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SAVANNAH DAILY HERALD. VOLUME 1.1 ISO. 30. ) |abannsfy |)ailg||eralfo PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING, SUNDAYS EXCEPTED, BY g. W. MASON «fc CO., At 111 Bat Street, Savannah, Georgia, teems: Per Copy... Five Cents. per Hundred - $3 aO. Per Year * $lO 00, ADVERTISING : A limited number of Advertisemeets will be re ceived at the rate of Twenty Cents per Line for first insertion, and Fifteen Cents per Line for each subsequent insertion ; invariably in advance. Ad vertisements should be handed in before noon of each day. JOB PRINTING In every style, neatly and promptly done. late northern news. N. y. BATES TO FEB. 20th. (Correspondence of the New York Herald.] * Fort Fisher, Feb. 13, 18G5. A cold wind blowing strong from the north, and causing fresh water to congeal wherever it was exposed, has compelled quietness up to this hour. How long this state of quietude will last I am un able to state, but I guess not long. I shall not be surprised if my next dis patch is-dated from Wilmington. Lieutenant Commander Cushing, of the navy, is the hero of several daring and gallant exploits of recent date, equal in meritorious character to the destruc tion of the ram Albemarle. On the Bth inst, acting under instructions from. A dmiral Porter,, he entered Folly Inlet a few miles southward of the western bar, and, ascending a small stream that en ters the sea at that point, he proceeded in launches about ten miles into the in terior, to the town of Shallotte. At this place he landed with less than a store of men surprised and put to flight the gar rison of the town, numbering one hun dred men ; captured fifteen of them, then called together the Mayor and Town Council, told them that he had a large force in the vicinity, who would enter the place in the morniug, and de manded an unconditional surrender.— The'town authorities agreed to surren der, but asked time until morning to draw np the papers. Lieut. Cash ing granted the time, but' said to the Mayor that he should require a breakfast for himself and staff the following day, winch was promised. Cushing then, with his small force of tars, proceeded to explore the town. They found in their perambulations a large warehouse filled with commissary stores for the garrison and-Fort Anderson. This warehouse, accidentally or otherwise, took fire dur ing the federal occupation of the town, and was entirely consumed, with its The people complained bit terly of the arbitrary and oppressive na ture of the rebel conscription and im pressment laws. Everything eatable in the country had been taken by the sob diers—chickens, ducks, pigs,*‘cattle, ve getables—all has been gathered in for the support of the garrison of Fort Ander son which is wholly subsisted from the place. Everything in the way of provi sions was destroyed by Cushing and his party during their stay in that place. About eighty bales of cotton were also found stored there, which were not visible in the morning ; neither did Lieu tenant Cushing or his staff, or his com mand, appear to partake of the sumptu ous breakfast prepared for them by the Mayor and town authorities. On Friday night the same daring offi cer was sent up the Cape Fear river on a reconnoissance. He proceeded in small boats to the obstructions opposite SAVANNAH, GA., SATURDAY EVENING, FEB. 25, 1865. Fort Anderson, which he carefully ex amined and crossed, and then passed on up to Wilmington. Here he made a complete examination of the wharves and the shipping and gained much val uable information. Among Other things he found a valuable steamer, which ex cited his envy to a great extent, be ing a valuable prize, and which he was sorely tempted to endeavor to cut out and bring away ; but, re membering that he had no orders to attempt such a hazardous undertaking, and remembering also the difficulty that would occur in the effort to get her by the obstructions opposite Fort Anderson, ne wisely conclnded to let her alone.— It was well lie did so, as it turned out that the sleamer was loaded with troops who would have more than overpowered him had he made the attempt to cut her out. On his return Cushing found the famous rebel cruiser Chickamauga sunk acrosfe the channel opposite Dram Tree Point.. On Saturday night the same officer was sent on another scout up the river with four £nall boats. He found no difficulty in progressing as far as the obstructions at Anderson. Hearing some cheering in the fort, he made his vessels fast on the obstructions, and himself made his way along the piles and cribs to a point dose under the walls of the fort. Here he was able to hear the voice of a speaker who was haranguing the garrison, eliciting frequent applause. The speaker was sup posed to be Gen. Bragg, who was known to be at the fort that evening, after our advance on this side of the river the same day. He was very enthusiastic in his praise of the gallantry of the rebel troops, told them that the time had come when they were to strike the final blow for Southern independence, assured them that he would be with them in the great struggle, apd urged them to stand stead fast and firm, and a great deal more to the same effect, to all of which the sol diers returned enthusiastic applause. So intent was the attention paid to tbe speaker that even the sentinels turned their backs on the 'river, and> although the moon w T as shining fuff upon our boats they neglected to see the if for a full hal hour that they laid there. At last a senti nel chanced to turn around and discov ed them. Instantly he sang out “Cor poral ol the guard.” The corporal res ponded, when the sentinel sang out “Yankee boats in the river.” “How many”, asked the corporal. “Three dozen,” was the reply. Tne long roll was soundad at once ; the meeting broke up hastily; the garrison rushed to arms, and before Cushing could get back to his boats a volley of musketry, followed by discharges of grape and canister from the guns of the fort, was sent after him. The firing was continued for nearly half an hour; but, singular to relate, Cushing and his entire party got off safely. Nassau, N. P-, Feb. 3, 1565. NASSAU AND THE EFFECT OF OUR RECENT VICTORIES ON THE COAST. Nassau is a doomed city, so for as the contraband trade which has been carried on for the last three years is concerned. The shutting up of the port of Wilming ton has laid her low\ Her glory has well nigh departed. In the midst of the ocean, she will sit desolate and solitary, lament ing over her fallen state and reeling the bitterness of the truth that “all is van ity.” For a brief period her commercial star was in the ascendant. It shut up with the rapidity and gleamed with the brilliancy of a meteor, and like it, it will be as suddenly extinguished. Where now is her commercial activity—steam ers leaving and arriving daily, and pour ing into her lap the more than golden treasures of Dixie! All gone. In the waters of her admirable harbor at this moment float more than thirty of her fleet of law-defying steam vessels, idle and without employment. There also arejierejsailing craft which can be count ed by the hundred. Her warehouses are filled with goods for which there will soon be no market. Her stores which, under the stimulating influence of, the recent trade, have nearly doubted in number, will ere long be seeking tenants where no tenants are to be had. Rents, which have been inflated into fabulous proportions, will collapse. Laborers who have flocked here from the adjoining islands, under the inducements of high wages, will scatter to their former homes. The handwriting is upon the wall. Bab ylon is tottering to her fhll. But what of the wealth which the last three years have brought! Some of it, no doubt, will remain. Some of it has been invested in buildings and other city improvements. There are those who knew that a change must come, and pro fiting by their knowledge, have secured their gains. But with the mass money easily and quickly parted with, and the day of adversity finds them with extra vagant habits and an empty purse. No doubt this rule will apply here as else where. And Nassau, with reference t© the masses of her people, their habits and their morals will be worse off than she was before her short career and sud-', den prosperity. ARRIVAL OF THE FIXATE AT NASSAU. The Tallahassee, the rebel War steam er privateer, or pirate, as she is called, according to the respective views of the persons who are speaking of her, came in this port on Thursday, the 2Gthult.— It is said that her armament has been taken out of her, and that she is to be used hereafter as a blockade runner.— There ate-two reasons which render this very doubt ml: —First, she is a ged ship, and consequently' is too con spicuous an the water to be used blockade nmning business is about used up. She arrived laden with coai, and sailed January 31 with the. same chrgd. — The attention of the Governor was call ed to her by the United States Consul— She sails now under the name Os the Chameleon. ARRIVAL OF THE UNITED STATES GUNBOAT HONDURAS—SKE IS REFUSED AN ANCHOR AGE. The United States gunboat Honduras arrived here on the 81st of January.— Her business was to raise the sum of four thousand dollars in gold, through the United States Consul, to pay off the men employed in saving the armament, &c.y of the Ban Jacinto, lately wrecked on the neighboring island of Abico.-r Captain Harris, the* officer commanding, came ashore and permission was asked of the Governor that the vessel might come to anchor. Your readers are no doubt aware that very soon after the breaking out of the war in the United States, the Queen issued a proclamation based upon the strictest principles of English neutrality ; that no war vessel of beiigerent should come to anchor in English waters without permission ex pressly given, and only in cases of dis tress or grave emergency. As the naval power of the contending parties was so nearly equal, of the operation of the rule has been strictly impartial. On the present occasion, the vessel not being in “distress,” and the Governor' not being able to see that theYe was that “grave emergency ” which the proclamation con templated, the result was that Captain Harris was compelled to return to his vessel about dusk, through a heavy surf, to obtain the papers necessary to enable him to transact his business. The Hon duras cruised off all night, and the following morning Captain Harris again came ashore in his gig, and the gunboat cruised about until tbe business was ad justed, when he returned to her and she steamed away. [From the New York Herald, Feb. 20.] The news of the occupation of the capi- tal of South Carolina by Sherman’s troops and of the probable Ml of Charleston, published in yesterday’s Herald, caused much rejoicing throughout the country. We have nothing later this morning re garding General Sherman’s success. The Richmond Examiner of the 17th inst. has some additional particulars of the im ported fight between Kilpatrick sand Wheeler’s cavalry on the 11th inst., at Aiken, on the railroad leading from Branchville lo Augusta, and about eigh teen miles from the latter place. The Examiner reiterates the previous rebel statements that Kilpatrick was “driven back a distance ot about five miies,” and gives as the reason for not continuing the pursuit the exhaustion of ammunition. It is claimed that a number of Union soldiers were captured in the affair. The rebels now estimate the entire number of Sherman’s forces operating in the in terior of South Carolina at only forty thousand. The eaptaifi Os the steamer Ariadne, which armfed at Fortress Monroe from Fort Fisher on last Friday, reports that .just, before he left a bright light was seen m the directien of Fort Anderson, Cape Fear river, causing surmises that it had been abandoned and burned by the rebels. Late rebel papers make state ments and throw out hints which seem to confirm previous reports that prepara tions for the. evacuation of Wilmington by their forces have been for some time in progress. A recent number of A paper published in that town mysteriously al ludes to “important movements” there, which it jls not deemed prudent to des cribe. The same t>apcr thinks the design of Commander Cushing’s late expedition from Cape Fear river to Little river was to cut the Manchester and Wilmington Railroad. The rebels at Kinston, N. C., now think that the story about a heavy concentration of Union forces New berft. with materials for repairing and stock* for running the r?.fh<nuls teMiag into the interior, is greatly ‘ Our despatches fro# jfte James river armies mention CGminUous picket firing for several hours all along- the lines in front of Petersburg on ti “ night of Thursday lagt, and some- priiilery firing on the evening of Friday, but do not al lude to any results pf consequence as following. A sudden and somewhat im pulsive attack oh the pickets-of General Ferrero‘B division of -the Twenty-fifth corps, in front of the Bfcrmqjk* offences, was made by the rebels pn Friday corn ing; but they were easily driven back bv the colored troops: who snfTerai' little if any loss. The daily influx of- deserters from Lee’s army continues to hacreaso. It is supposed* that -about fqrty, nbcis were.killed ,by the, blowing up of their flag of truce steamer . Schultz, on last Friday afternoon, in James river, by one of their own torpedoes. Tim REBEL FLAG OF TRUCE STEAMER I SCHULTZ SUNK BT A BEIJfcL TOiCEIK). At a.pqint just below Cox’s ferry, the Schultz struck her bow on one of the many rebel torpedos placed in the James for the destruction of our craft, and, shooting up in the air as a result of the' force of the concussion,' lßstantniVcburfy sunk, seemingly standing on her stern. There appeared to be no survivors, and. as she had no small boats there can .be no doubt that all on board, some forty per sons, went down in the ill fated* rebet steamer. Among those bn board was Capt Hatch, of the so-called provisional army of the rebel States* and assistant ip the matter of exchange of prisoners to Judge Robert Quid, chief rebel commis sioner for exchange, twenty members of the rebel ambulance committee, a rebel captain and all the crew of the ship. Judge Robert Ould had intended during the afternoon of yesterday to take pas sage for Richmond in the Schultz, but deferred doing so, owing to the necessi ty that had arisen for common adjust ment of a large batch of official papers k PRICE (Five Cents.