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?V? >. W. MASON* AND CO.
SAVANNAH, THURSDAY, JAN. 28. l c l*s.
YHK €IT2SK*V ISfEETffNG.
Additional B.eport.
In addition to the resolutions adopted
and Ibis meeting yesterday, the following
-va* passed, on motion of Hr. Wilbur :
ilxolvad, That special copies of the
proceedings of this meeting bo forward
ed by ills Honor, the Mayor, to the
President of the United States; the Presi
dent of the Chamber of Commerce, ol
the City of New York ; the President of
the Produce Exchange, of New York;
>o Gen. W. T. Sherman; to Col. Julian
Allen, of New York ; to His Honor, the
Mayor of the City of Boston ; and the
President of tlf<- Board of Trade of Bos
ton.
* The following were the Committee on
Resulutions adopted by His Honor the
Mayor: E. P. Woodbridge, Geo. W.
Wyley, A. A. Solomons, T. R. Mills, E.
Podelford. Judge Knapp, Wm. Hunter,
Taut U. Wilder, Isaac Cohen, A. Cham
pion, T. J. Walsh, John McMahon and
fT. A Crane.
While the Committee ou Resolutions
were out, the Mayer introduced to the
meeting Messrs. Archibald "Baxter, T.
h L ithrop and C. H. B ibcock, of New
York, W. 11. Briggs, H. <>. Baldwin, and
Henry D. Hyde, of Boston.
The following was the Mayor's open
ing address:
Follow Cn;z: vs: For the second
dine since the capture of oar city, it has
become my duty to summon you to meet
together in public assembly.
The occasion which brings you togeth
er to-dav is one which will ever be rc-
m irkulrtc even in the annals of the * last;
il w weeks. So pregnant as they have
■jzm by events which makes reports in .
history,* and which almost condense a t
fife time in a day. S
A brief record of the circumstances •
Wilder which vve were placed will be
necessary for a clearer understanding of
our present condition i
The capture of SavauuaU on the 21st 1
December, IS<U. produced greater alter
ations in our condition than mere i
military possession and military gov- 1
Tlio Confederate currency,
■ already inflated to an almost nomi
nal value, was still the medium of
exchange while Savannah was in the
Confederacy, but the moment the United
•States regained Savannah Confederate
money was literally not worth the paper
on which it was printed, and all of us,
die City Government, were reduced to a
■lead level of poverty.
Cut off from all communication with
■die external world, with no means to
purchase prov isions, and no provisions
hi purchase, I did not exaggerate your
condition in my opening remarks on the
•-,dh December.
The want of fuel was supplied, ns far
is practicable', by the direction ol the
noble Geary, and lam happy to state
that at the earliest practicable period his
successor, Brevet Major General Grover,
will take measures to furnish wood to
our inhabitants.
The statement made at the meeting
oi the citizens, and the observation of
eye witnesses from tin IS. rth, struck a
sympathetic chord in the breasts of
many generous citizens of New York
and Boston, and recollecting thfc time
honored adage, bis dat qui cito d:tt , (he
Nvcs doubly who gives quickly.) iu tiie
hortest possible time, at the most in
v:iement season ot the year, behold the
noble steamships winding their v tv
Southward, freighted with provisions,
accompanied by the committees, whose
whole souled philanthropy his been
their sole guide. These ships, this ac
ceptable freight, these philanthropic
gentlemen of the committees ol New
York and Boston are here, and it is to
give you an opportunity of expressing
your heart-felt gratitude that you have
met together this day. Ido not envy the
man who is not willing to join heartily
and sincerely in this expression <>£ feel
ing, but Ido not belie ve there is one
such within the sound ot my voice.
I hope that this uay will prove that
the citizens of Jravannah justly appre
ciate the generosity ot New iork and
Boston, and that tnoy will further show
that they look upon tins action ns the
Olive Branch of Peace, and that they
will meet it on their part by the fairest,
frankest acceptance of it as such.
Such from what I have seen I believe
to be the prevalent sentiment of our
people.
War stirs up the very foundation of
society. We are now in the midst ot
jarring elements, but a ray of light is
dawning. We may expect that it will
lead to a more perfect day, and we must
in the meantime endeavor to profit by
the words oi St. Paul: Tribulation
worketh patience, and patience expe
rience and experience hope?
Mr. Baxter, Chairman of the deputa
tion from New York, was the next
speaker. He began by thanking the
Mayor and Aldermen for the warm re
ception with which he and his associates
had been greeted, and for the opportu
nity given of addressing them. He
could not better improve that than by
endeavoring to explain in a word or two
the purport and meaning of his mission
to Savannah. He. would say first of all
that it had no political significance what
ever—unless its Umion character could
be considered such. He and his asso
ciates were not the representatives of
any political party or parties at the
North, but represented men of all shades
of sentiment, who concurred in this de
monstration of good will to the citizens
oi Savannah. Nor would he have any
one believe th«p. this mission of peace
was indicative of any change of purpose
on the part of the North to put down
this rebellion by force of arms as long as
any one State, city or individual con
tinued in a state of insubordination to
the authority of the Government and the
laws. Neither was it to be considered
as an insidious attempt to coax back or
cajole the citizens of tqc South to their
allegiance. To ascertain its true import,
those now present would have to go
back to their own previous meeting ol
28th December last, in which, like sensi
ble men looking at their position full in
the face, they recognized themselves as
once more brought within the pale of
the Union and admitting their obliga
tions, claimed the advantages under the
proclamation of the President. He said
their action then, and the reported suffer
ing amongst them, had awakened among
the citizens of New York those feelings
of brotherhood, which through all those
years of war had not been destroyed but
had only slept. In proof of this he cited
tiie resolutions of the New York Cham
ber of Commerce, which plainly con
nected the Savannah meeting of 23th
December with the New York proceed
ings of sth .January; and in further con
firmation of liis view® he alluded to the
tact that when New Orleans, Vicksburg,
and other Southern cities, had fallen,
there was no movement in the North to
relieve the wants of those communities,
because mere had been no expression of
returning good sense and loyalty from
any cne of them. He rejoiced that it
had been otherwise here, and he
was ready to hear his testimony, when
he went North again, to the manner
in which this mission had been re
ceived by the people ot Savannah.
He lurt iier begged his hearers to be
lieve, that iu no section of the North
with wnil'll he was iamiiiar. was there
any thing like hostility or bitterness en
tertained towards the people of the
South. They regarded them as deluded,
misguided and. infatuated in their at
tempts to overthrow the Government,
but cherished still towards them every
fraternal hading, and their earnest purpose
was to“!miy by-gones with the past,” as
soon as ever the national authority
should be restored. In this spirit there
fore of love and kindness had the peo
ple of New York sent his associates and
himself to the people of Savannah : with
reciprocal feelings, he could not help
thinking, lie had been received and so he
hoped that Iron, this uiendly demonstra-
tiou from the people of one section to
those of another, there might spring
results which would in after years be
manifest in a greatly increased prosper
ity, happiness and concord among those
which he hoped would then be. as of
old, the citizens of one Republic.
The following was the address of Mr.
H. O. Briggs, of Boston :
Mr. Mayor and Citizens: When we ;
were appointed to take charge of the
provisions contributed by the citizens of
Boston, it was intended that nothing
should be added to the letter sent by the
General Committee to you, and which
was presented upon our arrival. We j
believe that a simple act of Christian da- j
ties and obligation is better than a series !
of battles.
The allusion that you have made to i
Mr. Everett in your resolutions awakens :
in us peculiar emotions. He was the j
friend of the South before the war, and j
he has been the rriend, during the last j
four years of every loyal citizen of the j
Southern States. When Col. Taylor, of j
Tennessee, came to Boston, and repre- j
sented the sufferings and destitution o, i
the people of that section of country, j
Mr. Everett engaged in that enterprise i
for their relief with all his heart and j
raised $70,0<)0, which has been distribu- j
ted to those people. When the meeting j
was called in Faneuil Hall to take into j
consideration the wants of the people [
of Savannah, he left his business,
which had engrosssed liis mind,
and though not in his usual
health, left ins home to engage, with
voice and pen, in the enterprise. He j
never made a nobler speech than on that
occasion, his intellectual features bright
ening up as his eloquence stirred the
warm hearts of his hearers. But Mr. ;
Mayor, we are here to-day simply to j
give expression to our good will towards !
our suffering fellow-men, and I hope you j
will receive these few words as such.
Other interesting addresses were de
livered by Messrs. W. H. Baldwin aud
Henry D. Hyde, of Boston, and Capt. M.
Veale, of Gen. Geary's Staff.
Fire Alarms.— The sound of the fire
bell yesterday afternoon was occasioned
by the burning out of a chimney on
Broughton street lane, between Bull and
Whitaker streets.
The fire about midnight was found to
be in an outbuilding on Congress street
lane, between Abercorn and Lincoln
streets. The building was occupied by
negroes. Loss very slight. The troops
quartered in Warren square were
promptly on the spot with an engine,
and the progress of the flames was soon
arrested.
Thanks. —We are indebted to Brig.
Gen. M. S. Littlefield, Lieut. Frank
Geise, Assistant Provost Marshal of the
Department, Lieut. Hebhard, Provost
Marshal at Hilton Head, and Capt. R. I,
Getty, of the steamer Plato, for files of
New York papers to the 20th, extracts
from which appear elsewhere.
Change of Post Commissary.—Capt.
James Gillette, C. S.. has been relieved
at his own solicitation, from his position
as Po3t Commissary, to resume his du
ties as Division Commissary of the 2d
Division 20th Corps. *
Capt, Oglesby, C. S., succeeds him as
Post Commissary.
Savannah, Jan. 25, 1865;
Mr. Editor: Sir—During my absence
you published f.n article, from one of the
New York papers, stating that I had ap
plied for and that I had obtained a per
mit to ship a cargo of merchandize. The
statement is entirely erroneous, and I
will be obliged if you will allow me to
1 say that I made uo such application, and
further to state that my business at the
North had no reference to my private
interests. Very respectfully,
Francis T. Willis.
SAVANNAH’S PATRIOTS IN THE
RE VOIi I'TIGX ARYJWAR.
Chatham county, of which Savannah
is the chief town, was so called in honor
of t-lic celebiated Earl of Chatham,
who took so decided a part in the Brit
isu House of Peers in favor of the strug
gling infant Colonics of America. Dur
ing the Revolutionary war this county
produced some distinguished soldiers’,
and has since given to the country a
number of men eminent in the Council
Chamber, the Senate and the field.
Dr. White, in his Statistics of Georgia,
make favorable mention of seveal of
these.
The following instance of cool daring,
almost reckless bfa very, shows how de
voted!}* the Revolutionary heroes strug
gled for their independence.
During the siege of Savannah, one of
the most extraordinary captures took
place, that the annals of warfare ever
produced. When General Provost call
ed in his detachments, he ordered the
commandant at Sunbury. on the Georgia
coast, upon evacuating that post, to put
the invalids on board the small armed
vessels, and to send them by inland nav
igation to Savannah under the care of
Captain Trench, of the British Regulars.
In consequence of head winds, Captain
Trench and ids command were detained
until some of D’Estaiug’s fleet were in
possession of the pass, and he was in
duced to sail up the Ogeechee river until
he reached a point about 25 miles from
the city of Savannah. Having arrived
here, lie learned that the passage over
land was also blocked up by the allied
force, and he therefore made a descent
upon the shore, and finally took post,
with his party about 15 or 20 miles from
Savannah. Colonel John White, of the
Georgia State line, having ascertained
that Captain Trench's force consisted of
til soldiers possessing 130 stand of
arms, and that he also had under his
charge, in the river Ogeeehec adjacent
to his camp, five vessels, four of them
fully armed, and one of them mounting
11 guns, and manned by 40 seamen,,
formed the resolution of capturing tue
detachment. He disclosed his plans to
those who were with him. McCall, ia
his History of Georgia, says that the
party consisted of Col. White, Captains
George Melvin and A. E. El helm, a ser
geant, and three privates, seven in all.
Other historians make no mention of
Captain Melville, or of a sergeant, but
give the whole praise to White. El holm,
and three soldiers, reducing the number
to five. White built many watch-fires
around the camp, placing them in such,
a position, and at such intervals as to
induce Captain Trench and his soldiers
to believe that he was absolutely sur
rounded by a large force. The decep
tion was kept up through the night by
White and his comrades, marching from
fire to fire with the measured tread and
the loud challenge of sentinels, now hail
ing from the east of the British camp,
and then shifting rapidly their position
i aud challenging from the extreme west.
Nor was this the only stratagem; each,
mounted a horse and rode with haste in.
diverse directions, imitating the manner
of the staff, and giving orders with a
loud voice. The delusion was complete.
Capt. Trench suffered himself to be com
pletely trapped. White carried his dar
ing plan forward by dashing boldly and
alone, to the camp of the British, aud.
demanding a conferrence with Trench.
“I am the commander, sir,” he said, u of
the American soldiers in your vicinity.
If you will surrender at once to my
force I will see to it that no injury is
done to you or your command. If you
I decline to do this, I. must candidly in
j form you that the feelings of my troops
are highly incensed against you, and I
can by no means be responsible for any
consequences that may ensue.” Trench
thanked him for his humanity, and said
despondingly, that it was useless to con
tend with late or with the large force
tlnuil he saw was around him, aud an
nounced his willingness to surrender his
vessels, his arms, liis men and himself to
Col White. At this instant Capt. El
bolm came suddenly dashing up at full
soeed. and saluting White, inquired of
him where lie should place the artillery.
