, 1865-02-23

The Fall OF Fort Fisher Lesson to
EUROPE.
fErnm fha London Times. Eeh IL

To the student Of the art Of war We COM
mend the story Of Fort Fisher for its sclen-
tif1c value, and to the general reader for the
exceeding interest Of the narrative. The fall
Of this place, after q long md terrible fire,
the Federals will look upon It, With justice,
Us brilliant success, and be encouraged by
1t to perse7ere in their operations against the
seacoast towns which still remnfn In the
bnnds Of their enemy. In this second expe-
dition there was, thanks to the stetnness Of
the Washington Government, no disagreed
ment of opinion, or, at any rate, Of action,
between the commanders. From first to last
the navy and the land force were fully in az
cord, and when the place had been crippled
by the fncessant fire Of the strongest fleet
which has been engaged during the war, the
troops Of Gen. Terry advanced to the attack
with spirit which showed that the disgrnce
Of Gen. Butler had not failed Us warning.
Yet the praise Is not an On one side. As the
details become more fully known, there Is In
creasfng reason to admire the pertlnacIty Of
the confedeIates- Seldom has 50 small gnr-
rison IN 50 limited a, space had to support
such q fire for 80 great length Of time. The
bravery OF Gen. Tcrry's troops Is undoubted ;
but they only advanced to the attack when
their opponents had been almost crushed by
the bemba,dmeat Of the Federal 'r0n-stads. !.
The effect Of this occurrence on the con-
tending parties can hardly be estimated.
According to their usual habit, the Southern
ers do not attempt to conceal their chagrln
at such loss, and one Of their organs con-
fesses, what some have been disposed to deny,
the port of Wilmington useless for the pur-
poses Of foreign trade. But how fur this new
ueteat will increase their disposition for peace
remains as ret unknown, Not 60. however,
with the North. The exultation produced BY
this victory rather exceeds what might have
been expected at time when the Federals
hays asne1ea 50 h Th,s Is
IRE, which had itself followed the bootless
naval operations at Charleston. The revul-
sion in public feeling tends to make the North
overvalae its last exploit. The power of the
fleet, the accuracy with which 1t WAS brought
into action, frigates and gunboats, ironsfdes
and doing their work with the precision of
machines, the successful assault on the place
coming hurd upon the liscouraging nsgu-
ments Of Gen. Butler, the ferceness Of the
struggle, and, finally, the prospect Of closing
the last great port Of the South, have
tld.nse: The navy especially Is highly
guishcd and useful part. 1t Is the
exploits Of this branch OF the service which
will be Of mcst Interest to our professional
mcn. It seems to be ascertained that the fire
Of the fort bad little effect on the hnlls Of the
American iron.clads, They are said to have
suffered little, the marks Of the Confederate
fire being enfy certain indentations On their
sides and the shooting away Of their boats
and the lighter parts Of their equipment. If
dispatch which We publish to-day Is to be
trusted, Admiral Porter believes tha: he Dos
eesses vessel which could destroy any ship
Of the British or French navy, lay our towns
under contribution, and chase away anYt thing
which We might send to blockade American
porte. The irou-c1ads lay for five days within
eight hundred yards OF Fort Fisher and re-
celved no mates ial injury. Ifthe Confederate
guns are capable Of comparison with our own,
the question Of ships against forts may prove
to have been considerably advanced by these
experiments. Every fight across the ocean
should be lesson for us, and this last de-
serves to be studied with unusual attention.