... There was a delay in the arrival of the war vessels, and the transports, coaled and watered for only ten days, were compelled to run up to Beaufort Harbor, N. C., for both, the fleet remaining off Fort Fisher . The transports returned on Christmas evening; the next morning the war vessels opened a bombardment, and at 3 P. M. the troops began their debarkation two miles above the fort. Only a part of th...