568 



NAVY, U. S., OPERATIONS OF. 



HEADERS DEP'T VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA, I 

 December 25, 1S64 ) 



ADMIRAL : Upon landing the troops and making a 

 (borough reconnoissance of Fort Fisher, both Gen- 

 Wcitzel and myself are fully of the opinion that the 

 place could not be carried by assault, as it was left 

 substantially uninjured as a defensive work by the 

 navy fire. We found seventeen guns protected by 

 traverses, two only of which were dismounted, bear- 

 ing up the beach and covering a strip of land, the 

 only practicable route, not more than wide enough 

 for a thousand men in line of battle. 



Having captured Flag Pond Hill battery, the garri- 

 son of which, sixty-five men and two commissioned 

 officers, were taken off by the navy, we also cap- 

 tured Half Moon battery and seven officers and two 

 hundred and eighteen men of the 3d North Carolina 

 Junior Reserves, including its commander, from 

 whom I learned that a portion of Hoke's division, 

 consisting of Kirkland's and Haywood's brigades, 

 had been sent from the lines before Richmond on 

 Tuesday last, arriving at Wilmington Friday night. 



Gen. Weitzel advanced his skirmish line within 

 fifty yards of the fort, while the garrison was kept in 

 their bomb-proofs by the fire of the navy, and so 

 closely that three or four men of the picket line ven- 

 tured upon the parapet, and through the sally-port 

 of the work, capturing a horse, which they brought 

 off, killing the orderly, who was the bearer of a de- 

 spatch from the chief of artillery of Gen. Whiting to 

 bring a light battery within the fort, and also brought 

 away from the parapet the flag of the fort. This was 

 done while the shells of the navy were falling about 

 the heads of the daring men who entered the work, 

 and it was evident, as soon as the fire of the navy 

 ceased because of the darkness, that the fort was fully 

 manned again, and opened with grape and canister 

 upon our picket line. 



Finding that nothing but the operations of a regu- 

 lar siege, which did not come within my instructions, 

 would reduce the fort, and in view of the threatening 

 aspect of the weather, wind arising from the south- 

 east, rendering it impossible to make further landing 

 through the surf, I caused the troops, with their pris- 

 oners, to reembark, and see nothing further that can 

 be done by the land forces. I shalltherefore sail for 

 Hampton Roads as soon as the transport fleet can be 

 got in order. 



The engineers and officers report Fort Fisher to me 

 as substantially uninjured as a defensive work. 



I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your 

 obedient servant, BENJ. F. BUTLER. 



Maj.-Gen. Comm'g. 



To Rear Adm. PORTER, Commanding N. A. Block- 

 ading Squadron. 



NOCTH ATLANTIC SQTTAD'N, U. 8. FLAGSHIP MALVEF.N, {_ 

 OFF NEW ISLET, December 26, 1SC4.. ) 



GENERAL : I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt 

 of your letter of this date, the substance of which 

 was communicated to me by Gen. Weitzel last night. 



I have ordered the largest vessels to proceed oft' 

 Beaufort, and fill up with ammunition, to be ready 

 for another attack in case it is decided to proceed 

 with this matter by making other arrangements. We 

 have not commenced firing rapidly yet, and could 

 keep any rebels inside from showing their heads un- 

 til an assaulting column was within twenty yards of 

 the works. 



I wish some more of your gallant fellows had fol- 

 lowed the officer who took the flag from the parapet 

 and the brave fellow who brought the horse from the 

 fort, I think they would have found it an easier con- 

 quest than is supposed. I do not desire, however, 

 to place my opinion in opposition to Gen. Weitzel, 

 whom I know to be an accomplished soldier and en- 

 gineer, and whose opinion has great weight with me. 



I will look out that the troops are all off in safety. 

 We will have a west wind presently, and a smooth 

 oeach about three o'clock, when sufficient boats will 

 DC sent for them. 



The prisoners now on board the Santiago dc Cuba 

 will be delivered to the Provost Marshal. at Fortress 

 Monroe, unless you wish to take them on board one 

 of the transports, which would be inconvenient just 

 now. 



I remain, General, respectfully, your obedient ser- 

 vant, DAVID D PORTfcR, Rear Admiral. 



To Maj.-Gen. B. F. BUTLER, Commanding, &c., &c, 



For various reasons Admiral Porter was 

 strongly opposed to abandoning the attack, and 

 so expressed himself in his subsequent report 

 to the Naval Department. "I don't pretend," 

 he said, "to put my opinion in opposition to 

 that of Gen. Weitzel, who is a thorough soldier 

 and an able engineer, and whose business it is 

 to know more of assaulting than I do, but I 

 can't help thinking that it was worth while to 

 make the attempt after coming so far." This 

 was the view generally entertained by the pub- 

 lic, who, accustomed of late to uninterrupted 

 successes, chafed under this temporary check ; 

 and to the general dissatisfaction caused by the 

 abandonment of the enterprise and the return 

 of the troops to Fortress Monroe is doubtless 

 partly to be attributed the order issued early in 

 1805, relieving Gen. Butler from the command 

 of the Army of the James. The enemy, with 

 some degree of reason, claimed that the result 

 of the expedition was a triumph for their arms, 

 notwithstanding that during two whole days 

 Fort Fisher had been silenced by the guns of 

 the fleet; and a congratulatory order was 

 issued by Gen. Bragg, in which a high compli- 

 ment was paid to Gen. "Whiting, Col. Larnb, 

 and the officers and men of the garrison. Ac- 

 cording to the rebel accounts the fort fired 

 602 shots on the first day of the attack and 600 

 on the second, and had 2 guns burst and 4 dis- 

 abled. The garrison lost 3 killed and 55 

 wounded. 



Admiral Porter remained off New Inlet a 

 day or two after the departure of the trans- 

 ports, but finding it hopeless to attempt the re- 

 duction of the fort without the assistance of a, 

 land force, he withdrew his fleet to Beaufort, in 

 the confident expectation that the troops 

 would soon be ordered back again from For- 

 tress Monroe. In this he was not deceived, 

 for scarcely had the news of the abandonment 

 of the expedition been received at headquar- 

 ters, than orders were issued for a renewal of 

 the attempt. - On January 2d, Gen. Terry, 

 commanding the 1st division of the 24th corps, 

 Army of the James, was ordered to take com- 

 mand of the two divisions which had partici- 

 pated in the first expedition, to which was 

 added a brigade under Col. Abbott from his 

 own division, and two batteries, the whole 

 numbering somewhat more than 8,000 men. 

 With these he proceeded on the 5th to For- 

 tress Monroe, and thence to Beaufort, where 

 on the 8th he arranged with Admiral Porter a 

 plan of operations against Fort Fisher. Owing 

 to unfavorable weather the transports were 

 unable to arrive off New Inlet until late on the 

 night of the 12th. Next morning commenced 

 the disembarkation of the troops at a point 



