The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-12-30

l'lJRItES

We give below the letters OF the cor
respondents of the Uisput,A at Whining
ton, North Cai dina, both Of which would
have heon received some days since but
for the interruptions in the mails They
vail be found very interesting
WILHINGroN, December n, 1861.
Sunday wight, rumor- OF an impend
iug attack upon this place were sgain
current and, a. usual, caused no little
excitement The alarm hell was rung
and the citizens, called TO aIIns; but no
one could tell from what pnsnt tfIs danger
was artrehcnded At last, tine reports
beyan to come in, and we learned fleet
Of sixty sail had left Fortress Monroe for
the ayowed purpose of making all attack
upon the forts and the dciences at the
muuth Of the Cape Fear At the same
time, it was said further, a force OF twenty
Thousand men, uudcr Butler, had landed
nnlucwhere in the Roanoke oT Neuhe
rlvrI4, and was preparing to march upon
this city by land. The best Information
from scouts, and also from Richmond,
seemed to confirm these reports.
the fleet came off Fort Fisher New III
Leland in a short time thirty vessels
of all classes, were In sight Among
them the Wabash and Colorado were re
coguiZed Throughout the day great
activity was noticeable, the square rugged
vessels being busy in lowering their top
sail yards, housing spars and clearing
away Tor action; and it was expected they
would engage the forts at high tide. The
day went by, however, without any move
Iucnt Ola their part beyond the prepara-
tons mentioned nor was anything tar
ther heard from the land force higher ul
the coast
Daring the night a gale arose outside,
blowing ON shore, and this morning II Is
terrific, Such storm has not been ic4'
here for some years. Nothing more
favorable could have occurred; ana II
seemed as il the SPECIAL hand OF al
oycr-ruling Providence was in it. W hei
went out, the wind blew icartully.-
Houses swayed to aud fro, loOsened Nhn
giles sailed through the air, and the blind
ia. dust flew ii donsc clouds, mime
mouth. eyes and cars, and almost snlio
citing the struggling pedestrian. IN
trees hont and rocked, while the leave
flew in drifts and the dead limbs TELL I
the ground. Many fences III the tow
were ievelled In the river, the sigh
was more interesting, and reminded on
of those lively marine pictures oi ufhe'
or the sketches i'll the harbors OF ostef.
aud Boulogne by the French artists ;
the same school The waves ran hig
and drlted rapidly in. The ferry boat
were nearly swamped and all the vG
sells in the harbor had to be securel
fastened to tho wharf, while, on dccl
every thing was lashed as in gale
sea The smaller ateamers had To get u
stoam in case they broke loose from the
moorings, and the receiving ship Arct
tnr kane's old ship dritted nor anchor
and had To be bound, head and stern,
the shore From SIX to eight the VII
Increased Eight, nine, ten, 1t continu
To blow ieariuny, threatening 10 uhFt
the houses and uproot the trees. In a
dition to the dust aud small PARTICLES
sand that struck against ones iaco Ii
bird shot, the air vas white with not
lent cotton whlrling III fantastic circ
like pallen or thistle down upon il SUI
Incr breeze Large crowds gathered /
der the Ice of corner buildings and wat'
cd the singular sights, whlo the dand
,wirled their mustaches IN store 200
keeping an eye out for neatly turn
ankles, and - ankles; but 10" OF
fairer sex dared the iaving blast. A "a
OF teal attempted to beat up the VII
but, making no progress for halt an no
finally plunged into the river; b'
of school girls tried to walk up tie strt
but failing, turned and scudded bel
the wind to place of safety Elo'
O'Clock, the barometer sinks twel
and the air grows heavy, while drop
rain begin to fall. At one, came hho"
and even in mid-winter was heard
mu.tering thunder, like the roll OF q
tant artillery.
of course, with such gale within
precincts of town with forests aro'
aud d background Of hills upon an
broken stretch Of sea, it must have b
more sensibIy felt. Within the gro'