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are superior; the remainder had the
Harper's Ferry musket, with percussion-locks.
With the means of resistance at their command, the garrison should have been able to hold out a much longer time than it did; but the effect of our
Parrott shot was so remarkable, that no doubt the officers feared the magazines might be breached, and from motives of humanity they preferred a surrender to the chances of a long siege.
Attention has already been called to the fact that a solid stone step over the magazine was bored through by a Parrott shot.
There can be no question but that in another twelve-hours' cannonade this magazine would have stood a fair chance of being exploded, unless some of the iron bars had been laid on the staircase, to cause our projectiles to glance upward.
Even then, it is not at all clear that the expedient would have been successful.
Adjutant Walker was so obliging as to give me the list of officers of the garrison:
Field and staff.
Col. M. J. White; Adjutant,
Robert E. Walker; Quartermaster,
Capt. J. F. Divine; Commissary,
Capt. W. C. King;
Surgeon,
W. Strudwick.
company officers.--Company B--
Capt. H. T. Guion;
First Lieut.,
T. Coleman;
Second Lieut., J. W. Stevenson;
Third Lieut.,
E. D. Walsh. Company F--
Capt. W. S. G. Andrews;
First Lieut.,
D. Cogdell;
Second Lieut., A. J. Riggs;
Third Lieut.,
R. W. Evans. Company G--
Capt. J. L. Manny;
First Lieut.,
R. E. Walker;
Second Lieut., W. H. Pender;
Third Lieut.,
J. B. Robinson. Company H--
Capt. S. D. Pool;
First Lieut.,
J. C. Manson;
Second Lieut., J. P. Roberson;
Third Lieut.,
B. T. Miller. Company F--
Capt. R. H. Mount;
First Lieut.,
R. C. Tillery:
Second Lieut., W. Dunn;
Third Lieut., J. C. Robertson.
In the afternoon the two
Beaufort companies were sent across in the stern-wheeler North State, and
Capt. Guion's company, which had been recruited in
Newbern and its vicinity, were taken on board the
Alice Price, which was to start up Cove Sound in the evening.
The remaining two companies are to go to
Wilmington, where they will be within their own lines, and find their way home at their leisure.
I heard from the men nothing but expressions of satisfaction at the prospect of getting back to their friends, and not a few declared they would not be caught in the field again.
In numerous instances the privates complained that they had been drafted and forced to take up arms in a cause for which they had no sympathy.
As a body, I thought they fraternized easily with our men, exhibiting none of that rancor, on the possession of which such scum as the
Louisiana Wild Cats pride themselves.
The cases of the
Alliance and
Gordon, the two
English (?) ships in port, are peculiar, and may lead to sharp diplomacy.
Both are owned by
Fraser & Co.,
Charleston, cleared from
St. John's, N. B., for
Havana and
Liverpool, put in here in violation of their articles, disposed of their cargoes, filled up with turpentine and cotton, attempted to slip out of the harbor, but failed, and have been lying here since last August.
The skipper of the
Alliance is a native of
Saybrook, Ct.; he of the
Gordon was born and raised within thirty miles of where his ship is now lying.
De Forest, of the
Alliance, aided in carrying guns, ammunition, and provisions to
Fort Macon just before the
battle of Newbern, acting for a whole month as captain of a little steamer which plied between
Morehead and
Macon.
Both are regarded by the inhabitants of this district as secessionists, and it is believed that they at one time were prepared to destroy their ships in case they were likely to fall into our hands.
On Thursday word was sent to them by
Col. Harland, of the Eighth Connecticut, which garrisons
Morehead, to come to headquarters and take an oath of neutrality.
They refused; so guards were sent on board, and the truculent Anglo-
Americans were put under arrest.
Thinking better of the matter, both took the required obligation yesterday and were released.
A navyboat, however, has dropped down this morning, and is now lying between the two.
They will make rich prizes in case they are seized, their cargoes being worth, at present market prices, not much short of ninety thousand dollars each.
The amount of duties paid on their inward and outward cargoes to
Jeff. Davis's Collector of the Port, was two thousand five hundred dollars; in the capture of two thousand one hundred and fifty dollars of which, together with the
Collector himself, I was fortunate enough to assist
Captain Buffon some four weeks ago.
The capture of
Fort Macon gives
Gen. Burnside what he has so long needed, a port of entry and a good harbor for heavy — draft vessels.
The transports, gunboats, and store — ships will no longer need to run the gauntlet of Hatteras Inlet and the Swash; for at
Beaufort they tie up at the railroad-wharf in three fathoms water within half an hour after crossing the bar. Four locomotives and one hundred cars, ordered some time ago by
Capt. Briggs,
Chief Quartermaster of this Department, are now on their way, and will be put to work immediately on their arrival.
These, and the wire for the telegraph, are necessities of the most pressing nature, and should be forwarded immediately.
Beaufort would be an agreeable resort this summer for the families of officers or civilians connected with the army, the climate being salubrious, and the bathing, boating, fishing, and shooting unexcelled.
Two large hotels, owned by rebels, stand idle, but they are not likely to be filled until the regulations of the War Department become less stringent.
The town is under martial law, which is a guaranty of personal safety not to be under-estimated.
The Fort is left in command of
Col. Rodman, of the Fourth Rhode Island, the post having been declined by
Captain Morris, to whom it was offered by
Gen. Burnside, he preferring active service to the monotonous life of a garrison.
The Fourth Rhode Island is sadly in need of rest and quiet, for it has endured many hardships on the
Potomac and in this Department.