, 1865-12-07

consequences attended the approach 10 and capture
The principal works Of defence bctwecn the city
ard fortress which guarded the entrance 70 the ball.
n M b. as ss Fiji
and spanfEh Fort BY tho 50 Of April they had
been completely tnEssted BY he troops and during
they were, alter short but seycre bombandment,
captured. ard with them ftom 1,Go0 to =! COO men,
With sixteen hcary guns. WIN TIC ley to Mobile
teries Tracy and Huger, xerc within easy reach,
and On The eycning ofthc 11th they wcre asacuated
On The 1sth the troops wcrc conveyed 10 the west
he o. oe ape
It's share Of this WORK, but Il was aoon asce1alncd
thnt the city was at the mercy Of our a1ns, all the
formal sui1endef vas therefore dcnaaded by 1lrn.
Granecr and Acting Rcar Admltal Thatcher, which
Tas complied Ttth and possession was iaten of The
immense strength nnd extent. Nearly 900 guns
were captured some Of them new and Of The hcavi-
The rrhel army, On graduating the city. retrcatcd
up the Tonb1ctee Preparations 10 follow and
capture them were far advanced. when. % tho 4sh
OF
he Water Of Alabama, 10 surrender all the yc.tels,
StIee.. mcn M Gnd EsoGSfx yet ~ aloaa @ and ~ nndes
Terms Of the surrender being the same as those OF
Gen. Lee, were accepted. On the 10th Of May the
fozEa1 surrender took p!sce- and the insur.ent
surrendered. md lis oaloels, Is, nen, and :, M.
r7rc were parulcd and permitted 10 return 70 their
homes
.ebci sor1ed points on thc Guif coat, soon capif.
nlated., 1hc ior.s at the nrstnanaed place we5e
On q ae sSs q asaseys Msy ead s H.
10 no oppo 10 tho ceup,.ion Of that place By
rendered, md ihe supremacy q. rbs government vas
once more established On The entire coast, from
Maine TO and including Texas.
REDUCTION OF 1uENATA1 ronCE-IuE sQCApRoSa.
Immediately ai,er the fall Of Fost Fisher and the
ibs gradual reduction d TIC naSai ioees employed
On the duties OF blockade. Tie recovery OF CGay-
lesion. Mobile and Galveston justified sim further
red measure. were promptly taken to reduce the
fquad1ons and econonise expense. On The :sth
oi February letters were addressed to Aamirals
them that he department. waz Of opinion hat tbc
fri Of Fort Fisher and hc possession of Charleston
would enable the department to reduec naysl ex-
pen:es. They were therefore directed 10 send nos.h
spch purchased vessels needed extensive rpai1s,
and 4to my naval stores that wcrc not required.
careful crntiny Of reQulsiion,was onjoined before
formed that they would be expected 10 use ever;
po+sb1e exezon and cate TO diminish TIC EXP .nses
Of their respective commands.
About the 1st Of Nay orders were lssued to urtbtr
rcdrce the squaarous in oar domestic tvAiers opo-
half Near thc close Of sest month i further
ditatnntion w1s directed, 80 that the entic
lOlCG IE@alI3eN IN CQult1latlOQ EDol1 mol GI-
coed one hundred vessels. In the c1rly part OF July
nrother and still further reduction was made, leav-
'nF bet thirty steamers. which. with receiving stoze
thps eemEotsd s , sn15y Gn,, eoekadins sq9aFons
On the 8lst Of July the Potomac 1ot1lla, Which,
Endel Commander I. a. Parkef, hsa rendered &C
The Ntssrs1ppt sqqsaron- comprising at On:
lime about Que hundred Steamers was gradually re-
diced, and On the lAh Of August wholly discon-
unued. Acting Hear Admiral Lee was relieved,
and Commodore Livingston, who had acquitted
himself With enerCy at The Norfolk station, and sub
ssquenily al Cairo was lnttusicd with the duty Of
dlrEoslng Of the vessels and closing up the atais
o! That fquadrrn-
HE rcducnon Of the blocsndine force involved
June: Therefore, tic North and South Atlantic
tauadrons we're con.o olidated into one, kuown1hcsc
atttr - the Alsutlc squadron, commanded By Act
April, hat sncceeded Fear Admiral Porter In com
@ilsl DahlErgn VI de.aehed nom tbe command 81
1ae Al Washington on the lnh Of July. :
Acting Rear Admiral Radford. havtn. BEEN ap
pointed commandant Of the Washington navy yaSdn
vas succeeded by Commodore Joseph Lanman
ihe eou,nand OF The Atlanlc equaae0n on the lot
7hecons o]idatiop OF the East Cult squadron, com.
manded By Acting Hear Admiral stnhltng. and the
West Gulf squadron under Acting Rsar Adnlral
Thatcher, was also contaminated. nnd thereafter
fcg Rear-AdnIrat Thatcher remained in command,
md Actng Rca1Aduirs1 strahlins returned 10
Boston In July.
leside+ The vessels compottns the several squad
Ions othe1s are in commission in various caplc1ttes
The James Adcer t. stationed at Aspnwall; The
Sn n a - asss1ea a. 10 o. Inc noThsfI ees; hs M
soto Is in the West Indies; The Massachusetts, and
south Carolina arc Sill continued ~ supp!yships
lcr The aQuadroDs Oh the coast; tbs Constitution.
Macldonsa, end scye1nl others arc connected with
Naval Academy and twenty vessels nru need at the
theis sre ac,uay to eonnaission II tIl,s tim-, It
home and nbEnad oce hsulTtd and sereRteen r<ssas
| efa4 desa1t<ions. which number, should The exi-
gcneiee Of ,hs sesree permit, N7ll be still further
In January, while Re.1.Admlral Porte. vas en-
gagrd before Wilmington. Affairs on James river
rccnssy OF The army by demonstration The mart
oi the rebels With their aEmozcd rams froin Rich
VI. d .nS 1S ssna .anss
Vios-Admiia Fal7scnt, then in Washington. was
selected for this epecial duty, and on ths 18th Of
4he s @ Sso Me
! mond was not long maintained md the occasion
Paving passed, Vice-Admilal Far7a.ut was relieved
"A special squadron q vessels. consisting 81 Tbs
Vanderbilt. TnasaEot1, PoWhatan, Ind The turreted
t5on,el.d e Monaanosh; !s: HAMPTON Ro3ds q Z On the
s1uadron IN ihc Pacific.
In p ~ Ps, t0ise on
on detailing 70 Other dutic1 their officers md crew.
in making provision for lazgc surplus Of ordnance
l
devolyed npon the department. and it. butraus.
Some idea may be formed Of the r1teot OF that Ia.
Ior. from, the TACT that there were IN the sestra!
Other dnty, four i1r7dred ami sec::atyoas r.estta
cnd t.c0 hoasasf four hundred ant EffyJtrf Ftoss.
There are noE but twenty -ntnc scsscfs remaining
On The coast, carrying Iwo hundred and ten guns,
exclusive Of hoTlIc1h. Disposition has been tnadc
cf allthe osher1. Some Of the vessels ale laid up
scrrfcc bri mnny have been sold, aud, With most ol
saifon., s1e now employed in peaceful occupation.
the = dnty my q nj intending 10 our Interests abrosd
prompted The rc-e.,ablIshing OF the foreign squad
fons which had been suspended. The European,
the BTayfl and the East India eguadron5 have beeA
organized anew upon rs economical q feate as y
consistent with ther efficiency, the interests ol
commerce, ard proper regard ios our position az
I pation-
These equadron., with another which Ia soon 10 b
put in operation IN the West lndtcs and The Pacific
tquaarcn which has Eescr hcen discontinued, ars
considered sufficient for TIC encouracesncpt and
protection of our eounry1nen engaged tn 1ectu
mate commercial pursuits md for upho'ding our
Come notifications Of the limits Of the rcspect
I've Equ:drons, and the substitution OF steamer
for sailing vessels; Will intnse more y1gor lno the
Re greater activity and vigilance in tueir operations
The un1uber Of yetsels and crews On fosetEn ser
Vice NIL NIT be less; Jet the superiority Of steau
mcut und new patterns OF ordnance, will hefealte.
give onr force abroad greatly augmented ea1clenc5
and power.
Admiral L A. Goldsboroagh, and consists ol The
following ycssela: the Colorado, keanargc, Tleon'
detora, Fro!ic. lno, and G9srd, to which the Can
ration Of This squadron, besides the coast Of Eu
rope and the Mediterranean, will comprise Madeira
he Cana1ses. and the African coast as far as st
The Brazil squadron % commanded By Acting
nsta s,:aa Saaosin M Rp:i sshsS@ai kansas
Supply, and Onward. Besides the eastern coast Of
South America, this squadron Will cruise on tht
Ln1rGo. ..-.-~
H. East India squadron sensisls =: present q
and Rellef The Shenandoah Will be shortly added
to THE number. Tails squadron Is commanded By
Acting Fear Admiral 4. Il. Bell. who called frou
NsT b: ae1 npy n ~ ssagp s son
Acting Iiear Admiral George + Pearson, md com
s san; sslnnae, snwa1ee, Mohonso, Wateree. sagi
raw, s.. Ms1y's, csane, Eyaek ind Tn.esror9, ~:
two store ships, the Fredonla and Farallone.
The iIoncAds) VIII be laid up ID the harbor Of sar
rrr.eiseo, read, for any emergency that may aIise
The e9tcnsiye limits son' ae4
ne wso. ~ Msfsn coa5t ,S o. Nse NJ. ;he r.n,dT n
crecfing population Of The States ard me EteNini
aud expanding commerce, md vast interests N
vo!red. reudcflt It advisable that the naval ioFcs
quarter. conside1abIeaddihon to the number
vessels will therefore be made, and It t. ptopos~
al an early day TO ulaEe division Of the squadron
Int few vessels. md they on merely tempolar
duty, have rs yet been employed In tho Wes
Indics. The Connecticut, The Kansas, the DE Sott
aEd nearly nl The vessels which have been sent Il
thc coast Of BRAZIL, have visited some Of tbs NOR
important points particularly in The Island Of ST
Domingo. and given attention to American later M
India fquadrun to cruise In thosn ssatcss where
have 70 large trade, and where, owing 10 ths
proximity OF the islands 10 our shorca It s esseu
tIal That We should cultivate friendly relations
Commodore James $. Palmer has been dealguatet
10 command the squadron, having for his 1sg shll
the Rhode Island. In addition to the De Soto
, ! Il al tn nd \,