The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-01-04
OUR WILNINGTON CORES
PONDENCE.

that they have lost much of their fresh
ness, though they still retain a good
deal Of interest. We give them as they
come to hand:
WILMINGTON, December 25-S P. NJ.
We live in wonderful times. This is
the Sabbath day and yet our. enemies
neither keep it holy themselves nor
allow us to do so.-It is Christmas day
the anniversary Of the day when {" the
heavenly host" made proclamation Of
"pcace on earth" and "good will toward
men,; and yet these same enemies give
us war instead of peace, and fearful fire
of shot and shell instead of good will.
We arc not even permitted to drink our
eggss-rog in quiet, nor to fill the bags of
the little ones with the gifts of thought
lul Santa Claus, nor to repair to the
house of God, except with the accom-
panimcnt of 15-inch Shells and rattlins
window panes.
The Federal fleet which had been
lying off this port for some days, and
which consisted, it was supposed, chiefly
of transports, was found to be composed
of over fifty ships Of war, including two
monitors, several armorcd vessels, and a
large proportion Of heavily armed frisates
and sloops This formidable fleet stood
i'll at / o'clock yesterday morning, and
at twenty minutes to one, it opened q
furious fire upon Fort Fisher, the princi-
pal work at the mouth Of the Cape Fear.
An English naval officer who was with
Sir Charles Napier in the Baltic, and at
Sebastopol, says the fire exceeded any
thing he had ever seen. 1t was main
taincd with unabated vigor until halfpast
five, when the fleet drew Oft. The enc
my's shot averaged thirty to the minute,
being nine thousand for the five hours he
engaged the fort. The space above the
fort was filled with white putfs of smoke
from bursting shells, many of which
were of frightful size. Some of these
monster projectilcs passed entirely over
the fort and fell in the river beyond
And this, too, Notwithstanding the fleet,
with the exception of the ron-clads, stood
Oft at long range.
The fort replied slowly and delibe-
rately; but with what effect is not known,
though Colonel Lamb, commandant of
the work, telegraphs that he is confident
the enemy suffered more than he did
There were twenty three men wounded
on our part; one mortally, three severely
and nineteen slightly. Two guns were
dismountcd, not by the fire Of the enemy,
but by unskill(ul 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
internal fire Of to-day. The attack was
renewed at 10 o'clock, and ragged with tre-
mcndous violence until six this evening.
Such rain of shot and shell never be-
fore fell upon any spot Of earth since
gunpowder was invented. But the Con
fcderatcs stood to their work in most
gallant style. Many of them had never
been under fire before; and yet they
received the dcvouring blast from the
feet like men who knew not what fear
was. We have no report of the casual
ties to oday, 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 telegrams received during the
afternoon, however, before the wires were
broken, stated that all was well, and that
the garrison had replied to the cnemy's
fire less frequently than on yesterday.
But the most serious part of the fight
to-day remains to be told. A portion of
the fleet, moving up the beach two and u
half miles above Fort Fisher, swept the
shore with grape and canister for an
hour, at the end Of which the boats were
lowered, and a force, estimated to be three
brigades, was landed. This force was
Immediately engaged by Kirklands bri-
gadc; but, at half-past o'clock, the
enemy still maintained his lootingon the
beach, after two hours fighting. 1t is
not improbable that other troops will be
landed tonight, and possibly some artil-
lcry.
The enemy is now between Whining
ton and Fort Fisher, and has cut of COM
munication by land with the latter. If
he is not dislodgcd soon, Fisher must fall
as Fort Morgan did, and with its fall the
port Of Wilmington 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 matter of time ;
aud then, away 60 Fisher, Caswell and
all the other works by which the harbor
and town are defended.
There has been gross derclictiOn OF
duty between here and Richmond; but
whether the military or railway authori'
ties arc responsible for it, remains to be
seen. But more of this hereafter.