Affairs in Portsmouth.
--A gentleman from Portsmouth, Va., gives the Petersburg Express a sad account of the oppression and sufferings of the loyal citizens of that place. He says:‘ There were in Portsmouth and its vicinity about 3,000 soldiers, mostly negroes, commanded by Yankee officers who seek every opportunity to oppress and annoy the "Secesh," as they call the loyal citizens. Nearly all the citizens, both male and female, have been forced to take the oath of allegiance to the Lincoln Government. The few who have refused to take it are constantly watched by the negroes, disloyal citizens — of whom there are some — and the Yankee detectives, and feel that they are constantly liable to be arrested and shut up in prison. No sort of protection is afforded to their personal property, and they are at the mercy of the fiends around them. While our informant was in the city a negro threw his arms around the neck of a respectable white lady who was passing the street, and kissed her. She reported him at headquarters, and was asked if she could identify him. She readily answered in the affirmative. He was brought up and identified by the lady, when the inquiry was made if she had taken the oath of allegiance. A negative answer being given, she was told to leave the house, as she was not entitled to any protection. The person from whom we derive this information walked the streets of Portsmouth, and says that scarcely a familiar face could be seen, although before the war they were well acquainted in the city. The doors and blinds in the houses occupied by loyal persons are all closed, and a Virginia lady was rarely to be seen in the streets.
’ Gen. Getty, whose headquarters, have been at Bowers's Hill, and Gen. Barnes, of Norfolk, have both been removed. Gen. a full-blooded Abolitionist, takes the place of Getty, and Gen. Wilde, (of Elizabeth City, N C., notoriety,) succeeded Barnes.
It is reported that the Yankees, with their negro soldiers, intend making a raid towards the Blackwater soon. Whether there is anything real in this report or not, our informant could not learn.
