The New York herald., 1862-02-13
New York, Thursday, February 13, 1864
THE SITUATION.

THE SITUATION.
The completeness Of the success of the Burnside
expedition in the capture of Roanoke Island on
Saturday, as admitted by all the rebel authorities,
from which, and from which alone, the information
reaches US, is undoubted, and its Importance can
hardly be overestimated According to the rebel
admissions, their entire'feet of gunboats were de-
stroyed in the protracted and desperate action
which gave rs possession of Roanoke Island, three
hundred of their force were killed, thousand
wounded, and all the remaining army of 1000 men,
the artillery small arms and munitions of war were
captured. Left without means of escape to the
mainland, surrender to our troops was, of course
the only alternative left the discounted rebel army
The map which we give to-day of the coasts of
North Carolins and Virginia will show at glance
the Importance of the victory the Burnside expe-
diton has achieved in the waters of Pamlico and
Albemarle Sounds. We publish very full accounts
Of this affair to-day from the Southern papers-the
Richmond Dispatch, the Examiner and the
Norfolk Day Book-al of which entirely
confirm the facts Of our success. The
latter journal reports that our troops had
advanced on Elizabeth City on Monday and
attacked it, but that the rebels set the city on fire.
The Richmond Dispatch says that the son of Cen
Wise, Capt. o. Jennings Wise, of the Richmond
Blues. was dangerously wounded. and nearly all
his company cut of. Gen. Wise himself was, as
previously reported, lying sick at Nags Head, on
the mainland. After the destruction of Elizabeth
City, it is admitted by the Norfolk papers that our
troops laid siege to Edenton. Thus far the record
Of the Burnside expedition is glorious.
anything was wanted to crown the success of
the Union gunboat expedition in the Tennessee
river, which we announced yesterday, it is fur
nished by the details of the news in our columns
to-day. Not only did the gunboats under Lieut..
Phelps penetrate into Alabama as far as
Florence, ESQ miles from Paducah, capturing
In their way two rebel gunboats, but they
did 80 without opposition, aud their presence,
wherever the old flag Of the Union was seen
boating at the mast head, was hailed with undis-
suiseA joy by the inhabitants Of Southern Tennes-
zee and Northern Alabama. The officers Of the
boats invited to participate in the hospitali-
les of the people; numbers were anxious to enlist
under the banner that has so long protected and
glorihed the country, and actually two hundred
and fifty men from the centre of rebeldom returned
on the gunboat Tyler to fill up the boats crews.
Nothing, in fact, could more satisfactorily
prove the anxiety Of the overridden population
of this portion of the insurgent States to avail
themselves of the protection Of the government
and its flag than the conduct of the people upon
this occasion. The moral victory is thus, perhaps
as striking as the physical one obtained at Fort
Henry. On the approach of our feet up the river,
the rebels burned their steamers Sam. Kirkman,
Sam. Boyd, Julia Smith, Sam. Orr, Appleton and
Belle, to prevent them from falling into our hands.
Official dispatches from Lieutenant Phelps,
commanding the gunboat Conestoga, received at
headquarters. confirm previous reports of the
result Of the expedition. The steamers burn
stores. Two hundred stand of arms, q con-
siderable quantity Of clothing and stores were
captured, and the encampment Of Colonel Creus,
at Savannah, destroyed.
We publish to-day the full official account Of the
capture Of Fort Henry TO the Navy Department
from Commodore Foote. We also give an excel.
lent map Of the scene Of operations including Forts
Henry and Donelson, and the route Of our gunboats
10 Florence.
Taken in connection with these two decisive
victories on the Tennessee river, and Roanoke
Island, and the demoralizng effect which they
must necessarily produce in the rebel
country, the extracts from Southern jour.
mails which we publish to-day are most
significant, all Of them sustaining the intelligence
of our success at both points. And as further evi
dence Of the panic which has seized the rebels
upon our recent brilliant exploits, we have the
address Of General Jos. L. Johnston to the Army
of the Potomac, in which he makes q desperate
appeal to the twelve months soldiers to re-enlist
He describes the "enemy" as threatening them
with his enormous masses In the West, his exnedi.
tions assaultng them on the wbsl, Southern coast
and his gigantic army on tbs Potomas, "inauenced
by lust and 1addened by fauatioism.r within q few
hours march OF them. In the faap OF these san
gers Le inplores bis msp not to draw back nov