshaw, a respectable citizen of Limestone, into
his tent and demanded his money. Crenshaw
handed his pocket book and some loose change he had in his vest pocket.
Colonel Phillips asked if that was all.
Mr. Crenshaw replied no, and Phillips demanded the balance, and took from
his person five thousand dollars belted around his person.
This man is trying to equal Butler, the Beast, and is the representative
of the Lincoln Government.
In Lauderdale County the conduct of the enemy has been as bad as in
Limestone. This county is
continually ravaged by bands of tories, who have been armed by the enemy.
They are stealing all the horses, mules and cotton.
On the 2a February John Wesson, a tory, shot and killed Lewis C. Moore,
an aged and highly respectable citizen, a member of the Commissioner's Court.
Wesson is a young man, and had been reared in Moore's neighborhood, and
Moore was in the act of shaking hands with him when Wesson shot him.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 14, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Augusta Manufacturing Company.--During the nine months ending
November, 1863, this company sold to the Government nearly four million and a
quarter yards of their goods at an average of fifty cents a yard.
The Sentinel says: If the
same goods had been sold at the current market price, averaging $1 50 per yard,
they would have produced $6, 300, 576.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 16, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Double Murder by a Boy.--The Savannah News
of Thursday reports the following lamentable occurrence:
Two Children Shot.--In the Mayor's Court yesterday, a small boy named
William Craven, said to be not more than eight years of age, was brought up
charged with shooting a white child named Alice Cullen, aged three years, and a
negro girl, named Virginia, about 12 years of age, the property of Mr. J. G.
Watts. It appears that Mr. Wm.
R. Craven, the uncle of William, had left a loaded gun in his house,
which the lad got possession of, and with which he threatened to shoot some one. Between seven and eight o'clock on Wednesday night, he aimed
the gun at the above named children, and discharged it. The gun was loaded with large turkey shot, and the contents
took effect in the head of Alice, causing her death in about ten minutes.
Virginia, the colored girl, was shot in the side and died on Thursday
morning about three o'clock.
The occurrence took place in Robertsville, and police officer Byrne being
in that ward immediately entered the house, and found young Craven under a bed
in a room, and took him in charge. The Coroner was holding an inquest on the bodies Thursday
morning. The Mayor gave the young
lad in charge of the police until the verdict of the coroner's inquest shall
have been rendered. He remarked to
the relatives of the boy that this was another occurrence of great criminal
carelessness, and that the parent was not free from fault who placed loaded
weapons in such positions that they could easily be taken by children.
In this instance, through the carelessness of those who had this boy in
charge, two human lives had been sacrificed.
Since the above was in type the coroner's jury have returned verdicts in
both cases, that the deceased came to their deaths by gunshot wounds inflicted
by William Irwin Craven, and that he is guilty of murder.
The boy is only between eight and nine years of age.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 18, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Confederate Sugar.--A correspondent of the Macon Telegraph
gives the following process for making "Confederate sugar."
As there is likely to be a great quantity of syrup made from the Chinese
sugar cane this year, the mode of converting it into sugar is worthy of being
known:
The process is simple and easy, and plain.
In the first place, the cane must not only be ripe, but fully ripe--and
the best test of its ripeness is the hardness and brittleness of its seed, never
being governed by its general appearance. It
is my opinion that the prime cause of thin, dark, sour syrup, is owing to the
greenness of the cane from which it is made.
The cane being fully ripe, it is ground and the juice boiled in the usual
way. After it is put on to boil
some alkali should be added, either lye, soda or lime water, yet I know no
special quantity to be added. It
makes very well to add a half pint of lime water occasionally for three or four
times for a kettle sixty or eighty gallons, until the scum ceases to rise on the
top, which should be removed with a strainer as fast as it rises.
All the alkali, or whatever kind, can be added at once if you choose to
do so. The fire should never be too hot for the first half hour to
enable you to skim well. After that
it can be boiled rapidly if you choose until it is ready to take off, which
should not be too soon, as thick syrup is much to be preferred, provided you
wish to make sugar of it. When it
has reached the stage of [blot] syrup, very little more boiling will convert it
into sugar, which will granulate as soon as it cools.
By boiling a little once or twice and experimenting for sugar, you will
always know at what stage to remove it from the kettle better than I can tell
you, though I did not make a single failure.
After removing it from the kettle, place it in some vessel a short while
until some of its heat has left it, and then pour it into your barrels with the
hoops a little loose in order that the molasses may drip from it, of which there
will not be as much as many might suppose. Do not stir it after removing it from the kettle as is the
custom, or the grains will be small and fine.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A New Value of Sorghum.--The inestimable value of this production, says
the Lynchburg Virginian, is only
beginning to be appreciated by our people. It may not be generally known that the grain or seed
constitute an excellent and prolific breadstuff.
A correspondent writing to us on the subject, from Patonsburg, says:
"I had fifty bushels of the seed which I raised last year, and a
short time ago I took six bushels to the mill and got it ground into flour, and
have been using it in my family for bread for several days.
It makes really good loaf bread and light rolls, but still better batter
bread; in that way it can't be beat, if baked in the ordinary way of baking
buckwheat cakes. Besides it makes
fine chop for horses. Mine is the
red seed."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Wednesday, April 13
. . . Poor people, especially poor women, are beginning to be pinched for food.
You can tell this by the crowds which assemble daily at the office of the
Young Men's Christian Association, the cheap provision stores, and other places
where aid is given.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
A Good Soap Recipe.--Pour 12 quarts of boiling water upon 5 pounds of
unslacked lime; then dissolve 5 pounds of washing soda in 12 quarts of boiling
water, mix the above together, and let the mixture remain together from 12 to 24
hours for the purpose of chemical action. Now
pour off all the clear liquid, being careful not to disturb the sediment, add to
the liquid 3 1/2 pounds of clarified grease and from 3 to 4 ounces of rosin. Boil the compound together one hour, pour off to cool, and
the next day cut in bars for use.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Marietta Paper Mills, though among the very best in the Confederacy,
and though the Government and newspapers are clamorous for paper, are not
working up to their full capacity. The cause is this is the want of hands, some of their best
paper makers having been conscribed into service.
This ought not so to be. Government
should unhesitatingly detail the necessary force to keep every mill in the
Confederacy at work to its full capacity.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Frank Vizetelly, the correspondent of the Illustrated London News, has
returned to England from the Confederate States, where he has been for nearly
two years. His opinion (says a
London correspondent) is that the South will never be conquered.
The women keep alive the warlike spirit.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 23, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Chewing Gum.--Trifling as the subject may appear, yet in reality it is of
importance. If it be of importance
to have sound teeth in middle life and old age, proper precaution must be used
in childhood. The habit of chewing
gum is like applying small air pumps to the bases of the teeth.
When the gum is separated from the tooth, and the consequence is a
violent strain on the dental nerve. The
bad results may not show themselves immediately, but the boy or girl who
indulges in the habit, may calculate on having rotten teeth when in the prime of
life. Nor is this all--the habit,
like tobacco chewing, induces an unnatural flow of the humors towards the mouth,
where it must be rejected as saliva. That
is bad enough when it can be so ejected, but when from sickness or other cause,
the habit must be discontinued, the result may be, and no doubt has been fatal.
Let young persons and their parents take heed.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 25, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Tumble in Prices, it seems, is not confined to this locality, but is
general throughout the country. Our exchanges from all directions come to us filled with the
happy tidings that the result of the currency act is at last becoming apparent.
The Mobile Register of Thursday last says:
Three weeks ago we paid $11 50 per hundred for fodder.
Yesterday we bought the same article at $10.
A month since bacon was selling for $6.
The present price is $3 50 to $4. We
paid a month ago for corn meal $10, yesterday we bought the best article for $5.
Even flour has tumbled down $75 a barrel; although it is still
unreasonably dear. We notice a
decided improvement in the vegetable and meat markets.
Customers do not throng to the market as they used to do.
We saw meat in the market yesterday morning that had been there since
Saturday, a certain sign of two important facts, that money is scarce, more
prized, and not so readily parted with as formerly, and that the supply of meat
is not short of the demand. The
fishermen even are becoming more moderate.
We have never seen the market so abundantly supplied as since the 1st of
April.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 25, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
"Macaria, or Altars of Sacrifice."--This long expected book, by
the author of Beulah (the gifted Miss
Evans, of Mobile), has at last made its appearance.
The topographical execution of the work does credit to the publishers,
West & Johnston, of Richmond. We
may have more to say hereafter of its merits as a novel; but the popularity of
the author will secure it ready sale. The
book may be had at Hart's Bookstore. Price,
$5; mailed for $5 20.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Earnings of Seamstresses.--Army drawers are given out by contractors to
be made in Portland, Maine, at five cents a pair.
A woman sewing all day could not make more than two pairs a day.
If the thread given out with the drawers falls short, as it is apt to do,
the poor seamstress is told that she must supply the deficiency.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 28, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Letter
from Dalton.
[Correspondence Memphis Appeal.]
Dalton, Ga., April 24.
Since you last heard from this poor rebel soldier, he has been on a
"raid"--not in the rear of the Yankee army, tearing up railroads,
depleting hen roosts, diving into closets and inspecting band-boxes, getting
shot at from stockades and stone fences every mile, losing his hat in the
daytime and stealing another at night--but on a raid in the interior of the
"Southern vineyard," away down in the good old secession State of
South Carolina.
. . .
At various stations along the railroads the fair daughters of secession have
long tables set near the depot, covered with not only the substantials of life,
but, in many cases, groaning under luxuries not often met with by the soldier.
To these tables the passing soldiers are invited, where they feast
themselves free of charge, and go away blessing the fair dispensers of charity
who have so beneficiently anticipated their wants.
This manifestation of regard and sympathy, besides relieving much
suffering from hunger, makes better soldiers of our men by inspiring them with
renewed zeal and a more fixed determination never to yield to the merciless
tyrants who would despoil our homes and reduce to vassalage the lovely beings
who have done so much to contribute to their comfort and alleviate their
sufferings. Where is the soldier
who has passed over the South Carolina Railroad recently whose heart will not be
made firmer and his arm strengthened and nerved by the recollection of the sweet
smiles that greeted him and the kind words that were spoken, as he filled his
haversack with rations (not viands, it is true, but good wholesome food) at
Graham's Turnout, at Hamburg, or Orangeburg Court House, South Carolina.
We did not go beyond Columbia, so we cannot speak of the upper part of
the State, but understand that the custom of feeding the soldiers is the same
all the way through. At Orangeburg
Court House, we noticed a middle aged lady, with countenance beaming with
patriotism, and eye lit up with benevolence, going through the cars distributing
from a basket the staff of life among the poor hungry rebels.
She went on to Branchville, and when I saw her last she had just assisted
a poor emaciated soldier to a place in the baggage car, and after making him as
comfortable as circumstances would permit, she turned to seek other objects of
mercy.
His sunken eye, dimmed by a tear of thankfulness, followed her retreating
form until lost to view; then his pallid lips quivered and parted, and I heard
him utter, almost inaudibly, the simple sentence:
"God bless you." The
cars whistled and we dashed away, and, as I was musing on the scene above
described, I found myself involuntarily repeating, "God bless you."
And so it will ever be dear ladies!
Those three little words will find an echo in many a heart which your
benevolence has made to rebound with joy. In
dismissing the subject, which we do reluctantly, we take the liberty to say that
exhibitions of generosity and hospitality like what we have spoken of in the
foregoing are particularly refreshing to a Tennessean.
They remind him so forcibly of the customs in his own dear native State,
now overrun by the minions of the North. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Wanted--A "Bonnie Blue Flag."--We learn that the brigade of the
gallant and popular Gen. Stevens, of this State, is in need of a battle flag.
As blue silk is now exceedingly scarce, we have been requested to ask
that some lady who may possess a silk dress of suitable hue, will devote it to
the patriotic purpose of supplying the material for the future standard of
Stevens' Brigade. The men of the
brigade, we know, could never shrink in the face of danger or death, with such a
flag fluttering in their van.
Dresses that are suitable may be sent to Mr. Frederick Richards, of the
firm of Edgerton, Richards & Co., who is ready to pay whatever price may be
fixed for the dress selected.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Fashions.
We believe the ladies like to know and read about the fashions of the
outside world, albeit they are denied a very extensive indulgence in the latest
modes. At the risk of making (as
the children say) "their mouths water," we copy the following fashion
article for the month of April, from the New York News,
of the 2d instant:
The
Fashions.
Surely the milliners flourish this season.
The remark is called forth by the number and beauty of the bonnets we
constantly see in the showrooms of all our fashionable milliners.
Never within our memory has there been such quantity and quality of
bonnets--and, indeed, this is true of every species of wearing apparel.
There is a perfect carnival of dry goods.
Bonnets, cloaks, shawls, scarfs [sic], mantles, dress good are more
beautiful, of finer quality, and at infinitely higher prices than has ever
before been known on this continent. Why
is it? What is the reason of the
immense orders on foreign marts, and daily increase in demand for new goods and
novel styles? Are we on the
threshold of a terrible revolution? Like
the dolphin, do we show our brightest and loveliest hues in the struggle before
death? But avaunt, thou horrid
spectre! Surely the Fashion Column
is no place to discuss the bugbear politics. Turn we to daintier and more pleasing themes.
In the course of our peregrinations this week, in search of new bonnets,
we happened in a new, bright charming little place, more like a boudoir than a
show room, at No. 585 Broadway, where we saw the handiwork of an old time
favorite, Mrs. Mulchinock. There was one bonnet in particular, to view which ladies are
tripping from all directions; and not to be behind the times we here give our
readers the benefit of our observations: The
bonnet is called the "Night Blooming Cereus," and so far as we have
been able to find out, is the only one in the city.
It is the finest white chip, exquisitely beautiful, and trimmed on the
outside with a bouquet of the rare and beautiful "Night Blooming
Cereus." The flower is made of
threads of pearl and white silk, sprinkled over with dewdrops, so natural as to
deceive the most practical eye at first. It
is fastened to the bonnet with a pearl clasp, curtain of white blonde, face
trimmings white star flowers set in illusion, and duings [sic?] of white ribbon.
Another beautiful bonnet, in which simplicity and elegance are equally
combined, is of fine white split straw, imported, having a curious straw
trimming, edged with black lace, around the front.
The outside trimming consists of a peculiar straw cord and tassel of
black and white, tied in a bow on the side, near the crown, the tassels drooping
over the crown. With this bow are
mixed straw flowers, black grass, and lace.
The curtain is of black lace; the face trimmings scarlet geraniums, with
black grass pointed with beads; and the strings of black ribbon.
This bonnet is particularly suitable for a tall lady of bright, dark
complexion.
For a full dress bonnet the following is exquisite:
White illusion skirted with scarlet strings and illusion streamers; on
the side a bouquet of scarlet and veined tulips, set in tulle, with a black lace
tarte [sic?] floating from the centre. Lace
trimmings of yellow moss rosebuds, and black oats, set in a tulle ruching.
At the same establishment we saw the following head dresses, of the style
so much in demand for every description of evening dress--ball, reception or
dinner dress. A scarlet velvet
coronal, with illusion streamers, and a bunch of green French grass over the top
and at the back. Head dress of pale
pink ribbon, with a bouquet of blush roses on the left, and a white ostrich
plume on the right; tulle streamers at the back, and one end of ribbon fastened
with a pearl ornament.
At a time when everybody is having new Spring dresses made, it may be
well to describe the following, which we saw at a well known and fashionable
dress-maker's--Walking dress of black rep silk, with a narrow row of fluting
round the bottom, headed by a narrow black lace, through the centre of which was
drawn a narrow purple ribbon in such a manner as slightly to full the lace and
give it the appearance of a ruching. Above
this was a broad lace over a purple ribbon; and surmounting that a ruching of
lace the same as before described. The
corsage was high necked; buttoned down the front, with double points; and three
small postillions behind, which were trimmed the same as the skirt, except the
fluting of which there was none. For
evening dress--to be worn at dinner or a home party--a dress of native silk,
with a narrow flounce of black lace, headed by insertion, over white ribbon,
placed round the bottom of the skirt, was very rich and beautiful. The corsage was cut square Pompadour behind and in front, and
worn with a Pompadour chemisette of puffed tulle. Around the top of the corsage was a row of insertion over
white ribbon. The sleeve was half
open coat pattern, similarly trimmed and worn with a lace undersleeve.
The season for balls is drawing rapidly to a close, but for that very
reason habitues of the ballroom are paying more than ordinary attention to full
dress costumes, in order to disappear like the sun in a sea of splendor.
A dress of salmon-colored, moire antique, low-necked and short sleeved,
is thus trimmed: Festoons of black
laces in double rows, on the skirt, looped up at short intervals with bouquets
of scarlet poppies and wheat ears. Corsage
and sleeves trimmed to match. A
great variety of little jackets, with silk skirts, are worn for the house. These jackets are always open in front, sloping off very
short at the skirt, and rounded or pointed at the back, according to fancy.
They are usually made of silk of all colors, trimmed with rows of black
lace, [hole in paper] over ribbon of some bright, contrasting color [hole] the
most part, the vest beneath is of light satin or velvet; but as the cold weather
recedes still farther, those will doubtless be exchanged for underwaists of
tucked muslin and puffed tulle.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Monday, April 25.
. . . To-day, the female clerks start for Columbia, with one trunk a piece--the
rest of their baggage to follow. Report
hath it that they are sent away by General Bragg, to obviate the necessity of
ordering away the citizens. . . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Coals to Newcastle.--It has been announced in all the city papers that a
transportation agent here, has received advices of the shipment of three hundred
and eighty-four English girls by one steamer, for the West and a market.
Is not this a queer market to ship English girls to, where war is
continuing maids and making widows, and where sewing women make coats and
pantaloons for twenty-five cents each, drawers for six cents, fine shirts for
twenty-five cents, and other articles at prices which make it an unfathomable
mystery how they keep soul and body together; and this, too, with coal at from
twenty-eight to forty cents per bushel, and beef at twenty cents a pound, and
coarse calico at twenty-five cents a yard.
We are not disposed to shut the door in the face of girls who cross the
Atlantic, but we think that an exhibit of the wages of women in this city would
show that the female market is glutted now.--Cincinnati Gazette.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
April 30, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
At
Fort Pillow.
[By James R. Randall.
You shudder as you
think upon
The carnage of the grim report--
The desolation when we won
The inner trenches of the fort.
But there are deeds you
may not know
That scourge the pulses into strife;
Dark memories of deathless woe
Pointing the bayonet and knife.
The house is ashes,
where I dwelt
Beyond the mighty inland sea;
The tombstones shattered where I knelt
By that old Church in Pointe Coupee.
The Yankee fiend!
that came with fire,
Camped on the consecrated sod,
And trampled in the dust and mire
The Holy Eucharist of God!
The spot where darling
mother sleeps,
Beneath the glimpse of yon sad moon,
Is crushed with splintered marble heaps
To stall the horse of some dragoon!
God!
when I ponder that black day,
It makes my frantic spirit wince--
I marched--with Longstreet--far away,
But have beheld the ravage since.
The tears are hot upon
my face
When thinking what bleak fate befell
The only sister of our race--
A thing too horrible to tell.
They say that, ere her
senses fled,
She rescue of her brothers cried;
Then feebly bowed her stricken head,
Too pure to live thus--so she died.
Two of those brothers
heard no plea,
With their proud hearts forever still--
John shrouded by the Tennessee,
And Arthur there at Malvern Hill.
But I have heard it
everywhere
Vibrating like a passing knell;
'Tis as perpetual as the air
And solemn as a funeral bell.
By scorched lagoon and
murky swamp
My wrath was never in the lurch;
I've killed the picket in his camp
And many a pilot on his perch.
With deadly rifle,
sharpened brand,
A week ago, upon my steed,
With Forrest and his warrior band
I made the hell hounds writhe and bleed.
You should have seen
our leader go
Upon the battle's burning marge,
Swooping like falcon on the foe,
Heading the grey line's iron charge!
All outcasts from our
ruined marts,
We heard th' undying serpent hiss,
And in the desert of our hearts
The fatal spell of Nemesis.
The Southern yell rang
loud and high
The moment that we thundered in,
Smiting the demons hip and thigh,
Cleaving them to the very chin.
My right arm bared for
fiercer play,
The left one held the rein in slack;
In all the fury of the fray
I sought the white man, not the black.
The dabbled clots of
brain and gore
Across the swirling sabres ran;
To me each brutal visage bore
The front of one accursed man.
Throbbing along the
frenzied vein,
My blood seemed kindled into song--
The death-dirge of the sacred slain,
The slogan of immortal wrong.
It glared athwart the
dripping glaives,
It blazed in each avenging eye--
The though of desecrated graves
And some lone sister's desperate cry.
Wilmington, April 25.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
3, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Socks.--The knitting factory of J. Judge & Co., of Columbia, S. C.
turns out 2500 to 3000 pairs of socks per day.
Seventy hands are employed in the factory, and some five or six hundred
at their own houses in finishing them after the knitting is done.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
4, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Language of Pines.--In North Carolina it is frequent, among her
forests of fat pine, for a lover in distress to send the fair object of his
affections a bit of its staple vegetable production, with an eye painted upon
it. This signifies "I
pine." If favorable to him,
the young lady selects from the wood pile the best and smoothest specimens of a
knot--this signifies "pine not." But if, on the other hand, she detests him, (there is no
middle ground between detestation and adoration with young women,) she burns one
end of his message, and this generally throws the young man in despair, for it
means, "I make light of your pining."
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
6, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The latest style of hoop skirts is the self-adjusting,
double-back-action, bustle--etruscan, lace-expansion, Piccolomini attachment,
gossamer, indestructible polocticomoram. It
is said to be a very charming thing.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
11, 1864, p. 2, c. 1-2 [either some
of the word here are actually French, which is quite likely, or the English
translator wasn't very good, or the typesetter was inadequate.]
Fashions
for May.
Interesting to Our Lady Readers.
[From Le Follet.]
We have already had sufficient indication of the approach of bright
spring weather to lead us to hope that furs will soon be put aside, and whilst
we may for a little longer see velvet worn, we shall find silks and foulards in
far greater requisition. Blue and
green are, par excellence, spring shades; but we also find scabieause mentioned
as a color likely to be greatly in vogue.
We are promised a new material--a kind of mousseline delaine--which, it
is said, will be of a very nice texture; but at present our ladies of fashion
are as constant as ever in their admiration of foulard, which is made in such a
variety of colors and patterns that it may well please all tastes.
The paler shades are generally made with a corselet--a fashion which,
though it cannot be called new, will still be much worn.
The basquine of black velvet is very charming and Spanish like, when
trimmed with gold or silver hanging buttons.
These should be placed up all the seams of the back, front and sleeves,
and along the bottom of the veste. Silver
buttons are generally preferred to gold. For
children this style of basquine is also much used.
Ribbons of rare beauty are made for sashes.
Plaid and with stamped velvet ribbons are much liked. There is a small passementerie, very pretty, used for edging
the wide sashes when made in the same material as the dress.
We can speak very decidedly that the short half fitting paletot to match
the dress, or of black taffetas trimmed with passementerie of beads, tassels or
fringe, will be quite fashionable.
Large buttons are now worn down the waistcoats, which are made of colored
cloth or silk, the same shade as the skirt.
The veritable gilet pierrot should be composed of white voulard of very
fine quilting; the large flat buttons matching the color of the skirt.
If the waistcoat is velvet, large steel buttons may be used.
Our list of dresses this month comprises both visiting, ball and marriage
toilettes.
A dress of scabieuse taffetas, the bottom of the skirt trimmed with three
gauffered flounces edged with lace, and between them two rows of black velvet,
forming double vandykes; high body, trimmed round the point with velvet; the
sleeves tight, with revers and cuffs of velvet.
A poult de soie dress, of the color of dried rose leaves.
The skirt, sleeves and body are trimmed with medallions of black lace,
each edged round with silk fringe to match the dress.
A robe of corded toile de soie, dove colored.--Round the bottom of the
skirt a light fancy fringe formed of green silk; above this, an embroidery of
stars in he same color. The
sleeves, long and open at the wrist, are trimmed to match; and all down the
front of the body and skirts are cut mother of pearl buttons, each surrounded
with passementerie resembling the fringe.
An Indian foulard, of the shade of violet, called Duchess de Parme, with
eight narrow black taffetas fluted flounces, edged with a very narrow lace.
The body, which is high, has a berthe pelerine formed with similar
frills, which also trim round the top and bottom of the sleeves.
These are made a coupe, open at the wrist.
A black poult de soie dress. At
the bottom of the skirt an insertion of guipher, about five inches and a half
wide, of a rose color. High body,
with insertion put on in the Figaro veste style and continued round the
postillion basque. Insertions also
round the bottom and up the seams of the sleeves a conde.
A dress of iron gray satin, trimmed with three bands of emerald green
velvet, each edged with a double roule of green satin.
The top of the whole trimming does not reach higher than the knees.
High body with velvet bands to match the skirt, only narrower, put on in
bardebourgs, and as epaulettes and cuffs to the sleeves, which are small but
opened at the elbow.
A black moire dress; the skirt set on in the new fashion--that is to say
with one wide plait in the middle of the front.
This plait is made entirely of lightish blue taffetas.
A broad black lace in deep points is placed at each edge of the blue
taffetas, and, meeting down the middle, is joined at each point under a large
silver button. A button also is
placed on each blue space between the points.
The corselets is blue, covered with black lace; but instead of a body, it
has a blue veste trimmed with black Astracan.
A dress of violet taffetas, trimmed round the skirt with a wide band of
passementerie, above which is a narrow flounce, put on waved, and carried up the
side to the waist. The body is
plain, but with jockeys on the sleeves.
A robe of poult de-soie, of a color scabieuse; the skirt trimmed with
five rows of black chenille, put on waved, and so as to form bows, finished off
with tassels. Upon the body a
similar pattern, forming brandebourgs. The sleeves a coude, with a chenille epaulette.
An amber colored Indian foulard; the bottom of the skirt cut in festoons
with a flounce of black taffetas placed underneath.
In each festoon is an ornament of Spanish point; and upon the body
similar ornaments in Figaro veste fashion.
Upon the sleeves a row of smaller ornaments, all up the seam at the back.
A violet poult-de-soie; up each seam in the skirt a cord of passementerie
is placed, which is put in at the waist, and finished off at the bottom with a
tassel. In the middle of each
breadth is a very large arabesque with three tassels.
A small square pelerine and an aumoniere of passementerie completes this
toilette.
A ball dress of pink moire, trimmed about fifteen inches up the skirt,
with bouillonnes of tulle, covered with a flower of rich blonde.
A drapery body, with berthe of blonde.
A bouquet of white camellias in the centre.
A dress of tulle; the skirt almost covered with puffings of tulle, over a
skirt of ponceau taffetas. Rich flounces of lace are mixed with the bouillonnes; and
geranium flowers, with bright green foliage, are trained about the skirt and
body.
A white tulle dress trimmed with blonde and bouillones; a tunic or white
satin trimmed with blonde, above which is a wreath of white marabouts.
The skirt is also trimmed with marabouts, a skirt of white tulle, very
bouillonne, and much trimmed with blonde; but instead of a tunique, a casaque--a
veritable casaque--made in three pieces, low bodied, and trimmed with a drapery
mixed with blonde. In front, the
form is the same as the Empress robe--without plait and not cut at the
waist--and behind, there is no plait, as it is a casaque.
It is composed of white taffetas, trimmed with blonde, and a rouche of
spotted tulle.
A marriage toilette: robe of
white poult de soie, with a train skirt, trimmed with three narrow flounces
edged with a light cord of passementerie, and a fringe of white beads falling
over the under flounce; the cord on the upper flounce is arranged as to form a
trimming up to the top of it. The
body is plain and high, and has a ceinture, with aumoniete and postillion basque,
entirely formed of passementerie. Passementerie also forms epaulettes and cuffs; and a cord is
put up the seam of the sleeve.
Bonnets are worn closer than ever at the sides, and less raised over the
forehead. Some houses still
preserve the Marie Stuart form, but it seems scarcely likely that it will be
much worn this season.
Crape bonnets are the most worn just now; but silk and tulle
satin--either plain or mixed with crape or tulle--crinoline and straw are making
their appearance.
One very elegant bonnet of pink crape was trimmed round the front with a
drapery of gauze ribbon, from which fell a light fringe of white feathers.
Curtains are to match the front, and a small bouquet of feathers at the
side.
A capote of mauve crape, the front drawn.
A wreath of plaited ribbon round the front and curtain.
In the cap a bow of mauve ribbons and one rose.
A white crape bonnet was trimmed with coquilus of white blonde, from
which fell two green features, over a bouquet of lilies of the valley.
A bonnet of green crape, trimmed with a bouquet of lilies of the valley,
falling like a feather on the left side. This
bouquet is fastened under a white rose placed in a rosette of tulle.
In the cap, coques of taffetas, with a white rose in the middle.
Ribbon strings.
An elegant bonnet was made of tulle and pink satin.
The front of tulle had at the side a pouff of roses, surrounded with
moss. The soft crown of pink satin
was covered with a fanchon of white lace, falling over the curtain.
A tuft of roses and ruches of tulle inside, with strings of pink satin
ribbon.
A bonnet of mauve silk, covered with white crape.
The curtain to match. A
fanchon of blonde falling over the forehead, partly covers two bunches of lilac
falling on each side. Strings of
white crape, with narrow ones of mauve ribbon falling over them.
For evening coiffure, feathers, and aigrettes are much worn.
These aigrettes are made of heath or any light flowers, mixed with mother
of pearl. The fashion of green
leaves with very few flowers has been much adopted by the Empress this winter.
Branches of mimosa, long spring grass, or Indian parsley, are very pretty
for the purpose.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
13, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
The card factory at Selma, Ala., is running four machines, which turn off
from twenty to fifty pair per day. The
proprietor will soon commence manufacturing wire from common bar iron.
The cards will sell at $8 per pair.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
14, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
How to Tan Squirrel Skins.--Let the hides remain in Lime--or ashes will
answer--until the hair can be easily removed.
Then soak a short time in clear water, after which dry and rub them
thoroughly with soft soap. You will find, after cleansing off the soap, that your hides
will be very pliant, and will be beautifully tanned.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
14, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Drying Vegetables.--Nearly all our summer vegetables, as well as fruits,
can be preserved by drying, or in some other way, so as to be a very palatable
addition to the winter supply of our tables, and most grateful to our friends in
the army. A subscriber states that
his family are using snap beans which were preserved by cutting up, taking out
the strings, and thus prepared as if for the table; then scalded in salt and
water, and dried on a scaffold like fruits.
Others preserve them in slat, like pickles, the bean making its own
brine. In either case the beans are
soaked in water before cooking.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
18, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Ladies' waists in America.--The unnatural length and ridiculous smallness
of their waists baffles description. A
waist that could be spanned is an English metaphorical expression used in a
novel; but it is an American fact, and so alarming does it appear to an
Englishman, that my first sentiment on viewing the phenomenon was one of pity
for the unfortunate being who might possibly break off in the middle, like
flowers from the stalk, before the evening concluded.
Not less extraordinary is the size of the ladies' arms.
I saw many which were scarcely thicker than moderate size walking sticks.
Yet, strange to say, when these ladies pass the age of forty, the
frequently attain an enormous size.--The whole economy of their structure is
then reversed, their waists and arms becoming the thickest parts of their body.
Here is a subject worthy the contemplation of the ethnologist.
How comes it to pass that the English type--which I presume has not in
every case been so affected by the admixture of others as to lose its one
identity--how comes it to pass, I say, that the English type is so strangely
altered in a few generations? I
have heard various hypotheses; among others, the habits of the people, the dry
climate. The effect of the latter
on an European constitution would have appeared to be sufficient to account for
the singular conformation, if I had not been persuaded by natives of the country
that the small waist is mainly owing to tight lacing. This practice, it is said, is persevered in to an alarming
extent; and, if report be true, it is to be feared that the effects will be felt
by future generations to a greater degree than they are at present.--Bennett
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
21, 1864, p. 1—[Summary: Battles
of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, LA, as reported in the Houston Telegraph, April
22]
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
25, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
New
Songs, Now Ready
Awra Lea
Price $1.00
Pray, Maiden, Pray!
Price 2.00
New
Editions of the Favorite Songs,
Something to Love Me
Price $1.50
No One to Love
Price 1.50
Why No One to Love
Price 1.50
Love Me
Price 1.50
*Her Bright Smile Haunts me Still
Price 1.50
*When This Cruel War is Over
Price 1.50
Who Will Care for Mother Now
Price 1.50
In
a Few Days.
*The Standard Bearer
Price 2.00
*Mary of Argyle
Price 1.50
*Lorena
Price 1.50
Those marked * are arranged with an accompaniment for the Guitar as well
as Piano Forte. All are on thick,
durable paper, with handsome titles.
Terms--Half off to the trade.
George Dunn & Co.
May 28
Richmond, Va.
CHARLESTON MERCURY, May
28, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Bonnets.--The May magazines give the following descriptions of Spring
bonnets. Upon reading them we
suppose the ladies will understand what they mean--we don't.
We can answer for it that they are all beautiful--when filled out with a
pretty face:
1. Bonnet of drawn cuir-colored
crepe, trimmed on the front with a fanchion of white lace, loops of green ribbon
and Scotch feathers. The inside
trimming is of bright flowers, of Scotch colors.
The cape is covered with a fall of white blonde.
2. Spring hat of white
straw, trimmed with green and blue velvet, and one green and blue plume.
The brim is lined with green velvet.
3. Violet crepe bonnet,
trimmed on the front with a black lace insertion.
The cape is covered by a rich white ribbon corded by a black lace.--On
the top of the bonnet is a light violet feather, and a pompon of spun glass.
The inside trimming is of black and white lace, mixed with scarlet
berries and fancy grasses. A black
lace barbe is tied in with the violet strings.
4. This bonnet has a front
of drawn green silk. The graceful
soft crown is of white silk. The trimming consists of a tuft of meadow grass and field
flowers, also loops of white silk placed directly over the crown.
The inside trimming is of white and black lace and field flowers.
5. Spring bonnet of white
crepe trimmed with a fanchon of bright plaid velvet and chenille tassels.
The crape is of plaid velvet, ornamented by chenille cord and tassels. A long white plume curls over the front of the bonnet.
The inside trimming is composed of Scotch thistles and heather.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
An Highly Seasoned Joke.--During the late great Sheridan cavalry dash
upon Richmond, and while the Henley battalion of this city was lying in the
trenches on the Brooke turnpike, fasting literally and praying devoutly for
something to eat, the answer to their prayer seemed to be borne to them by a
diminutive negro, who, making his way across wide, intervening fields from the
direction of a thrifty farm house, delivered his message to the picket on
post--"Missus says all you'ens of the company who are hungry, come over
theer (pointing) to her house, she has plenty to eat; wanted the whole company
to come." What delightful news
to famished, thirsty men! What an oasis in the desert they had found!
A detail was at once made, and never did men step with greater alacrity
towards the goal of any desire. They
charged--they actually ran. A half
dozen or so who were blest with long legs and wind, outstripped the rest, and
arrived at the friendly house first; met the lady who had extended the
invitation, and were invited in. "Yes
she had thought they must be hungry, and had prepared a little something for
them, which she would sell as low as the
next one." And she
displayed a table temptingly spread, and ran over the rates attached to her bill
of fare. "There's ham and
eggs, ten dollars; pure coffee, five dollars per cup, bread and butter, two
dollars and a half; nice sweet milk, one dollar a glass.
What will you have, gentlemen?"
Several who were hungry and had money launched, but the majority, who had
no money, had no appetite either when they found they were not invited guests.
The whole detail fell back in good order to the entrenchments, and no
more were ordered out. They were
completely repulsed by the enterprise of the patriotic lady, and those who had
been deceived into the run to her hospitable mansion were very anxious to be
allowed the privilege of pitching a shell into it.--Richmond Examiner.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Little steps towards Southern independence.--The following list of
manufactories of general utility, not heretofore made in the South, is copied
from exchanges within the past few days, says the Charlotte Bulletin.
It shows that our people are really making some progress towards the
independence that we have heard talked of so much.
We have not included the cotton and woollen mills dotted here and there
in all the States, or the iron establishments, or the Government works for
making arms, powder, etc.
We have not doubt there are many other establishments of which we have
seen no notice, that are adding to the resources of the country, by making
articles that we have heretofore depended upon the Yankees to furnish us:
Hat Manufactory at Statesville, N. C.
Stocking Factory at Columbia, S. C.
Stocking Factory at Eufala, Ala.
Stocking Factory at Danville, Va.
Bonnet Frame Factory at Newberry, S. C.
Cotton Card Factory at Greenwood, S. C.
Cotton Card Factory at Fayetteville, N. C.
Cotton Card Factory at Columbus, Ga.
Cotton Card Factory at Danville, Va., 2.
Cotton Card Factory at Selma, Ala.
Cutlery, Knives and Forks, at Raleigh, N. C.
Cotton Batting Factory at Charlotte, N. C.
Corn Broom Factory at Davidson's College, N. C.
Match Factory at Danville, Va.
Blanket Manufactory at Montgomery, Ala.
Knitting Needles at Columbia, S. C.
Pyroligneous Acid at Columbia, S. C.
Glass Manufactory at Richmond, Va.
Glass Manufactory at Columbus, Ga.
Glass Manufactory at Savannah, Ga.
Button Manufactory at Columbus, Ga.
Powder Manufactory at Mecklenburg, N. C.
Several Copperas Mines, extensively worked in Rutherford County, N. C.
One Copperas Mine in Chesterfield, S. C.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Cotton Factory Burned.--We learn that the Cotton Factory at
Lawrenceville, Ga., was destroyed by fire on Monday night, 30th May--the work of
incendiaries.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A Flag for South Carolinians.--A magnificent battle flag, to be made by
the Misses Simon, of Richmond, is to be presented by the citizens of Petersburg
to the gallant fifteen hundred South Carolinians who met the advance of Butler
at Port Walthall Junction, upon the opening of the campaign in Chesterfield,
repelled it, and, though at great sacrifice, held the army of the Beast in check
until the troops of Beauregard could arrive to their support and the defence of
the "Cockade City." The
hospital records of Petersburg attest how well this Spartan band deserve the
testimonial.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 9, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
A company of boys, about forty strong, was formed at Columbus, Ga., to
guard the railroad bridge at West Point. Their
Captain is Master Walter Gordon, a brother of the distinguished Major General
Gordon, of Lee's army. Not a member
of the company is over sixteen years of age.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 14, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Yankee Outrages in Florida--New Troy Burnt.--We copy the following
communication from the Lake City Columbian of this week:
The deserters, about one hundred strong, came up on last Tuesday night
and burned up New Troy, the county site of Lafayette County.
Not a house was left. They
also burnt nearly all the houses in the centre and Southern portions of the
county, leaving only a few, and it is presumed the owners of those were either
concerned or sympathized with the deserters.
They carried off all the negroes, horses, and mules they could get.
They say they did this in revenge for the injury the troops did them, by
burning up and carrying off their property.
It is a deplorable fact that between the operations of our troops and the
deserters, Lafayette County is made a sad wilderness; hundreds of women and
children rendered completely destitute, without shelter, food, or clothing, are
thrown upon the cold charities of a friendless world.
The government nor its citizens neither caring for nor offering
assistance to them in their unfortunate condition.
If something is not done many of them will most certainly starve.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
English
Wool
Cards,
Just Received, at
Aimar's Drug Store.
June
17
1*
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 17, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Cane Pipe Stems.--Specimens of an improved and lasting pipe stem, made by
Mr. Isaac Hudson, out of the common cane, may be seen at our office.
They are handsomely got up, on a good principle, and will add to the
comfort and convenience of smokers. The
maker is a discharged soldier and refugee from Mississippi, a native of this
State, and brings strong recommendations.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Marietta, Ga., Friday Night, June 17.
. . . The enemy attempted, this evening, to shell Kennesaw Mountain. The third shell exploded in such close proximity as to wound
one man, and cause the large number of quartermasters, commissaries and relief
committees to leave without standing on the order of their going. . . .
Fortunately, the large number of ladies had left, or we might have witnessed a
commotion among our fair friends, who uttered such delicate little screams this
morning when a gun was fired, three miles distant. . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The latest Parisian style.--A Paris correspondent writes:
I must for an instant allude to a new fashion, grounding my statements on
a picture in the Journal Illustre. I
hinted some weeks ago that ladies were about to wear "tail coats."
The time has arrived for that innovation, and only last night I beheld
with astonishment, not unmixed with terror, many ladies in silk and dress coats,
waistcoats, shirt collars and cravats--they have assumed them all in turns.
What remains for them to wear? And
echo answers--Well, never mind what echo answers.
I hope they won't get in the habit of standing with their backs to the
fireplace and their hands in their pockets.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Useful to Housekeepers.--The plant commonly known as "water
pepper," or "smart weed," which may now be found in abundance
along our ditches, roads, lanes and barnyards, is an effectual and certain
destroyer of the bed bug. A strong
decoction is made of the herb, and the place infested with the insect washed
thoroughly with it. Elderberry
leaves laid upon the shelf of a safe or cupboard will drive away roaches and
ants, while the common house fly will not venture in smelling distance of them.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 21, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Cheap Soap--A correspondent of the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, says:
"A friend informs us that he obtained from he Observer a recipe for
making the article which is worth a dozen years' subscription.
It is simply strong ley and rosin, boiled together, till of the proper
consistency. Not a particle of
grease is necessary. His family was
thus supplied with an excellent soap all last year--excellent, as his own
faultless shirt bosom showed. If
salt were not so dear, an addition of a proper proportion of that would make
"bar turpentine soap."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
The editor of the Houston Telegraph has been shown by Col. Sayles a pair
of shoes made of the finest tanned goat skin we have ever seen made in that
country. He asked him for the
method of tanning, which is as follows: Prepare the hide in the usual way, putting it into a weak
ooze at first. The hide should be
often taken out and exposed to the weather; the oftener the better.
The ooze should be kept about blood heat.
Add to the ooze a small quantity of the weed known as queens delight.
This colors the leather a handsome and permanent black.
The leather is tanned in about six days.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 28, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Northern Women.--The Democratic Watchman, Bellefont, Pa., says:
"We can scarcely go into a house at the North where some of the
property of Southern ladies is not seen, in possession of women who have sent
forth their brethren and friends to plunder and devastate the South.
Books, musical instruments, and everything portable, are stolen wherever
our armies march, and conveyed North. This
crusade upon the women of the South is urged on by their sister in the North,
and we have heard threats from females which the most brutal soldier in the army
would scorn to execute. In every
town, village, steamboat and railroad car, all over the land, will be found the
fairest of the sex advocating the destruction of their sisters of the South.
We can only account for it by supposing that the devil has sought to
destroy the human family through the same medium he used more than five thousand
years ago. It is horrible, and
cannot fail to bring upon us the wrath of Heaven.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
A Novelty--Home Manufactured Ice!--We had the pleasure of witnessing an
enterprise recently introduced into our city by our energetic and persevering
fellow citizen--Captain Camille Girardey--at once an enterprise of great
utility, and a novelty to the people of this country--an enterprise due at once
to the war in which we are engaged, and to the energy of the gentleman who has
introduced it here. This enterprise
is no less than a machine for the manufacture of ice!
It is the invention of M. Carrie, of France, and is capable of producing
ice--the one now at work here--at the rate of a ton a day!
It can also manufacture salt, and some chemicals of importance! We witnessed its operations yesterday, and saw the ice, and
tasted it too!
Only think of it--long cylindrical blocks of ice, made on a hot day in
June, by the combined action of caloric acid gas, and water, under the influence
of steam and atmosphere pressure! This
is, indeed a novelty worthy of the investigation of the learned, and the
examination of the curious; and we are gratified to be able to state that a day
in each week--of which due notice will be given--will be set apart, on which the
public will be admitted to witness the operations of this wonderful machine.
It is the invention, as we have already said of M. Carrie, one of the
greatest chemists of France, who has patented it all the world over.
Captain Girardey has secured the patent right for the Confederacy, and
intends to manufacture a number of these machines, to be introduced into all of
our Southern cities.
A great portion of the ice thus made is for the Government--to be used in
Hospitals, particularly for the sick and wounded soldiers, while a portion will
be reserved for the public, to whom it will be sold at as reasonable rates as
possible. Thus the necessities of
the war in which we are engaged, and the enterprise of our people, we are
becoming daily more and more independent of "our Yankee brethren;" and
by the time the war closes, we hope, not only to achieve our political
independence but also our financial and industrial independence of the people
who are trying to subjugate us, as well as of the world at large.
Let us labor by all the means in our power, to accomplish this great
end.--Augusta Constitutionalist 28th.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
June 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 5
Now
Ready!
The Camp Follower!!
Containing the following stories:
"The Cock Fight,"
"The Wife's Strategem;"
"How I Coated Sal;"
"The Champion;"
And many other Humerous [sic] Sketches, Anecdotes, Poetry, &c., designed for
the
Amusement
of the Camp.
Single Copies, Postage paid, $2 50.
The usual discount to the trade.
Address
Stockton & Co.,
June 29
Augusta, Ga.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 7, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Peach Leaf Yeast.--Hops cost two dollars per pound, leaves cost nothing,
and peach leaves make better yeast than hops.
Thus: Take three handfulls
of peach leaves and three medium-sized potatoes; boil them in two quarts of
water until the potatoes are done, take out the leaves and throw them away, peel
the potatoes, and rub them up with a pint of flour, adding cool water sufficient
to make a paste, then pour on hot peach leaf tea, and scald for about five
minutes. If you add to this a
little old yeast, it will be ready for use in three hours.
If you add none, it will require to stand a day and a night before use.
As this is stronger than hop yeast, less should be used in making up the
dough.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Ruddy cheeks.--A curious work on cosmetics, recently published, strongly
condemns rouge and pearl powder, but informs the ladies how they may give color
to their cheeks without danger. Thus: Take a
fragment of bright crimson silk, dip in strong spirits of wine and rub it over
the cheek till a moderate tint appears. This
defies detection and is harmless.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
A Georgia Lady.--Mrs. Mary Arnold, wife of Wm. F. Arnold, of Coweta
County, Georgia, made in the year 1863 one thousand twenty-eight yards of cloth,
besides knitting several pairs of gloves and socks for soldiers gratis.
Who cares for Yankee blockades when we have ladies of such untiring
energy and perseverance among us? Three
cheers for Mrs. Arnold.
Lagrange Bulletin.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Pepper Catsup.--Take green peppers, fully grown (the bell pepper is
best), cut a small hole in one side; put them in a kettle of water, taking care
that the peppers shall get filled with the water.
Let them boil until the rind assumes a whitish look.
Dip them out on a dish to cool, and drain all the water from them.
Peel the skin off; pull out the stems with the seed; work the pulp well,
and return it to a clean kettle, with a quart of vinegar to each pint of pulp;
then put in three tablespoonfuls of white mustard seed, some of black, and one
spoonful of whole cloves, and salt to your taste. Let it boil half an hour, and when cool, bottle in wide mouth
bottles. It makes bread alone
palatable, and meats delightful, gives an appetite when one is wanting, and is
alike good for the sick and well.--Field and Fireside.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
July 22, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
New
Books Just Arrived.
Macaria
Eleanor's Victory
Fantine
Camp Follower
Gerald Gray's Wife
Pictorial Primer
Confederate Primer
Smith & Barrow's Monthly Magazine
Chaudron's First and Second Reader
Stonewall Song Book
Southern Soldiers' Prize Song Book
Confederate Flag Song Book
Punch Song Book
Bold Soldier Boy Song Book
Taylor's Songsters, Nos. 2 and 3
Southern Table Book
Also,
The Southern Field and Fireside
And
Magnolia Weekly
And
Other Periodicals and Books can be had at Quinn's News Depot,
King street, opposite the Postoffice.
July 22
1*
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 2, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Arms and Lead from the Battlefields.--We noticed at the Central Depot on
Saturday six cars loaded with arms, knapsacks, cartridge boxes, sabres, &c.,
together with a large lot of pig lead, the spoils of the battle-fields of the
Wilderness and Spottsylvania. The
balls are collected on the battle-field by the people living in the vicinity,
brought to an established depot, and melted into pigs.
In this way they are forwarded to the laboratory here.
As lead is at this time in demand, it will be very acceptable.
In this lot there is not less than 16,000 pounds; and about 8000 or 9000
stand of arms, which, with slight repairs, will be very serviceable.
Lieut. Louis Zimmer, Assistant to Chief of Ordnance, has charge of that
department. In return for lead and
arms, he issues to the people corn meal and flour.
There are many poor families in this neighborhood who have been despoiled
by the Yankees of all they had, and this is of great assistance to them, as
provisions are more important to them than money.
Lieutenant Z. has already collected from these battle-fields upwards of
30,000 small arms and 25,000 pounds of lead, equipments, &c.
This will be to the Government a clear savings of over $2,000,000.
Lieut. Z. has shown great energy in this branch of the service.--Richmond
Dispatch.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 2, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Sherman's Soldiers as Vile as Grant's--On Monday of last week, five
Yankee soldiers (white men) entered the house of Mr. _____, an aged and highly
respectable citizen of Fulton county, who lived twelve miles north of Atlanta,
and after expelling the father and mother from their home, violated the person
of the daughter, an intelligent and beautiful girl, seventeen years of age.
The dead body of the girl was found in the house by some f our scouts.
Her parents, crazed by grief, narrated the facts to our soldiers.
Can we much longer great such demons as prisoners of war or even as human
beings.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 6, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Burning
of Alexandria, La.
A correspondent of the St. Louis Republican, writing from Cairo,
Illinois, gives a description of the burning of Alexandria, La., by Banks' army,
which we have never seen in the Southern prints.
It is a very graphic sketch, and shows up the heartlessness and ferocity
of our oppressors. Here it is:
When gunboats were all over the falls, and the order to evacuate was
promulgated, and the army nearly on the march, some of our soldiers, both white
and black, as if by general understanding, set fire to the city in nearly every
part, almost simultaneously. The flames spread rapidly, increased by a heavy wind.
Most of the houses were of wooden structure, and soon devoured by the
flames. Alexandria was a town of
between four and five thousand inhabitants.
All that part of the city north of the railroad was swept from the fact
of the earth in a few hours, not a building being left.
About nine-tenths of the town was consumed. . . The scenes attending the
burning of the city were appalling. Women
gathering their helpless babes in their arms, rushing frantically through the
streets with their screams and cries that would have melted the hardest heart to
tears. Little boys and girls were
running hither and thither crying for their mothers and fathers; old men leaning
on a staff for support to their trembling limbs, were hurrying away from the
suffocating heat of their burning dwellings and homes.
The fair and beautiful daughters of the South, whose fathers and brothers
were in one army or the other; the frail and helpless wives and children of
absent husbands and fathers were, almost in the twinkling of an eye, driven from
their burning houses into the streets, leaving everything behind but the clothes
they then wore. Owing to the
simultaneous burning in every part of the city, the people found no security in
the streets, where the heat was so intense as almost to create suffocation.
Everybody rushed to the river's edge, being protected there from the heat
by the high bank of the river. The
gunboats lying at the landing were subjected to great annoyance, the heat being
so great that the decks had to be flooded with water to prevent the boats from
taking fire. Among those who thus
crowded on the river bank were the wives, daughters and children, helpless, and
now all houseless, of the Union men who had joined the Federal army since
occupation of Alexandria. Their
husbands had already been marched off to the front toward Simmsport, leaving
their families in their old homes, but to the tender mercies of the
Confederates.
The Federal torch had now destroyed their dwellings, their household
goods and apparel, the last morsel of provisions, and left them starving and
destitute. As might be expected,
they desired to go along with the Federal army where their husbands had gone.
They applied to Gen. Banks with tears and entreaties to be allowed to go
aboard the transports. They were
refused. They became frantic with excitement and rage.
Their screams and piteous cries were heart-rending.
With tears streaming down their cheeks, women and children begged and
implored the boats to take them on board. The
officers of the boats were desirous of doing so, but there was the peremptory
order from General Banks not to allow any white citizens to go aboard.
A rush would have been made upon the boats, but there stood the guard
with fixed bayonets, and none could mount the stage plank except they bore the
special permit of the commanding General. Could
any thing be more inhuman and cruel? But
this is not all. General Banks
found room on his transports for six or seven thousand negroes that had been
gathered in from the surrounding country.
Cotton that had been loaded on transports to be shipped through the
Quartermaster to New Orleans, under Banks' order, was thrown overboard to make
room for negroes. But no room could
be found for white women and children, whose husbands and brothers were in the
Federal army, and whose houses and all had just been burned by the Federal
torch! I challenge the records of
all wars for acts of such perfidy and cruelty. . . .
Their [Unionists who had taken the oath of allegiance] shelter, their
provisions, their beds were all consumed. In
their extremity, which our own culpability had brought about, the commanding
General turned his back upon them.--The General, perhaps, did not laugh at their
calamity, nor mock when their fear came, but doubtless regarded it as the down
of a political millennium. The
march of the army from Alexandria to Fort de Russey was lighted up with the
flames of burning dwellings. Thus
has Gen. Banks become the "liberator of Louisiana."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 11, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The latest novelty in London and Paris is the photograph letter
signature. Note and letter sheets
are gotten up with miniature oval photographs of the persons using them affixed
to the right hand lower corner of the last page, after the words, "Very
truly yours," which are printed in the usual place.
They are getting to be quite as fashionable as the cartes de visite.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
The Rose of Florida, the most beautiful of flowers, emits no fragrance;
the Bird of Paradise, the most beautiful of birds, gives no song; the Cypress of
Greece, the finest of trees, yields no fruit; dandies, the shiniest of men, have
not sense; and the ball room belles, the loveliest of created creatures, are
ditto, and very often a little more so.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Fashionable ladies in Paris now wear coats, waistcoats, shirts, collars,
cravats, and in some instances the breeches.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 23, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
"I would not marry a Richmond man, if I had to live an old maid all
the days of my life," exclaimed a buxom country lass.
"Why not?" demanded her astonished companion.
"Because every paper you pick up contains an account of the failure
of the Richmond mails."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 24, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
More War Upon Women.--General Sherman, finding at Roswell, in Georgia,
four hundred factory girls, employed in a large cotton factory at that point,
ordered the whole of the unfortunate creatures "to be sent north of the
Ohio." General Sherman has
shown on two or three occasions that ability as a military commander is quite
compatible with something not far removed from imbecility in respect to civil
matters.--He writes stupendously foolish general orders on things political, and
is evidently incapable of administering a village on practical principles.--But
it is hardly conceivable that an officer wearing a United States commission of
Major General should have so far forgotten the commonest dictates of decency and
humanity (Christianity apart) as to drive four hundred penniless girls hundreds
of miles away from their homes and friends, to seek their livelihood amid a
strange and hostile people. We
repeat our most earnest hope that further information may redeem the name of
General Sherman and our own from the frightful disgrace which this story, as it
now comes to us, must else inflict upon one and the other.--N. Y. Commercial
Advertiser.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Fashions in the North--An extract from a letter from in New York city to
a friend in the South, says:
You may be sure the good time is coming, and cotton will again be king.
Many magnificent stores have been completed here, and the display in the
windows would prove attractive to the most fastidious taste.
The streets present the appearance of a carnival or masquerade, so
fanciful and extravagant is the dress of the women. Long black silk basques and circulars are worn, most
elaborately trimmed, as is also all the skirts of the dresses. Small straw hats of every description are seen perched on the
top of the head, with tremendous bunches of false curls hanging under the hats,
some of which costs thirty-five dollars. A
bird's wing, dyed of a bright color, stands right up in front, with a natural
shell where it is fastened. I
forgot to say the dresses are worn in very long trains.
Most every face you meet is painted and enameled.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
August 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
Crinoline is fast disappearing in Parisian circles.
At the watering places it is quite abandoned, and, it is said, that in
another twelve months, the crinoline will be unknown in Paris.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 6, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Confederate Medicines.--A medical friend informs us in a brief note, that
during a recent casual visit to the office of Surgeon General Moore, a day or
two since, he was equally surprised and delighted to find a cabinet filled with
choice extracts and preparations of various medicinal substances, mineral as
well as vegetable. Many of these articles were with difficulty to be procured
here before the war. They are
prepared at the C. S. Laboratory, in South Carolina, and for neatness of
preparation and general "getting up," will compare favorably with the
best English and French preparations of similar character.
Many of them, our correspondent says, are of Southern growth, as well as
of Southern manufacture; indeed, exclusively Southern, as they are not found
growing north of the Potomac.
Even in this can our sunny land claim superiority--rich in all mineral
and vegetable productions, as she is, we will shortly be able to claim a
Pharmacopoeia of our own, and be in this, as in everything else, independent.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
The Women of Virginia.--A writer in a Yankee paper gives the following
sketch of the noble women of the Shenandoah Valley:
The faces that look down from the windows of the Valley have, in many
instances, a strange and fascinating beauty.
Between them and one who glances up, that glamour fatal to Pyrrhus rises
to cheat the senses and inform the heart with the most persuasive lies.
There is no tenderness in those faces.
Their charm is far different from that known to Northern countries.
It is a steel cold languor, to witness which is chilling to the soul.
One who commences speech with these damsels finds himself wondering what
sort of beings have arisen on this soil in place of the children of Eve.
Here are smiles, and courtesy, and refinement; but, ah!
how very like a cymbal is the hollow something in the sound of all! These women have suffered.
War is nearer their hearts than ours.
It is a sterner thing by far. Their
hearts are in it, buried, some of them, in graves that thicken every day upon
the soul.
Along this valley, in which, from the Potomac to Staunton, there is no
law nor safety, the scourge of battle is a monthly episode.
All the horror, all the sacrifice of war knocks at the door of every
mansion on the way. Property and
life are things of chance. People
make few plans for the future. To-morrow
may shatter them forever. Marriage
is little thought of. All
marriageable men are under arms, and marriageable women let them go with little
murmur.--There is no use in murmuring. War
is the one great passion to which both sexes are alike devoted, and for which
both are ready to make any sacrifice. These
women seem to have tacitly accepted the fact that until the war is over
courtship is a mockery that had better not be thought of.
The maiden who says good-bye to her lover, makes up her mind for the
worst that can befall. Death is the
rival of love, and death, nine times out of ten, is conqueror.
Is it strange, then, that we who seek for tenderness in the hearts of
these women must seek deep? Wrong
as is the cause, it has a more wide-spread, and a bitterer, deeper devotion
among the masses in this region than has ours.
One of the most beautiful of all the women in the Valley, who visited the
North before the war, and was a belle at several watering places during the
summer months, refused last week to take the hand of an old friend, in Federal
uniform, who presented himself at her door.
I have heard no less than half a dozen damsels say, in a tone of perfect
calmness, that they had rather have every friend they have killed, and die
themselves, than have the South submit to a restoration with those whom they
esteem to be its enemies. I believe
they meant what they said, and would abide by it to the letter.
Such women as these are influential enemies, and it will be said by many
that they deserve all the insult and harm they have received in return for their
enmity.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
Our
Sick and Wounded Soldiers--The South Carolina Ladies.
During a recent visit to Columbia, S. C., the writer of this paragraph
observed that the ladies of South Carolina were very attentive along the line of
railroad extending from Charlotte, N. C., to Columbia, in supplying the homeward
bound sick and wounded soldiers with enticing edibles, consisting of nice
biscuit, fried chicken, butter milk, fruit, pastry, &c.
From the time of leaving Richmond until their arrival within the limits
of South Carolina, the soldiers had to purchase their own fare; if we may except
an abundant supply of boiled potatoes, raw onions, and wheat bread, (poor diet
for the sick,) furnished to them at the railroad depot in Charlotte.
We should have been gratified had we witnessed any demonstration of
hospitality and consideration towards the returning invalids in this State; but,
owing, probably, to the drain made upon our food resources by the commissary
department, and to the want of organized effort, we saw nothing of the kind in
old Virginia. If the ladies living
near the line of the Danville Railroad will "put their heads together"
and determine that henceforward the gallant soldiers who fought and bled in
Virginia, and are passing their doors daily without a morsel to satisfy the
cravings of appetite, shall be supplied with "something to eat," we
are sure that they will soon share with their South Carolina sisters these
tributes of praise and heartfelt expression of thanks now so lavishly bestowed
upon the latter by the grateful and delighted recipients of their hospitality.
At Smith's Station in South Carolina, we saw the first instance of the
generosity of the noble women of that State.
A number of young ladies, and a matron, whose countenance was radiant
with benevolence and good nature--surpassing in impressive loveliness, we may
say, the youthful Hebes who attended here--passed around and into the soldiers'
car, bearing baskets and trays filled with substantials and "goodies"
of the most tempting description. After
supplying the soldiers, they kindly presented to the other passengers whatever
of the surplus they desired. At
Chester and Winnsboro, the same liberality was re-enacted on a larger scale,
those places being towns of some magnitude.
We were told that beyond Columbia, the hospitality and kindness of the
ladies exceeded, if possible, that which we had already witnessed, and in
illustration of the assertion an anecdote was related to the effect that the
ladies of _____ prepared a grand collation, one day, in anticipation of the
arrival of a large number of wounded soldiers.
When the train arrived, it so happened that only one soldier was among
the passengers. The ladies pressed
him to the table, which was laden with choice viands and desert, and invited him
to partake. The soldier exclaimed,
"Ladies, since I have been in South Carolina, to-day, I have eaten seven
dinners, and cannot possibly swallow anything more."
The ladies nearest to him insisted that he should eat something, and the
poor fellow, finding that excuses were made in vain, broke from the table,
darted into the woods, and has not been heard from since, at that place.
We are also informed that many of the ladies who are most active in
providing these repasts are refugees from Charleston and the coast.--Whether
this be so or not, it is certain that the South Carolina ladies are entitled to
great credit for the interest they manifest in the welfare of our soldiers, and
it is equally certain that their generous hospitality will ever be cherished as
a pleasant reminiscence by those who have enjoyed or witnessed their
benefactions.--Richmond Whig.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Cotton
Cards.
To the Editor of the Mercury: I
wish to draw attention to this article of prime necessity to the people of the
State, which could be imported in so small a bulk, and with so small an
expenditure of funds, that I am surprised those blockade companies which have so
munificently bestowed large donations for charitable purposes, have not
endeavored to supply them at a moderate price, and thus relieving a numerous,
industrious and worthy class of the community, whose proper pride and spirit of
independence would prevent them from supplying themselves except by purchasing.
These companies, it is acknowledged, have been formed for the purpose of
making money. It is the duty, it
may be said, of the directors, to consult the interests of the stockholders by
so adjusting their importations as not to overstock the market, and thus reduce
profits. This policy might apply
with propriety to all articles of luxury, and to all such as are not essential
to cheap clothing, which is second only in importance to cheap food for the
people.
There is no doubt difficulties in the way of supplying them, so as to
have them distributed through the community at a cheap rate without allowing
them to fall into the hands of the speculators, large and small, who will in
proportion to the low price, be more rapacious.
If the companies would agree upon a schedule of prices for this
article--advertise the rates and give the preference to those who purchase for
use, and also place them in the hands of honest merchants in the principal towns
of the State, to be sold at retail to those who want them for use, they would
bestow a benefit to the community which they would not regret.
The policy of an extended bestowal of public charities has been disputed,
but no one ever doubted the benefit of providing the industrious with the means
of prosecuting their humble pursuits, and these companies have a monopoly of the
opportunity of bestowing this great public benefaction.
Cards are so easily placed on boards, that of course the leaf card should
be imported, occupying as they do, but one-fourth of the space of those framed.
Those now sold in the Bee store at $25 retail, are sold all through the
middle and upper districts at $40 to $45. This
rate of profits is unreasonable. We
hope these companies will perceive the propriety of importing this article in
quantities to supply the demand at moderate rates, without regard to the policy
of limiting importations for fear of bringing down prices.
It is a case to which exception should be made, by advertising the rates
at which they would be sold. We
believe the hint will be taken and acted on by those companies which have shown
that there are exceptions to the axiom, that success only sharpens the appetite
for accumulation.
PUBLICUS
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
The
Exiles from Atlanta.
The condition of the poor refugees and exiles from Atlanta must be
pitiable in the extreme. Our Macon
contemporaries represent them as very destitute and forlorn.
We reproduce some passages that have fallen under our eyes, with the view
of prompting a spirit of charity towards them on the part of those who have the
means. The Macon Confederacy of the 23d says:
But there still remains in and about this city two hundred families who
are without shelter. Just think of
it. Almost a thousand children
exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and with scarcely food enough to eke
out their miserable lives. The
Mayor's Office is thronged with these unfortunate women daily, who with tears
plead merely for bread that their little ones may not starve.
To have the sympathy of the people of this city enlisted, we would
recommend a walk amongst the cars where the exiles are still stopping.
Destitute of home, money, food or strong arms to provide these things for
them, they present a sickening aspect. Many
of them have young babes at the breast. Some
four or five were confined last week on the cars.
In the name of justice, we beg the people to go to work and mitigate the
circumstances of these people.
The Intelligencer makes the following practical suggestion:
This being the condition of affairs in this city and vicinity, it is
suggested that the exiles, who have no definite homes provided, and who are
dependant on the assistance of our benevolent people, be removed to Southwest
Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. That
portion of the country abounds with provisions of all kinds, and thus the most
prominent difficulty will be disposed of. The
country in that region is not subject to the rigorous changes of climate that
makes the winters further north so very discomforting.
In the region mentioned it is comparatively an easy matter to get houses,
that will furnish shelter during the winter.
Some of our acquaintances have built pole tents, and inform us that they
are enjoying themselves very well, and expect to do so during the winter, which
they say is sufficiently mild and open to permit this method of life.--The
abundance and variety of all kinds of provisions in the South, should make that
portion of the country a principal resort.
Doubtless, by this time, too, the people themselves have learned to have
and extend to the distressed the charities and kindness that Christianity
demands.--The selfish unkindness that once made some of our people neglect and
despitefully abuse refugees, has come home with appalling and dreadful weight
and caused a different feeling to diffuse itself through every grade of society.
At a public meeting held in Macon on Friday to take measures for the
relief of the Atlanta refugees, between thirty and forty thousand dollars were
raised on the spot. The following
resolutions were adopted.
Resolved, That a Committee consisting of ten be appointed by the Chairman
to solicit and receive contributions of money and provisions to be placed in the
hands of the Mayor, or for distribution among the destitute families who have
been driven from their homes, or otherwise reduced to want by the casualties of
the war.
Resolved, That the people of other communities are earnestly invited to
co-operate with us in providing for the homeless exiles, who have been placed in
our midst, by offering them, if practicable, places of shelter, and
contributions to supply their necessities.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
From
the Georgia Front--Affairs at Atlanta.
The correspondent of the Atlanta Register, now published in Augusta,
writes:
Lovejoy's Station, September 23.
. . . The flag of truce at Rough and Ready expired by limitation yesterday
morning, but I learned from Mayor Calhoun who had just come through from
Atlanta, that it was to be extended for five days longer in order to get through
the balance of the families who wish to come South.
Quite a large number of families, with scarcely anything to eat, were at
Rough and Ready upon Wednesday evening, encamped in the woods, and would have to
remain there unless the truce could be extended.
Up to Tuesday noon some twenty five hundred had left Atlanta for our
lines, and about three thousand had elected to go North.
Those who came South were mostly old men, and the families of soldiers in
our army. Mayor Calhoun informed me
that nearly all the young men had either registered to go North, or had agreed
to go into service in the government workshops in the city.
The members of the Fire Battalion were mostly to be found upon the Yankee
side, although there were a few honorable exceptions.
Of those who had elected to go North a large number had been arrested and
placed in the barracks, until their cases could each be specially examined; and
those found to have ever had any connection with the Southern army, were to be
sent North, and incarcerated as prisoners of war.
Quite a large number of negroes came out with the exiles, and many of
them, towards the close of the truce were quite earnest in their entreaties to
be brought through the lines. They had discovered in the short time they had been thrown
with the Northern army that there is very little sympathy among Northern men for
negroes, and no affiliation.
Besides this, the negroes accompanying the army broke into their kitchens
and houses, and robbed them indiscriminately--walked in and helped themselves to
whatever happened to be upon the city darkey's table, and threatened to put the
whole colored population in the guard house if any objections were made.
Colonel Leduc, of Wisconsin, and several other officers of high rank,
said to Mayor Calhoun that they would be delighted if every negro in Atlanta
would go South. The Yankee soldiery
were playing sad havoc with the houses and tenements upon the suburbs of the
city, pulling them to pieces to put up camp huts, and for fuel.
Mayor Calhoun is of the o pinion that they will destroy every house in
the city in this way, except those used by the officers in quarters and offices.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
September 29, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Fall Fashions.
For the delectation of our lady readers, we clip the following from the
New York Herald of the 21st inst.:
Fancy feathers are now greatly in vogue for neglige
hats--those of the cassowary, the flamingo, the hawk, the pheasant, the peacock,
and even the parrot.
The very small veils, which cover the face so coquettishly, are worked
with jet beads and fringed with chonille [sic].
These small veils differ in form. One
is called the "mask veil," and is made of lace and edged with chonille,
tipped with beads; this form covers the face as a mask.
Another kind is called the "Josephine Veil," and is larger than
the mask; it is round, and has black lace ends, and is likewise fringed with
jet. Then there are the white lace
veils, edged with fringe of the same color as the bonnet, and tipped with white
bugles; these are particularly becoming. Veils
are worn all round the brims of hats, being long in front, and decreasing at the
sides, until at the back they are comparatively short.
Curls find a place in almost every head dress, but only at the back and
sides; never in front. Plaits worn
as coronets are again resumed, and considered very distinguished.
The hair is arranged in a very complicated style for evening parties,
etc.--gold combs and flowers at the back are the usual ornaments.
Combs are made much more elaborately than formerly, and are enriched with
a gold fringe; but during the day time the style of arranging the hair has
latterly become much more simple. Many
young ladies are wearing the antique bandelets or fillets, bound around their
heads; these narrow bands are made of velvet, embroidered with blue or white
beads; they are tied at the back, and terminate with flowing ends; it is a very
good style, particularly for those who have regular features.
Little boys wear the toque, or Russian cap, with the brim turned up, and trimmed with a
wide velvet ribbon to match with the dress.
The cap is ornamented with a white or red pigeon's wing, or with an
aigrette of peacock, eagle, or pheasant's feathers. Little girls also wear the toque,
but with a long curled white feather, and a very tiny aigrette in front.
A novelty in kid gloves is to wear them with five or six small buttons,
and coming therefore very high up the wrist.
The high wrist of the undersleeve then comes over the glove.
The prettiest effects of color can be legitimately and picturesquely
obtained now by aid of the new curtainless bonnets.
Seize the chance while it lasts, if you do not object to being deemed
rather in advance of the fashion and a little peculiar, it is not likely to last
very long--it is too fantastic. Everybody
knows how everybody wears her hair at this present period.
The roman coin arrangement "has obtained," as the phrase is;
and so we all draw it back tightly over the ears, bind it with a velvet fillet,
and tie it up in a more or less luxuriant club behind.
No more effective arrangement for displaying the shape of the head, if
the head has any shape at all, was ever designed.
That it is felt to be graceful and good in itself, is proved by this
fact, that those autocrats, the milliners, have adapted bonnets to suit the
hair, instead of, as usual, forcing the hair to adapt itself to the bonnet.
The great gain in the altered bonnet shapes is this, that it admits of
flowers being placed immediately upon the hair, and every artist knows that this
is a great gain. To be sure we have
always had flowers in front of the bonnets, but though they were under the brim,
they were either separated from the hair by tulle or pressed down so low on the
forehead that the effect was missed altogether; besides, the hair is usually
dressed in such a way upon the temples that it is utterly impossible for it to
form the soft elastic background for flowers that is now afforded by the
luxuriant club at the back. There will no longer be any difficulty in painting a woman in
her bonnet, provided she will stand in such a way that the artist can do justice
to the fair substitute for the banished bavolet.
A scarlet japonica, a crimson or a buff tea rose, on dark hair, would be
a delicious bit of color, a soft flexible bit of lace or tulle falling down to
meet it, every leaf thrown up by the dark brown or black background.
Why, the sight would almost reconcile a woman to the possession of dark
locks, even though she does live in these days of the glorification of golden
hair. It would be such a thing as Giorgione painted--such a thing
as Philip has found heretofore nowhere save in Spain. What if the sense of beauty, suddenly awakened, should throw
off entirely those rigid lines which have too long surrounded the female head
out of doors, and joining hand in hand with fashion, should insist that the
votaries of the latter do henceforth wear soft wireless combinations of cloudy
lace and silvery tulle, rendered distinctly by deft selected flowers alone.
Remembering the spoonshaped bonnets of a while ago, it can be hoped such
a result may be achieved.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 3, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Monday, September 26.
. . . It will never be known whether Mr. Mas. W. Cook threw himself out of the
fourth story of the Spottswood Hotel or fell out accidentally, for he never
spoke after he touched the pavement. The
destitution of respectable families in this city is beginning to be felt quite
severely; the sale of dresses, furniture, jewels, rare and costly books, etc.,
is becoming common. Hot days;
nights and mornings quite cool.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 4, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The Saratoga belles this summer, delight in contrasts in dress.
Yellow or red trimming on black is popular.
Military high necks, with buttons all over, and shoulder straps, for the
morning; and very low dairy windows, with short sleeves and long skirts, in the
evening.
For the hair, one style is a couple of puffs in front, the hair falling
in ringlets behind, and made fast with a gold, ivory or jeweled comb; and
another, gathered in a swab, without order or neatness, and crammed into a net
to fall low on the neck, the curls looking extremely tidy and comely, the swab
looking as if the maiden had made a hasty toilette and had forgotten to arrange
her hair.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 12, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Paris
Fashions for Autumn.
During the present season the high bonnets recently worn received their
coup de ciseaux; and the smallest of small bonnets, having obtained the official
approbation of competent judges at Vichy, at Trouville, at Honfleur, and other
fashionable resorts, will in all probability reign triumphant for some time to
come. We have even seen some that
scarcely cover the occiput [sic?], merely ornamented in front and on the
scarcely perceptible back edge with drooping flowers, instead of the tour-de-tete
and bavolet, which are now frequently abandoned.
But it must be observed that each chapeaux, although met with in the best
houses, are not yet general. Round
hats are, however, still numerously patronized in Paris, especially by the
foreigners, who are attracted there by the splendid fetes in honor of the
Emperor and the King of Spain.
During the fine days of September robes of half season materials may
still be ventured upon. The lino
glance, a light stuff, more durable than barege and easily cleaned, deserves to
be placed in the front rank with all the tints of grey alpaca, now very much a
la mode. Cream-colored Irish
poplins, for toilette de campagne or for the sea-ride, are also very elegant
wear, as well as the piques of Alsatia and Rouen, which are, of course, rather
heavier, but have the advantage of enabling the wearer to support the sudden
variations of the temperature of this season without danger.
Greater demands than ever are now made upon the art of the coiffeur,
whose talent is brought into requisition for the arrangement of ladies' hair,
false or natural. Curls and
catagans are looked upon as perfectly legitimate importations when the richness
of the owner's chevalure is not sufficient to furnish such capillary ornaments.
A quantity of hair, spread out to the best effect and decorated with
flowers or ribbons, is one of the particular marks of the waning summer season.
WALKING DRESS. Green silk
dress, deeply van dyked, each tooth being ornamented with rich white guipure.
The casaque is adjusted to the waist, and is of the same color as the
dress and similarly trimmed. White
crape bonnet, small in size, and provided simply with a bouillonne of tulle in
the place of the bavolet.
SEASIDE DRESS FOR A YOUNG LADY.--Light grey poplin robe and pardessus,
all the ornaments being in black silk with long fringe.
The chapeau is the chapeau Windsor, and is almost concealed by an
aigrette and a very large depending feather.
The bottinesiare laced up in front and the stockings are the same color
as the dress.
CARRIAGE DRESS.--White muslin robe over sea-green silk slip.
Rich lace flounce, surmounted by a ruching of green silk.
The camallis of green silk, trimmed with deep lace of like quality with
that on the skirt. Bonnet of white
tulle, ornamented with grass, and with a rose sometimes replaced by a butterfly
in the four-de-tete. A large sea
green bow surmounts the back hair, or eatogan instead of the usual curtain.--Le
Follet.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 19, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
Masking.--A new style of veiling coming into favor with young ladies is
made of the fashionable black and white figured lace, with a fine elastic run
through the upper part, which fits to the edge of the bonnet, and a second
elastic run t through the lower part of the veil, a short distance from the
bottom, which fastens it under the chin, giving the effect of a street mask,
transparent, but very coquettish.---Yankee paper.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 19, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Metallic
Burial Cases.
On hand, a fine assortment of metallic burial cases; also Mahogany,
Walnut, Gum, Poplar and Pine Coffins of all sizes.
Will be furnished with greatest care and short notice, by
F. Ansel,
Cabinet Maker and Undertaker,
36 Coming, corner of George Street,
Charleston, S. C.
Boxing done to order. Hearse and Carriages.
October 15
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 20, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
The
Prevailing Fashions
A London correspondent writes as follows:
Let us have a little gossip about the prevailing fashions.
To begin with the head: The
style of wearing the hair is the same we have patiently endured for the last
twelve months. Crimped all over the head, and crimped into a falling mass
behind, which floats over the shoulders or is gathered into an invisible net.
Hats and bonnets have greatly changed in style.
The jaunty turban with its brilliant bird wing or single feather; the
coquettish high crowned hat, with narrow brim and clustering plumes; the simple,
elegant Alexandrine, adorned with a bunch of wild flowers, have passed away to
give place to the low crowned, broad brimmed gipsy hat, or more extravagant
leghorn flat. Old and ugly women
and those who have passed under the fatal porch of thirty, will take great
comfort under the protecting shade of these hats.
Bonnets, which we hoped to see gradually expand into modest, comfortable
head gear, have suddenly contracted into caps; they are made with falling
crowns, are not designed to take in hair at the neck, and so do not reach the
middle of the head in front; they are cut away at the sides to leave the ears
outside the edge of the frame. Ears,
which for fifteen years have been concealed by the fashion of dressing the hair,
are now exposed to view, and it has been ascertained that a beautiful ear is as
rare as small hands and feet in England, or well shaped noses in Africa.
Muslin neck ties are worn only with the round hats in out of doors
costumes.--Small collars have given place to broad ones--the square and pointed
style called "the duchess" are most in vogue.
One should have well shaped shoulders and a good bust to wear these
collars. White alpaca embroidered
in colors has been the favorite dress for demi-toilette.
White muslin dresses have been universally worn by old and young,
generally over colored silk slips or under dresses.
All dresses made up in delicate tissue are worn with broad, heavy silk
belts and buckles from three to four inches in width; this fashion does not
prevail in heavy materials. Silks
are made with waists to resemble as much as possible a man's dress coat.
The waist elongates into tails behind in which are placed pockets.
Sleeves are worn quite small.--Evening dresses are cut with long pointed
waists, which hardly cover the bust or shoulders.
The modesty of which an old English bard sung has certainly no place
among the virtues of to day. The
skirts of dresses are worn as long and wide as possible--they are either simply
scolloped at the hem or elaborately trimmed with lace, velvet, ribbon, or
ruffles. The American women who
have agreed to wear their dresses without trimming, may be glad to know that the
most elegant toilettes have been made up without ornament.
Underskirts are worn with two or three ruffles, often embroidered in
black braid. Crinoline is not one
jot abated in size or in importance. To make the waist look small, all skirts are worn small at
the hips, but at the base the hoop measures from three to four yards.
The present fashion of crinoline and steel skirts was invented by the
Empress of France, since when the American manufactures in steel spring skirts
have large fortunes in supplying the domestic and foreign market with the
article. American skirts are worn
in England and France in preference to any other, and the inventors have retired
long since on half a million. Gloves
are worn with two buttons. Parasols
are covered with lace and artificial flowers, or ornamented with a fringe of
marabout feathers. In Paris a lady
has a bonnet, a mantle and parasol to match every dress.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 25, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
White women in the cotton fields.--The Memphis (Yankee) Argus of the 7th
instant says:
Among the changes introduced in this immediate vicinity, not the least
change is that of white women hiring to pick cotton on the plantations.
Yesterday, a number went up the Mississippi on the steamer McGill, who
have been engaged for service on plantations on the Arkansas as well as the
Tennessee side of the river at wages so attractive as to put in the shade any to
be had in the city even under the most favorable circumstances.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 26, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Pleasant to "Refugees."--Readers will remember that Sherman, as
he advanced towards Atlanta, came upon a cotton factory where four hundred young
Georgian women and girls were employed; and that deciding cotton weaving in
Georgia to be contraband of war, he sent the whole four hundred to the North.
Louisville papers, soon after this occurrence, announced that there were
in that city and Nashville one thousand five hundred banished women and children
in a destitute condition. Of
course, the cotton weavers and other helpless banished women were to be
supported somehow, but the Yankees are not the sort of people to support any one
in idleness, except (for the present) runaway negroes.
So, in Louisville, these women--the sisters, wives, and daughters of
Confederate soldiers--"were advertised to be hired as servants, to take the
place of the large number of negroes liberated by the military authorities, and
which liberated negroes, says the Louisville paper, "are now gathered in
large camps throughout Kentucky, where they are fed in idleness and viciousness
at the expense of the loyal tax payers."
The following notice was also published by the authorities:
"Notice--Families residing in the city or country, wishing
seamstresses or servants, can be suited by applying at the refugee quarters, on
Broadway, between Ninth and Tenth. This
is sanctioned by Captain Jones, Provost Marshal."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 6
A Substitute for Preserves.--A lady writer in an exchange communicates
the following bit of information obtained where she "took tea last."
A dish that I took to be preserves, was passed, which, upon tasting, I
was surprised to learn contained no fruit.
The ease with which it was prepared, and the trifling cost of its
materials, are not its chief recommendations, for unless my tasting apparatus
deceived me, as it is n not usually wont to do, it is emphatically a tiptop
substitute for apple sauce, apple butter, tomato preserves and all that sort of
thing. Its preparation is as
follows: Moderately boil a pint of
molasses from five to twenty minutes, according to its consistency; then add
three eggs thoroughly beaten, hastily stirring them in, and continue to boil a
few minutes longer, then season with a nutmeg or lemon.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 27, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Infallible cure for toothache.--To a tablespoonful of any kind of spirits
add the same quantity of sharp vinegar and a teaspoonful of common salt; mix
them well together; hold the liquid in the mouth so that it can enter the cavity
or hollow of the tooth; it will give almost instantaneous relief, without any
increase of pain.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 29, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
More than ten thousand refugees have arrived at Memphis within the last
three months and been sent North.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
October 31, 1864, p. 2, c. 3
"Hallowe'en."
St. Andrew's Society.
The regular meeting will be held at Bonum's Hall, John street, this
evening, at 7 o'clock.
This being an important meeting, and several applications for membership
having been received, a punctual attendance is requested.
William Paul, Secretary.
October 31
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 1, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
From
a Lady.
Pendleton, S. C., October 20.
To the Editor of the Mercury:
Dear Sir: As I am a constant
reader of your most valuable and interesting paper, I address a few lines to
you, because I know not whom else to interest in the cause which I plead.
I was much struck with a statement which I saw lately, that there are one
hundred and twenty five thousand detailed men, between the ages of eighteen and
forty-five, in our country. Surely
our strength is not yet put forth. Many
of these men--perhaps a hundred thousand--could be replaced by women.
Many of our ladies are capable of carrying on the education, both of boys
and girls, up to the ages of seventeen and eighteen.
And some men are detailed to teach girls.
The noble, wise and virtuous of our ladies would come forward, if called
upon, and supply their places.
Those offices, in the quartermaster and commissary departments, where the
occupant is stationary, could, many of them, be filled by ladies.
I am acquainted with several ladies of first rate business capacity, who,
I am sure, would fill such offices with ability, zeal and faith.
It is a conventional idea with some persons that a lady steps out of her
sphere when she becomes useful to any but her own family.
Oh! let us remember the noble Polish ladies, driven in chains to
labor in the mines of Siberia; and now, in this crisis of our country's fate,
let us arise and do our part. Let
us, also, be held worthy to toil for our country, our homes, our children and
our dead. How noble and glorious
the toil which fills a man's place and gives a soldier more to the armies of our
country.
We have seen the whole Treasury Department filled by ladies.
Oh! let us now see the stationary quartermaster and commissary
departments--leaving a few men to perform those parts which require most
strength and exposure. Have ever
the women failed to respond when called upon?
Reward us now in allowing us to be of use.
Nor can I, in closing, forbear a few words on the trumpet tones of
faithful warning with which your paper is replete.
I have been particularly struck with your articles on Mr. Stephens'
letter. Alas!
I, a woman--though ready to weep at the idea of rejecting anything which
looks to peace--yet see too much cause to fear that this proposition for a
Convention is but a snare to divide and scatter the forces which they cannot
fairly and openly overcome in the field. Should
we admit it, it might be, as when the Trojans received into their city the fatal
horse, "Timeo Dansos, et dona ferentes."
Carolina.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Another Novelty on the Photographic Art.--A London photographer has
recently introduced a novelty in the mode of taking cartes-de-visite photographs
with the signature of the sitters appended.
This gives but little extra trouble.
The sitter simply signs his name on a slip of paper, and finds its
facsimile, diminished in size, transferred to the portraits when they come home.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Commandant of the S. C. Arsenal, at Fayetteville, N. C., has
inaugurated the system of employing female clerks to do the work of men detailed
for the purpose. Two of the young
ladies of Fayetteville are now engaged as clerks at the arsenal.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 1, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
It is said by the Selma Reporter that industrious boys and girls make
from $10 to $15 per day, making cartridges at the Laboratory in that city, and
that more employees are wanted.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 7, 1864, p. 1, c.
A
Review of Hood's Army as it Passed Through Villanow.
[From the Cincinnati Commercial, October 26]
On the capture of the garrison at Dalton, Georgia, Hood agreed to release
the officers, but before permission to go was received, the whole rebel army
passed along . . . An opportunity was thus afforded Colonel Johnson and his
officers to review, as it were, Hood's whole force. . .
During the time our officers were in captivity (three days) they received
one ration of corn meal and fresh beef, and in no instance did they observe any
other articles of diet among the rebels, except when they broke from the ranks
on the marches for persimmon trees and apple orchards.
Yet everything in their language and bearing indicated that they were
determined to fight a while longer . . . They were ragged and thinly clad,
having as a general thing, only pantaloons, shirt and hat in their inventory of
clothing, the first too greasy and tattered, the last shocking affairs, in
multitudinous variety. As a general
thing they were tolerably well shod; though in one of Stewart's divisions one of
our officers counted over three hundred barefooted privates.
Not more than one in ten have blankets, and much suffering must have
ensued through the keen frosty nights now prevailing. . . . In the line
distinction as to apparel, between the officers and men, was nearly obliterated.
Regimental discipline seemed a little loose, and privates appeared to
comment upon the commands of their immediate officers with an unction and
broadness of diction which has always been native to the taste and instinct of
the highly polished, intelligent and aesthetic lower orders of the South,
surnamed the sunny.
The guns were nearly all Napoleons, of the average calibre.
The public animals were in pretty good condition--quite equal to pulling
along light field batteries, empty wagons, and careering under the wiry, not
over fat, grizzled and besmeared cavaliers.
. . . Cleburne looks as Irish as Sir Patrick O'Plenipo, but talks without
Hibernian accent. A faded cap, not
over large, was held on his head by the band being reversed, and taking a reef
around the malevolent organs--including amativeness--at the back of the head.
In fact, so peaked and largely developed is that portion of Pat
Cleburne's skull opposite his pronounced snuff tray, that those who see him for
the first time reckon it his most appreciable and frappant physical point.
His division, by the way, seemed very anxious to assault the fort at
Dalton, and would have formed the storming column.
When the garrison marched out the Cleburnes could hardly be restrained
from firing at the "damned white niggers," as they termed the officers
in the garrison.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 8, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
The
Great Southern Bazaar in Liverpool for
the Relief of Southern Prisoners.
On the 19th ultimo, one of the most magnificent bazaars ever held in the
north of England was opened at the St. George's Hall, in Liverpool, in aid of
the "Southern Prisoners' Relief Fund."
For nearly six months the preparations have been in progress, and during
that time contributions the most valuable have flowed in from all parts of the
world. So numerous indeed,
are the articles thus generously given, that the difficulty has not been to
"dress" the stalls in the technical sense of the word, but to exhibit
all that they contain; for a bazaar on so sumptuous and vast a scale as this
one, is dwarfed even in the magnificent hall devoted to it.
The London Herald thus describes the scene:
The stalls--of which there are twelve, named after the Southern
States--are ranged down the sides of the hall, five on each side, and the
remaining two form a large central tent, the apex of which rises a triplet of
tri-colored flags. Tri-colored
drapery also roofs the stalls; and, it being of bunting, instead of the ordinary
glazed calico, gives a peculiar sort and rich appearance, and heightens the
effectiveness of the harmonious color contrasts.
The stalls are alternately square and octagonal in shape, the octagons
having tent or spiral roofs rising to a point, and capped with the Confederate
flag; and the square ones; sloping roofs, reaching about half way up the
gallery. The counters are all
covered with crimson cloth, and a drapery valance, which runs round the top of
each stall, forms a very graceful cornice.
The valance itself is elaborately decorated with a blue margin and a
prettily-designed red, white and blue centre, and above the top margin is a neat
border, terminating in a tri-color cord, which runs from stall to stall.
The panelings at the bottom of the stalls are of white drapery, relieved
by blue; and the panels themselves are divided by gold beading, and fluted at
the bottom. At the south end of the
hall, and in the middle of the floor, is the auction stand, an octagonally
shaped platform, which is to be at first appropriated for the larger and heavier
articles. It, too, is wrapped in
crimson, and bears ingeniously designed combinations of colors.
The panels are fluted and have gold mouldings, and the centre is studded
with blue and white rosettes. The
central tent, to which we have already referred as the largest, is also the most
complete; one half of it forms the Kentucky stall, presided over by the Lady De
Hoghton and Mrs. Oliver, and the other half of the Tennessee stall, at which the
Lady M. Beresford Hope and Mrs. F. Hull presided.
Various flags--Confederate and British--are displayed throughout the
hall; but these have been selected with a judiciousness and taste which has
rather tended to subdue effects, and thus prevent the glare and gaudiness which
probably would otherwise have been apparent.
Thus at the apex of each of the bell-roofed sectional octagon tents are
small triplets--a tri-color of the Confederacy being in the centre, and the
English and French flags on either side. At
the stall named "Georgia," which is the fourth on the left-hand side,
the flag of the ship Georgia is
exhibited; and it may be interesting to mention that this same stall is presided
over by Mrs. Bullock, the wife of Captain Bullock, of the famous man-of-war.
The fronts of all the stalls are covered with small silk banners, bearing
the stars of the Confederacy and the motto, "Deo Vindice."
On entering the hall from the east lobby, the first stall on the left
hand is "Virginia," held by the Countess de Dempierre, Mrs. Patterson
and Mrs. M. G. Klingender. The great attractions on this stall are a number of
artistically designed albums of the Confederate Generals, a bronze of
Mephistopheles, and various small articles of interest.
"North Carolina" is the next stall in order, and it is presided
over by Mrs. Spence and Mrs. F. Worthington. It is richly laden with china vases, and contains a
magnificently gilt clock. "South
Carolina," the next stall, is held by the Lady Wharncliffe and Mrs.
Priolean. It contains chiefly
small, but richly wrought, articles of needle work, scarfs, pictures and baskets
of elegant workmanship.
The "Georgia" stall is very finely decorated externally, but
the interior is devoted chiefly to baby linen; the only other article worth
notice here being a curiously shaped large clock.
The ladies presiding are Mrs. Bullock and Mrs. Trapman.
"Florida" is presided over by Mrs. Cassin and Mrs. Patrick.
It contains many valuable and elegant pieces of workmanship in worsted,
some exquisitely wrought screen needle work, two bassinets, gilt ottoman, and a
large number of small ferns and other articles.
The central stalls--"Kentucky" and "Tennessee"--will
probably be found the most attractive, not only from their position, but also
from the great variety of their contents. "Kentucky"
is kept by the lady De Houghton and Mrs. G. W. Oliver.
Among its exhibitions is a doll house, five feet eight inches high,
valued at seventy pounds. We
noticed, also, a very elegant silver centre piece, which had been designed by
Mrs. Oliver. The design consisted of a tripod base, from which springs a
palmetto tree, supporting the glass. At
the base of the stem is a figure representing the Confederate States, draped in
the flag of the Confederacy, and holding in her hands the emblems of
Faith, Hope and Charity. On
the reverse side is a bale of cotton and the war flag of the Confederates.
The "Tennessee" part of the tent is kept by the Lady M.
Beresford Hope and Mrs. F. Hull. Here
is a large, and apparently very valuable, doll's bedstead, a picture of the Holy
Family in Parian, a box of small busts of Jefferson Davis, sent by Lady
Beresford Hope, and some small Swiss ornaments.
"Alabama," the end tent on the western side, is devoted to some
of the most interesting and costly articles of the bazaar.
Among these is a clock representing the Cathedral of Milan, in pearl
shell. The stall also contains rope dancers, various other figures,
boxes of coins, pieces of needlework (one of these valued at thirty guineas),
and models of wild Alabama flowers in wax.
Alabama is kept by Mrs. Malcomson and Mrs. Pratt.
The Mississippi tent is kept by the Countess of Chesterfield and the Hon.
Mrs. Slidell. It contains many of
the most useful contributions, among which are rugs of bearskin.
There is also here a large collection of Bohemian dolls.
The care of the tent names "Louisiana" is confided to Mrs.
Byrne, Mrs. T. Byrne and Mrs. F. Bodewald.
This stall contains a very handsome Indian cover from Canada, a single
monkey stuffed, and a couple of monkeys stuffed, a miniature organ, a French
toilet table, and smaller articles for the toilet.
"Texas" is devoted to jewelry, statuettes, time pieces,
tapestry, and several richly worked screens.
Mrs. A. Forward, Mrs. W. Forward and Mrs. W. Heyn are the ladies in
attendance.
"Arkansas," at which Mrs. Sillem and Mrs. J. Willink preside,
has a model of the ship Florida, several handsome silver jugs, some splendid
American cheese, an American rabbit, a very pretty child's bassinet, together
with baskets and multifarious other small articles.
During the morning the bazaar was so densely crowded that locomotion was
almost impossible, and the business transacted was exceedingly profitable to the
relief fund. The bazaar continues
open for three more days.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 2
Before
Richmond.
[From the British Army and Navy Review.]
I.
"Grant will hurl a
thunderbolt at the heart of the revolt."
We shall see:
Other men have tried and failed, other men have blanched and quailed,
Facing Lee.
II.
What though Jackson,
dear to God, lies beneath the battle sod,
Dark and cold?
What though Stuart in earth is laid--he who won in rapid raid
Spurs of gold?
III.
Longstreet in his
anguish lies; tears are making soldiers' eyes
Strangely dim:
And we hold our breath and say, "Does Death's Angel come this way,
Seeking him?"
IV.
For the Lord of Hosts,
who gave these great Chiefs our land to save,
Knoweth best;
We to the last man shall fight, doing battle for the right--
His the rest.
V.
On, then, Grant, we
see[k?] the fray. Kill your myriads
that ye may
Crush the free!
But there are great deeds to do ere your mercenary crew
Passes Lee.
Mortimer Collins.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 8, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
"Mollie Hayes," a noted female rebel spy, of Forrest's command,
who was captured six months ago, has been sent to the Alton (Illinois) prison.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 2
Thanksgiving
Services.
Bishop Davis sets forth the following special services for the
congregations of the Protestant Episcopal Churches, of the Diocese of South
Carolina, to be used on Wednesday next, being the day appointed by the President
"to be devoted to the worship of Almighty God:"
Begin with the sentences, "Rend your heart," etc., and "O
Lord correct me, but with judgment," etc.
For the Psalter, use Psalms 141, 142, 143.
First Lesson--Jer., 12th chap. Second
Lesson--St. John, 14th chap.
The long or entire Litany. Immediately before the general thanksgiving the following
Prayer and Collect of Thanksgiving:
Prayer.
O Eternal and Most Holy God, who, from the throne of Thy glory, lookest
down upon the children of men, and dost rule and judge them according to They
will, mercifully regard us, Thy servants, the people of these Confederate
States, now coming unto Thee in deep humility of heart.
We have sinned with our fathers; we have done wickedly; our trespasses
are grown up to the heavens, and our iniquities testify against us.
We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for our misdoings. We also confess to Thee the ignorance and blindness of our
hearts; we know not ourselves as we ought to know. Give unto us, Thy people, grace and light and truth; show us
where we have offended against Thee; correct us for our sins; root out of our
hearts all evil and corrupt affectations, and grant to us Thy Holy Spirit, that
we may see and confess our iniquities, and turn unto Thee the Lord our God.
And now, O Lord, hear the prayers of Thy servants, in this time of our
great necessity and trial. Arise, O
Lord God, and deliver us for Thy name's sake; fight for us against those who
fight against us. Be with us, O
Lord, and strengthen our hands. Give
wisdom to our rulers, skill to our generals, courage to our soldiers, and
patriotism and piety to all. Enable
us with our heart and mind to seek our country's good, and the glory of Thee,
our God. May it please Thee, O Almighty God, in Thine infinite
goodness, to put an end to this dreadful struggle, and establish once more for
Thy people truth and equity, quietness and peace, through Jesus Christ our only
Lord and Savior.--Amen.
Collect
of Thanksgiving.
O, Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we poor sinners lift up our hearts
to Thee, to bless and praise Thy holy name, for all thy manifest and great
mercies to these Confederate States, from the first day even until now.
O, most mighty and gracious good God, Thy mercy is over all Thy works,
but in special manner hath been extended towards us; Thy people, whom Thou hast
so powerfully defended. Thou hast
showed us wonderful and terrible things, but Thou hast continued to protect and
bless us--that we might see how powerful and gracious a God Thou art; how able
and ready to help those who trust in Thee.
O God, with deep thankfulness of spirit, we worship and adore Thee for
Thy protecting power and grace. Be
Thou still our God, our guide, and mighty defender; and make us, we beseech
Thee, truly sensible of Thy mercies, and give us hearts always ready to express
our thankfulness not only by words, but also by our lives, in being more
obedient to Thy holy commandments, that we, whom Thou hast saved, may serve Thee
in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life, through Jesus Christ our
Lord and Saviour. Amen.
For the Ante-Communion service--this Collect.
O, God, our Heavenly Father, in this time of public distress, hear our
cry. While Thy judgments are abroad
in the earth, may we learn righteousness; and so turn to Thee in penitence and
prayer, that Thou may'st remove from us all those evils which our sins have
deserved; strengthen our faith in Christ our Saviour; send unto us the Holy
Ghost the Comforter; fill our hearts with love to Thee, and sure confidence in
Thy mercy; give us a holy reliance upon Thy goodness, and perfect submission to
Thy blessed will. With pure hearts
and minds, may we follow Thee, the only God--and enable us to rejoice evermore
in the hope of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
AMEN.
For the Epistle--Gal., v. chap., from the 16th verse.
For the Gospel--St. Matt., xxix chap., from the 42d verse.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 16, 1864, p. 1, c. 5-6
. . . Strange to tell, Stafford County, naturally sterile and sparsely
peopled, is now richer and more thickly settled than it had been since the
colonial days. It is a debatable
land, in which neither Confederate nor Yankee rule is acknowledged, and it is
filled with deserters, who have grown rich by gathering and selling the immense
debris of Hooker's camps to Washington or to Richmond purchasers, as happened to
be most convenient--for these lawless people care little for either side.
Hooker's incredible relics have not yet been all gathered in, for I saw
in Fredericksburg and at Hamilton's crossing, great piles of old iron and
fragments of tents, blankets and overcoats which were just ready to be sent to
Richmond.
A number of refugees have returned to Fredericksburg, which contains now
some six or eight hundred souls, principally women and children.
Their spirit is unabated; their hatred of the Yankee is quenchless; their
faith in the cause and their cheerfulness is worthy of all praise and universal
imitation. When our last call for
men was made a week or so ago, Fredericksburg sent down one volunteer 60 years
old, and another of 17; and while I was there half a dozen boys 15 and 16 were
complaining because General Kemper wouldn't let them volunteer in the old
Fredericksburg companies and join Lee's army at once, instead of waiting for the
reserves to be ordered out.
Gamma.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
The Memphis Bulletin gives the following New Orleans item:
Sixteen thousand dollars in gold were lately discovered on the premises
of Madame Taylor, a notorious rebel, and the proprietress of a house of ill-fame
in New Orleans. Five thousand dollars in silver were also found there a few
days previous. A large portion of
the money is said to belong to officers in the rebel army.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 18, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Skulkers.--A gentleman just from Europe via Bermuda and Wilmington,
states that he saw in London and Paris nearly a division of able-bodied
"refugees" from the Confederate States, a large majority of whom are
skulkers from military duty. A
correspondent of the Augusta Chronicle hopes that the Secretary of War will
cause their names to be ascertained and registered.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
November 22, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Female Telegraph Operators.--The Richmond Examiner states that the
officers controlling the Confederate States Military Telegraph are about to open
a school in that city for the instruction of young ladies in the art of
telegraphing. This step towards
innovation is taken in view of the increasing demand for telegraph operators,
and imperative necessity which calls every able-bodied man into the armies.
Can they teach the dear creatures to keep secrets?
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 10, 1864, p. 2, c. 1
Foreign
Fashions.
As a matter of curiosity, and to please the ladies--God bless them--we
publish the latest agony on the subject of dress:
Dame Fashion has issued her mandate, and lo! the result is a complete
revolution in bonnets. In lieu of
the towering unsightly shapes, which have been so long a la mode, we have now
the most piquant, distingue little coverings for the head that one could
imagine. The fronts are very much
depressed, almost square on to top, receding, and exceedingly close at the
sides, leaving the face and ears very much exposed.
Capes are extremely small, and frequently dispensed with altogether, the
absence of this necessary appendage being scarcely perceptible, in consequence
of the artistic arrangement of bows, lace, &c., and the present stylish mode
of dressing the hair in water-falls and Grecian ringlets.
On the most recherche bonnets the trimming is confined exclusively to the
back, and is composed of rich lace, feathers, and elegant French flowers. Of course these can be arranged according to the taste of the
wearer.
Blue velvets and ribbons are much used for straws.
The new shades of maroon and purple finding many admirers.
Round hats of velvet, beaver and felt, are made in an infinite variety of
styles, and trimmed with velvet, ostrich feathers and plumes a la militaire.
But comparatively few novelties in dress goods have been imported, and
there is really nothing new or striking. Plaids
are in high favor, not only for dresses, but also for cloaks and ribbons.
Heavy, plain silks, colored moires, watered silks and satins, will be
much worn this season. The prices
of these goods are fabulous, and beyond the reach of ordinary individuals.
There are many persons among us, however, who will make almost any
sacrifice to gratify their passion for dress and display, and will pay the most
exorbitant prices rather than be deprived of something new and fashionable.
Irish poplins, merinos, reps and Empress cloths, are to be found in every
variety; a new fabric, also, called poplin [?] has made its appearance, and is
very desirable--many preferring it to the old style.
A very wide, handsome material, made of thread and wool, and extremely
durable, called Aberdeen Lindsey, will be quite fashionable for promenade
dresses this winter. It has very
much the appearance of the old fashioned linsey woolsey, and, being heavy, does
not require a lining.
Dresses are still made with points and postillions; but the latest
style is a round body, with which a very
wide belt and massive buckle are to be worn.
Double breasted bodies are in vogue, and as the cold weather approaches,
will be still more fashionable.
Sashes of black and white lace are very distingue.--These
matching the dress and fastened in front with a handsome buckle are, also a la mode. Wide black
ribbon, is however, preferred for demi toilette. Many persons have the trimming sewed on to represent a
sash.--Sleeves are still small, and shaped to the arm, being short enough to
display the cuff on the undersleeve.
Skirts are very long and full, and trimmed in a variety of ways.
Many are cut in deep scollops [sic] around the edge, and finished with
quillings of the same, or of ribbon, braid or velvet.
Flat trimmings have taken the place of the wide flutings, and are put on a la greque, in the van
dyke style, in rings, waves, and in any way the taste of the wearer may
dictate--the odder the better. The
same material is sometimes laid on in bias folds, and also arranged in fans and
diamonds, one or two to each breadth. Chenille
fringes, and the gimp and bead ornaments, which come in sets for the sleeves and
shoulders, are very elegant, and although exceedingly expensive, will be much
worn, but only on handsome dresses.
Buttons arranged in patterns have a very pretty effect.
They must be covered with some contrasting color.
Bands of black silk, dotted with white chenille, and bands of black silk
with a heading of small silk cord, are very striking and pretty trimmings.
Jackets will be much worn, and also white waists of alpaca, merino and
cashemere [sic]. They must be
ornamented with bright colors to make them effective.
Although the large ball buttons are still popular, the latest style is
square, and quite expensive. Elegant scarfs [sic] and neck ties are to be had, made of
wide plaid and plain ribbons with fringed ends.
Narrow ribbons are also soon tied in a bow at the back of the neck, the
ends falling below the waist. Fancy
combs and fancy jewelry are very much worn, but for demi-toilette, combs with
large ball are preferred. Beautiful
little fancy boots, with tassels, for ladies will be extremely popular during
the winter.
The materials for cloaks will be velvet, beaver, plush and shaggy cloth.
They will be made tight to the figure, gored, with three seams in the
back, and double-breasted. For
velvet, no trimming is so elegant as rich lace.
On the other materials, gimp and bead ornaments, with various styles of
buttons, will be extensively used.
The hair is arranged very low behind, in curls, waterfalls, and braids,
and just as high in front as it is possible to get it.
The newest style is to comb it from the face, forming a large roll
directly on the top of the head, the hair at the sides to be arranged in five or
six smaller rolls. The ends of the large roll are to be brought forward and
frizzed. [Giving the head the appearance of a muffled top-knot hen.--ED.]
The newest collars are made of muslin, or linen, and trimmed with lace.
The ends in front come together and are trimmed with fluted muslin and
lace, and have somewhat the appearance of minister's bands.
Another style has two long ends, which tie in a bow.
The former is called the Cardinal, the latter the Garde Francais.
Trimmings arranged as epaulettes are very much used, both for dresses and
cloaks.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 14, 1864, p. 1, c. 5
Fashion--For
the Ladies.
The following, from a late New York letter, may not prove uninteresting
to some of our lady readers:
The "Woman's Dress Reform Association" has sunk into
insignificance. Fashion asserts her
rights, and we must look as charming and fascinating as dress can make us, even
if war and its attendant horrors are at our very threshold.
Four years of such a desperate struggle have left their marks in so many
households, that mourning garments are now exhibited with those of many colors.
It seems at present as if black was to be the prevailing color for this
winter. The widow's cap and the
orphan's black robes are universally worn.
Everywhere we meet them--sad faces, bowed forms, crushed hearts, black
garments--a weight of woe pressing upon us.
War prices, too, begin to produce their effect.
Those who formerly had a surplus fund upon which to draw, for the luxury
of a new bonnet or dress, now find it swallowed up in necessaries, and have to
content themselves with plainer styles and quieter.
They will not go into the present exorbitant prices, will purchase
nothing more than is absolutely necessary, and in the quiet of their own homes
velvet bonnets will be made over and rich old silks be retrimmed, while Madame
Shoddy and her family, who are enjoying their greenback shower, (the shower of
gold belongs to the past,) will revel this winter to their heart's content in
the rich silks and velvets that gladdened their eyes on Thursday.
The first thing that attracts the eye this season, is the bonnet.
Much less than the usual number have been imported, owing to the high
price of gold and exchange. Only
the favored few can indulge in a genuine French article.
They vary in price from seventy to eighty dollars.
Plumes are beyond our reach--a real bird of Paradise being one hundred
dollars.
The new shape of the bonnet is very small, the brim round, no elevation
above the forehead, the crown and curtain drooping gracefully at the back of the
head, resembling a dress cap more than anything else.
At Madame Tilman's atelier, in Ninth street, some of the most beautiful
specimens were exhibited. One of
them, of Lyons velvet, of the new shade "violine"--a cross between
violet and purple--was exquisite. Around the edge of the brim the velvet was cut out and edged
with black lace and silk puffings. The
crown was very drooping, composed of bands of velvet, edged with lace, form a
net-work over a soft silk crown. The
strings were very wide "violine" silk; inside, trimming of white and
purple flowers. Another new color
is also the mode of this fall--the Prince Imperial, a bright peach blossom tint,
and with white plumes and flowers, is very stylish. Mexican blue is also a favorite color; but the price, alas!
who can indulge? Emerald green and
royal purple will be much worn; but cuir color is fast disappearing.
I confess, for one, to be rejoiced; for it is not only a very unbecoming
color, but always suggest unpleasant things--miscegenation, for instance.
Corded silks will be worn for bonnets, but velvets of course are
preferable. The high prices,
however, will stimulate the demand for round h hats, and as they can be made
more stylish than the bonnet, will be universally worn by young ladies.
The McClellan hat stands at present at the head of the list.
It is made of black velvet, resembling the Scotch cap, (not the one worn
in Washington four years ago,) and trimmed with jet and floating ends of velvet,
while a bird of Paradise rests lightly upon the brim.
For dresses, heavy, plain, corded, and watered silks, are much in favor
this fall, and for evening wear, satin will be much used.
Some of the costliest silks at Stewart's, striped with velvet, are twenty
five dollars a yard. They are
perfectly exquisite, designs new, surpassing anything ever seen here before.
Irish poplins have made their appearance; some plain color, but many of
them gay plaids.
There is a new style of pure silk and wool, also called poplin, which is
very beautiful. The ground work is
a mixture of two colors, black and green, or black and gold; some of them
figured, but mostly plain. They bring five dollars a yard, while a moire or corded silk
cannot be had for less than ten.
There is also a new fabric for street dresses, or rather a revival of an
old one. Aberdeen linsey is the new
name. It is the linsey-woolsey of
our grandmother's time, finer and richer. It
is preferable to merino at the same price, and it does not require lining
throughout.
Double breasted waists, which were introduced last winter, will be more
worn than ever. They are made with
vest points in front, and long lappets at the back, or a postillion.
The latter has increased in size and consequence until it resembles the
swallow-tailed coats of our ancestors.
Although there is a decrease in the size of the hoop, the skirts are made
as full and as flowing as ever, and as elaborately trimmed.
Lace, ribbon and braid meander over the skirt ad
libitum et ad infinitum.
There is no change in sleeves; the coat sleeve loose at the wrist, which
we have seen for the last year, still survives, with the addition of epaulettes
or shoulder straps.
There has been an attempt to revive the broad belt and gold buckle of by
gone days; but the variety of jackets and vests, which are constantly coming in,
are too pretty to sacrifice, so the belt must give way for the present.
We must not expect to see many new velvet cloaks this winter.
With velvet two yards wide, and from seventy-five to one hundred dollars
a yard, we turn to the plain cloths and silks.
The sack will be much worn, as well as the basquine, by way of a change
from last year, they will be worn with a cape attached.
Some of them are very richly trimmed with braid and guipure lace.
Speaking of lace, more novelties in lace goods have been imported this
season than for many years before. There are a great variety of lace coiffures and barbes with
broad ends, to say nothing of some charming little neck ties.
There are also some new styles of handkerchiefs very beautiful.
Sashes and scarfs [sic], of broad plaid ribbon, will also be much worn,
tied loosely in a knotted bow, with long ends, fringed.
The last novelty appears in the way of a boot, introduced for the first
time in New York. It is made of
black or cuir colored leather, very soft and fine.
It comes up very high above the ankle, fitting perfectly, finished at the
top with rich tassels. They are
made water proof, sell for eighteen dollars a pair, and are very scarce.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 16, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
Letter
from New York.
New York, November 16.
Some one has said that if you take a staid Pennsylvania Quaker, whose
gait is only a mile an hour, and transplant him from his quiet home to the
"dollar side" of Broadway, he will in half an hour become so
electrified by the habit of the hurrying crowd, that in twenty minutes you may
play a game of marbles on the old man's coattail.
Strange as it may seem to you, who have known me only as a lazy
Tennessean, I am under the same spell. Gotham
is "fast," and the fastness is contaminating.
Men dart along the streets as if the Headless Horseman was at their
heels. Stop them for anything but a
trade, and they jerk their sentences out with an economy that makes one nervous.
Follow them to Florence's or Delmonico's; even there they eat, drink and
smoke purely with an eye to the main chance.
Business, business--its their thought by day, their dream by night, and
they bend their energies to it as if they had a contract with the devil they
might expire at any moment, and find some trade unfinished.
Petroleum, Government bonds and gold--these are the three notes
constantly rung in the ear. . . .
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
A Curiosity.--The enchanted mountain in Texas is an immense oval rock 300
feet high, situated about eighty miles north of Bastrop.
Its surface is polished, and in sunshine dazzles the beholder at a
distance of three or four miles. Those
who ascend it have to wear moccasins, or stockings, and, like those who went up
to Mount Horeb, pull off their shoes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 3
To Make Hard Tallow Candles.--To one pound of tallow take five or six
leaves of the prickly pear, split these and boil in the tallow without water,
for half an hour or more; strain and mould the candles.
The wicks should have been previously dipped in spirits of turpentine and
dried.
If the tallow is at first boiled in water, and the water changed four or
five times, it will be bleached and rendered free from impurities.
Then prepare by trying with the prickly pears to harden it.
In this way we have made tallow candles nearly equal to the best
adamantine.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 4
To take out thorns and splinters.--Make a plaster of turpentine and
tallow, spread on a piece of leather, and apply it to the wound.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
December 30, 1864, p. 1, c. 1
The following is an extract of a letter received in Columbia, dated
Clinton, Georgia, December 13:
"The Yankees were five days in passing through this town.
Nine dwellings were destroyed, besides a number of out houses, fences,
etc. My house was not injured, but
all the out-buildings, corn, fodder and provisions, etc., were destroyed.
My office was broken open and all the jars smashed and the medicines
poured on the floor. Every one in
town has suffered in like manner. For several days after they left, the only meat in the town
was picked up in the Yankee camp. How
we are to get fire wood this winter, is as serious a matter as the food
question. The Yankees declare that
if ever they get into South Carolina, they would not leave a house standing in
their march."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 3, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
The
Bazaar
The undersigned, under the instruction of the Ladies, take pleasure in
announcing that the BAZAAR will be opened at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 17th January, in
the State House, in the city of Columbia.
The purposes of this undertaking, the relief of the sick and suffering in
"Homes," Hospitals and the Navy--the great interest it has
excited--the quantity of articles, foreign and domestic, already collected, and
the untiring industry with which the work is still being prosecuted--all warrant
the expectation that it will prove successful.
The Legislature of the State, in placing the State House at the disposal
of the Ladies, while manifesting most encouraging interest in the enterprise,
has placed it in the power of those engaged in it to exhibit their wares and
products to great advantage.
An enterprise having such purposes; and sustained by such agencies, needs
no recommendation to the country. That
country, with every family in it, is represented in the field and hospital.
Every act of kindness--every measure of relief extended through the
Bazaar--is extended to our own households and families.
Let all, then, work diligently in contributing, in every possible way, to
this trusty benevolent and patriotic work.
The various Railroads and the Southern Express Company, with most
commendable public spirit, have consented to forward articles free of charge.
Messrs. E. L. Kerrison, R. L. Bryan,
R. Caldwell, T. A. Ball and Dr. J. J. Chisolm are the Committee on
Transportation. Articles may be
sent to the care of either, or to the Central Association, marked legibly
"Bazaar," accompanied, if the donors desire it, with directions to
which table they are to be distributed.
Other Committees and arrangements, will be made known in future
advertisements.
William E. Martin,
J. J. Chisolm, M. D.,
Joseph Walker,
Committee on Notices and Advertisements,
Columbia, December 28, 1865
December 31
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 4, 1865, p. 1, c. 1-2
Richmond, Monday, December 26.
. . . To-day is generally observed as Christmas, most of stores being closed and
all the bar-rooms being open. It is
damp and gloomy.
Hermes.
Richmond, Wednesday, December 28.
. . . The town is exceedingly dull, and believed to be generally sober. Much money has been collected for the soldier's dinner.
To-night there is a soldier's dinner benefit at the theatre; Ida Vernoon
in East Lynn; tickets twenty dollars.
Weather still warm and hazy. Thunder
and lightning last night. Gold 60
for 1. Coffee forty dollars a pound.
Are you all going to let Sherman get to Branchville?
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 4, 1865, p. 1, c. 3
The Nashville Journal of the 24th is full of the Yankee accounts about
Hood's reverse. It says:
. . . It is said that, in passing through Franklin, the rebels gutted all the
stores and a number of private residences.
In Maury County they have been conscripting everybody able to go into the
army, and confiscating the property of all who had fled the conscription.
It is thought they will make a free use of whatever may be in the stores
of Columbia, now that they have to leave. A
citizen of Columbia informs us that nearly all the mills in Maury County had
been burned by the Federals when they were evacuating that region, and when the
rebels shall have left the county the citizens will find themselves poorer by
several millions of dollars.
Gen. James F. Knipe, of the Seventh Cavalry Division, made a lucky hit on
Saturday afternoon, near Brentwood, capturing two flags, belonging to the Fourth
and Thirtieth Louisiana Cavalry, together with about two hundred and fifty
prisoners, including twenty commissioned officers, two brigade musicians, and
two sets of musical instruments--one of silver and the other of brass.
The flag of the Thirtieth Louisiana was faded and torn, red cotton
ground, with blue cross, and twelve silver bullion stars on the cross.
That of the Fourth Louisiana (commanded by Colonel Hunter, who was also
captured) is a magnificent one. The
ground is of red bunting, with a cross made of heavy blue silk, the border of
yellow twilled silk, twelve gold stars being upon the cross.
This flag bears the following inscription: "Jackson, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge, and Shiloh."
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 4, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
Dreadful.--A prisoner from Chattanooga describes the condition of those
families that left Georgia and sought Yankee protection as terrible.
Many women and children have died from cold--four or five thousand of
them being huddled together in Chattanooga, with no wood and little to eat.
There is nothing but lamentation and vain regrets from morning till
night.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 5, 1865, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Friday, December 30.
. . . The arrival of blockade supplies at Wilmington is most timely. Lee's army is in want of clothing, and has been of late on
one third rations. Yet, within the
year ending in November last, six million pounds of bacon have been imported.
Since November probably a million more pounds have been run in; to which
add the tithe bacon, and we have near ten million pounds.
What has become of it all?
"Away with slavery," cries the Enquirer, "if England and
France will recognize us and guaranty our independence."
This sort of talk I am told is heard in Congress.
Evidently depression and fright are making some people take long steps.
A surrender of slavery is a surrender of everything.
It is subjugation by the Yankee idea.
Subjugated by the Yankee idea, we become Yankees.
If we are Yankees, why not be in the Union with the rest of the Yankees?
Indeed how will it be possible to keep out of that Union?
. . . Frosty nights and hazy days.
City very lawless again. Mails
much out of order.
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 5, 1865, p. 1, c. 3
New
Year's Day in Lee's Army.
[From the Richmond Examiner.]
Virginia's New Year's Greeting to the Army of Northern Virginia--The
Great
Dinner and the Monster Preparations--The Quantity Cooked and the Manner
of its Cookery, &c.
With the view of informing the public--especially that part of it who
have contributed to the fund--of the progress making in the preparations for the
gastronomic ovation to the army of General Lee, as well as to sharpen the
appetite of the veterans, and give them, in anticipation, a fore-taste of what
is in store for them, we yesterday visited the Ballard House, which has been
converted for the nonce into an immense _cuisine_ for the reception and
preparation of the meats for the feast. The proprietor of the establishment, Mr. John P. Ballard,
with a patriotic liberality that is worthy of all praise, has given up the whole
unoccupied portion of the Ballard to the committee charged with preparing the
viands with the unrestricted and unlimited use of his cooking range, boilers of
great capacity, and all the other appurtenances and conveniences attached
thereto, and not to be found elsewhere in the city.
To afford an idea of the magnitude of the scale upon which the cooking is
conducted, we will enter a little into the details of the operations off the
department. In the basement of the
Ballard is located the steam power used when the house was occupied as a hotel
for heating the same, but capable also of forcing the water into the cooking
department for all boiling and steaming purposes.
This engine is in full blast now, and is presided over by George R.
Saarpe, Jr., long in the employment of Mr. Ballard in the capacity of engineer,
and a capable, energetic and trusty man. On
the first floor over the engine room is the mammoth brick bake oven of a
capacity sufficient to bake three hundred fowls or pieces of meat every four
hours, when the meat is ready at hand.
Under the direction of Mr. Thompson Tyler, the well known caterer,
appointed by the committee to superintend the cooking, the entire cooking
apparatus of the house has been in operation night and day since Tuesday last.
The quality of flesh and fowl purchased, donated and prepared for the
soldier's palate, so far, is of the most superior kind, while the quantity is
enough to excite astonishment in the minds of those who were fearful that the
resources of the "Old Dominion" were showing signs of exhaustion. The variety of meats embrace rounds of beef, saddles of
mutton, venisons, whole shoats, hams, sausage of country make, rich with sage
and redolent with pepper, turkies, geese, ducks, chickens, with vegetables, such
as potatoes, turnips, large as cannon balls, and beets like oblong shells.
A dusky Ethiopian, redolent in sweat and enveloped in savoury smoke and
vapour issuing from the great oven, is the presiding genius of this sombre
place. In the second story is the
champion kitchen range, formerly used for bread baking, but now flushed to a red
heat, embrowning turkeys and other meats for the great affair.
Its capacity for bread baking is for one thousand loaves per day, and
this is about a fair average for meats. Here
also the boilers, supplied with water from the great boiler below, are bubbling
and hissing over their savoury contents of hams and other meats that are
destined to spend an hour in hot water.
Mrs. McDonald, for many years the housekeeper of the Ballard, and known
to the travelling public as a most kind-hearted and exemplary lady, presides
over this department, with a black retinue
of her old imps of the cuisine. The whole machinery of cookery, from bottom to top, moves on
like clock work as the perpetual stew goes on and the smoke of the great bake
rises up in cloudy vapors. Where
there is smoke there must be some fire; so where there is so much boiling,
baking, stewing, and frying there must be a corresponding amount of refuse and
grease extracted. Up to yesterday
four or five barrels had been filled, every pound of which Mr. Tyler intends to
account for to the committee, so that nothing may be lost.
The large and commodious bar room of the Ballard, once filled with
liquors, is now filled with the fowl and flesh that has passed through the fiery
ordeal of the oven and boiler, and now lie piled into miniature mountains
awaiting the knife of the carver, and the pleasure of those for whom they were
sacrificed. A guard is constantly
stationed here, as well as at the cook room, for the savoury [sic] meats are too
tempting to be trusted alone. Gentlemen, members of the several committees, alternate with
each other at night in keeping watch and ward, and setting up with the dead
turkeys, deceased porkers, departed pullets and the general hecatomb of
slaughtered animals--slaughtered to make a soldier's holiday.
During yesterday a large number of visitors, including some of the first
and most patriotic ladies of the city, visited the Ballard, and the ladies
particularly were delighted with the way the dinner progressed, and the promise
of the sight afforded of a beautiful feast.
It is estimated by good judges of provisions in bulk, that enough flesh
and fowl is already cooked to feed thirty or forty thousand men, and as
additions are hourly being made by purchase and donation of fresh lots, all idea
of a lack of anything is dispelled, and it is believed there will be enough and
to spare, sufficient to send a specimen dish to "Useless" Grant, under
flag of truce, just to show him that "Old Virginia never tires," and
is far from being exhausted of her cattle on a thousand h ills, although he has
managed to steal as many of them.
In short, the Confederacy, and particularly Virginia, is doing a
"big thing," as Lincoln would say, if the Yankees had the doing of it.
The Thanksgiving dinner of the North to Grant's Ghouls was an eleven
o'clock lunch to what the people propose to do for their sons, brother, fathers
and kindred in Gen. Lee's host of veterans.
Already there are rumors of the hospitals being depopulated, the laggards
and skulkers returning, all hastening to Gen. Lee's lines, to the end that they
may partake of a nation's gratitude and a nation's pride in the dinner to the
whole army, in which the commonest private will be entitled to the first helping
and the best.
We understand that the dinner will not be served to the army until
Monday, Sunday (New Year's) intervening. The
question of the best plan of serving a dinner along a line twenty miles and more
in length is under consideration by the Committee, and will be perfected to-day.
Meanwhile, those who desire to contribute money or provisions for the
dinner, and have not yet done so, will have an opportunity.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 9, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
To Cure Camp Itch.--Take a pound of fresh poke root, mash it, and boil a
quarter of an hour, with water; add four pounds lard, and stew till the fibres
of the root feel dry--i.e., till all the water is evaporated--then strain.
Rub at night on the afflicted parts very thinly.
Sure cure.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 11, 1865, p. 1, c. 1
Richmond, Wednesday, January 4.
At last we have a mail from Charleston.
It is not more than ten or fifteen days old, but it will do very well
considering the times.
. . . Sherman's activity will be responded to by active measures in Congress. The negroes will almost certainly be called out, since the
Administration and many Generals are in favor of it. But I hear of one General, who says if Gen. Lee could travel
the country as much as he has done, he would find plenty of white men and no
need for negroes. If negroes are
used, they must be used as slaves, or else we abandon the principle of the
struggle.
Our streets are no longer lighted at night, and coal is getting very
scarce, even in the Government offices. . .
Hermes.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 12, 1865, p. 1, c. 4
The
Hurricane at Auburn, Ala.
[Correspondence of the Montgomery Mail.]
On the night of the 27th December, a terrific and destructive hurricane
passed through the quiet and pleasant town of Auburn.
In the afternoon, about sunset, a dark and extensive cloud lay in the
west. The red lightnings played
across its bosom, followed by deep and loud thundering.
As the night came on the cloud seemed to grow larger and darker,
accompanied by a strong and steady wind; still, there was nothing in its
appearance which had not been often witnessed before.
But about half after eight o'clock, the wind increased in violence,
roaring louder and louder, when suddenly there was heard a noise in the midst of
the wind resembling that made by a long train of cars sweeping by under a
tremendous head of steam. The
impression upon the minds of many was that the train had come into town, and
some thought that it had run off the track.
But this car-like noise was soon hushed and it became apparent to all
that a hurricane had swept through our midst.
I was struck with the resemblance to the noise alluded to, yet knew what
it was. I stood within nearly two
hundred yards of its path and realized its compactness and force, it seemed
almost to possess solidity and to rub against the earth.
There was a luminous appearance attending it.
A very intelligent gentleman in connection with others who saw it in its
approach, say that they observed coruscations of light and balls of fire. Altogether, there was something so unusual and terrific about
it that I remarked to one standing near, that "mischief is done, and you
will hear from that hurricane." Soon
several bells commenced ringing, and the tale was told.
I immediately went in that direction, and witnessed more than a
verification of my fears.
The streets, where it passed, were blocked up with the wrecks of houses.
The scene was frightful beyond description.
Men, women and children, suddenly rendered houseless, left among falling
and flying timbers, amid darkness and rain.
The lightning's angry flash revealed to the eye a complete and wider ruin
than the imagination had conceived. One's
sympathies were taxed almost beyond endurance to see tender women and children
standing wet, shivering and bleeding amid the utter waste, without shelter or
clothing, save what was on them. Through
the storm and darkness I wandered by torch light, with others, from one heap of
desolation to another, until near midnight, when I returned home.
Next morning I took a thorough survey of the hurricane's path, and found
that the light of day but magnified its horrors.
It entered Auburn from a westerly direction, along the Tusheegee road.
A mile beyond town it struck Mr. Raiford's plantation, leveling every
house, sweeping away fences to the ground, and wounding, it is feared, mortally,
three negroes. On the edge of town
it unroofed the new and handsome residence of Capt. Sills; blew away out houses,
his elegant carriage, and fifty or sixty cotton bales, making the surrounding
trees look as if covered with snow.
In the town proper, it laid waste successfully the residences of Mrs.
Williams (widow), Major Barnett, Mr. Grayson, postmaster, Mrs. Bedell, widow,
Mrs. Edwards, Mr. B. F. Johnson and Edward Mahone; besides the Baptist Church,
several workshops and an immense amount of plank fencing.
Some of these dwellings have been left with nothing but their floors, and
lots without a house standing upon them. It
is said a negro child was blown a distance of four or five miles.
Out of perhaps over sixty persons whose homes were destroyed, some five
were instantly killed. Two or three
of these were children. Among them
was, however, the pious and beloved Lieutenant Barnett, son of Major Barnett.
He was one of the most patriotic and guileless of men.
He was at the siege of Vicksburg, and has faced the enemy on many bloody
fields. He was at home in
consequence of a wound received before Atlanta, when the hurricane took him to
heaven, for I verily believe that Elijah did not go directer there in his
chariot of fire, than did that noble soldier.
He leaves a y young widow and children.
The family of Major Barnett suffered very seriously by the falling
timbers. Many of them are very
badly wounded. It is difficult to
gauge the amount of damage done in the loss of homes, with all that home
embraces, including, as it does, bedding, and furniture of all kinds, provisions
and a thousand unmentionable comforts.
The hurricane seems to have struck the M. & W. S.
Railroad below Cole's Station, and with some deviation to have kept the
road on to Lagrange, Ga., at which place and at Opelika, it is said to have been
more or less destructive.
Its singular confinement to the railroad seems to indicate its electrical
character. Some speak of the
sulphur smell the atmosphere possessed immediately after its passage.
I have failed to describe this wonderfully sublime and awful phenomenon,
which has left waste and want in its path; but if it shall elicit generous and
benevolent aid in behalf of those whom it has made needy and poor, then I shall
have conferred a favor both upon the giver and receiver.
C. D. Oliver
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 12, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
The
Savannah Refugees.
We cannot better comply with the request embodied in the following letter
than by publishing the letter itself:
Headquarters,
}
Department of S. C., Ga. and Fla.,
}
Charleston, S. C., January 11, 1865.
}
To the Editors of the Charleston Mercury:
Dear Sir: I am instructed by
Lieut. General Hardee to say that a number of persons, principally women and
children, from Savannah, will be received under flag of truce in Charleston
harbor to-morrow. From the scarcity
of hotels and boarding h houses they will probably find it difficult to secure
food and shelter for the time during which they will be compelled to remain in
the city. The General, therefore,
requests that you will call attention to the matter in your editorial columns
to-morrow and invite such citizens as may be able to extend assistance in this
matter to leave their names at the Office of the Provost Marshal.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
T. B. Roy, A. A. G.
-----
Mayor's Office, January 12, 1865.
Fellow Citizens: I have been
informed by the Lieutenant General Commanding that a large number of exiles,
(women and children) will arrive this morning, by flag of truce from Savannah,
in this harbor. I therefore call
upon all of those who can assist me in receiving them, and rendering them
comfortable, to meet me at the wharves when they arrive.
Charles Macbeth, Mayor.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1865, p. 1, c. 2
Lunacy.
The wild talk prevalent in the official and the semi-official organs at
Richmond grates harshly upon the ear of South Carolina.
It is still more grievous to her to hear the same unmanly proposition
from those in authority in the old State of Virginia.
Side by side Carolina and Virginia have stood together against all comers
for near two centuries--the exemplars and authors of Southern civilization.
Side by side it is our earnest hope they will stand to all time against
the world. But we grieve to say
there are counsels now brewing there that South Carolina cannot abet--that she
will not suffer to be consummated, so far as she
is concerned in them. . . .
In 1860 South Carolina seceded along from the old union of States.
Her people, in Convention assembled, invited the slaveholding
States (none others) of the old Union to join her in erecting a separate
Government of Slave States, for the
protection of their common interests. All
of the slave States, with the exception of Maryland and Kentucky, responded to
her invitation. The Southern
Confederacy of slave States was formed.
It was on account of encroachments upon the institution of slavery
by the sectional majority of the old Union, that South Carolina seceded from
that Union. It is not at this late
day, after the loss of thirty thousand of her best and bravest men in battle,
that she will suffer it to be bartered away; or ground between the upper and
nether mill stones, by the madness of Congress, or the counsels of shallow men
elsewhere.
By the compact we made with Virginia and the other States of this
Confederacy, South Carolina will stand to the bitter end of destruction.
By that compact she intends to stand or to fall.
Neither Congress, nor certain make shift men in Virginia, can force upon
her their mad schemes of weakness and surrender.
She stands upon her institutions--and there she will fall in their
defence. We
want no Confederate Government without our institutions. And we
will have none.--Sink or swim, live or die, we stand by them, and are fighting
for them this day. That is the
ground of our fight--it is well that all should understand it at once.
Thousands and tens of thousands of the bravest men, and the best blood of
this State, fighting in the ranks, have left their bones whitening on the bleak
hills of Virginia in this cause. We
are fighting for our system of civilization--not for buncomb, or for Jeff.
Davis. We intend to fight for that,
or nothing. We expect Virginia to
stand beside us in that fight, as of old, as we have stood beside her in this
war up to this time. But such talk
coming from such a source is destructive to the cause.
Let it cease at once, in God's name, and in behalf of our common cause!
It is paralyzing to every man here to hear it.
It throws a pall over the hearts of the soldiers from this State to hear
it. The soldiers of South Carolina
will not fight beside a nigger--to talk of emancipation is to disband our army.
We are free men, and we chose to fight for ourselves--we want no slaves
to fight for us. Skulkers, money
lenders, money makers, and blood-suckers, alone will tolerate the idea.
It is the man who won't fight himself, who wants his nigger to fight for
him, and to take his place in the ranks. Put
that man in the ranks. And do it at
once. Control your armies--put men
of capacity in command, re-establish confidence--enforce thorough
discipline--and there will be found men enough, and brave men enough to defeat a
dozen Sherman's. Falter and hack at
the root of the Confederacy--our institutions--our civilization--and you kill
the cause as dead as a boiled crab.
The straight and narrow path of our deliverance is in the reform of our
government, and the discipline of our armies.
Will Virginia stand by us as of old in this rugged pathway?
We will not fail her in the shadow of a hair.
But South Carolina will fight upon no other platform, than that she laid
down in 1860.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1865, p. 1, c. 3
The
Soldier's New Year's Dinner.
Camp First Virginia Regiment.
To the Editor of the Richmond Dispatch:
The New Year's dinner has come and gone; or, rather, gone without coming.
Some of the troops from the South seem to apprehend the Virginia troops,
being nearer home, may have gotten the best of them in the distribution. I think that, by stating the case of our regiment (the First
Virginia, and enlisted in Richmond) this misapprehension may be relieved.
I presume thousands of rebels, like myself, expected really a good treat
to the inner man, and plenty of it, basing their expectations upon the colossal
preparations in Richmond, the great number of Confederate dollars contributed by
worthy and patriotic citizens, the glaring articles in the newspapers, and the
names of the gentlemen who composed the committee, satisfied all of them that it
would be a good thing; and, laboring under these impressions, we prepared
accordingly, setting our incisors. The
quartermaster and commissary were to have nothing to do with the sumptuous
feast, nor were they invited to partake. Well,
on Monday night notice was received at regiment headquarters to send a detail of
men, with an officer, to brigade headquarters to receive our quota.--[None of
the committee have, as yet, made their appearance.]
They soon returned with two barrels, holding the dinner.
The contents were soon made visible by knocking in the heads.
I will give you a list of the contents for the entire regiment, numbering
two hundred and sixty men and officers. Thirty
two ordinary size loaves of bread; two turkeys, one of them a very diminutive
specimen of that species of fowl, (some swore that it was a chicken;) a quarter
of lamb and a horse bucket full of apple butter.
Well, of course this immense weight of provender had to be divided out to
the various companies. After our
company had received its due proportion, the whole lot was, by unanimous consent
of the company, (numbering thirty men) condensed into six parts, and by a
species of lottery, all thirty participating, the six "piles" fell to
six men; so twenty four received nothing,
and six all. I was on picket at the time, but found, on my return to camp,
that I was one of the successful six, and got the leg of a turkey and a half
pound of mutton, which I soon disposed of, with some fried bacon, red pepper,
salt, water, and flour to thicken, making a French dish, which I leave for you
to name. So ended our New Year's
dinner. No blame is attached to any
one. The undertaking was too great
a one; so say all the troops.
A. B. C.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1865, p. 1, c. 1
Cure of Corns.--A correspondent of the London Lancet
recommends the use of caustic in case of corns.
He says:
I applied it (the lunar caustic) thus:
I put my feet in warm water, and allowed them to remain till I found the
outer surface of the corn was soft; I then dried the feet, and applied the
caustic all over the corn--in a few minutes it was dry.
It remained so ten days, when I removed the black skin and applied the
caustic again; and I continued until I had eradicated the corns completely.
I have tried the same plan with many of my patients; and those who have
been sufferers for years--all have been cured.
It produces no pain, nor the least inconvenience, and does away with the
necessity of cutting, which is dangerous in itself, and likely to produce
extensive inflammation, with frequently the loss of life.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1865, p. 1, c. 2
To Candle Makers.--Those who make for use or for sale will find the following
suggestions very important in making good candles:--Melt the tallow and strain
of all impurities; then get clean, soft wick, make it of moderate size and plait
it, be sure to do that and you will never or seldom have use for snuffers. This is our plan and we give it for the benefit of the
public. We can't find any candles
in market equal to ours.--Register.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 13, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
There was no firing yesterday, with the exception of a few guns to bring
the flag of truce steamers to the anchorage ground.
About 250 refugees from Savannah, including men, women and children, were
delivered. They nearly all concur
in the statement that the general treatment of the inhabitants of Savannah by
the Yankees has been mild. They say
that Sherman has, with Foster's reinforcements, 80,000 men, and that he began
his movement against Branchville and Augusta on Wednesday.
The privates speak of wreaking their vengeance on South Carolina; but the
officers say that their actions will depend on the amount of opposition they may
encounter. They declare that if
they should have hard fighting to do and are successful, they will not attempt
to restrain their men.
Most of the refugees were accommodated at private quarters.
The following are at the Wayside Home:
Mrs. Starr, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. Heidt, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. Sheppard, Savannah, Ga.
Miss Jenkins, Effingham Co., Ga.
Miss Powers, Effingham Co., Ga.
Miss Grovens?ert?, Effingham Co., Ga.
Miss Atkins, Effingham Co., Ga.
Miss Bourquine, Effingham Co., Ga.
Mrs. A. Jenkins, Effingham Co., Ga.
Mrs. Furgerson, Effingham Co., Ga.
Miss Graham, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. Breuner, Savannah, Ga.
Miss Pinder, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. S.
C. Grant and two children, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. Hardee and one child, Savannah, Ga.
Mrs. Quartermen, Savannah, Ga.
Miss Elkins, Effingham Co., Ga.
Mrs. Guiton and one son, Effingham Co., Ga.
Mrs. S. E. Gruber and three children, Savannah, Ga.
Capt. Robt. Hardis, Savannah, Ga.
D. R. Muller, Scriven Co., Ga.
A. F. Bennett, Savannah, Ga.
J. A. Cubbage, Scriven Co., Ga.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 14, 1865, p. 1, c. 1-2
We beg leave to call attention to the following letter to Mr. Seddon,
published in yesterday's Courier:
Outrages
of Wheeler's Command.
Lower Three Runs,
}
Barnwell, District, S. C., Dec. 31, 1864
}
To Hon. J. A. Seddon,
Secretary of War, Richmond, Va.
I cannot forbear appealing to you in behalf of the producing population
of the States of Georgia and South Carolina for protection against the
destructive lawlessness of members of General Wheeler's command.
From Augusta to Hardeeville the road is now strewn with corn left on the
ground unconsumed. Beeves have been
shot down in the fields, one quarter taken off and the balance left for
buzzards. Horses are stolen out of
wagons on the road, and by wholesale out of stables at night.
The writer saw an order from Gen. Wheeler, authorizing search to be made
in his command for thirty seven animals stolen from Mr. Fitzpatrick's
plantation, in Twiggs county, Ga., only four of which had, up to a few days ago,
been recovered. Within a few miles
of this neighborhood, Wheeler's men tried to rob a young lady of a horse while
she was on a visit to a neighbor's, but for the timely arrival of a citizen, who
prevented the outrage being perpetrated. It
is no unusual sight to see these men ride into camp with all sorts of plunder.
Private houses are visited; carpets, blankets, and other furniture they
can lay their hands on, are taken by force in the presence of the owners.
We ask, respectfully, if the Government expects the people to bear such
burdens, in addition to the ravages of the enemy?
Can such devastation by our soldiery be permitted, and the farmer and
soldiers' unprotected family have no redress?
Are General Wheeler and his brigade commanders not responsible to the
country for stealing the stock engaged in the production of food for our army,
the falling off in the production of corn alone in the States of Georgia and
South Carolina may be counted by the hundred thousand bushels.
Make the country one immense camp--let everybody be engaged in working
for the support of the whole army, but for the sake of our glorious cause, give the producer the protection necessary to enable
him to make bread for the army, and his little [family?]
If General Hampton's cavalry had used Virginia and North Carolina as
General Wheeler's men have used Georgia and South Carolina, where would General
Lee now be?
Omega.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 16, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
Trans-Mississippi.--Col. W. A. Broadwell, Chief of the Cotton Bureau,
Trans-Mississippi Department, has purchased and introduced into the Department,
pledging payment in cotton, 13,800 pairs of blankets, 60,000 pairs of shoes,
150,000 yards of shirting and towels, 150,000 pounds of powder, 2000,000 pounds
of lead, 5,000,000 percussion caps, and a large quantity of guns, 140,000 yards
of grey army cloth, and satinett, and a large quantity of hardware, copper,
saltpetre, and a great quantity of small stores.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 23, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
The Grand Ladies' Bazaar in Columbia closed on Friday evening last.
The affair was a great success, netting, as one of the Columbia papers
hints, something like a quarter of a million of dollars.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 24, 1865, p. 2, c. 1
To the Editor of the Charleston Mercury:
Sir: We beg, through your
columns, to address the General commanding South Caroline, and the Governor of
this State. We, women of
Charleston, not enthusiastic girls, but women whose hair has whitened through
the anguish of this awful war, whose husbands, sons, brothers, have died for
South Carolina and Charleston, entreat to be heard. We would say that we have listened, with grief and horror
inexpressible, to the hints of abandoning to our foes, without a struggle, the
city of our love. We urge, by all
our titles to regard; we implore, as the greatest boon, fight for Charleston!
Fight at every point--fight for every inch, and if our men must die, let
them die amid the blazing ruins of our homes, their souls rising upward on the
flames which save our city from the pollution of our enemy.
Send out the women and children yet in the city.
Thousands of Charleston women scattered through the land will share with
them their all. They shall not starve. But
let them be no excuse for deserting the sacred homes of us and our ancestors.
What! the four years of
proud defence to be rendered augatory? The battle flag of Sumter to vail its proud defiance, without
a cannon shot? The churches where
we heard the burial services of our dead, who died around our walls, to ring
with the triumphant Te Deums of the
invader? Oh, men!
it is impossible! By the rain of blood and tears, which has fallen upon our
hearts, never quenching, but brightening the flame of patriotism there, do not
utterly crush those true hearts by this blow.
We Know, each of us, our
husbands, our brothers, our sons, are not shrinking now.
They are chaffing at this fatal policy of retreat.
They who have won their fame from the Savannah River to Charleston
harbor, they ask but leave to fight on
as they have fought.
Do you but lead them on, not keep them back.
We call upon the Commanding General to stand by us, to fight with us,
heart and soul. We call upon our
Governor, sworn to defend Carolina and her honor, to defend it here.
Let the mantle of the dictator fall upon him, and if Charleston, defended
to the hour, must then fall, let the Governor save our honor here, but her fall
amidst her burning edifices and her homes--either to the sound of the guns of
our forts, as they send out their last defiance to the baffled foe.
Many Wives and Mothers of Charleston.
CHARLESTON MERCURY,
January 30, 1865, p. 1, c. 1
Badly Posted.--Recently, while the people of Honolulu were anxiously
looking out for news from the United States, a large clipper arrived from San
Francisco, and, on being boarded by the news boat, the only reply of the Captain
was, "there was a devil of a row in the United States, but he didn't learn
the particulars."
Last issue February 11, 1865. Moved to Columbia, SC where the presses were destroyed in the great fire. Resurrected on November 19, 1866.