The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-19 00:00:00

f

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were of frightful size. Some of these mon-
ster projectiles passed entirely over the fort, and
fell in the river beyond ; and this, notwithstanding
the fleet, with the exception of the ironclad, Stood off
at long range, The fort replied slowly and delibe-
rately, but with what effect is not known, though
Col. Lamb, commandant of the work, telegraphs
that he is confident the enemy suffered more than
he did. There were 23 men wounded on our part-1
mortally, 3 severely, and 19 slightly. Two guns were
dismounted, not by the fire of the enemy, but by
unskilful management on our part. No other damage
worth naming was sustained. But fearful as the
bombardment was yesterday, it was but the prelude
to the infernal fire of to-day. The attack was re-
newed at 10 o'clock, and raged with great violence
until 6 o'clock this evening. Such a rain of shot and
shell never before fell upon any spot of earth since
gunpowder was invented. But the Confederates
stood to their work in most gallant style. Many of
them had never been under fire before ; and yet
they received the devouring blasts from the fleet
like men who knew not what fear was. We have
no report of the casualties to-day, communication
with the fort by telegraph having been interrupted;
but there is reason to fear that they have been
heavier than they were yesterday. Unofficial tele-
grams received during the afternoon, however, be-
fore the wires were broken, stated that all was well,
and that the garrison had replied to the enemy's fire
less frequently than on yesterday. But the most
serious part of the fight to-day remains to be t3ld.
A portion of the fleet, moving up the beach 21- miles
above Fort Fisher, swept the shore with grape and
canister for an hour, at the end of which boats were
lowered, and a force (estimated to be three brigades)
were landed. This force was immediately engaged
by Kirkland's brigade ; but at half-past 5 o'clock
the enemy still maintained his footing on the beach.
It is not improbable that other troops will be landed
to-night, and possibly some artillery. The enemy
is now between Wilmington and Fort Fisher, and
has cut off communication by land with the latter.
If he is not dislodged soon, Fisher must fall as
Fort Morgan did, and with its fall the port of Wil-
mington will be sealed. Once firmly established
on the narrow spit of sand upon the outer end of
which Fisher stands, the closing of the river above
will be only a matter of time ; and then away
go Fisher, Caswell, and all the other works by
which the harbour and town are defended. There
has been gross dereliction of duty between here and
Richmond ; but whether the military or railway
authorities are responsible for it remains to be seen.
But more of this hereafter. General Whiting is in
command below. His report of the operations to-
day has not been received as I close. General Bragg
is doing all he can with the handful of men present
to hold the place. I omitted to mention that one of
the Federal blockaders got aground on Friday night,
while chasing the Little Hattie, and was abandoned
and blown up. The Little. Hattie got in safe."
Further Confederate details of the affair are given
in the Wilmington Journal.
" On Christmas morning, as the bells began to
ring, summoning the worshippers to church, the deep
booming of guns from sea announced that the
enemy's fleet had re-opened on Fort Fisher, and the
deep, heavy, and incessant roll was kept up with
terrible rapidity during the whole day, and away
into the night, and all day yesterday, with little
abatement until about noon, when it is probable that
the gradually rising sea compelled the fleet to haul
off, or at least slacken their fire. Up to 3 o'clock on
Sunday the casualties in the fort were 43. On Sun-
day afternoon the enemy succeeded in effecting a
landing at a point not far from the head of the
Sound, and just below the site of old Camp Wyatt,
say five and a half to six miles above Fort Fisher
and 16 to Wilmington. They were confronted by
General Kirkland with such of his gallant men as were
then with him, their object being to interpose
between Wilmington and Fort Fisher, ours to pre-
vent their doing so. Their force became swelled by
new regiments landed from their transports, ours by
arrivals of some of the most gallant veterans on the
continent. On Monday General Bragg assumed
command in person. The communication with
the fort is uninterrupted, with no Yankees in-
terposing between our troops in the field and
our troops in the fort ; the fort is all right, and
the men in fine spirits. The enemy's proud ar-
mada and terrific bombardment have so far been
powerless to effect anything against the ' scientific
sand-hills which guard the New Inlet to our
river, and which stand a proud monument to
the scientific genius of the able engineer
under whose eye our defences have been mainly
planned and executed, and who himself was also in
Fisher to watch the performancces of his works.
Fort Fisher and its defence will always be associated
with the names of Major-General Whiting and Col.
Lamb. During the night of Sunday and on the
morning of Monday two attempts were made to
take Fisher by storm, but both were gallantly re-
pulsed by our junior volunteers. Yankee prisoners
say that the land force with the fleet consisted of
four brigades of four regiments each, each regiment
numbering about 560 men. Of these three landed,
all under command of General Ames. The fourth,
composed of negro troops, under Weitzel (captured
at Plymouth), had not yet landed."
The Richmond Sentinel of the 2d instant, reports
he repulse of a Federal expedition to the Roanoke

River :
" The Yankee gunboat movement up the Roan-
oke River resulted, as is known, very adversely
From an interview with a deserving and efficient
officer from that locality, we gather some interest-
ing items, which we present to our readers. The
expedition comprised 12 gunboats and several
barges, the latter of 20 oars each. Two of the
barges which went ahead as torpedo hunters, were
vigorously attacked by our sharpshooters, and lost
31 killed. The crews then displayed the signal of
surrender, but before the barges could be secured a
gunboat approached and shelled our forces so furi-
ously as to compel the relinquishment of their prizes,
which drifted down the river to the gunboat. The
barges exploded several of our torpedoes, but failed
to clear the river. The gunboats continuing their
progress, several of them were blown up. Deterred
by these losses and by the hazard of still greater,
they then beat a retreat to Jamesville, 12 miles
above Plymouth. Up to last dates only six of the
42 boats had returned. Their officers stated to the
citizens of Williamston, 22 miles below Fort Branch,
that they had lost four boats by torpedoes. When
asked where the other two were they made no reply.
They also admitted the loss of 1000 men. Admit-
ting their statement—which is believed to be true
—we can account for the other two missing boats.
The officer in charge of the torpedo force, in recon-
noitring, discovered a sunken boat, of which no one
was aware, and cut from her about 15ft. of her board-
ing nettings, of very large size. The sixth gunboat
was sunk by our light field battery. Among 01_ eue,ne:
boats destroyed was the powerful Otsego, andedo
bnyl a
ender, bearing 14 11-inch guns, and
crew of 300, reinforced by the samenurninabner of in-
picked up at dif-
fantry. Four of her men, who
ferent times, agree that of the 600 en on board not
were
from 0 0 11
the wreck. A
more than 60 escaped with
ns for the officers and
worthy and reliable mechanicfli who wasp ressed into
from the wreck declares
Yankee service to make co
boxes for the men fished up
time of his release over 200 had
that up to the
de and sh outh the men to be buried
ipped to Ym
therema and the officers to be sent to the United States.
The work
of fishing up the dead was still being pro-
secuted. Many of the bodies of those blown up on
the different boats had floated down to Jamesville.
Thus has resulted an expedition doubtless designed
for the reduction of Fort Branch and the capture of
Halifax. The torpedo bureau has in this one ser-
vice merited a claim upon our gratitude and praise
which it gives us pleasure to acknowledge, and the
brave men who co-operated in the defence of the
Roanoke and the signal repulse of the foe have won

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. ~,,,,,
a place among those of whom t ii,tiiti,,- -,t,...6
Plant torpedoes thick and itc.oolY;fTYt*Mll4
put diligent and daring inen ',.4*lileti,i,-filiertio
Their utility and efficiency are .64 cngifool4l4;k7,
Some interesting particulars c'en;aereiriibl '6akiiffe-
running at Wilmington, and the i4ortakie °Ole
port, are furnished in the Richmond Despatch, of the
3d inst. :

11 Ir, 7-*

" Notwithstanding the alleged ceaseless vigilance
of the Yankee navy in watching blockade runners
on the Atlantic and Gulf coast of the Confederate
States, their close attention has amounted to com-
paratively little. Setting aside all that has been im-
ported on State and individual account the pro-
ceeds of the blockade have been very great. The re-
strictions imposed upon foreign commerce by the Act
of Congress of last session, prohibiting absolutely,
during the war, the•importation of any article not
neecessary for the defence of the country—namely
wines, spirits, jewelry, cigars, and all the finer
fabrics of cotton, flax, wool, or silk, as well as all
other merchandise serving only for the indulgence
of luxurious habits—has not had the effect to reduce
the number of vessels engaged in blockade-running ;
but, on the contrary, the number has steadily in-
creased within the last year, and many are under-
stood to be now on the way to engage in the busi-
ness. The President in a communication to Con-
gress on the subject says that the number of vessels
arriving at two ports only from the Ist of November
to the 6th of December was 43, and only a very
small proportion or those outward-bound were cap-
tured. Out of
.11,786 bales of cotton shipped since
the Ist of July last but 1,272 were lost—not quite
11 per cent. The special report of the Secretary of
the Treasury in relation to the matter shows that
there have been imported into the Confederacy at
the ports of Wilmington and Charleston since
October 26, 1864, 8,632,000 pounds of meat,
1,507,000 pounds of lead, 1,933,000 pounds of salt-
petre, 546,000 pairs of shoes, 316,000 pairs of
blankets, 520,0001 b. of coffee, 69,000 rifles, 97
packages of revolvers, 2,639 packages of medicine,
43 cannon, with a large quantity of other articles,
of which we need make no mention. Besides these,
many valuable stores and supplies are brought by
way of the northern lines into Florida, by the port
of Galveston, and through Mexico across the Rio
Grande. The shipments of cotton made on the Go-
vernment account since March 1, 1864, amounts to
$5,296,000 in specie. Of this, cotton to the value
of $1,500,000 has been shipped since the Ist of July
and up to December 1. It is a matter of absolute
impossibility for the Federals to stop our blockade-
running at the port of Wilmington. If the wind blows
off the coast the blockading fleet is driven off. If
the wind blows landward they are compelled to haul
off to a great distance to escape the terrific sea which
dashes on a rocky coast, without a harbour within
three days' sail. The shoals on the North Carolina
coast are from five to 20 miles wide, and they are,
moreover, composed of the most treacherous and
and bottomless quicksands. The coast is scarcely
equalled in the world for danger and fearful ap-
pearance, particularly when a strong easterly wind
meets the ebb tide. It is an easy matter for a good
pilot to run a vessel directly out to sea or into port ;
but in the stormy months, from October to April,
no blockading vessel can lie at anchor in safety off
the Carolina coast. Therefore supplies will be
brought in despite the keenest vigilance."
The New York Times publishes the following re-
specting the Confederate steamer Shenandoah and
her exploits :
" Captain S. J. Gilman, of the schooner Charter
Oak, of and bound to San Francisco, from Boston,
called at our office yesterday and gave us informa-
tion respecting the capture of his vessel by the rebel
pirate Shenandoah, in lat. 7 deg. N., long. 27.50
deg. W. The Charter Oak had a cargo of coals and
hardware, furniture, and preserved fruits. On the
sth Nov., about 5 a.m., when the wind was very
light from the south-west, saw a large ship (looking
for all the world like a clipper) astern, which ship
the captain, half an hour later, discovered was get-
up steam and making for the schooner. At 6 a.m.
the stranger ran up alongside to the windward, fly-
ing the English flag, having fired a gun for the car.
tarn to heave to, which the Charter Oak did, when
the steamer ran up the Confederate flag. A small
boat with an officer and several men, all armed,
then came up alongside, and told Capt. Gilman that
the schooner was a prize to the Confederate States
steamer Shenandoah. The captain and crew were
then ordered on board the small boat, and taken to
the steamer, the former being allowed to gather up
and carry with him his papers, &c. He was con-
ducted to the cabin of the steamer, and introduced
to the captain, Waddell, who, after duly examining
his schooner's papers, gravely informed that nothing
could save the schooner, and that after taking
what he wanted from her he should . burn her.
After removing a few things from the schooner
she was set on fire, the pirate remaining in sight
until she was dismantled and nearly burnt to the
water's edge. Capt. Gilman and his crew remained on
the Shenandoah seven days, during which time she
burnt the bark D. Godfrey, of Boston. Capt. Hal-
lett, bound to Valparaiso, and' sunk the brig Susan,
of New York, bound to Rio Grande, S.A. The
course of the Shenandoah was of course very erratic ;
but her principal cruising ground seems to have been
from 26 to 32 W. long. It is probable, however,
that by this time she has crossed the line, following
the Brazil coast, and cutting across to the Cape of
Good Hope. (Capt. Gilman comes to this conclu-
sion from the fact that the pirate chief took his
chart, which was the first and only one he ever had,
giving this course, and seemed to be highly delighted
at obtaining it.) On the seventh day Capt. Gilman
and his crew were put on board the ship Kate Prince,
of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Capt. H. Libby,
bound to Bahia or St. Salvador, Brazil, where they
arrived on Nov. 23. The Kate Prince was bonded
for $40,000, which would seem strange were the fact
not known that her cargo (consisting chiefly of coal)
was English. Capt. Hallett, of the.bark D. Godfrey,
of Boston, and Capt. Staples, of the bark Helena
(captured eight days before the Charter Oak), were
put on board a Danish brig and sent to Rio Janeiro.
Capt. Gilman and his crew reached this city on
Sunday last, in the bark Grace. Her crew was as
follows :—Zairil Barges, mate : Charles E. Burse,
second mate ; John M. Sampson, Manuel Tratus,
John Ennis, and Frank Rogers. The Shenandoah
(formerly the Sea King, of the Bombay trade) was
built at Glasgow in 1863, by Stephens and Son ;
has an iron frame, planked with teak wood; 220 ft.
length deck, 33ft. beam, and 22ft. hold ; is a full-
rigged ship, carrying three royals ; iron lower mast,
topmast, bowsprit, lower and topsail yards ; wirse
standing riggings ; a very high poop,
about 10ft. forward of the niizenmast ;
topgallantrunis
which
forecastle, 6ft. from her foremast. She is what
telescopic
called an auxiliary steamer, having a
smokestack 6ft. abaft the mainmast, capable of being
lowered so that it will be
only Eft. above the rail.
Her propeller can be hoisted so as to clear the water
but with steam and sail can
Her2so horse power.
whenever
knots n o t •
propeller has
usanedh.our!he is capable of steaming
makeltweor
uli
flues,
vk
aan s
s h, thoughearreenogfnnevertaelb2o. t
pine,an inch and a
quarter thick, and therefore easily penetrated. The
outside of the vessel is painted black. Her arma-
ment consists of four smooth-bore 68's, two rifled
32's, and two smooth-bore 12-pounders. The
Shenandoah was purchased (Capt. Waddell stated)
in England for £45,000, which was an enormous
price, with the understanding that she was to be a
pirate. She was taken to Madeira by her captain,
and delivered to Capt. Waddell, who came thither
with his officers in the Laurel, an English steamer
chartered by the rebels, it is supposed, to bring her
officers, guns, &c. The following were some of her
officers and men :—Capt. Waddell ; First Lieut.
Witten, lately a prisoner at Fort Warren, having
been captured on the Mississippi River ; Second
Lieut., name forgotten, of Charleston, South Caro-
lina, formerly of the Alabama ; Third Lieut. Lee, a
nephew of Gen. Lee ; Master Bullock, also late of
the Alabama ; and first and third engineers, names
forgotten, also of the Alabama. At the time Capt.
Gilman left her she had 43 men—seven from the
bark Helena, all of the D. Godfrey's &ew, except
the officers, and three from the brig Susan. Capt.
Gilman is confident that the Shenandoah was for-
merly the Sea King ; the hub of the wheel had this
name engrossed upon it, as also the locks of her
two 12-pounders, and one of her bells."