ter. A severe cannonade ensued between the vessels and the forts with no definite results. Early on the morning of the 8th the enemy perceived the condition of the Weehawken and opened upon her from Fort Moultrie, in consequence of which the admiral ordered the ironclads to cover her. The Weehawken however gallantly replied to the enemy's fire, and the second shot from her 15-inch gun exploded a magazine in the fort, which was silent for some time afterward. She received no further molestation from the batteries on Sullivan's Island until the afternoon, when, in the face of a heavy fire, she succeeded in getting afloat and returned to her anchorage.

The evacuation of Morris Island by the enemy seemed to Admiral Dahlgren to afford an opportunity to assault Fort Sumter, which was well broken on the gorge and southeast face, and thus to pass the obstructions in the main channel. The night of the 8th was selected for the undertaking, and the storming party, comprising 34 officers and 413 men, who volunteered for the duty, was put under the command of Commander T. H. Stevens, of the Patapsco. The expedition started in twenty boats soon after 10 P. M., with the intention of assailing the fort at two points, one party landing at the gorge wall and mounting up over the ruins to the parapet, while another was to attempt an entrance through the lower embrasures. At about half past one o'clock the first line of boats was challenged by the sentry on the fort, from which a sharp fire of musketry was immediately opened. At a signal from the fort all the rebel batteries bearing on Sumter began to fire on the boats, the garrison aiding the gunners to obtain the range by throwing lights upon the water. A rebel ram also came up and attacked the boats at close quarters. Seven boats nevertheless reached the gorge wall, amidst a storm of musketry, grape, canister and hand grenades, only to encounter unforeseen difficulties of a formidable nature. Instead of the débris up which the stormers expected to ascend, they discovered a solid wall of sand bags 12 feet high, from which the enemy fired upon them with deliberate aim. No scaling ladders had been provided, and the men could neither advance nor retreat. Under these circumstances orders were given to withdraw, and four of the boats succeeded in making their escape. The other three were swamped by the enemy's guns, and the whole number who landed, 10 officers and 104 men, were either killed or taken prisoners. Several of the boats were driven off by the ram and took no part in the assault, which may be considered a fortunate circumstance, as, had the whole force landed, they would doubtless have been cut off to a man. (See ARMY OPERATIONS.) With this attempt ended the important operations before Charleston, in which the navy bore a prominent part. The ironclads coöperated with General Gillmore's batteries in completing the destruction of Fort Sumter, but no

further effort was made by them to pass into the inner harbor, notwithstanding many of the obstructions were torn up and washed ashore by the violence of the December gales. Subsequent to the evacuation of Morris Island by the enemy, a line of interior blockade was established by Admiral Dahlgren, extending from the island to a point off Fort Moultrie. The ironclads were placed on this line, each taking its turn of picket duty, near the entrance of the inner harbor, and as they thereby commanded Maffit's Channel, through which the greater part of the blockade runners had entered Charleston, the harbor was thenceforth effectually closed. "Not a single blockade runner," says Secretary Welles, in his annual report, "has succeeded in reaching the city for months, and the traffic which had been to some extent, and with large profits, previously carried on is extinguished. As a commercial mart, Charleston has no existence.

On the night of October 5th, the New Ironsides, while lying at her moorings off Morris Island, was struck by the rebel torpedo steamer David, whose apparatus exploded at the moment of contact, giving the ship a severe shock, and throwing a column of water upon her spar deck and into her engine room. No perceptible injury was done to her armor or hull. The David, a cigar-shaped vessel, fifty feet long by five in diameter, is supposed to have been sunk by the shock of the torpedo, as nothing was subsequently seen of her. She had a crew of four persons, two of whom were picked up out of the water.

Early on the morning of Christmas day, the gunboat Marblehead, Lieut.-Commander R. W. Meade, jr., while lying on the Stono river, opposite Legaréville, was fired upon by two batteries of field and siege pieces, the latter being posted in a thick wood. A spirited contest of over an hour ensued, at the end of which the enemy retired in disorder, leaving behind them two 8-inch howitzer iron guns and caissons. As the practice of the Marblehead was excellent, their loss is supposed to have been severe. The gunboat received twelve shots in her hull, and was considerably injured in her upper works and rigging. She had three men killed and four wounded. The Pawnee came up at the conclusion of the fight and annoyed the retreat of the enemy.

The chief maritime disaster on this station was the loss of the Weehawken, which sank at her moorings on the morning of December 6th, during the prevalence of a northwesterly gale, carrying with her to the bottom four of her engineers and twenty-six of her crew. The remainder of the ship's company escaped in the boats, or by jumping overboard at the moment of going down. The most of those who perished were probably drowned in the turret and immediately below it, while seeking to force their way through the narrow openings which afford the only means of escape. The disaster was at the time attributed to her hatches

Other casualties to the squadron were the destruction by fire of the sailing sloop Preble, of the old navy, at Pensacola, on April 27th; and the sinking of the gunboat Kinsman, from striking a snag in the Mississippi river on the night of Feb. 23d.

5. Mississippi Flotilla.-The operations of this fleet, like those of the preceding, were almost exclusively undertaken in conjunction with the land forces, and are described under ARMY OPERATIONS. It may be stated briefly that Admiral Porter coöperated in the capture of Arkansas Post, Jan. 11th, in the protracted and hazardous movements, extending over a period of nearly six months, which led to the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and in various important expeditions up the White and Red rivers, in all of which the gunboats acquitted themselves with distinction. An expedition up the White river in the latter part of August made important discoveries respecting the strength and movements of the enemy in Arkansas. Important services were also rendered by the gunboats in patrolling the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and dispersing the guerillas who fired upon supply steamers and transports. To the gunboats on the Ohio, which in July cooperated with the land forces in the pursuit of Morgan, was in a considerable degree due the capture of that leader and his force.

The flotilla on the Mississippi numbered at the close of the year upward of a hundred vessels, carrying 462 guns, with crews amount ing in the aggregate to 5,500 men. Thirteen of these were efficient ironclads, 33 "tinclads," so called from being less heavily plated than the others, and the remainder consisted of despatch and auxiliary vessels, rams, &c. There were also a number of iron and tinclads in the course of construction.

6. Potomac Flotilla.-The vessels of this squadron are principally light-draught river steamboats and tugs, and their field of operations comprised Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, where they were employed to prevent contraband traffic between Maryland and Virginia and perform other police duties. By their vigilance they succeeded in capturing many petty blockade runners and in intercepting rebel mails; and during the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania by the enemy in June and July vessels were stationed at Havre de Grace, Wilmington, Del., Annapolis, and other salient points of attack. In the latter part of August the gunboat Satellite and tug Reliance were surprised and captured by à party of the enemy near the mouth of the Rappahannock; but subsequently they were attacked and destroyed by a land force under command of Gen. Kilpatrick.

The chief naval incident on foreign stations was the attack by the Wyoming, Commander McDougal, upon several Japanese batteries and armed vessels at Simonosaki, on July 16th, in retaliation for an outrage upon an American steamer. In an action of an hour the vessels

were partially destroyed and the batteries much injured. The Wyoming lost 11 killed and wounded, and was hulled 11 times. See JAPAN.

The number of vessels captured by the several squadrons from the commencement of the war to Nov. 1st, 1863, was 1,045, classified as follows: steamers, 179; ships, 15; barques, 26; brigs, 30; schooners, 547; sloops, 131; yachts and small boats, 117. The value of all the prizes sent to admiralty courts for adjudication is estimated by Secretary Welles at upward of $13,000,000; and the value of those condemned, the costs and amounts distributed are shown in the following table:

The number of prizes captured in 1863 by the four principal coast squadrons considerably exceeded 300, of which about one third were steamers, in many cases built expressly for blockade running, and loaded with valuable cargoes.

NELSON, WOLFRED, M. D. Dr. Nelson was born at Montreal in July, 1802, and was the son of an English commissariat officer. Educated to the medical profession, he was admitted to practice in 1811, and established himself at St. Denis on the Richelieu river. In the war with the United States which shortly after ensued, he volunteered and served as surgeon of the battalion raised in that district. In 1827 he successfully contested the representation of Sorel with the then Attorney-General-afterward Chief Justice Stuart, and was after that a prominent man in the political world. Whatever objects others may have proposed to themselves, his was to obtain for British subjects in Canada the right enjoyed by their fellow subjects in Great Britain. Conceiving those rights to have been unjustly infringed, he took up arms in 1837 to enforce them, and fought bravely, however rashly, in the cause he had adopted. He won the one victory at St. Denis, which served to gild the desperate fortunes of the insurgents. When the advance of the victorious troops of Colonel Wetherall rendered further resistance hopeless, he fled, and sought by pursuing back roads and traversing forests to make his way to the United States. He was captured upon the frontier, and carried to Montreal and imprisoned. Even his adversaries of those days respected him for bravery and consistency. His life was spared, and he was sent into exile. Released from Bermuda, he settled in the United States, and came to live as near Canada as possible-at Plattsburg, N. Y. As soon as the amnesty permitted, he returned to his na

*The sum of $89,115.73 allowed to claimants by decree of court.

tive country, and resided in Montreal during his remaining days. In the year 1844 he was elected by his old friends on the Richelieu to represent the county of that name, and was reelected to the next parliament. He became the ardent friend of the party essaying to work the British Constitution in its fulness in Canada. Declining a third election, he was appointed in 1851 an inspector of prisons-an office for which his professional career and his earnest philanthropy fitted him. In 1859 he became chairman of the Board of Inspectors. During the ship fever of 1847, he had rendered great service to the poor, sick and dying immigrants, at the risk of his own life, and during the cholera years, as chairman of the Board of Health, he was also most zealous. He has been once or twice elected President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons for Lower Canada. He died on the 17th of June, 1863. Through a life full of adventures as that of a hero of romance, he preserved a name unsullied by any baseness. He carried into politics and official life a heart tender as a child's, excitable and romantic as a woman's. Possessed once of wealth, he sacrificed it on the altar of (what he esteemed) his duty to his country-and in his later years, when other men were accused of enriching themselves at the expense of the country, his escutcheon ever escaped unstained. NEW HAMPSHIRE. The election in New Hampshire for State officers was held on the 10th of March. There were three candidates for governor, viz.: Ira A. Eastman, Democratic; Joseph A. Gilmore, Republican, and Harriman, Union. The total vote cast was 66,240. In 1860 the total vote was 65,923. The result was as follows:

Edgerly was a lieutenant of the 4th New Hampshire regiment, which had been in Florida.

On the 3d of June the Legislature assembled at Concord, and elected not only Gilmore as governor, but Allen H. Tenney, Secretary of State, and Peter Sanborn, State Treasurer, and other officers.

The revenue of the State during 1863 was: taxes, $137,065.61; loans, $239,300; total, $376,385.61. The expenses amounted as follows: ordinary, $210,539.32; aid to families of volunteers, $183,810.56; total, $394,349.88. The debt of New Hampshire, at the end of the fiscal year 1862, was $735,100. During 1863 additional loans have been negotiated to the amount of $239,300 for the temporary use of the State, and $482,300 for military purposes. The amount paid out by the State on account of the war to June 1st, 1863, was $1,305,835, a portion of which had been paid back by the Federal Government. The number of men which the State had furnished at that date was 17,788, being her quota upon every previous call. Gov. Gilmore, in his message, stated that the State banks, with a capital of over four and a half millions, had over a million and a quarter of State and National securities. The railroads in the State had done a fair business during the year which had passed. The mutual insurance companies had proved a failure in the State. The State prison, insane asylum, house of reformation and other benevolent and reformatory institutions, were described to be in an excellent condition. The same was the state of the educational institutions. The general condition of the State was represented to be prosperous. All departments of business had flourished, produce had increased, and industry had gained its reward.

A bill was proposed in the Legislature giving to soldiers in the field the privilege of voting. The opinion of the Supreme Court was, that it was opposed to the spirit and letter of the State Constitution, as well as the law, which requires the presence of the voter at the polls.

Some popular disturbances arose in the State during the draft for soldiers. Some of the towns of the State had previously furnished an excess above their quota, and considered the draft upon them under such circumstances as peculiarly burthensome. Upon the representation of the facts to the War Department, the promise was given by the provost-marshal-general that the surplus men should be discharged in such towns from the number taken by the draft. The governor thereupon promised this remittance to the towns. But when the attempt was made to carry out this plan the difficulties were found to be so great that it was impossible to execute it. At Jackson a mob burned the Forest Vale House, half way between the Crawford and Glen Houses, and stoned the agents of the marshal engaged in notifying the drafted men. The loss of property was valued at $8,000. In Portsmouth a

NEW JERSEY. At the session of the Leg islature at the commencement of the year a series of resolutions were passed which were intended to express the views of the majority of the voters on public affairs. The series passed the Senate by a vote of 12 yeas to 8 nays, and the House by 38 yeas to 13 nays. The resolutions declare that the State in promptly answering all the calls for troops, believed and confided in the declarations of the President made in his inaugural address, and in the resolutions of Congress passed July, 1861; and that, having waited with patience and forbearance for the redemption of these pledges, she conceives it to be her solemn duty to urge upon the President and Congress in the most respectful but decided manner the redemption of the pledges under which the troops of the State entered upon and have continued in the contest; and as the devotion of the State to the sacred cause of perpetuating the Union and maintaining the Constitution has been untainted, in any degree, by infidelity, bigotry, sectionalism, or partisanship, she now, in view of the faith originally plighted, of the disasters and disgrace that have marked the steps of a changed and changing policy, and of the imminent dangers that threaten the national existence, urges upon the President and Congress a return and adherence to the original policy of the administration, as the only means by which the Union can be restored, and the nation saved. The other resolutions were thus expressed:

3. And be it resolved, That it is the deliberate sense of the people of this State that the war power within the limits of the Constitution is ample for any and all emergencies, and that all assumptions of power, under whatever plea, beyond that conferred by the Constitution, is without warrant or authority, and if permitted to continue without remonstrance will finally encompass the destruction of the liberties of the people and the death of the republic; and, therefore, to the end that in any event the matured and deliberate sense of the people of New Jersey may be known and declared, we their representatives, in Senate and General Assembly convened, do, in their name and in their behalf, make unto the Federal Government this our solemn protest:

Against a war waged with the insurgent States for the accomplishment of unconstitutional or partisan

purposes;

Against a war which has for its object the subjugation of any of the States, with a view to their reduction to territorial condition;"

Against proclamations from any source by which, under the plea of "military necessity," persons in States and Territories, sustaining the Federal Government, and beyond the necessary military lines, are held liable to the rigor and severity of military law; Against the domination of the military over the civil law in States, Territories, or districts not in a state of insurrection;

Against all arrests without warrant; against the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in States and

Territories sustaining the Federal Government, "where the public safety does not require it," and against the assumption of power by any person to suspend such

writ, except under the express authority of Con

gress;

of existing ones, or in any other manner not clearly Against the creation of new States by the division

authorized by the Constitution, and against the right of secession as practically admitted by the action of Congress in admitting as a new State a portion of the State of Virginia;

Against the power assumed in the proclamation of the President made January 1st, 1863, by which all the slaves in certain States and parts of States are forever set free; and against the expenditure of the public moneys for the emancipation of slaves or their support at any time, under any pretence whatever; Against any and every exercise of power upon the part of the Federal Government that is not clearly given and expressed in the Federal Constitution-reasserting that "the powers not delegated to the United States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the the people."

4. And be it resolved, That the unequalled promptness with which New Jersey has responded to every call made by the President and Congress for men and means, has been occasioned by no lurking animosity to the States of the South or the rights of her people; no disposition to wrest from them any of their rights, privileges, or property, but simply to assist in maintaining, as she has ever believed and still believes it to be her duty to do, the supremacy of the Federal Constitution; and while abating naught in her devotion to the Union of the States and the dignity and power of the Federal Government, at no time since the commencement of the present war has this State been other than willing to terminate, peacefully and honorably to all, a war unnecessary in its origin, fraught with horror and suffering in its prosecution, and necessarily dangerous to the liberties of all in its con

tinuance.

State of New Jersey believes that the appointment of 5. And be it resolved, That the Legislature of the commissioners upon the part of the Federal Govern ment to meet commissioners similarly appointed by the insurgent States, to convene in some suitable place for the purpose of considering whether any, and if any what plan may be adopted, consistent with the honor and dignity of the National Government, by which the present civil war may be brought to a close, is not inconsistent with the integrity, honor, and dignity of the Federal Government, but, as an indication of the spirit which animates the adhering States, would in any event tend to strengthen us in the opin ion of other nations; and hoping, as we sincerely do, that the Southern States would reciprocate the peaceful indications thus evinced; and believing, as we do, that under the blessing of God great benefits would arise from such a conference, we most earnestly recommend the subject to the consideration of the Government of the United States and request its cooperation therein.

No draft took place in the State. The quota at the time the draft was made was 8.783; these were raised by volunteering. Up to the 1st of January, 1863, the number of troops which the State had been called upon to furnish was 27,199, and the number of men furnished up to that time was 30,214. Liberal bounties were paid by the counties and cities, which were to be reimbursed by the State. An enrolment of the citizens made in anticipation of a draft, returned the number in the State liable to military duty 71,697.

No election for State officers was held during the year. County officers and members of the Legislature were chosen, comprising one third of the Senate and the Assembly. This body was divided as follows: