December 4, 1861 – The Camp Kettle, Port Royal

The Camp Kettle is the name of an enterprising publication established by the “mudsills” at Hilton Head, S. C. The following is the title and imprint of the paper:—

THE CAMP KETTLE.
WE KNOW ONLY OUR COUNTRY.
Vol. 1. Nov. 21, 1861. No. 6.

The Camp Kettle is published every opportunity by the Field and Staff of the Roundhead Regiment, Col. Lesure commanding.

It is printed on board the steamer Ocean Queen, of which it speaks as follows :

The Chief engineer has given us a fine room right in among the machinery, partly over the immense cylinder which confines the spirit that rules the wave, for a printing office, where we, queerly enough, are printing our Kettle. Beneath us groans and hisses the pent demon, that shrieks to break his narrow cell. Beside us on one hand rises and sinks the huge piston rod, on the other the connecting rod that wearilessly drives around the crank to give motion to the great monster of the deep, freighted with some sixteen hundred souls, and stores of munitions of war, and instruments of death intended tor the benefit of traitors. We could philosophise here, but prefer to say what we intended to say in the beginning—that Capt. Seabury and his crew are men to be remembered, and if we should never meet again, may God bless them for their kindness to us.

STIRRING SCENES.

Since the publication of our last we have witnessed stirring scenes. We have made a successful descent upon an enemy’s coast, after encountering one of the most fearful storms that successful landing, after five hours’s naval fighting against a well prepared antagonist, who chose his own position, and had taken all pains and added all the appliances of science to render impregnable a position by nature only too well adapted to facilitate his operations. “We have seen the beginning of the end.’’ We have seen the fortune of war forsake the pale standard of rebellion, and we have seen the Star Spangled Banner wave its rainbow hues in the southern skies, over the soil of dark, deceitful, perjured South Carolina. We have seen a sight worth living for, and worth dying tor. We have seen Sumter avenged.

CONTRABANDS.

Quite a number of “contrabands” have come into camp since the capture of the island, and they give some ludicrous and some terrific accounts of the “shelling out” the “navy boys” gave the Palmetto fellows. One of them says “De Georgy fellows run fust, den de Sous Carolina bosses run like the debble, and de Dutch went after dem, and none of dem eber dun come back agin.” Another states that “he had come up wid some sweet a tates for de offisa bosses, and staid till de place got so mixed he could hardly see his way out;” and on being asked how it looked when the storm of shells was hailing on the fort and island, he said it looked “jus like if de fire and de brimstone war a comin’ down, and de airth war a gwine up,’ and we don’t doubt that it looked “jes so” to one poor fellow on that hot Thursday noon.

Worcester Daily Spy, Worcester, MA

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2 Comments

  1. Lisa Fulton

    Wow – that’s a good find. I have seen the official newspaper of the Union troops at Port Royal, “The New South.” But this kind of home-grown newsletter is new to me. It’s fun to read – enthusiastic and expressive.

  2. Reporting History

    Thanks, and I’ll be on the lookout for more. A researcher shared links with the newspaper of the CT 5th, so I’ll be returning to those in the coming year!

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