The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-01-13

The 14ad New York, which had the adj
vance of the force sent on shore, look up
a position very close to Fort Fisher and
threw ND a line of rife-pits / in the sand.
/ One man crept' through the ditch of the
fort, climbed the parapet, and carried of
"a a prize The flag which had been shot
! from the staff by the fire Of the fleet.
A squad Of men made sreconnoisance
towards the sally ports, where they inter
ceptsd and shot rebel orderly, who was
on his way for reinforcements of light ar
tinery. q These facts would seem to show
that the garrison of the fort was either so
weakened or compelled to keep so securely
under cover as to have prevented it from
offering any serious resistance to deter.
mined assault. But it is said that Gen.
! Weitzel made careful examination in per-
| son, and giving it as his opinion that an
assault could not successfully be made,
Gen Bstler ordered the withdrawal of the
troops. While Gen.. Weitzel was on board
the Ben Deford, consulting with General
Butler, Gen. Curtis told General Ames
that he thought he could carry the fort
with his brigade. Gen. Ames gave him
permission to try; but before the proper
dispositions could be made darkness came
on, and the peremptory command to re-
embark was transmitted to Gen. Ames.
THE RESPONSIBILITY. aJ es1-
Whether Gen. Butler and the military
officers of whom he took counsel are re-
sponsible for the check which this colossal
expedition has received in the very outset
of its career, certain it is that in the feet
he is universally blamed, in vehement and
emphatic terms, for continual delays when
the expedition was preparing and for
lack Of enterprise when the action was
in progress. As an indication of the in,
tensity of the feeling against Gen. Butler
which at present pervades the feet,
it is stated that q naval officer whose
name is familiar in every household in the
land, denounced him as /" either a black
hearted traitor or an arrant coward !" An.
other, equally well-known, said g ," he
forced himself into the expedition, and
believe he come down with the deliberate
purpose of defeating the enterprise. He
was determined to have his own way, and,
seeing that he could not, was bent
on thwarting everything" Naval Of
fcers assert that the fire of the fleet
had s!lenced the fort, and driven its
defenders to seek an hole for shell
ter, and that bold dash would have
effected the capture Of the place, almost
without resistance. On the other hand,
as Admiral Porter admits, Gen. Weitzel
is an accomplished engineer, and his opin-
ion is worthy of consideration. General
Weitzel is young and ambitious officer,
who would, scarcely throw away likely
chance of distinguishing himself. Yet the
fleet did suoh tremendous work, and SEEM
ingly with so fair chance of success, so
far as its share of the engagement was
concerned, that the public will be apt to
cast the odium of failure ON Gen. Butler
and his advisers. .--p RI :! 1886
The Blame of the Failure Laid to
Admiral Porter. '..-
NEW YORK, JAN The 7ribune's
Norfolk correspondent says of the Will
mington Expedition: Transports were off
Fort Fisher Ghree days before the war ship
arrived, in good weather, and the enemy
were known to be in small force; that
theiI coal was exhausted and they had to
return to Beaufort, leaving again as soon
as possible; that without waiting for their
return as agreed, Porter exploded the
powder boat and opened fire; that troops
were to land when the powder boat was
exploded and take advantage of the shock
produced, and that when the troops did
land Weitzel found the fort uninjured and
an assaulting party would meet more
bloody repulse than at Fort Wagner. He
| advised withdrawal, to which Butler as
sented. Military authorities expected Por-
| ter would run the gauntle, and get in the
rear of the Fort on Cape Fear River, and
with the fleet cut off Wilmington aud thus
shut up the river When on the ground
the Admiral was reque ted to do this, but
| refused. a''.'1 -".sH
The flag that was captured was taken
outside of the fort by brave officer, and
the dispatch bearer was shot one-third of
mile from the fort. Not one o: our
men got inside of the fort or any of its
defences. While the transports were
| awaiting for the war ships the first three
days, the rebels sent down heavy REIN
forcements to Sugar Loaf camp, in the
vicinity of the fort, and these reinforce
ments were ready to assist the fort in case
| of attack. t..a!E - .-ia.51. g..
1 New YORK, Jan. THE Wilmington
correspondent of the Richmond Dispatch
says our forces were at one time between
Fort Fisher and Wilmington, cutting off
communication both by land and water.
II they had not been dislodged soon, Fort
Fisher would have fallen as Fort Morgan
did, and with its fall the fate of Whining
| ton would have been sealed.
NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN
CONVENTION.
CoSooRD, N. A., Jan. 4.-The Repub-
| lican State Convention assembled here to-