The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-01-21

eOlOfS. with tho advance or Tetlrln8 OI
the reports Of muslket firing, were viewed
With intense, interest.
The rebels having been driven from
ono mound to another, finally surren-
dered. at f1al!-past 9 O'clock, which was
the time Of the Arst cheer We heard from
the gallant victors.
0uNBoATs IN CAPE FEAR RIVER.
This Monday morning Admiral Por-
ter on ascertaining that the Zeke Island
battery was abandoned, sent five Of the
do1ble.ender gunboats into the Cape
Fear river, following the little tugboat
wilderness, from which grapnels were
hung, to search for torpedoes. They had
rounded the mound" and disappeared
behind the woods on their way up the
river before the Santiago sailed. Their
first object will be to establish base on
the river for the landing of supplies for
the army on the peninsula and the garri'
son of Fort Fisher. a small pier is al
ready there, and All extensive wharf will
be Immediately built. The supplies now
here will be carried into the river and
landed, probably some time to-day. AT
present everything has to be landed in
small boats through rough surf, and
the advantage will be very great.
EXPLOSION OF TIE MAGAzINE-TwO HUE-
DRIED YANKEES KILLED.
The Amcricam's correspondent, writing
the day after the fall, says:
Whilst we were looking at Fort Fisher
under the Federal flag. and rejoicing over
its downfall, tremendous explosion took
place in its very centre, sounding louder
than the boom of Is inch gun. A yo~
lumc Of sruoke and sand rose Fifty feet
in the air, cnveloping and hiding from
view the whole of this immense work for
four or five mintues It was at once ap-
parent that the magazine had exploded,
and that it must have been accompanied
with great loss of life We. soon after
learned that the destruction of life was
not less than two hundred, including
many sailors from the fleet who had not
yet returned to their ships. 1t was oc-
casioned by the carelessness of some of
thu colored troops in carrying candles
into the magazine.
A large quantity of corn meal had
been found stored in magazine, which
the colored soldiers had freely used for
their breakfasts, not knowing that it
also contained ton or more of powder,
underneath the meal. The exact man
ner in which the fire was communicated
cannot, of course, be known, but it is
presumed that there was some loose
powder on the floor, into which a spark
fell. 1t was terrible event, so soon
following our great victory. | have
heard the names of some regiments that
arc said to have suffered most, but for
fear that my.intelligence may not be re-
liable, it were, perhaps, better not to
mention them.
Various rumors were alioat with re-
gard to this terrible catastrophe, some
attributing it to the work Of torpedo;
but on in1uiring, l learn that it was un~
doabtedly the result of carelessness, or
rather the lack of knowledge of the pre-
sence Of powder.
The loss of life by the explosion, I
learn, is about two hundred, besides
quite a number wounded. The maya
zine that exploded was in the very cen
tire of the parade, and it has scooped
out the earth to great depth for fifty
feet around, and added to the desolation
that reigns in this vast monument of en-
gineering ability. Quite a nursh"r Of
sailors from the fleet and some officers
also suffered from this explosion. They
had gone ashore to examine the work,
Gil 10 hi
osity. The paymasters of the Gettys-
burg and the Hcenderoga, and an ensign
from the Gettysburg, are reported among
the victims.
OFFICIAL REPORT OF. ADMIRAL PORTER
A POP At OLD BUTLER.
UNITED STATES FLAGSHIP MALVERN, }
Orr Fort FISHER, January Is, 1865.
Sir: have the honor to inform you
that we have possession of Fort Fisher,
and the fall of the surrounding works
will soon follow.
AS informed you in my last, we had
commenced operations with the iron
vessels, which bombarded while we
landed the troops. On the 14th, or
dered all the vessels carrying elcven-inch
guns to lombard with the lronsides, the
Brooklyn taking the lead. by sunset
the fort was reduced to pulp. Every
gun was silenced by being injured or
covered with earth so that they would
not work.
On the 10th, General Terry and N.Y.
self arranged for the assault, and or.
dered fourteen hundred sailors and ma
rines to participate. AT daylight the
iron vessels, the Brooklyn and eleven
inch gunboats commenced battering the
work, while the troops made Judgment
within one hundred and City yards of