By surrenders, desertions, and casualties in battle, he probably lost 20,000 men, or fully one-half the number with which he entered the State of Tennessee. Among his losses were eighteen general officers and sixty-eight pieces of artillery.

Beauregard had gone into Georgia, before Hood's advance into Tennessee-with the purpose of aiding in some way to interfere with Sherman's progress-his stirring appeal to the people to resist the invader having failed to produce any decisive effects. Lyon, who had gone on a raid into Kentucky, was compelled suddenly to retrace his steps, escaping southward as best he might. Tennessee and Kentucky had now seen their last invasion. Secessionists and sympathizers had suffered serious losses, as the like class had done during Price's invasion of Missouri; and in a similar manner the Rebel retreat had rid the country of many of its worst enemies, either by enlistment or conscription into the ranks of the enemy, on his haughty and exultant advance. None of these profitless expeditions were to be repeated. It was the last wave of the receding tide across a border, which was never again to be debatable ground between the armies of the Government and its Rebel enemies.

The port of Wilmington, in North Carolina, a few miles above the mouth of Cape Fear River, and the adjacent coast, were so situated as to afford great facilities to blockade-runners, whose trade had everywhere else been almost entirely broken up by the activity and vigilance of our large naval forces This continued defiance of the blockade was annoying to the Government, and a source of much advantage to the Rebels. It had long since been found that the navy could only partially interrupt this contraband traffic; but the army movements on foot had hitherto prevented the detachment of a sufficient force to warrant an attack on this strongly-guarded entrepot for foreign commerce with the pretended "Confederacy." The demonstrated impracticability of any effective naval operations against Richmond by the James River, rendered it expedient to employ elsewhere that portion of the North-Atlantic Squadron which had accompanied the movement of Gen. Butler to City Point. This fleet was accordingly enlarged and fitted out

on the night of the 15th, and took up a new position along the "Granny White Hills," contracting his lines. On the 16th the attack was renewed by our forces-occupying, substantially, the same relative position as on the previous day. As soon as the clearing up of a dense fog disclosed the position of the enemy, Schofield skillfully flanked the Rebel left, while Steedman advanced in front, Kimball's division impetuously sweeping the enemy from his advance works. Thomas now ordered a charge along the whole line, and the Rebel left and center were completely broken. Wood and Steedman now concentrated their forces on Hood's right, which, as yet, stood firm. A sharp and severe contest followed, resulting in a decisive rout of the enemy. Hood was in full retreat soon after noon, having suffered heavy losses in men and cannon, as well as in the fallen left on the field in the hands of Thomas. His killed and wounded before Nashville were about 3,000. The victory gained by these two days' fighting was one of the most important of the war. The retreating foe was vigorously pressed by the victor, who followed Hood beyond Franklin, on the 17th, on which day, Gen. Hatch, in a series of brilliant cavalry charges, six miles beyond that place, dispersed the Rebel rearguard consisting of Stevenson's division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, and captured three guns and many pris

oners.

Pursuit and attack were kept up for several days, by infantry and cavalry, with disastrous effect upon the flying army, the advance of which appears to have reached Florence and crossed the Tennessee on the 21st, while another column moved further up stream, crossing at Bainbridge, or near the mouth of the Elk river. Gen. Wood, with the Fourth Corps, supported Gen. Wilson's cavalry, in direct pursuit, while Gen. Steedman, moving his troops by railroad to Limestone Creek, advanced upon Decatur, on the 25th. Hood, protecting his rear by Forrest's heavy cavalry force, escaped with little further loss to the remnant of his army, moving back toward the interior of Georgia.

Hood continued to make all haste in his flight, using such strategy as he was able, to save a remnant of his command

By surrenders, desertions, and casualties in battle, he probably lost 20,000 men, or fully one-half the number with which he entered the State of Tennessee. Among his losses were eighteen general officers and sixty-eight pieces of artillery.

Beauregard had gone into Georgia, before Hood's advance into Tennessee-with the purpose of aiding in some way to interfere with Sherman's progress-his stirring appeal to the people to resist the invader having failed to produce any decisive effects. Lyon, who had gone on a raid into Kentucky, was compelled suddenly to retrace his steps, escaping southward as best he might. Tennessee and Kentucky had now seen their last invasion. Secessionists and sympathizers had suffered serious losses, as the like class had done during Price's invasion of Missouri; and in a similar manner the Rebel retreat had rid the country of many of its worst enemies, either by enlistment or conscription into the ranks of the enemy, on his haughty and exultant advance. None of these profitless expeditions were to be repeated. It was the last wave of the receding tide across a border, which was never again to be debatable ground between the armies of the Government and its Rebel enemies.

The port of Wilmington, in North Carolina, a few miles above the mouth of Cape Fear River, and the adjacent coast, were so situated as to afford great facilities to blockade-runners, whose trade had everywhere else been almost entirely broken up by the activity and vigilance of our large naval forces This continued defiance of the blockade was annoying to the Government, and a source of much advantage to the Rebels. It had long since been found that the navy could only partially interrupt this contraband traffic; but the army movements on foot had hitherto prevented the detachment of a sufficient force to warrant an attack on this strongly-guarded entrepot for foreign commerce with the pretended "Confederacy." The demonstrated impracticability of any effective naval operations against Richmond by the James River, rendered it expedient to employ elsewhere that portion of the North-Atlantic Squadron which had accompanied the movement of Gen. Butler to City Point. This fleet was accordingly enlarged and fitted out

for an expedition against Wilmington, to be undertaken when ever the state of affairs before Petersburg and Richmond would warrant the detachment of an adequate supporting force from the army. Meanwhile, Admiral D. D. Porter had been transferred, in the summer of 1864, from the command of the Mississippi Squadron, to exchange places with Admiral S. P. Lee, and the naval preparations, commenced in the month of August, were under the charge of the former officer. A military force, under Gen. Weitzel, from the Army of the James, was organized and fitted out under the supervision of Gen. Butler, to co-operate in the attack on the defenses of Wilmington. The primary object of the expedition was the reduction of Fort Fisher, commanding the entrance to the Cape Fear river.

Gen. Weitzel's forces, accompanied by Gen. Butler, sailed from the Chesapeake Bay in the afternoon of the 14th of December, reaching the rendezvous the following night. Admiral Porter, waiting for the preparation of a vessel (the Louisiana), which was to be used in testing the effects of exploding a large amount of gunpowder near the Fort, did not leave Beaufort, North Carolina, until the 18th. A gale on the 20th delayed the operations of the navy. On the 23d, Commander Rhind proceeded with the Louisiana, which was disguised as a blockade-runner, to play his preliminary part in the assault on Fort Fisher. This he accomplished by making the vessel fast at four hundred yards distance from the walls of the Fort, and lighting a slow fuse. The whole accompanying party safely retired toward the fleet. The explosion took place near two o'clock on the morning of the 24th, the main fleet being about twenty-five miles distant. Admiral Porter records that "the shock was nothing like so severe as was expected." Gen. Butler believes that, of more than one hundred tons of powder on board the Louisiana-stowed in bags-“ not more than one-tenth ever did burn-making an explosion, indeed, which is described as hardly more than would have been felt from a fifteen-inch gun."

This magnificent inane flash fitly pre-figured the result of the expedition. Waiting for the Louisiana to be got in readi

ness, wasted two or three fair days after Butler's forces were on the spot, ready for their work. Directly after Porter's arrival, a severe gale compelled further delay, and the retirement of Butler's transports to Beaufort Harbor, sixty-five miles distant, where he was at the time of the great explosion, having understood that nothing was to be commenced by the Admiral without due notice to the Army. Re-enforcements from Wilming. ton reached Fort Fisher on the night following the Louisiana explosion.

On the 24th, about noon, Admiral Porter, without waiting for Gen. Butler to come up, attacked the Fort, his line consisting of the following vessels: The Ironsides, Canonicus, Mahopac, Monadnock, Minnesota, Colorado, Mohican, Tuscarora, Wabash, Susquehanna, Brooklyn, Powhattan, Juniata, Seneca, Shenandoah, Pawtuxet, Ticonderoga, Mackinaw, Maumee, Yantic, Kansas, Itasca, Quaker City, Monticello, Rhode Island, Sassacus, Chippewa, Osceola, Tacony, Pontoosuc, Santiago de Cuba, Fort Jackson and Vanderbilt. His reserve, of small vessels, consisted of the Aries, Howquah, Wilderness, Cherokee, A. D. Vance, Anemone, Eolus, Gettysburg, Alabama, Keystone State, Banshee, Emma, Lillian, Tristam Shandy, Britannia, Governor Buckingham and Nansemond.

After five hours' cannonading, some damage and loss of life having been suffered from the guns of the Fort, and from the explosion of a heavy gun on board the Ticonderoga, the attacking vessels withdrew. Two magazines are stated by Admiral Porter to have been exploded within the Fort, which was set on fire in several places, and its guns temporarily silenced.

Gen. Butler's forces arrived that night, and about noon on the 25th, the shore being covered by the navy, 2,200 men of his command were landed. The cannonading upon Fort Fisher had been renewed at an earlier hour the same day, and was continued while the troops were landing on the beach, five miles eastward. Gen. Weitzel advanced a skirmishing party, under cover of the bombardment, to within fifty yards of the Fort, after capturing two batteries near the beach, with a number of prisoners. After careful observation, he reported