The Herald's Newport News Correspondence.
In the New York
Herald we find the following correspondence from "Camp Butler, Newport News, Va., Oct. 27, 1861:"
Last night, at seven o'clock two deserters from the rebel camp at Big Bethel came to our outside pickets for protection.
Their names are
Wm. Dennis and
Andrew J. Smarss and they are both natives of
Augusta, Ga, and privates in the tenth regiment Georgia Volunteers.
The word "volunteers" must not, however, be taken in its literal sense, for these men, with others, were impressed into service.
Of course all their protestations were unheeded.
They left Big Bethel at six o'clock in the morning, and by keeping in the woods and wading through swamps they succeeded in making good their escape, although at one time they were very closely pursued.
They state that the comp at
Bethel is about five thousand strong, an equal quantity of them from
Louisiana,
Georgia, and
Virginia; besides these there are three hundred cavalry under the name of "
Cobb's Legion." The camp is under command of
Brigadier-General McClaws.
There exists a good deal of dissatisfaction among the men on account of the insufficient clothing, the cruel treatment, and the want of promptness in the pay department; since May last they have only received two months pay, and that, of course, in shinplasters, which they are unable to get rid of except by buying sutler's goods at exorbitant prices.
Tobacco costs 50 cents a plug; butter 60 cents a pound; salt 25 cents a pound; and so on in proportion.
The men are only furnished with flour and meat; tea and coffee are luxuries unheard of, and to procure an antidote against the fever, which makes such havoc among them, they dig up safras roots and make a kind of tea of them, which they drink on getting up in the morning.
During these five months they have had to work constantly on the batteries, and all the spare time has been filled up with fatiguing drills, while the men are forbidden the use of liquor, the officers are drunk most of the time, and it is surprising, with all the discontent prevailing in the ranks, that no mutiny has yet taken place.
Gen. Magruder, who as commander of the entire force in that neighborhood, occasionally visits their camp, and, to use the very words of the deserters, "Whenever he is in whiskey he always talks of coming down to Newport News to whip
Gen. Phelps." But not having come here yet, and not being willing to receive any of our invitations, it is supposed that when he has got over his "drunk" better reason prevails.
The battery at Big Bethel consists of twelve pieces of small rifled cannon, and is said to be well manned.
These deserters were this morning turned over to
General Wool by
Lieutenant Christensen,
Aide-de-camp to
General Phelps.--
General Wool, after having examined them very closely, had them sent over to the Rip-Raps, where they will find work, and receive food and clothing, and where they will also be out of harm's way.
Yesterday afternoon
General Phelps sent out a detachment of Company D, First New York Volunteers, under command of Lieut,
Ingersoll, to a house belonging to
Baker P. Lee, about three miles from camp.
For the last month the only occupants of the house have been a poor white woman and three regresses.
Some days ago
Lee sent a messenger to this white woman, warning her to leave the house, as he purposed to burn it down over her head.
The woman was, of course, frightened, and fled in the direction of
Back River, and when one of our scouting parties, on Friday lest, came to the house, they found one of the negresses in a dying condition, and the other two, being old and diseased, unable to take care of themselves.
Out of feelings of humanity,
Gen. Phelps, yesterday ordered the above mentioned detachment to proceed to the house, and after they had buried the dead woman, they brought the other two, with all their baggage, into camp, and had them sent by steamer to
Fortress Monroe, where the old ladies have friends and relatives.
One of them is "going on a hundred years," and seems, considering her age, to be quite smart.
Her eyesight and hearing were as good as in a young person, and she seemed much affected at leaving the old homestead, where she has worked so faithfully and seen generation after generation pass o before her. It was a touching sight to see her carry from the house, as the last relic, her washing board.
