The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-09 00:00:00

ADMIRAL PORTER'S REPORT.

The New York papero publish the following re-
port from Admiral Porter :-
North Atlantic Squadron, U.S. riagship Malvern,
off Smithville, N.C., Jan. l'o, 1865.
Sir,—ln my last I informed you that Fort Caswell had
been blown up and evacuated in consequa ace of the fall of
Fort Fisher.
I sent Lieut. W. Cushing round in the Munticelle to the
western bar, to ascertain what had taken place, and to ob-
tain aid from the officers in command of the Nyack and
Vicksburg, and take advantage of the occasion.
Lieut. Cushing did not obtain the aid he required, for
what reason I have not yet learned, but with his usual
energy he pushed on in his boats, and found that Fort Cas-
well had been blown up, and Bald Head Fort destroyed.
Fort Shaw also, and Fort Campbell to the westward of
Caswell, had been abandoned. All these forts mounted
nine and ten-inch guns, and Armstrong 150-pounders.
Lieut. Cushing then pushed into Smithville, after hoist-
ing the flag of the Union over Caswell.
The next thing I saw was the flag waving over Smith-
ville, which the rebels had left in a great hurry after they
saw our boats approaching, leaving everything in the beau-
tiful and heavy fort uninjured, and two 9-inch guns only
spiked, in the fort at Deep Water Point.
In the meantime I had succeeded in getting ono gunboat,
the Tacony, over the rip, and interior bar, and sent her up
to Reeves Point to disable the guns at that place, about
three miles on the west side of the river above Fort
Fisher.

Thus in twenty-four hours after the fall of Fort Fisher
and its outworks, all the formidable chain of forts in this
river, at its entrance, built to keep out anything we had
have fallen into our hands. They are garrisoned for the
present with sailors. I can scarcely give a description of
these works. They are certainly the most formidable and
the best built earthworks I ever saw, and do credit to the
engineer who planned them. One would suppose that the
whole S9uthern Confederacy had been at work throwing up
mud and sand ; and General Whiting, the engineer, cer-
tainly had an abiding faith in the durability of the Con-
federacy, as he shows his opinion by his works, which have
been four years building, and were taken in as many days.
Fort Caswell is of the same shape as before it fell into
the rebel hands, except that the rebels have covered its
walls with earth on the outside and made them almost im-
pervious to shot and shell. It is in many respects stronger
than Fisher, and harder to take by assault. Still it could
be taken, and the rebels know it. Three or four gunboats
inside would soon have started them out.
I have had a great deal of difficulty in getting the gun-
boats over the bar and the rips, and only succeeded this
morning in getting the last one through. The rebels left
plenty of good stores and provisions, and our troops are
now subsisting on them.
I send you a list of the forts that have fallen into our
hands since Fort Fisher fell, with the number and calibre
of their guns. We have found here in each fort an Arm-
strong gun with the " broad arrow" and the name of Sir
William Armstrong marked in full on the trunnions. As
the British government claims the exclusive right to use
these guns, it would be interesting to know how they caine
into forts held by Southern rebels. I find that immense
quantities of provisions, stores, and clothing have come
through this port into rebeldom. I am almost afraid to
mention the amount, but it is enough to supply over
60,000 men. It is all English; but they have received the
last cargo; no more will ever come this way.
We picked up a telegram from General Lee to his subor-
dinate here, saying that if Forts Fisher and Caswell were
not held he would have to evacuate Richmond. He says
most truly, and I should not be surprised if he left it at any

moment.
We have plenty of forces to hold this place against the
whole Southern Confederacy. I have 250 guns bearing on
the narrow strip of land where our troops are heavily en-
trenched. There are vessels in the river and outside, and
we only hope they will attempt to retake it.
Ten thousand men in Fort Fisher, with the guns of the
squadron, would hold this place a long time.
We find this a betterplace to catch blockade runners than
outside. I had the blockade runners' light lit last night,
and was obliging enough to answer their signals, whether
right or wrong we don't know. Two of them, the Stag and
Charlotte, from Bermuda, loaded with arms, blankets, shots,
&c., came in and quietly anchored near the Malvern, and
were taken possession of. The Stag was commanded, by
ichard H. Gayle, a lieutenant in the rebel navy, and be-

longs to the rebel Government. A number more are ex
petted, and we will, I hope, catch a portion of them. 1
entrusted this duty to Lieut. Cushing, who performed it
with his usual good luck and intelligence. These two are
very fast vessels and valuable prizes. They threw a portion
of their papers overboard immediately on finding they were
trapped.
I enclose a list of guns captured by the navy since the
surrender of Fort Fisher, and the names of the different
works. This number, added to those taken from Fort
Fisher, makes 160 guns in all, most of them heavy ones,
that have been taken.

I enclose a few papers that may be interesting. The
Charlotte brings five English passengers, one of them an
English army officer. They all came over, as they expressed
it, "on a lark," and were making themselves quite "jolly"
in the cabin over their champagne, felicitating themselves
over their safe arrival. The Stag received three shots as
she ran by our blockaders outside.—Very respectfully,
(Signed) DAVID D. PORTER, Rear-Admiral.
Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy,
Washington, D.C.
List of forts taken possession of by the navy since the
fall of Fort Fisher, with their armaments :—Reeves Point,
2 10-inch guns ; above Smithville, 2 10-inch guns ;:Smith-
ville, 4 10-inch guns ; Fort Caswell, 2 10-inch guns, 2
9-inch, 1 Armstrong, and 4 thirty-twos (rifled), 2 thirty-
twos (smooth), 3 8-inch, 1 Parrott (twenty-pounder), 3
rifled field pieces, 3 guns, bored-29 guns. Forts Camp-
bell and Shaw, 6 10-inch, 6 thirty-twos (smooth), 1 thirty-
two (rifled), 1 8-inch, 6 field pieces, 2 mortars-22 guns.
Smith's Island, 3 10-inch, 6 thirty-twos (smooth), 2 thirty-
twos (rifled), 4 field pieces, 2 mortars-17 guns. Reported
at the other end of Smith's Island, 6 guns... Total captured,
83 guns.

THE ENGAGEMENT ON THE JAMES
RIVER.
An official despatch from the headquarters of the
Army of the James, dated Jan. 24, says :
Last night the enemy made an unsuccessful attempt to
run past our batteries. They took advantage of the storm
and darkness to send down a fleet of eight vessels of war
and three torpedo boats. This flotilla consisted of the Vir-
ginia, Fredericksburg, and Richmond, ironclads, mounting
four guns each ; the wooden vessels Drewry, Nansemond,
and Hampton, of two guns each ; the Bedford, one gun ;
the steamer Torpedo, and three torpedo-boats. The follow-
ing are the particulars, as far as they could be obtained from
a deserter from the expedition who came into our lines
after daylight this morning. The fleet left their moorings
about 6 o'clock last evening, and proceeding quietly until it
got near our batteries they were discovered, and immediately
the batteries opened on them, to which they replied. At
about 12 o'clocktheysucceeded in cutting the chain in front
of our obstructions beyond the lower end of Dutch Gap
Canal, when the Fredericksburg, under full head of steam,
passed through the obstructions, completely demolishing
one of the sunken canal boats. The Richmond, Virginia,
and Drewry, in attempting to follow, grounded, when the
Fredericksburg had to go to their assistance. The Drewry
could not be got off, and was obliged to be abandoned, as
it was now daylight, and they were in range of
Battery Parsons. As soon as it became light the
battery opened on the Drewry, one of the shells fall-
ing in her magazines, which exploded, completely demo-
lishing her, and the remainder of the fleet again made
their way back up the river. It was supposed that an at-
tempt would be made to go through again to-night, though
what their destination may be canmerely beasurmised. The
only damage done was the dismounting of one gun on Fort
Brady.

The deserters report only one man killed and two wounded
by the explosion of the Drewry. Pour deserters swam
ashore and came into our lines.

The correspondent of the Baltimore American, at
Annapolis, says:--"The exit of the rebel gunboats
from under the guns of their batteries on the James
River came near proving a very serious affair to us.
Had the rebel ram Richmond not grounded, the
whole of our fleet of transports, and works of Gen.
Grant at City Point, would have been destroyed,
for the naval officer in charge of our forces turned
tail and ran, for which disgraceful conduct, it is re-
ported, he has been dismissed the service."

GENERAL SHERMAN.
In regard to Gen. Sherman's movements, the
Charleston correspondent of the Richmond Despatch
writes, on Jan. 10, that Gen. Sherman had com-
menced his movement on Branchville and Augusta,
and that he had sent one corps up the west bank of
the Savannah River, a second to Wilmington, and
two to Beaufort. "If Sherman is once established
on the railroad, either at Branchville or some other
point near Augusta," the writer says, " the fall of