Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1865-02-23
nA-Tho York News, of the 18Th January,
cives the followinff account Of
TIVE ATTACK cS WILMINGTON.

TVE ATTACK CS WILMINGTON
The land force Of the expedition against
Wilmington formed for the attack OF that
work on the morningofthe fifteenth. hokes
Confederaies having been, 1t appears near
the field of action, they were confronted Dy
General Paine, drawn up In order oil oa.''e
across the peninsula terminating IN Feder-
al Point. 0uly the advance of Hokes men
can have been present, seeing that the l0rce
thus blocking their way to the relief oil rort
Fisher do not appear To have been assalleu'
The division of General Ames, having It's
rear covered by Paine, moved down the Pc
ninsula TO the assault, while terribln pom
bordment from the fleet rained shells INTO
the fort as tbickly as ordinary hail. Ihe
marines moved simultaneously against the
seo-f,ce of the work, but were driven back
bv a fire of musketry that, at such snort
range, must have been most deadly. Cur
tis's brigade moved upon the western face
of Fort Fisher and Immediately atierward
Pennybacker's brigade moved, supported oy
Bells, against the main front.
Retarded under the deadly fire OF the
place by stockales, abatts and all possible
obstructions, the movement was not one oil
dragged out to the appalling length OF two
hours. And, with grape, canister, MIME IN
its face. how murderous must these two
hours have been Foot by foot, under that
fearful fire, the attack pressed slowly on,
Slipping, rs it went, in its own blood, until,
finally. after reckless expenditure Of life,
il succeeded in obtaining Judgement on
part of the parapet. Abbott's brigade with
drawn from the line of battle, covering the
rear of the attack, in from of Hoke's troops,
was brought up to reinforce the exhausted
assailants of the fort; and, after five hours
fighting succeeded, by about 10 o'clock at
night, in obtaining possession of the whole
work The Confederates succeeded in re
treating. They ftl back to the point of the
peninsula. with the view, We presume, Of
renewing the struggle from Battery Lamb.
Whether or not that work was captured by
assault does npt yet appear but, whatever
fighting may have taken place after the cap
ture of Fort Fisher, the garrison was forced,
finally, to surrender.
The Federal flag floats upon Fort Fisher,
Mound or Lamb battery dominates that
work; but MS it has not been mentioned by
the dispatches, we presume it has not been
captured. If this be so, the work on Fed
eral Point is by no means done, and may
turn out highly incomplete, if such be the
case while Hoke's division is gathering like
a storm i'll its rear
The possession of Fort Fisher crJs of
from the blockade runners one channel into
Cane Fear River. 1t does not however, give
4 Federal ships success to the river free from
interruption. The island that lies on the
opposite side of that channel-New Inlet
is bristling with guns, several of wbicf
may, we presume, be supposed to throw
missiles across New Inlet. Fort Caswell
however, on the south side of the river eros
ses that channel with its fire and still com,
mands one of the entranc to the Cape Fear
in the interests of the feet-footed craft OF
the blockade runners. That and several
other formidable works must be reduced
before the port of Wilmington can be closed
but even then, n large expenditure of blood
will be made on the road of any attempt to
capture Wilmington.
The losses in the attack on Fort Fisher
are not stated in the dispatches. Four OF
five brigades having been for two hours
working their way to the parapet under the
fire of twelve hundred rifles and forty OF
fifty pieces of artillery, and fighting having
been maintained for five houl still further
it is simply preposterous to set down the
losses at FIVE hundred. How great they are
we cannot pretend to say, but we know
sufficient of the facts to declare that they
must be enormous. The gains on the occa-
sion were, at the date of the official dispatch
ten or twelve hundred prisoners, the con-
troll but not the free use OF, one channel
into the Cape Fear, while Fort Caswell, with
all its grim supports, still keeps open the
port of Wilmington. If Mound Battery be
in the hand, of the Confederates, the losses
will be still greater, and the gains, perhaps
still less.