James River, repaired his losses, and must have increased the numerical disparity between the two armies; yet, notwithstanding the great superiority in the number of his force, the long-projected movement for the reduction of Fort Fisher and the capture of Wilmington was delayed because of Grant's unwillingness to detach any of his troops for that purpose until after active operations had been suspended before Petersburg.
It was proposed to make a combined land and naval attack—Major General B. F. Butler to command the land forces, and Admiral D. D. Porter the fleet.
The enemy seems about this time to have conceived a new means of destroying forts; it was, to place a large amount of powder in a ship, and having anchored off the fort, to explode the powder and so destroy the works and incapacitate the garrison as to enable a storming party to capture them.
How near Fort Fisher it was expected to anchor the ship I do not know, nor have I learned how far it was supposed the open at
Rufus,W. 632.
Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., 64, 269, 294, 295, 298, 300, 357, 358, 365, 421, 436, 438.
Mining of Confederate fort at Petersburg, 545-47.
Butler, General (Confederate), 538, 539. Gen. Benjamin F., 64, 187, 251, 414, 423, 426, 427, 428-29, 430, 432, 499, 500, 501, 506, 513, 541,547, 600.
Conduct in New Orleans,des (warship), 175.
New Market, Battle of, 444-45.
New Orleans, La. Harbor defense, 177-79, 180-82, 183, 186, 187.
Evacuation, 182, 188-89.
Occupation, by Butler, 195.
New York.
Subversion of state government, 402-15.
Suspension of writ of habeas corpus, 409-11.
Nichols, Maj., George Ward. Description of Federal lop), 217-18.
Orr, —, 626.
Osterhaus, General, 39.
Ould, Robert C., 500, 504, 510, 513, 515. Attempt to relieve condition of prisoners, 506.
Negotiations with Butler concerning exchange of prisoners, 506-08.
Offer to purchase medicine for U. S. prisoners, 509.
Owasoo (gunboat), 196.
Owens, Col., John, 499.
P
Palme