Year: 1878

A part of the plan of operations against
Fort Fisher was the explosion of float
ing mine, containing between two hum
dred and three hundred tons of gunpow-
der, so near the works that they might be
destroyed, or the garrison be 30 paralyzed
by the shock as to make the conquest an
easy task. Gen. Butler had proposed
this experient, having read of the de-
structive effects at a considerable distance
of the explosion of a large quantity of
gunpowder in England. He made the
suggestion to the government just as he
was about to depart for the city of New
York to preserve order during the presi-
Dental election. 1t was submitted to
experts. Among these was the late
Richard Delafeld, then chief engineer of
the army, who made an elaborate report,
in which he showed that experience had
taught the impossibility of very serious
injury being done, in lateral direc-
ton, by the explosion of unconlined
gunpewder. He fortified his opinion by
diagrams, showing the form of Fort
Usher and other defenses, and concluded
that the experiment would certainly re-.
sult in failure. Captain Henry A. Wise,
chief of the ordnance bureau, gave it
as his opinion that no serious damage
would be done beyond FIVE hundred
yards from the point of explosion. AT
consultation of experts at the house OF
Captain Wise, who had been summoned
by Mr.. Fox, the assistant secretary of
the navy, the subject was fully discus
sed, and it was concluded that it would
be worth while to make the experiment,
with the hope that the explosion might
be etfectual. When General Butler re-
turned from New York he found that
the powder experiment was to be tried,
and that preparations for it were being
made. This matter caused some delay
in the movements of the navy and the
expedition was not ready to sail before
the 18th of December.





The floating mine, or powder ship, was
a propeller of two hundred and twenty
five tons burden, named Louisiana. She
was disguised as blockade runner. in
form and color, with two raking smoke
stacks--one real, the other sham. A
light deck above the water line contained
two hundred and fifteen tons (43,000
pounds) of gunpowder, placed first in a
row of barrels standing on their ends, the
upper ones open and the remainder in
bags, each containing sixty pounds. The
latter were stored in tiers above the
barrels. To communicate fire to the
whole mass simultaneously, four separate
threads of the Gomez fuse were woven
throush each separate barrel and bag.
At the stern and under the powder.
charged deck, was placed heap of pine
wood and other combustible materials,
which were to be fired by the crew, when
they were to escape in a swift little
steamer employed for the purpose. Clock
work, by which percussion cap might
be ex ploded aud ignite the fuse; short
spermaceti candles, which would burn
down and ignite the fuse, aud n
slow match that would work in
tune with the candles, were sll employed.
The plan was TO choose favorable state
OF the weather for landing the troop. in
launches on the beach, exploding the
powder ship after midnight, and debark
the troops at dawn to take advantage OF
the effects of the explosion on the fort
and garrison.


We departed for the rendezvous on
Saturday morning. Between three and
four o'clock in the afternoon when we
were off Masonboro' inlet and while
standing on the bow of the ." Ben DE.
ford" with Gen. Weitzel, | called his
attention to small white Aacculent clouds
that appeared and disappeared at irrsg.
ular intervals neaF The southern horizon.