ion, as were the neatness and
thrift everywhere visible. It had been built up by Northern enterprise,
and much of the property was owned by loyal men. It had been a great
resort for invalids, though the Rebels had burned the large hotel
which once accommodated them. Mills had also been burned; but the
dwelling-houses were almost all in good condition. The quarters for the
men were admirable; and I took official possession of the handsome brick
house of Colonel Sunder-land, the established head-quarters through
every occupation, whose accommodating flag-staff had literally and
repeatedly changed its colors. The seceded Colonel, reputed author of
the State ordinance of Secession, was a New-Yorker by birth, and we
found his law-card, issued when in practice in Easton, Washington
County, New York. He certainly had good taste in planning the inside of
a house, though time had impaired its condition. There was a neat office
with ample bookcases and no books, a billiard-table with no balls,
gas-fixtures without gas, and a bathing-room without water. There was
a separate building for servants' quarters, and a kitchen with every
convenience, even to a few jars of lingering pickles. On the whole,
there was an air of substance and comfort about the town, quite alien
from the picturesque decadence of Beaufort.

The town rose gradually from the river, and was bounded on the rear by a
long, sluggish creek, beyond which lay a stretch of woods, affording an
excellent covert for the enemy, but without great facilities for attack,
as there were but two or three fords and bridges. This brook could
easily be held against a small force, but could at any time and at
almost any point be readily crossed by a large one. North of the town
the land rose a little, between the river and the sources of the brook,
and then sank to a plain, which had been partially cleared by a previous
garrison. For so small a force as ours, however, this clearing must be
extended nearer to the town; otherwise our lines would be too long for
our numbers.

This deficiency in numbers at once became a source of serious anxiety.
While planning the expedition, it had seemed so important to get the men
a foothold in Florida that I was willing to risk everything for it.
But this important post once in our possession, it began to show
some analogies to the proverbial elephant in the lottery. To hold it
permanently with nine hundred men was not, perhaps, impossible, with the