, 1865-02-27


rice field, after march Of four miles emeFgt
into the woods in the rear Of the enemy
works and on telegraph road from Whining
ton to EmithTillc, upon which the rcbe! woft
were situated, while Casements and Aeliy
troops mored rapidly down this roaa' ~ u
Moore was sent to the old public road fnrthe
west, and the only line Of retreat lett to tn
| enemy.
cyoseir e had been effected, and hastily cor
ttructed rife pits to protect tnear rear move
| menf. Our tfot ps came In slght Of the work
md aeearllcd them impetuonsly aud with til
widest enthusiasm, all seeming to under
stand and enjoy the brilliant game. The enc
nv opened rapidly with grape and cannIste1
but filing hurTiedIy and with ill-directed aim
our loss was only three killed and twenty
eeyen wounded. The works We're carried q
| the point Of The bayonet, and the enem,
rGuted. Two 1epound guns were captured
Win caiffons complete. and one Whitwoftl
disabl.d, together with Colonel slmonton'
famous Charleston city battalion Of thirty
two officers and $50 men. The rest escapet
IN confusion, Col. Moore not being able tt
Ieach the road IN time to intercept the fugi
tyes. Such movement reflects the greates
credit On General Cox, and worthy Of th,
1.Sd coIEs. It proved the key to Wilmington
On The night of the o0th, the rebels sen
down eighteen tloating torpcdoes through ii,
feet Onc struck a picket boat and cxplo
dcd, killing Two men. The others passet
ba1mlessly By.
0n the 21st, all was quiet On Fedora
Point, except that Gen. Ames rcconnoitered
the forts on the left Of TerTy's line and found
tbem TOO strong to justify an assault. His
loss Was ore Killed and ele{en wounded. me
1ect continued to lombard them busily dur
ing the day. the enemy replying vigorously
With very long range guns, General Coz
moved Gtm Town Creek at 10 o'clock, a. m.,
and reached the Brunswick river opposite
Wilmington. at 10 O'Clock, p. m: Tie rebels
did not resist, but burned the railroad bridge
crossing 10 the Island and fired the pontopn
bid &c and cut It adrift- The 10th kentucky
!Col- White secured a few poutoons partially
burned, and crossing his regiment sk1Emished
ncrGss the island and established IN outpost
On cuuseWay over swamp and within NUS
ket range Of the wharses. Upon this narrow
way the II bells opened from the city with two
Wlitwo1th guns. Still, before dark, our
ski,mieh line was established in the swamp
and few shells were thrown into the city, to
convince the rebels that we were In force
On the first appearance Of our troops on
the Island, the rebels set fire to the Govern
mcnt cotton shed, and to an unfinished iron
clad, md withdrew into the city. The con-
stcrnat:on Of the enemy at our unexpected
success in reaching the city Was plainly Been
IN their actions. This success, quite uncx-
pccted by us, was not looked for until after
the arrival OF the two remaining divisions Of
the 23d Corps, then at S1nithyille. But for
sound Judgment, General Cox won1d have
lost the great advantage gained. Just as
Schot1cld was preparing to follow Cox at
noon, message arrived from Terry saying
11at the enemy in very heavy f,rce was III
his front, and that from informa toa deemed
trustworthy, achievements had arrived from
Charleston, and he could not hold the line if
attacked.
This was sent to Cox With orders to return
at once to the mouth Of Town Creek where
boats would be in readiness to cross lis CON-
mand to Terry's assistance. The order did
not reach Cox until dark, and he feeling from
Lis own observation and information that the
order given was false, concluded to renaln
and sent Moorc's brigade hack to report and
schofeld at once opposed the action and Or
dered him to remain. The result proved the
wisdom Of this conclusion. The rebels began
to withdraw at dark and at daylight The
place was eyacuated. Cox's skir1nIshers
crossed into the city at this hour and Teny's
forces marched through the place at 9 a. IN.
md pressed the enemy: The ferry boats
his main force until noon. The feet arrived
at the wharf in the middle Of the afternoon
and Immediately fired salute.
In the opinion Of eminent engineers, Cape
Fear river, from Wilmington to the ocean, ia
more strongly fortified than any one Of our
northern larbors, Or any river IN the world
nineteen forts and batteries lineits approach
cs within the short distance named, ali Of
the heaviest character, most scientifically
constructed, and Thoroughly asmed--three
lines Of formidable distractions, consisting
Of spiles, torpedoes. aunken ships and cribs,
-chaIn cable, and RATS Of heavy timber &C.
cnlely fastened together. The entire front of
in hr ~ al
and deep swamps, stretching from the river
to the ocean, and only crossed BY two mar
TOW causeWays. Then three miles outside OF
these works was q second strong line. The
city WAS capable Of stronger defense
than any ne have taken during the
=" scloaeld was ISL most % Heartily s cone' ~ e'atulated
on al sides for this tlattering result Of his
combination. Only one division, the Sd, and
one brigade, Moore's, Of the I'd Army Corps,
we're engaged. The remainder Of The I'D
Corps did not arrlve. The total loss on both
sides Of tie river alter sehodeld took COM
mand will fall trile below 200. This was
owing to the fact that the position assaulteds
could be turned. But lew citizens left the
city except snch as the enemy forced to enter
the ranks. All able-bodied men hid them
selves and thronged the streetsas soon as our
forces entered. The ladies were also out in
force, and the negroes crowded all the av-
enues~ NoI y h5Mptuu VI dnluUel1J was
displayed By man, woman or child through.
oufthe day. Early in the morning q ID ~ge class
III citizens began to Aelp themselves to goods
in various stores, but provost guard soon
stopped this traffic 30 peculiar to rebel towns.
The city contains number Of Very fua
church edi1ces and public buildings, and
many beautiful private residences, but these
serve TO make the general shabbiness Of tue
rest mere conspicuous. The Union prisoners
had been confined at Camp Lamb, about nine
miles from the city, and their treatment was
worthy Of hends from hell. Though agree-
ments for general exchange had been COM
p1ctcd at Richmond, the starving process
goes on. For three days before the evacua-
ton these prisoners had not received 3
mouthful to eat. To. the credit OF citizens,
many attempts were made TO relieve them,
but food IN all casses vas taken away from
them by order OF the officer in command and
trodden into the ground before the eyes Of
prisoners and citizens. 1t WIS thought tina.
700 were recovered, bnt many In dying con-
ditioD. All which has appeared In the public
prints In regard TO this matter utterly fnils
to prepare one for the awful reality.
Afte1 neEyiug myself for the visit, and try
slowly over 4 mi'e to the house where they
had been collected, my brain recled for mo-
ment as the eickeuing reality burst upon me.
An officer came IN, and those who had never
quailcd On the field Of death, whose cheeks
had never blanched, stood aghast with tears
in Their eyes, grinding their teeth, c1enchi1g
their ha1ds, and thanking God that there was
D he'll Pale, hngggcrd, and emaciated skcle-
tons glared on us from CLASSY eyes, whose |
light Of reason WIS just expiring. With mat !
I'd hair and skin blackcned with smoke, |
scarcely covered with the hlthiest sbrcds OF |
INST of rebel clothing, without blankets, and |
most Of them without coats and shues, they |
haN 1TTf II NJ nrt% r$o
he majority could with difficulty be reused |
j iom their list1essness.
Many had forgotted their Names Some
could be aroused by asking them Of home, I
Kives and children; these magic words |
ringing them back from the grave into |
which they were sinking with hands clutchin.
.he bread our soldiers 6aought. As they lay
me to another tendcrly smoothing their aw-
nl passage to the grave, knowing that the
authors Ct all this misery had escaped How
:onsoling to repent vengeance Is mine,
Will repay, saith the Lord.n
The following arc the mines Of the Wes-
more are scattered through the town.
Joseph E1mrtch, 1T Ohio Artillery; Jno. Il.
ashmend. eoth Ind; Geo. Oswald, co F, 5th
;oln: G e. ish Mo AiSe;t II hsrsr.1 Ws
g Wn EyeF@aa @ i, ST iow. Se Cav ssssiSH: r.
Rhodes col, Sd III. cavalry jno. Tsy]or ads Fiji
United states; Taylor Weided,, Co II, iii Ill
aya11y r. Ronodent, Co D, a0ih cavalfy Wm.
4th Illinois cavalry Jos. Atwood, 1st Ind. Jno'
2. Lee, CO G, 14th III. cavalry Jno. .Zerveirsoa,
% j. 18th Wis; Croyden Pierce. Co 4. 99th 1nd.
o Z, 14th Ill. caratry; Vim. MuushaY, Co Il, szh
1ichigau.
Richmond papers Of The sd have been re-
eived. The following Is a full abstract Of
heir contents. The Enquirer saJs: "Aftairs
re becoming interesting In the vicinity Of
on account of the near proximity
r the ener,v.n We take the following para |