Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-24

final dissolution Oh
the Southern Confederacy that the great
victory was not fully realized by the
American people. The position COM
manded the last gateway between the
Confederate states and the outs de world
Its capture, with the resulting loss OF all
the Cape Fear RIVER defenses ana Oh
Wilmington, the great importing depot
of the south. effectually ended all block
ade running Gen. Lee sent me Wo'C
that Fort Fisher must be held or rs
could no. subsist his army.
At the land face of Fort Fisher. fiv,
miles from the intr= nched carp, the
pen nsula was about half mile Wide
Tn : face commenced about 100 feet from
the river with a half bastion and extend
cd tn 3 heavy curtain to full pas
tinn on the ocean side where II Jolneo
III. sea face The work was Quilt 20
" withstand the heaviest artillery fire
Their Was 10 moat with scarp anu
counte-sCar so essential for ueIense
against Stu ming parties, the siilltins
sanus rendering Is construct,oh iiiipU r.
BILE with the material ava liable. Inc
on or s,ope was twenty feet high from
the be me to the top of the parapet at
an angle OF forty-five degrees; ana was
luxuriantly. The parapet was not less
than twenty-five feet thick, with an H.
cIination of only one foot.
TIL, sea face for a hundred yards from
the northeast bast!on was Of the same
massive character as the land race. "A
crescent battery Intended for four guns,
Joined this. II had been originally puli'
of palmetto logs and tarred sahopass
and sand reverted with sod, but the logs
art
bospi,al bornb-proof In its rear heavy
curtain was thrown up to protect the
chambers from fragments of shells.
From this bomb-proof a series of bat
ter:es extended for three-quarters of a
mile along the sea. connected by an in
fantrv curtain These batteries had
heavy traverses but were not more than
ten or twelve feet high TO the top of the
parapets, and were built for ricochet
firing.
Farther along, where the channel ran
close TO the beach. inside the bar, a
mound battery sixty feet high was erect
ed, with two heavy guns. which mad
punging fire on the channel; this was
connected with the battery north of 1t
by a light curtain Following the line
OF the works. II was over one mile from
the mound to the northeast bastion at
the angle of the sea and land faces, and
upon this line twenty-four heavy guns
were mounted.
From the mound for nearly a mile to
the end of the point was level sand
plain scarcely three feet above high tide,
and much of it was submerged during
gales. At this point was Battery Buchan-
an, four guns in the shape of an ellipse.
commanding the inlet 1t was garrisoned
by a detachment from the Confederate
states navy A wharf for large steamers
was in close proximity to these works.
Battery buchanan was a citadel to
which an overpowered garrison might
tn fT-or1 MIR rnf inn
he safely carried off at night, and to
which re-enforctments could be sent un-
der the cover of darkness.
As a defense against infantry there
was sytsem of subterra torpedoeS ex-
tond'n~ across the peninsula, five to six
hundred feet from the land face and so
disconnected that the explosion of one
would not affect the others. Inside the
torpedoes about fifty feet from the
ber'le OF the work extending from river
tank to seashore, was heavy pallsade
Of sharpened logs nine feet high pierced
for musketry. and so laid out as TO have
an enflading fire on the center where
tn re was a redoubt, guarding sally
port from which two NapoleOns Were
run out occasion required At the
river end of the palisade was deep and
bridge the entrance of the river roao
into the fort; commanding this bridge
was a Napoleon gun. There were three
nlortars in rear of the land face.
1t was after careful reconnaissance
December -, 1864. having drawn our fire
by an advance of his skirmish line tc
within seventy-five yards of the fort. tina
Gen. Godfrey WeitZe', finding the works
substa rtialiy uninjured by the explosion
of the powder ship the day before anC
the two-day terrific bombardment Of Por
ters great armada. reported to Cen Ben
iamin +. Butler. in command of the lant
forces. that the fort could not be carried
by assault. In the works that afternoon
were over so veteran and 4Jo junior re
serves, reinforced after dark by sixty
sailors and marines As soon as the fr'
of the fleet ceased the parapets were no
only manned, but half the Garrison wa!
stationed outside the works behind th'
palisades. There was no fear of an as
sauit in front. What most disturbed thu
defenders was a possible landing from
boats between the Mound battery ant
Battery Buchanan.
The garrison of Fort Fisher was com
posed altogether of North Caro- inians
For two years and half the force hat
been under my command. and In tina
time only two companies, temperate
there. were from outside the state Ate
the repulSe or Butter ana fUrler, al
though some important guns were dc
stroyed by the bombardment and by eX
plosion, little or nothing was done L
repair damages or strengthen the arma
rnent Of the work. acquisitions wer
made for additional ammunition, espe
ciaiiy for hand grenades, TO repel as
sault but il was impossible 10 ohtai
what was needed. Application was mad
for the placing OF marine torpedoes wher
the ironciads had anchored and whithe
they returned. but no notice was take
of it, We heard January s. 1865 that tn
fleet had returned to Beaufort and W
knew that Fort Fisher was still its oh
iectiye point Gen. BraXton Bragg, Il
command of the supporting army. march
ed IL TO camp sixteen miles distant
north OF Wilmington, and there had
grand review.
The night of the 18th of January, froi
the ramparts of Fort Fisher. / saw Tn
great armada returning. My mounte
pickets had informed me Of Its coming.
began at once to put my works In ordt
for action. j had but 500 men-the S6t
North Carolina-at least 100 OF whol
We're not hit for duty. Sunrise the ne,
morning revealed to US the st form
dable armada the world had known
supplemented by transports carryin
about $500 troops. Suddenly that Ion
line of floating fortresses rained shot an
ehell, upon fort and beach and woode