cure. without giving him any ground; and, | before morning, Slocum got up his wagon-train, with its guard of two divisions, while Hazen's division of the 15th (Logan's) corps came up on his right, rendering his position seThe enemy not risking further attacks, Slocum awaited the coming up of Howard and the entire right wing; by which time, Johnston had intrenched thoroughly in a strong position, forming a sort of triangle, with its apex at the front, but facing Slocum on one side and Howard on the other. Here he was very cautiously approached and felt of by Sherman, who was aware that Schofield was improving this delay to get possession of Goldsborough in the enemy's rear, while Gen. Terry advanced to the Neuse at Cox's bridge, some 10 miles higher up. And now," during a heavy rain, under cover of a noisy demonstration along the Rebel front, Mower's division of Blair's corps worked around by our right to the enemy's rear; hoping to secure the bridge over Mill creek, which was his only line of retreat. But Johnston was not to be thus caught; nor did he choose to stop here and fight 60,000 men with (at most) 40,000; so he decamped during the night, retreating on Smithfield and Raleigh so suddenly as to leave his pickets behind, as well as his severely wounded. Our total loss here was 191 killed, 1,108 wounded, and 344 missing: Fin all, 1,643. We buried here 267 Rebel dead, and took 1,625 prisoners-many of them wounded. No further resistance being made, our army moved on to Goldsboro', where it rested and was reclad, while Gen. Sherman, after a hasty visit to Gens. Terry and Schofield, took" the first train of cars that ran to Morehead City, and thence a swift steamer to City Point;" where he met in council the President, Gens. Grant, Meade, &c.; returning as hurriedly to his army at Goldsboro', which he reached on the 30th. We may now narrate the events of the Winter in North Carolina, which signally contributed to the final overthrow of the Rebellion. WILMINGTON, N. C., had-because of its location, so convenient for the supply of ordnance, munitions, &c., to the main Rebel armies, and the extraordinary difficulty of precluding the ingress and egress of blockaderunners, at this port-been, from the outset, one of the most important sea-ports of the Confederacy, before, by the gradual closing of the others, it became the only one of consequence that remained accessible. To close it, therefore, became at length synonymous with barring all direct and nearly all commercial intercourse between the Confederacy and the non-belligerent world. Early in the Autumn of 1864, Gen. Grant proposed to Gen. Butler the dispatch of Brig.-Gens. Weitzel and Graham to reconnoiter FORT FISHER, the main defense of the seaward approaches to Wilmington, to determine its strength, preparatory to a combined attack. The reconnoissance was made accordingly, and its result duly reported." 84 The meditated attack was intended to have been a virtual surprise, when the pressure of our armies at all points should have probably reAbout Sept. 20. 63 March 27. BUTLER AND PORTER OFF WILMINGTON. duced the garrisons of Fort Fisher and its adjuncts to a minimum ; but even the small number required was not available for this purpose till October; when it was judged that the collection and evolutions of a great fleet in Hampton Roads must have attracted the enemy's attention and prompted a rëenforcement of the threatened defenses. (The original plan of the expedition contemplated the collection and outfit of this fleet at or near Port Royal, under the guise of a demonstration against Fort Sumter and Charleston; but this was overruled by considerations of obvious convenience.) Meantime, the fertile genius of General Butler had been stimulated by the accounts of a tremendous gunpowder explosion at Erith, England, whereby destructive effects had been produced at a considerable distance; and he had conceived the project of running a vessel filled with gunpowder under the sea-wall of Fort Fisher, and there exploding it; trusting that, at least, the garrison would be so paralyzed by the resulting earthquake as to facilitate a prompt seizure of the fort by its expectant besiegers. Delays in preparation occurred, as usual; Gen. Butler was ordered" by telegraph to New York, to keep the peace there during the Presidential election; and, when he returned," the powder experiment had been resolved on and preparation for it partially made. But Gen. Grant now left the front for a flying visit to his family in New Jersey, devolving on Gen. Butler the chief command; and, when he returned, of the 250 tons of powder required, 100 tons were still wanting, and did not arrive 85 Nov. 1 1864. 709 at Fortress Monroe till December: thus the expedition did not get fairly off till the 14th. Admiral Porter, commanding the naval part of it, was off Beaufort, N. C., on the 16th; though Gen. Butler, in advance of the transport fleet, had reached our blockaders off Wilmington the night before. The transports and troops were at Masonborough inlet, 18 miles north, or nearly east of Wilmington. Gen. Grant, it is clear, had not designed that Butler should accompany the expedition, but intended that Weitzel should be its commander; yet it is equally plain that, up to a very late hour, Gen. Butler undoubtingly understood that he was not merely to fit it out, but personally command it. So he did. Porter, with his war vessels, arrived on the 18th, and at once sent up the powder-boat Louisiana, intending to explode her forthwith; but, on Butler's remonstrance that the land forces must be ready to follow up the explosion with an assault, he countermanded the order. It appears that the Rebels were not aware of the presence or imminence of the expedition till the 20th-a few vessels more or less in the offing, where several blockaders were generally visible, not wearing any special significance. But now, as the wind was high and the sea rough, with a prospect of still worse weather, the transports put back 70 miles to Beaufort, N. C., for water, &c.; when a storm ensued which prevented their return till the 26th. Admiral Porter-who was not on terms of cordiality with Gen. Butler set to work by himself. He had sent in the powder-boat Louisiana, 66 6 Nov. 16. BUTLER AND WEITZEL DECLINE TO ASSAULT. Com'r Rhind, at 10 P. M. of the 23d; exploding her at 1 next morning, but to very little purpose-the miraculous power which gave efficacy to the assault with rams'-horns on Jericho not having been vouchsafed. Rhind and his crew did their work: following in (unperceived) a blockader whose signals of amity were respected and answered by the fort. When all was ready, they escaped in a tender which had accompanied them on their perilous errand, and which, having attained a considerable distance, was scarcely harmed by the explosion. The fort and its defend ers seem to have been nowise disturbed by it-Col. Lamb supposing it to be merely the bursting of one of the great guns of our fleet. Porter had 33 war vessels, several of them iron-clad, beside a reserve of. 17 small ones. At 11 A. M., he followed up the abortive explosion by an order to advance and bombard the fort the Ironsides leading, closely followed by the Monadnock, Canonicus, Mahopac, Minnesota, and nearly all his larger ships; and so terrible was their concentrated fire that the fort was completely silenced by it in 75 minutes; having been set on fire in several places and two of its magazines exploded. The bombardment was continued till sunset, when Gen. Butler arrived in his flagship; his transports being still absent. Com. Porter now drew off for the night. At 7 A. M. next day, the transports and troops having arrived, the bombardment was renewed, and was continued for seven hours: the Rebels responding for a while with two guns only. Some of our vessels drew off 711 before the rest, because out of ammu nition. The iron-clads were ordered to continue their fire throughout the night. Our land forces had meantime commenced debarking, under the immediate command of Gen. Weitzel, who headed the first or reconnoitering party of 500 men; going himself to within 800 yards of the fort, pushing up a skirmish-line to within 150 yards, and capturing a little outwork called Flag-pond Hill battery, with 65 men. Weitzel's observations convinced him that the work was exceedingly strong, and that its defensive power had not been essentially injured by Porter's fire. He soon returned, as directed, to Butler, and reported that it would be murder to assault such a fort with our 6,000 men. Butler, disappointed, now ran close up in his vessel, reconnoitered for himself, and reluctantly acquiesced in Weitzel's decision. Our men, of whom about half had been landed, were thereupon rëembarked;" and Gen. Butler returned with the land force to the James, leaving the fleet still off Wilmington. Our loss in this bombardment was about fifty killed and wounded— nearly or quite all by the bursting of six of our heavy Parrott guns-the enemy inflicting no injury, because he could not work his guns under our fire. His loss was 3 killed and 55 wounded. Butler reports that we took 300 prisoners. Grant was profoundly dissatisfied. In the first place, he had not intended that Gen. Butler should go, and had at length plainly intimated this; though, as Fort Fisher was in * Dec. 26-7. Butler's military department, he did not absolutely forbid it. Still, as Weitzel was his choice, and the decision not to assault was primarily Weitzel's, he could not object to this. But he did complain, and with reason, that his express order, addressed to Butler for Weitzel, had been violated in the return of the expedition. That order is as follows: "CITY POINT, VA., Dec. 6, 1864. "GENERAL: The first object of the expe dition under Gen. Weitzel is to close to the in command of the expedition, he would have obeyed it. Advised by the Navy Department that the fleet was still off Fort Fish er, and ready for a fresh attempt, Grant promptly determined that it should be made. Designating Gen. Alfred H. Terry to command the new expedition, he added a brigade of about 1,500 men and a siege-train (which was not landed), and ordered Gen. Sheridan to send a division to Fortress Monroe, to follow in case of need. Terry's force, therefore, though nominally but a quarter stronger, was really much more so; since all who were under his orders added vigor and confidence to his efforts. Gen. Terry was first apprised of his destination by Gen. Grant, as together they passed down the James. enemy the port of Wilmington. If successful in this, the second will be to capture Wilmington itself. There are reasonable grounds to hope for success, if advantage can be taken of the absence of the greater part of the enemy's forces now looking after Sherman in Georgia. The directions you have given for the numbers and equipment of the expedition are all right, except in the unimportant matters of where they embark and the amount of intrenching tools to be taken. The object of the expedition will be gained by effecting a landing on the main land between Cape Fear river and the Atlantic, north of the north entrance to the The new expedition, composed, in river. Should such landing be effected good part of the old one, minus its whilst the enemy still holds Fort Fisher two Generals, left Fortress Monroe and the batteries guarding the entrance to the river, then the troops should intrench Jan. 6, 1865; put into Beaufort, N. themselves, and, by cooperating with the C., on the 8th; was detained there navy, effect the reduction and capture of those places. These in our hands, the navy by bad weather till the 12th; was could enter the harbor, and the port of Wil-off Wilmington that night; and commington would be sealed. Should Fort Fisher and the point of land on which it is built fall into the hands of our troops, immediately on landing, then it will be worth the attempt to capture Wilmington by a forced march and surprise. If time is consumed in gaining the first object of the expedition, the second will become a matter of after consideration. menced its landing, under cover of a heavy bombardment from Porter's fleet, early next morning; and, by 3 P. M., nearly 8,000 men, with three days' rations in their haversacks, 40 rounds of ammunition in their boxes, arms, intrenching tools, munitions, &c., complete, had been landed, in "Should the troops under Gen. Weitzel spite of a heavy surf; having thrown fail to effect a landing at or near Fort Fish-out pickets which had exchanged er, they will be returned to the armies op- shots with those of the enemy. erating against Richmond without delay. Work assigned them was already well begun. "The details for execution are intrusted to you and the officer immediately in command of the troops. "U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. "Major-General B. F. BUTLER." Gen. Weitzel had concurred in the propriety of returning, but in entire ignorance of this order. Had it been directed to him, and he placed The Gen. Terry's first concern was to throw a strong defensive line across the sandy peninsula whereon Fort Fisher stands, so as to isolate it from |