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SAVANNAH DAILY HERALD.
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JOB PRINTING
In every style, neatly and promptly done.
Two Days Later from the North
K. IT. BATSS THIS 14th!
Gen. Butler’s Official Report of the Wil
mington Expedition.
Attempt of the Rebel Senator
Poote to Escape from
Richmond.
LATER FOREIGN NEWS,!
&c., &C., &CJ.
We are indebted to Capt. A. C. Crow
ell, of the steamer W. W. Coit, for
Northern papers of the 14th. We make
extracts containing the most important
news.
THE WILMINGTON EXPEDITION.
Gen. Butler's report of his part of the
Wilmington Expedition is published in
the N. Y. papers by request of Gen.
Grant. After describing the delays
which occurred, he says;
At 4 o’clock on the evening of the 24th
1 came in sight of Fort Fisher and found
the naval fleet engaged in bombarding
it,th’epowder vessel having beenexploded
on the morning previous, about one
o’clock.
Through Gen. Weitzel, I arranged
with Admiral Porter, to commence the
landing, under cover of the gunboats, as
early 8 o'clock the next morning if
possible—as soon as the firing of the
Half Moon and Flag Pond batteries had
been silenced. These are up the shore
some two or three miles above Fort
Fisher.
Admiral Porter was quite sanguine
that he had silenced the guns of "Fort
Fisher. He was then urged, if that were
so, to run by the fort into Cape Fear
river, and then the troops could land and
hold the beach, without the liability of
being shelled by the enemy's gunboats,
the Tallahassee being seen in the river.
It is to be remarked that Admiral Fkr
ragut even had never taken a fort except
by running by and cutting it off from all
prospect of reinforcement, as Fort Jack
son and Fort Morgan, and that no case
mated fort hacHieen silenced by a naval
fire during the war; that if the Admiral
'would put his ships in the river
the army could supply him across-the
beach, as w r e had proposed to do Farra
gut at Fort Bt. Philip; that at least the
blockade of Wilmington would be effec
tual even if we did not capture the fort.
To that the Admiral replied that he
should probably lose a boat by torpedoes,
if he attempted to ran by. He was re
minded that the army might lose five
hundred men by the assault, and that his
SAVANNAH, GA., THtfßsi>AY, .JANUARY 19. 1335.
boat would not weigh in the balance,
even in a money point of view, for a mo- !
ment, with the lives of these men. The ]
Admiral declined going by, and the ex-j
pedition was deprived of that essential \
element of success. . j
At 12 o'clock noon of the 25th, (Sun
day) Capt. Glesson, commanding
covering division of the fleet, reported ]
the batteries silenced and his vessels in |
position to cover our landing. The trans- j
port fleet following my .flagship stood in ,
within eight hundred yards of the beach
and at once commenced debarking. The
landing was successfully effected. Find
ing that the reconuoitering party just
landed could hold the shore, I determin- \
ed to land a force with which an assault
might be attempted. Brevet Brig. Gen.
Curtis, who deserves well for his gallan
try fchd conduct, immediately pushed up
his brigade within a few hundred yards
of Fort Fisher, capturing the JLrff Moon
Battery and men, who w ; ere taken off by
the boats of the navy. This skirmish
line advanced to within seventy-five
yards of the fort, protected by the glacis
which had been thrown up in such form
as to give cover, the garrison being com
pletely kept in their bombproofs by the
fire of the navy, which was very rapid
and continuous, their shells bursting over
the work with very considerable a?cura
cy. At this time we lost ten men wound
ed on the skirmish line by the shells from
the fleet. Quitting my flag-ship, I went
on board tne Chamberlain, and run in
within a few’ hund.ed yards of the fort,
so that it was plainly visible. It appear
ed to be a square, bastioned work, of
very high relief, say fifteen feet, sur
rounded by a wet ditch some fifteen feet
wide. It was protected from being en
veloped by an assaulting force by a stock
ade, which extended from the fort to the
sea on the;one side, and from the marshes
of the Cape Fear River to the salient on
the other.
No material damage to the fort, as a
defensive work, has been done. Severn
teen guns bore up the beach, protected
from the lire of the navy by traverses
i eight or ten feet high, which were un
doubtedly bomb-proofs. It was easy to
maintain the position, but the shells of
the navy, which kept the enemy in their
bomb-proofs, would keep my ti oops out.
When these ceased falling the parapet
was fully manned.
Lieut. Walling, of the One Hundred
and Forty-second New "York, pressed up
to the edge of the ditch, and captured a
| flag which had been cut down by a shell
from the navy.
It is a mistake, as was at first reported
to me, that any soldier entered the fort.
An orderly was killed about a third of a
mile front the fort and his horse taken.
In the meantime, the remainder of
Ames' division captured old men and ten
commissioned officers of the North
Carolina Reserves and other prisoners.
From them I learned that Kirkland's
and Hapgood’s brigades of Hoke's
division had left the front of the
army of the James near Richmond, and
were within two miles of the rear of my
forces, and their skirmishers were then
actually engaged, and that the remainder
of Hoke's division had come the night
before to Wilmington, and Wete then on
the march. I also learned that these
troops left Richmond on Tuesday, the
2()tb. Knowing the strength of lloke's
division, I found a force opposed to me
outside the works larger than my owa.
In the meantime the weather assumed a
threatening aspect. The surf began to
roll in so that the landing became diffi
cult.
At Hiis time Gen. Weitzel reported to
me, that to assault the works, in his
judgment and In that of the experienced
officers of his command, who held a
skirmish line, with any prospect of suc
cess, was impossible. This opinion co
incided with my own; and much as I
i regretted the - necessity of abandoning
thd attempt, yet the duty was plgin.
Not so strong a work as Fort Fisher had
been , taken by assault during this war;
and I hail to guldfe my experience of
Fort Hudson With Its slaughtered thou-.
sands in the repulsed assault and the
double assault ; of Fort Wagner, where
thousands were sacrificed in an attempt
to take a work less Strong than Fort
Fisher, after it had a continued and fully
as severe ft fire ; and in neither of the
instances I have mentioned had the as
saulting force in its rear, as I had, an
army of the enemy larger than itself.
I therefore'Ordered that no assault
should be made, and that the troops
should re-embark. While superintend
ing the preparation of this, the firing of
the navy ceased. Instantly the guns of
the fort were fully manned, and a sharp
fire of musketry, grape and canister
swept tile place over which the column
must have advanced, and the skirmish
line was returning. Working with what
diligence we oouid, it was impossible to
get the troops aboard before the sea ran
so high as to render further embarka
tion. Or even the sending supplies ashore
impossible. I lay by the shore until 11
o'clock the next day, Monday, the 2btb,
when, having made all proper disposi
tions for getting the troops on board, I
gave qrders to the, transport fleet, as fast
as they were ready, to sail for Fort Mon
roe, in obedience to ray instructions
from the Lieutenant General.
I learned from deserters and prisoners
captnj-ecl, that the supposition on which
> the Lieutenant Genc’d directed the ex
pedition, that Wilmington had been de
nuded ot troops to oppose Gen: Sher
man, was, correct: that at the time when
1 lie army arrived off Wilmington there
was less than 400 men in the garrison of
Fort Fisher, and less than 1000 within
twenty miles; but the delay ot three days
of good weather, the 10th, 17th and
18th, waiting for the arrival of the navy,
and the further delay from the terrible
storm of the 21st, 22d and 23d, gave
t ime for troops to be brought from Rich
mond, three divisions of which were
either there dr on the road.
The instructions of the lieutenant
General to me did not contemplate a
siege. I had neither siege trains nor
supplies for soph a contingency. The
exigency of possible delay, for which the
foresight of the Commander of the ar
mies had provided, had arisen, to wit:
the large reinforcement of the garrison,
with the fact that the navy had exhaust
ed their supp y of ammunition in the
bombardment, left me no alternative but
to return with my army to the Army of
the James.
The loss of Friday, Saturday and Sun
day, the IPth, 17th and 18th of Decem
ber, was the immediate cause of the fail
ure of the expedition. It is not. my
province even to suggest blame to the
navy for their delay of four days at Beau
fort. I know none of the resources
which do or do not justify it. It is to be
presumed they are sufficient.
[Special Despatch to the New York Times.]
Washington, Friday, Jan. 13.
*BXRY S. ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE
FROM RICHMOND.
It appears that Henry B- Foote, mem
ber of the lebel Senate from the State of
Tennessee, who recently declared his in
tention of leaving the Confederacy, and
going to some sequestered spot, where
he could enjoy a little repose and be free
from taxation,” has endeavoring to
carry out his purpose.
A few days ago he left Richmond, in
company with his wife, and started for
this city. When he reached Occoquan,
a place about 15 miles southwest of
Alexandria, he was arrested by rebel
cavalrymen, and compelled to return to
Richmond.
His wife was left by the rebels at Oc
coquan, and our Government, being ad
vised of her whereabouts, immediately
i
sent an escort to give her safe conduct
into our lines. She reached Alexandria
this morning.
■Mr. Foote is doubtless by this time in
Richmond; and it is believed that he will
fare hard with the rebel authorities, after
so energetic an attempt to desert the
Confederacy in .this, hour of her trouble*
Another Account.— Mrs. Henry 8
Foote, the wife of the rebel Senator
Boote, of Tennessee, arrived at Alexan
dria, this morning, from Richmond by
way of Fairfax Court House, She
states that her husband is n6w under ar
rest in Richmond, on account of Lb;
speech in the rebel Senate denunciatory
of the rebel authorities.
Gen* Grant forwards Gen. Butler's
report, with those of Gen. Weitzel and
Gun. Ames, with an endorsement from,
which the following is an extract: ,■ •
It was never contemplated, that n
Butler would accompany the expedition »
but that Maj. Gen. Weitfcel was especial
ly named as the commander of it. Mr
hopes of success rested entirely on
ability to capture Fort Fisher, and I half
even a hope of getting Wilmington be
fore the enemy could get troops to op
pose us. I knew that the enemy hacL
taken neariy the entire garrison of Wil
mington tnd its dependencies to oppose
Sherman. lam inclined to ascribe the
delay which has cost us so dearly to act
experiment. I refer to the explosion oY
gunpowder in the opeft air. My dis -
patches to Gen. Butler will show Lb
report to be in error where he states that,
he returned, after Laying effected j&Janc
ing in obedience to my instructions. On
the contrary, these instructions con
templated no withdrawal, or a failure,
after a landing was made.
Kansas., Leavenworth, Friday, Jam.
13.—Gen. Jim. Lane was, to-day, elect
ed United States .Senator for six yesjv
bv a vote of 82 to 17.
From Europe. —The Cunard steam -
ship China, with dates to the Ist inst..
arrived in New York on the ULh. The
situation of Sherman in front of Savan
nah was the subject of most anxious ex
pectation, as also the St. Albans robber)’
trials. The rebel loan had declined <■
per cent, under the pressure of the news
received. A great meeting had fieou.
held at Dublin, on the subject of tenant
rights and tic Irish Protestant estab
lishment. There was no disturbance
The British export trade shows an in
crease, of 16 per cent, for eleven of the
months of 1864: against the same period
of 18C3. From France there is a report
that 120,000 men of the Imperal army
are to be put in the reserve, force. The
French papers generally severely criti
cise the Pope’s Bull. It is said to be ex
ceedingly offensive to the French Gov *
eminent.
MISCELLANEOUS.
% Boston, Friday, Jan. 13.
The extensive dye-house in Water
town, owned by Adolph Lewando, with,
his dwelling adjoining, was destroyed by
fire last night. Lost, $>30,000, which ie
insured .SIO,OOO.
Dt ath op Bishop Brownell.—
Bishop Brownell, of Connecticut, pre
siding Bishop of the Protestant Episco
pal Church in America, died at his resi
dence in Hartford, Connecticut, on the
morning of ibe 13th, in the 36th year ci
his age.
Gen. George B. McClellan and las
family are now on a visit to his relatives
in Philadelphia, previous to their de
parture for Europe.
Missouri Free. —-The following cor
respondence tells its own story: JefFee
son City, Mo , Jan. 11,1865. Governor
of New" York; Free Missouri greets yon.
F. C. Fletcher, Governor. Executive-
Department. Albany, N. Y., Jan. 12,
1865. Gov. Fletcher, Jefferson. Mo.;,
God bless free Missouri! RE. Fenton
Congress. — ln the Senate, on tbel i’tit
a petition was presented in behalf of the
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