The semi-weekly messenger., 1907-01-18

land interest and that the citizens have
enjoyed TO the utmost having thase
brave war heroes as their guests. To
1.-THE local committees who have worked
Hong and earnestly for the success o.
the occasion. unbOunded praise is due
flor the manner in which everything
was carried out. Probably TO Rev }.
A. Smith and Captain f. W. Price is
ldue most of the credit for the reunion,
Though all the members of all the COM
mittees have done their share ana
IshOuld receive the proper credit.
| Concerning the reunion which has
just come TO a close an interesting
feditorial on the ubjsct OF the battle
of Fort Fisher was published in yesIer-
days issue of the Richmond Times
| IDispatch. which was as follows:
| Greetings 10 the Blue and the
Gray who are having friendly meet,
latter so many years. at Fort Fisher.
There were brave men on both sides in
the historic battle of Fort Fisher, ana
the survivors on both sides must have
profound respect each for the other.
| THE enemy seems at this time"
lsays Mr.. Jefferson Davis in his booz,
Ito have conceived a new means CT
destroying forts; it was to place j
large amount of powder in a ship, and,
Ihaying anchored off the fort, 10 ex-
lplode the powder and so destroy the
works and incapacitate the garrison
las to enable the stOrming party TO
icapture them. How near to Fort Fish
Ter it was expected TO anchor the ship
II do not know. General Whiting the
brave and highly accomplished soldier,
who was in command Of the defenses
of Wilmington, stated that the powder
tship did not come nearer to Fort FISH
er than 1,50O yards. He further stated
that he heard the report of the explo-
lSiOn at Wilmington, and sent a teIc-
gram to Colonel Lamb, the command
ing officer of the fort, to inquire what
lit meant, and was answered, 'Enemy'S
gunboat blown up No effect was pro-
Iduced on the fort.
| From the same source it is learned
THAT the combined force of the eXpedi-
itiOn was about $500 land troops and
50 vessels of war of various sizes and
classes, several iron-clads and the
ships charged with 225 tons or powder.
jSOme of the troops landed, but after a
reconnaissance of the fort, which tnen
had a garrison of $500 men, the troops
were re-embarked and thus the expedi-
itiOn ended"
But this was not the only attempt,
I"On January 15," continues Mr.. Davis,
1.-THE attempt was renewed with a Iarg-
er number of troops, amounting, after
1.-THE arrival of General SchOfield, to
twenty odd thousand. POrter's fleet
alsO received additional vessels, max
i ing the whole number SO engaged in
the attack. The garrison at Fort Fisher
had been increased to double number of
! The iron-clad vessels of the enemy
approached nearer the fort than on
! the former occasion, and the fire of the
fleet was more concentrated and vastly
more effective Many o; the guns in
1.-THE fort We're dismounteG, and the
Iparapets seriously injured by the fire.
1.-The garrison sto1d bravely to their
Iguns, and when the assault was made
fought with sucn determined courage
as to repulse the first column, and OBJ
Istinately contended with another ap-
Iproaching from the Landslide, continu-
ling the fight long after they had got
into the fort. Finally, overwhelmed
by numbers and after the fort and it's
armament had been mainly destroyed
by bombardment-I believe greater
than ever concentrated upon a fort
the remnant of the garrison surrend-
|ered.
"The heroic and highly s,lfted Gen
eral Whiting was mortally and the
gallant commander of the fort, Colonel
Lamb, was seriously wounded So fell
Fort Fisher, and other forts fell with
it. General Hoke Smith came to the
rescue, but his small force was tC3
weak to meet the enemy, and h re-
tired thorugh Wilmington after de-
stroying public property to keep it from
falling into the hands of the federals
The land force of Butler and the fleet
of Porter had overwhelmed the llltle
band of Confederates."
The gallant Colonel Lamb the
hero of Fort Fisher, is Colonel William
Lamb, of Norfolk, and his galiantrv
richly deserved the recognition of
President Davis. Colonel Lamb is talk
ing part in the reunion and will L;.ve
the lions share of the honor of the
occasion.
The brave and highly accomplished
General Whiting" was William Henry
Chase Whiting. whose father was a
native of Massachusetts. He was grad |
uated from the United States Military
in 1845 at the head of a c.ass
in which were Charles P Stone, Fitz
John Porter and Gordon Granger. He |
became captain and was assigned to |
work in the west and south, but when 4,
the war broke out he resigned and en- |
tered the Confederate service. He vas |
taken to New York, after being cap |
tured at Fort Fisher and fingered I'M !
til March 10, 1865, when he died Ole |
Of the most touching incidents or the |
whole war is connected with his dea h. |
He was a Confederate soldier, but ne |
was an Episcopalian in good standing, !
and when he died his funeral TOOK |
0lacp from Trinity church according IN