Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-01-28

The Navy Department mas received the
following from off Fort Fisher--January 15,
| ls65-telegraphed from Fort Monroe, Jsnua-
~ 18th:
| tn Hon. Gideon Wales Secretary Of The Navy:
SIR-Fort Fisher is ours. send q bearer Of dis
patches with a brief account of the affair.
Gen. Terry is entitled to the highest praise and
the gratitude CT his country for the manner in
which he has conducted his part ofthe operations.
/ He is my beau ideal Of soldier and general
Our cooperation has been most cordial; the re-
suit is victory, which sil always be ours when the
! army and navy go hand In hand.
The navy's loss In the assault was heavy. The
army loss is also heavy.
(signsd) D. D. PORTER,
Rear-Admiral Commanding.
| The correspondent of the Baltimore Amer
lean gives the following detailed account of
the attack on the fort:
FIRST DAr's RATTLE.
FLAG-SEIr MOUNT VERNON, Jan. L.
At o'clock this morning we were aroused
| by gun from the flagship and the burning
of the preparatory signal of red and green,
as an indication that it is time to be up and
stirring; the men are preparing breakfast
and getting through with the routine of
morning duty, so as to be in readiness at
dawn to commence the serious work of the
| day. The throng of vessels rest calmly on
the sea, the wind being too light to stir or
even ripple its surface. Truly the elements
promise to favor the great enterprise.
At o'clock the second signal was gwen
/ by the flagship, " Get under lcdyl" when the
work of weighing anchors commenced. At
halfpast the signals of the division COM
manders TO move forward were given and re-
sponded to, causing brilliant pyrotechnic
display.
The gunboat Zacony was sent ahead last
night TO anchor off Flag Pond Battery, and
the day not having yet dawned, her lights
/ can be seen as the steering point of the feet
on shore about a mile ahead of us.
The three frigates Wabash, Minnesota and
Colorado moved off first, led by Admiral Por-
ter's flag ship. They were followed by the
the Neag hOnSides and the Monitor feet. The
signals from the army transports added to the
scenic display. At the first dawn of day the
whole armada was in motion. The wind has
changed 70 due west during the night, and
coming off shore tends to render the landing
Of troops comparatively easy.
: At quarter to seven o'clock the Admiral
i signalled Storm line of BATTLE" whereupon
the Brooklyn with her line of vessels moved
along close to the beach in the following or
der Brooklyn, 20 guns; Moltican, 4; IacO7ty,
10; Kansas, s UnadiRa, z Huron, 4 Mau
nee, ); Pdrt,scket ~, 10; Seneca, A.; PontOo-
sac, 10; Nyaek, 4; Ya1atic, a; Neuces, Il
total, II6 guns. This division was ordered
to prepare for action and move in close to
the beach, to she'll the woods at the point
decided upon for the landing of the troops,
about three and half miles from Fort Fish
er, near the deserted Half Moon battery. In
few minutes the whole division was in posi-
ton, throwing shells into the narrow strip of
n, fba g.
Fear river, about mile inland, parallel with
the beach.
In the meantime the iron-clads moved into
position directly in front of Fort Fisher, the
Irolsides about three-fourths of a mile and
the monitors about half mile off, in the fol-
lowing order: Neac IrOnsides, CON- Radford,
30 guns Nonadnock, Com. Parrott, guns;
.Saug,g, Com. Gotham, 2 guns; CdnOnicus,
guns; Jfahopac, 2 guns. Before they got
into position the fort opened on them, but
hey secured their anchorage, when at $50
the hOHSides opened on the fort, and was fol-
lowed by the monitors with their tremendous
shells. Every shot struck in the embrasures,
and, exploding, threw clouds of sand high
into the air The fort occasionally respond
ed, but did not send more than one shot ev-
cry ten minutes, and at times so rapid was
our firing that they found it impossible to
work their guns.
Ate o'clock the boats of the feet were
called away to assist in landing troops. The
woods had in the meantime been thoroughly
sheiIed, and no enemy had appeared. The
transports were enabled to go within half
mile of the shore, and they were soon sur
rounded by not less than 200 boats, supplied
from all the vessels of the feet. Several
tugs also Joined in the work, and carried the
soldiers to within 100 yards of the beach,
nh tbav franSfarraH 70
The tents and camp equipage were also land
ed, with several days provisions for the en-
tire force, 5000 strong, at o'clock. The
boats from all the transports moved for the
shore, and in a few minutes the first 500 men
stepped on the beach and planted their regi-
mental flag on one of the highest sand-hills,
amid cheering from the transports and the
feet Not sign of any enemy could be
seen at this time in any direction. At 10
o'clock, about 4, 900 troops having been land
ed, skirmish line was sent forward OH the
beach. Admiral Porter now signalled to
Capt. Gibson, commanding the Saratoga, to
move with his gunboat division on each side
of the line OF the frigates, and shell the beach
in advance of the skirmishers. The woods in
advance of the pickets were thoroughly she'll
ed up to within u mile and half of Fort
Fisher.
The firing on the fort from the monitors
and NeaO IrOnSideS was magnificent sight,
From eight o'clock in the morning up to four
| o'clock in the afternoon, the monitors poured
in their murderOus shells at the rate of four
per minute. The whole number thrown in
| that time were about two thousand. Every
shot struck the embrasures or parapet of the
fort, and the gunnery exhibited was never
surpassed. During this time, the fort proba-
bly, threw three hundred shells in return, but
the difficulty they had in manning their
guns amid the explosion of our shells, and
the clouds of sand that constantly enveloped
the work from our well-directed shots, doubt
less married their gunnery, as most of their
shells struck beyond or short of the mark
All Of our vessels, however, received honor
able scars in the fight. The damage to the
fort, by outward appearances, was most dis
tinct. About four o'clock, dense and con-
tinued smoke from the inside of the fort in.
dicated that some of the rebel huts had been
fred.
At A o'clock the Admiral signalled to the
vessels in the line of battle number one, to
take the positions marked out for them on
the chart and join in the bombardment Fol-
lowing rapidly was an order to the line of
battle number two to take position and join
in the bombardment. It Immediately moved
forward, presenting an array of the largest
vessels in the service, a magnificent specta-
Gle of old wooden walls with their ponderous
ornaments. At 20 minutes to o'clock these
two immense divisions, carrying 3l2 guns in
addition IN tho iFopoladc ioinad in the and