The Daily Dispatch: January 2, 1865., [Electronic resource]

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We received last night New York papers of Friday, the 30th. We give a summary of the news:

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The Wilmington disaster — official report of Admiral Porter--a gunpowder Scheme — its Failure — landing of the troops and their repulse.

The official report of Admiral Porter about the Wilmington disaster is published, and fills three columns of the Times. It is badly put together.--It opens with an account of the sailing of the fleet, and then goes into the particulars of a great gun-power plot for the blowing up of Fort Fisher. He says:

‘ So much had been said and written about the terrible effects of gunpowder in an explosion that happened lately in England that great results were expected from this novel mode of making war.--Everything that ingenuity could devise was adopted to make the experiment a success. The vessel was brought round from Norfolk with great care and without accident, in tow of the United States steamer Sassacus, Lieutenant-Commander J. L. Davis, who directed his whole attention to the matter in hand; and though he experienced some bad weather and lost one of his rudders, he took her safely into Beaufort, where he filled her up with powder and perfected all the machinery for blowing her up.

’ General Butler had arrived at the rendezvous before us, and I hastened matters all that I could, so that no unnecessary delay might be laid to my charge.

On the 18th instant, I sailed from Beaufort with all the monitors, the New Ironsides and the small vessels, including the Louisiana, disguised as a blockade-runner, for the rendezvous, twenty miles east of New inlet, North Carolina, and found all the larger vessels and transports assembled there, the wind blowing light from the northeast.

On the 23d, I directed Commander Rhind to proceed and explode the vessel right under the walls of Fort Fisher, Mr. Bradford, of the Coast Survey, having gone in at night and ascertained that we could place a vessel of seven feet draught right on the edge of the beach. Lieutenant R. H. Lamson, commanding the Gettysburg, volunteered to go in the Wilderness, Acting Master Henry Arsy in command, and tow the Louisiana into position. At 10.30 P. M. the powder vessel started toward the bar, and was towed by the Wilderness until the embrasures of Fort Fisher were plainly in sight. The Wilderness then cast off, and the Louisiana proceeded under steam until within two hundred yards of the beach and five hundred from the fort. Commander Rhind anchored her securely there and coolly went to work to make all his arrangements to blow her up. This he was enabled to do, owing to a blockade-runner going in right ahead of him, the forts making the blockade-runner signals, which they also did to the Louisiana. The gallant party, after coolly making all their arrangements for the explosion, left the vessel. The last thing they did being to set her on fire under the cabin, and then taking to their boats, they made their escape off the Wilderness, lying close by. The Wilderness then put off shore with good speed to avoid any ill effects that might happen from the explosion.

At forty-five minutes past 1 o'clock on the morning of the 24th the explosion took place. The shook was nothing like so severe as was expected; it shook the vessels some and broke one or two glasses, but nothing more.

The gunpowder arrangement having failed, the bombardment was commenced. Of it, he says:

‘ One or two leading vessels having made the mistake of anchoring too far off, caused those coming after them to commit a like error; but when they all got into place and commenced work in earnest, the shower of shell (one hundred and fifteen per minute) was irresistible. So quickly were the enemy's guns silenced that not an officer or man was injured.

’ I regret, however, to have to report some severe casualties by the bursting of six one hundred-pounder Parrott cannon. One burst on board the Ticonderoga, killing six of the crew and wounding seven others; another burst on board the Yankee, killing one officer and two men; another on the Juniata, killing two officers, and wounding and killing ten others; another on the Mackinaw, killing one officer and wounding five men; another on the Quaker City, wounding, I believe, two or three; another on the Susquehanna, killing and wounding seven. I think the bursting of the guns (six in all) much disconcerted the crews of the vessels where the accidents happened, and gave one and all a great distrust of the Parrott one hundred-pounders, and as subsequent events proved, they were unfit for service, and calculated to kill more of our own men than those of the enemy. Some of the vessels were struck once or twice. The Mackinaw had her boiler perforated with a shell, and ten or twelve persons were badly scalded. The Osceola was struck with a shell near the magazine, and was at one time in a sinking condition; but her efficient commander stopped up the leak, while the Mackinaw fought out the battle, notwithstanding the damage she received. The Yantic was the only vessel which left the line to report damages.

The troops were landed on the 25th (all the guns of Fort Fisher, of course, supposed to be dismounted) in one hundred small boats. What the results were is shown in the following correspondence.--There is evidently a row certain between Butler and Porter;

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General Butler to Admiral Porter.

Admiral: Upon landing the troops and making a thorough reconnaissance of Fort Fisher, both General Weitzel and myself are fully of the opinion that the place could not be carried by assault, as it was left substantially uninjured, as a defensive work, by the navy fire. We found seventeen guns, protected by traverses, two only of which were dismounted, bearing on the beach and covering a strip of land, the only practical route, not wide enough for a thousand men in line of battle.

Having captured Flag-Pond battery, the garrison of which, sixty-five men and two commissioned officers, were taken off by the navy; we also captured Half-Moon battery, and seven officers and two hundred and eight men of the Third North Carolina junior reserves, including its commander, from whom I learned that a portion of Hoke's division, consisting of Kirkland's and Haygood's brigades, had been sent from the lines before Richmond on Tuesday last, arriving at Wilmington on Friday night.

General Weitzel advanced his skirmish line within fifty yards of the fort, while the garrison was kept in their bomb-proofs by the fire of the navy, and so closely that three or four men of the picket line ventured upon the parapet, and through the sally-port of the works, capturing a horse, which they brought off, killing the orderly, who was the bearer of a dispatch from the chief of artillery of General Whiting, to bring a light battery within the fort; and also brought away from the parapet the flag of the fort. This was done while the shells of the navy were falling about the heads of the daring men who entered the work; and it was evident, as soon as the fire of the navy ceased because of the darkness, that the fort was fully manned again, and opened with grape and canister upon our picket line.

Finding that nothing but the operations of a regular siege, which did not come within my instructions, would reduce the fort, and in view of the threatening aspect of the weather, the wind arising from the southwest, rendering it impossible to make further landing through the surf, I caused the troops, with their prisoners, to re-embark, and I see nothing further that can be done by the land forces. I shall, therefore, sail for Hampton Roads as soon as the transport fleet can be got in order.

My engineers and officers report Fort Fisher to me as substantially uninjured as a defensive work.

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Admiral Porter to General Butler.

I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date, the substance of which was communicated to me by General Weitzel last night. I have ordered the largest vessels to proceed off Beaufort to fill up with ammunition, to be ready for another attack in case it is decided to proceed with this matter by making other arrangements.--We have not commenced firing rapidly yet, and could keep any rebels inside from moving their head until an assaulting column was within twenty yards of the works. I wish some more of your gallant fellows had followed the officer who took the flag from the parapet, and the brave fellow who brought the horse out from the fort. I think they would have found it an easier conquest than is supposed. I do not, however, pretend to place my opinion in opposition to General Weitzel, whom I know to be an accomplished soldier and engineer, and whose opinion has great weight with me.

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The land fighting — Unaccountable Recall of the troops.

A correspondent of the New York Times gives an account of the land fighting, of which there appears to have been hardly any at all. The first regiment that landed was the One Hundred and Forty-second New York, who celebrated the event by "nine long and lusty cheers." Another regiment then "marched a few yards" and captured the Flag-Pond battery, with sixty-five men. The rest of this laughable conflict is thus described:

While this was going on, the One Hundred and Forty-second New York regiment, having formed on the beach, were marched up in the direction of Fort Fisher. Captain Winslow's company was deployed as skirmishers. These gallant fellows not only marched three miles up a beach that had the full sweep of the guns on that side of Fort Fisher, but they actually took shelter under the guns, charged a redoubt and captured a flag. Not only that, but one of the number crept up to an angle of the fort and shot and killed a mounted orderly who had just passed within the sally port, capturing his mule, and took from him an important dispatch which he was conveying to the commandant from the rebel authorities in Wilmington. That was not all achieved by that gallant regiment on that occasion. Soon after arriving at the fort, a company deployed to the right and surprised and captured over two hundred rebels who were marching down a road. In the meantime, the other regiments of Colonel Curtis's brigade, Second division, Twenty-fourth corps, landed and formed in line.--This brigade was followed by the Third brigade. The entire number of troops that landed did not exceed three thousand out of seven thousand on the transports. A few colored troops landed, remained on the beach an hour or two, and were then ordered to return to the steamers. One other regiment started to follow the One Hundred and Forty-second, and when they had advanced a mile or so, were marched back to the place of landing, with the exception of making a reconnaissance in the direction of the Half-Moon battery and skirmishing a little with the enemy in the woods. The above particulars include all that was accomplished by the land force of the expedition sent to operate against the Wilmington defences. The troops that did land took with them nothing in the way of provisions — not even a piece of hard bread. They had not been on the land three hours--some a less time than that — before orders were issued to re-embark.

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The re-embarkation of the troops.

On Sunday night, the troops that had landed during the day were busily engaged getting themselves back to the transports. The night was dark and stormy, and by no means propitious for such an undertaking. All of the small boats of the vessels under Captain Glisson were brought into the service, and the work of re-embarking progressed as fast as wind and weather would admit. In the meantime the rebels in Fort Fisher would occasionally send a shot howling down the beach. At six o'clock in the morning all of the troops, with the exception of nearly five hundred, had been placed again on board of the transports. The five hundred could not be got off to-day in consequence of the tremendous swell of the sea, which made it utterly impossible for a boat to go to the shore. There are no fears, however, as to their safety, for a number of gunboats lay ready to open on the rebels should they attempt a demonstration.

This morning (Monday, the 26th,) the weather was thick and cloudy, and the sea ran quite high. --At 10 o'clock a large, dense column of smoke appeared above Fort Fisher, caused, doubtless, by burning buildings in the vicinity. The Brooklyn ran down abreast the fort and opened on it, keeping up the fire for over an hour. Not a reply came from Fort Fisher. To-day the fleet did not engage in action. The iron-clads and large wooden vessels were employed taking in coal and ammunition preparatory to renewing the fight to-morrow. It is the intention of Admiral Porter to bombard the works until something definite and satisfactory shall be accomplished.

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Miscellaneous.

Admiral Lee telegraphs (from Florence on the 27th) to the Navy Department that he stopped Hood's crossing the river below Muscle shoals, but Hood had a bridge higher up, where he could not get at him, and was crossing. Supplies had reached Chickasaw, on the Tennessee, for General Thomas's army, and the railroad to Corinth was in our possession, so that Hood cannot get supplies by that route.

Burbridge, in his official report of his raid, says: ‘"The expedition was entirely successful, and will be more felt by the enemy than the loss of Richmond. The salt works and lead mines are in ruins, and cannot be replaced."’

The steamer North American was lost off the Florida coast on the 21st, and one hundred and ninety-four sick and furloughed Yankee soldiers were drowned.

Gold went up in New York to 225½ upon the Wilmington news.