Brooklyn Painters Impressed

Charleston Harbor: Coast Survey Chart

Into South Carolina’s Army

Folks, there is so much going on (150 years ago) – I’m glad the “Daily News” sites are teaching us so much about the events in January 1861.

From The New-York Times January 12, 1861:

EXPERIENCES OF A CHARLESTON SOLDIER.

BARNARD WHITE, WILLIAM BERKELEY and BENJAMIN GILCHRIST, of Brooklyn, returned from Charleston last Thursday, in the steamer Nashville, and have given our reporter some particulars of their experiences among the Secessionists of the Palmetto State.

IMPRESSMENT — HARD FARE — GAG LAW — TAR AND FEATHERING — SOUTH CAROLINA’S GREATEST ENEMIES — THE NEGROES — GARRISONS OF THE FORTS — EARTHWORKS ON MORRIS ISLAND.

The parties mentioned are painters, and have been engaged at their trade in the City of Charleston since August. On the 26th of December they were served with a military notice, of which the following is a copy:

CHARLESTON, Monday, Dec. 17, 1860.

Beat No. 1, 16th Regiment, Regimental Parade, Sir:

You are hereby summoned to be and appear at the Citadel Square, properly armed and accoutred, according to law, on Wednesday next, at 1 o’clock P.M., precisely. An inspection of arms will take place at each parade. If you appear in pantaloons, blue or black coat and black hat, arms and accoutrements in complete order will be furnished you at each parade on the ground; if not, the law compels you to furnish yourself with a musket, bayonet, cartridge box, bayonet-scabbard, with cross-belts, all in good order and fit for service, on $1 fine for each defect.

Every person subject to military duty in this regiment who removed from one beat to another is required to report himself to the captains of the beats from which and to which he has removed, or be fined $5, besides all fines for the non-performance of military duty in both beats.

Court martial held on defaulters at the Military Hall. Wentworth-street, on the third Monday of December, at 12 o’clock M. By order of Captain.

S. VALE MALLINS, Corporal.

The above notice was left at the lodgings of the parties mentioned, and they first saw it when they returned home in the evening. They resolved to obey the order to appear on parade, for they were told that in case of disobedience they would be heavily fined or imprisoned. BERKELEY and WHITE went regularly to parade twice a week during the daytime, and frequently at nights. Sometimes there were as many as three hundred men in their Company; and they estimate the total number of volunteer soldiery in Charleston at about 3,000. Most of the fire companies have soldiers. Messrs. WHITE and BERKELEY assert that they received no payment for being thus forced to leave their business and do military duty, and in this respect there was no distinction made between them and natives of the State. They were eminently dissatisfied at this arbitrary interference with their personal liberty, and their dissatisfaction was converted into alarm when they received notice that they would soon be drafted, with or without their consent, into the regular “army” of the State. One day, while the men were on the usual parade, the Captain asked whether any of them would like to join the regulars. About eighty out of the three hundred present stepped forth, and the Captain, addressing those who had declined the proffered honor, said with vexation, “I’ll have you all drafted to-morrow, and I’ll treat you worse than United States soldiers are treated!” This hint was not lost upon Messrs. WHITE and BERKELEY, and they resolved immediately to leave so dangerous a neighborhood. When they went to pay their money at the steamboat office for conveyance to New-York, they found they were closely watched, and one person remarked that “it was a pity such good-looking men should be allowed to leave, while soldiers were so much needed.” Further than this the men were not interfered with, and were allowed to take their departure.

Not digging trenches: Andrew Gordon Magrath

We have obtained from these parties some valuable information concerning the condition of affairs in Charleston, and, as their testimony is quite unbiased, it may be received as reliable as far as it goes. They all agree in stating that the number of men now under arms in Charleston and its forts reaches 3,000, and that additional troops are constantly pouring into the city. Most of these troops are Northern men, and they are, of course, dissatisfied with the system of forced enlistment and hard fare that has been adopted in the “South Carolina Army.” The enthusiasm of natives permits them to subsist upon biscuit and water; but Northern mechanics think that the State has no more right to drag them from their work, to dig entrenchments, than it would have to make RHETT or MAGRATH perform the same labor. Those who can, come away; but many, who have the means and the will to leave, cannot succeed in effecting their escape, so strict is the espionage upon their movements.

It seems to be very certain that, in the event of hostilities between South Carolina and the Federal Government, the former, in addition to a foe in the field, will find lively sources of trouble in her forced levies of Northern men, as well as in her slaves. The negroes, we are assured, understand perfectly well what is going on, and, if ever war should actually break out, they will seize such opportunities as may offer to befriend the North; for in the North their own wild hopes of liberty have long been centred. One of the party who has given us this information was lately accosted by a Charleston negro with “I’ll be as good as you is soon;” and this is the idea that seems to predominate in the minds of the whole colored population.

There is scarcely any business done in Charleston, and those stores which are not already closed will be soon shut up. Nearly all the male citizens capable of bearing arms are doing duty as soldiers. No person, of course, is permitted to express any opinion hostile to secession, on penalty of being tarred and feathered in the market-place of the city. A tyranny that far surpasses anything we have ever read of in Austria or Russia is exercised by the South Carolina authorities. Citizens have been driven from the place simply for writing unpalatable truths to their friends and relatives at the North. Several instances of this kind prove that private letters are opened at the Post office, and that other dishonorable means are used by the Secessionists to interfere with the rights and liberties of American citizens. One instance is mentioned of a dry-goods dealer being arrested for selling “Lincoln Shawls,” and similar acts of stupid and vindictive tyranny are of common occurrence.

Ex-Governor Aiken: sending his negroes to Morris Island

Major ANDERSON, in Fort Sumter, keeps the strictest watch over the enemy’s movements, and will allow no vessel to approach the fortress. On her last trip the Nashville was unable to cross the bar, and had to wait some hours for the tide, but she was warned by a couple of blank shots not to anchor near Fort Sumter. Fort Moultrie is garrisoned by the Washington Artillery and Charleston Riflemen. Castle Pinckney is garrisoned by the Meagher Guards and Montgomery Guards. The Charlestonians have been at work on Morris Island for three weeks past throwing up entrenchments, and Gov. AIKEN had sent all his negroes to this island. Some very formidable earthworks have been raised here — sufficiently strong, it is supposed, to prevent a vessel-of-war from entering the harbor.

1) You can see a much better map of Charleston Harbor at Civil War Daily Gazette. However, I was interested in this map because it was said to be a copy of Coast Survey chart and because it is the first graphic I’ve seen in the body of The New-York Times. Also, I wanted to put a map on my site. The chart was published in the January 12, 1861 edition of The New-York Times.

2) William Aiken, Jr. at one point opposed secession (see Seven Score and Ten for the article about Aiken, aka Santa Claus). Apparently once the cat was out of the bag (and the Palmetto State actually seceded) he changed his tune. Of course, given the tone of this story, he might have been afraid of what would happen to him if he did not send his slaves to Morris Island to help with the earthworks or whatever else they were doing. “Sure, I’d be more than happy to contribute my slaves for Secession Nation.”

3) Andrew Gordon Magrath was involved with South Carolina’s secession convention and would become a governor of South Carolina.

4) I copied the whole article because I was so amazed by it, but you can also read it at The New York Times Archive.