, 1861-12-19
az GREAT NAVAL ExPEpITIoN

the Hd6dSh, and ,. :. Dupont the Flag oihcer.
The feet consisted, in all, Of IS vessels; of which
s were steam liig;teS, sailing men-of:war, %
CunboatS, IL ferry.boatS, aud 20 steam aud .
sailing transports.
Tie gumhoais generally carried one 11.inch
Dahlgrcn forward, and were armed beside with
one rtlcd gun aud from two to four 24.pounders.
The twelve ferry. boats were each capable Of car
rying from 500 10 900 men, and armed with six
guns each All of the transports were fully armed,
with crew on board to work the guns. Sew.
cral additional transports were afterwards added
There were in the vessels Of the Expedition be-
tween 10000 and 40, 900 picked soldiers, half Of
them the best trained troops in Met Cellan's army.
There were also not less than $40 surf boats Oh
board, and large numbers Of Cape Cod, Cape
Ann, New Jersey and Long Island seamen, who
are at home in the surf, to man them. The trans
ports took three-and-R.hAlf months supplies Of
food for the army that should be landed, beside
the rations for the troops while on board. One
ship took q cargo Of fresh water; others took
live stock, and still others took immense quanti-
ties Of shOVels, hoes carts, brick, cement grind
stones, lumber, timber, frames Of houses ready
to be set up, saws, sand.bags, etc.
The Tribune Of Oct. 2Sth says that the Ma.
tdnsGs and Oriental expected to take 800 contra
bands each from Fortress Monroe, but, to their
great grief could only get so Of them. The Post
limited that quantities Of bright ZOuave clothing
were taken along, with the intention Of forming
the negroes Of the coast into ZOuave regiments |;
and that perhaps the only way to avoid negro
instructions was just this The brilliant colors
Of the ZOuave dress would appeal very powerfully
to the negroes love Of display, and assist the
work Of organizing them into companies, where
thorough drills would soon make good soldiers Of
them.
Among the materials Of the expedition were
several hundred footballs to furnish exercise for
the soldiers that should be left in garrison.
There were also on board 200 professional stage
drivers from New York, to drive the transport
wagons; also scores Of New York, Boston, Jer.
sey and Hsll-Gate pilots, and as many more tough
old coasters, who, with their eyes shut beside
the old fireplace at home, can tell to an inch the
depth Of water on every sAndbar along the South.
rFn coast, and need only quote the Coast Survey
to back them up afterwards. On board the Great
Republic, Vanderbilt, Ocean Queen, Baltic and
Ericsson, were some 1900 horses, and the oats,
corn and hay for their munchiRg, Of course, were
not neglected. For hrating shot, 1000 bushels
Of fine Cumberland coal were taken, and three
or four transports were mostly loaded with Gre.
brick, supposed to be intended for furnaces for
heating shot
Commodore S. P. Dupont, the Flag officer, a
New Jerseyman BY birth, but now hailing from
Delaware, has been 40 years IN service, Of which
% were spent at sea, and - in our various navy
yards. The Fleet Captain, Commander Charles
H. Davis, is native Of Massachusetts,, has been
IS years in service at sea, and was the last Su-
perintendent Of the Nautical Almanac.
The command Of the land forces on board was
entrusted to Gen. ThOS W. Sherman, native Of
Rhode Island, who entered West Point in 1889,
and was brevetted for gallant conduct in the bat.
tle Of Buena Vista. Brig. Gen. vicle, graduate
Of West Point in 1s42, has charge Of the lst
Brigade. Gen. !. !. Stevens, best known as late
Delegate from Washington Territory, heads the
Cd; and Gen. Il. s. Wright late Professor in
the Military Academy, commands the Sd.
The account that we have given above Is con-
densed from many columns that Il occupies In
the N. Y. Ereniag Post and 7Fi6WnG That al
this grand preparation was not in vain was de-
mcnstrated BY the first report that came back
from the expedition after II sailed from Hampton
Roads; and that we soon shall hear Of more Of
is brilliant exploits and noble service, there is
no reason to doubt
Il has been questioned whether this great feet
deserves to be compared, for simple numbers
tonnage, the sailors required to man Il and the
troops It carries, with the Great Armada Of his.
toFy--the Spanish armament sent by Philip IT.,
in 1888, to conquer England, and "return into
the Church great many cOntrite souls that are
oppressed BY the hereties there" That world
renowned Armada Counting out the lat-b -bOttOmed
crafts that the Duke Of Parma never took out Of
the Flemish harbOrs to join ~ numbered, in all,
I30 vessels, whose total tonnage was 70 s6s tons.
Our expedition numbers s3 vessels. the tonnage
Of only 81 Of which we know, and they are not
war vessels or these 81 the tonnage Is set down
at LAS tons. The Spanish Armada had s052
sailors 92S5 soldiers, and $50 priests or monks.
Ours takes from $1,000 10 10000 soldiers, and
how many Sailors can only be guessed. For
the times, C27s years agO) that was 50 vast an
enterprise that history made much Of Il, in spite
Of It's utter failure. Ours, grand as il Is, bears
no such relation to the capacities Of flrst class
nations in this diFeciion, to be remembered ex
cept for lis magnificent achievements; but if II
ful6lIs, during the next Few months, the glorious
prophecy Of It's start at Port Royal, history can.
oa v,aLo sl;.lk ,,o,,,;o, Of u l., A.e.;l;n H.,