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Sherman's) battery of six rifled cannon, and a battalion of Serrell's volunteer engineers.

The weather, which was unsettled when the fleet left Hampton Roads, soon changed into a storm of wind of great violence, which, increasing on the 31st October, became on Friday, Nov. 1, a hurricane from the southeast, and scattered the ships so widely that, on Saturday morning, but one of the whole fleet was in sight from the deck of the Wabash. On Sunday the wind had moderated, and the steamers and ships began to reappear. The Isaac Smith had been compelled to throw her battery overboard to keep from foundering; the Governor and the Peerless, two of the transports, sank; but the soldiers and crews were saved except seven of the marines on the Governor, who were drowned by their own imprudence. On the morning of the 4th, Com. Dupont anchored off the bar of Port Royal harbor, with twenty-five of his vessels in company. The channel of the harbor was that day found, sounded out, and buoyed under the direction of Commander Davis, the fleet captain. The gunboats and lighter transports were, before dark of the same day, anchored inside of the bar, in the secure roadstead, and Com. Tatnall's (Confederate) fleet chased under their own batteries. The next day a reconnoissance in force was made by the Ottawa, Seneca, Curlew, and Isaac Smith, which drew the fire of the Confederate forts, and showed which was the strongest. On the 5th, the Wabash and Susquehanna, and the large transports crossed the bar, and the buoys which marked the shoal lines were planted. A storm postponed the attack until the 7th, when it was commenced at about half-past nine o'clock A. M., and continued for four hours, closing with the complete rout and flight of the Confederate force from both forts. The Confederate fortifications were Fort Walker, on Hilton's Head Island, at the right of the channel-a strong earthwork mounting 23 guns, all of the heaviest calibre and most approved pattern for sea-coast defence, some of them rifled, and several imported from England since the war commenced. A small outwork, mounting a single rifled gun, had been erected near the fort and beyond it on the sea front. Fort Beauregard, at Bay Point, on Phillips or Hunting Island, on the left bank of the channel, 2 miles from Fort Walker, was also a strong work, though not as formidable as Fort Walker. It mounted 20 guns of the same general character as those in the other fort, and was supported by an outwork nearly a half mile distant, mounting 5 guns. About 2 miles above the forts, where the Port Royal or Beaufort River joins the Broad, Com. Tatnall's (Confederate) fleet of six or seven gunboats was stationed.

The circumstances thus detailed influenced Com. Dupont in deciding upon his plan of attack. Ile first stationed his transports at anchor, beyond the range of the guns of the forts; then leading the way with the Wabash, followed immediately by the Susquehanna, Mo

hican, Seminole, Pawnee, Unadilla, Ottawa, Pembina, and Vandalia towed by the Isaac Smith, he passed up the centre of the channel, delivering his fire at the forts on each side, and, sailing in an ellipse, passed down within 600 yards of Fort Walker, firing slowly and deliberately, but never losing the range. Meanwhile the Bienville, Seneca, Curlew, Penguin, and Augusta had passed up on the left side of the channel, pouring their broadsides into Fort Beauregard, and then taking a station where they could cut off Tatnall's fleet from any participation in the fight, and at the same time maintain a destructive flanking fire upon the weak left flank of Fort Walker. Three times the line of vessels traversed their elliptical circuit, the last time aided by the fire of the Pocahontas, the R. B. Forbes, and the Mercury tug. which came up about twelve o'clock M. At the completion of the third circuit, the guns of the forts were mostly disabled, and the garri sons, consisting in Fort Walker of two South Carolina regiments, and in Fort Beauregard of one, had fled in a terrible panic, leaving their weapons, overcoats, and even their watches and papers behind them. The Federal loss was: killed, 8; wounded seriously, 6; wounded slightly, 17. Total killed and wounded, 31. Confederate loss not known, but considerably larger than this. With these forts were captured 48 cannon, 43 of them of excellent quality, and mostly of large calibre, and large quantities of ammunitions and stores. On the 9th of November, the Seneca, Lieut. Ammen commanding, proceeded to Beaufort, and found the town in possession of the negroes, the whites having The other islands were successively occupied, and on the 25th Nov., Com. Dupont reported to the Navy Department, that he had taken pos session of Tybee Island, commanding the entrance of the Savannah River. Meantime the troops under Gen. Sherman, though debarred by the circumstances from any active participation in the capture of the two forts, had not been idle. Having landed on Hilton Head, they occupied and strengthened the fortifications, and made that point the base of further operations on Savannah, Charleston, and other places, the record of which belongs to the year 1862.

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3. The Ship Island Expedition.-Ship Island is a small island, about 7 miles in length, anẻ from to of a mile wide, lying a little north of the 30th parallel of north latitude and near the 89th meridian of west longitude. It is about 60 miles from New Orleans, and with Horn, Pelet, Bois, and Dauphine Islands on the ent and Cat Island on the west, forms the southern barrier of Mississippi Sound, a body of water extending from Mobile Bay to Lake Borgne, in Louisiana, and forming an interior commen cation between Mobile and New Orleans. sound is 10 or 12 miles wide, and opposite St p Island, which is south of the coast of Mi sippi, are the towns of Biloxi, Mississippi City, and Pascagoula. The island itself is mostly a bank of clear white sand, without trees a

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shrubs. On the east end, however, there are live oak and other trees and grass. Excellent water can be obtained in abundance by sinking a barrel anywhere on the island. On the west end is a fort and light-house. The fort was commenced by the U. S. Government in 1859, and in May or June, 1861, was burned by the Confederates, who also destroyed the woodwork of the light-house. The U. S. steamer Massachusetts visited the island on the 28th of June, and found it unoccupied, and captured five Confederate schooners in its vicinity. Between this date and the 4th of July the Massachusetts was absent at Fort Pickens, but on her return from that it had been visited by a Confederate force, who, however, were not then on the island. On the 8th July the Massachusetts found a considerable force there, who were throwing up intrenchments and had mounted some heavy guns. An attempt was made to dislodge thein, but unsuccessfully, and they were allowed to remain in possession till the 16th of September when, under the apprehension that a large naval expedition was coming to attack them, they abandoned the island and escaped to the shore, taking most of their ordnance with them. During the two months of their occupation they had re-built the fort, constructing eleven fine bomb-proof casemates and a magazine, and had mounted 20 guns. They named it Fort Twiggs. On the 17th Sept. the Massachusetts landed a force on the island, who took possession, and having been reënforced, have continued to hold it. They mounted cannon on the fort and strengthened it still further by the addition of two more bomb-proof casemates, and a formidable armament of Dahlgren 9-inch shell guns and rifled cannon. They also erected barracks for troops, with brick, left on the island by the Confederates, and lumber captured from them. On the 19th October, Com. Hollins, in command of the Confederate gunboat Florida, appeared in Mississippi Sound, and challenged the U. S. gunboat Massachusetts to a naval battle. The challenge was accepted, and after a sharp engagement of forty-five minutes the Florida retired, seriously disabled, and put into Pass Christian, apparently in a sinking condition. Four of her crew were killed. The Massachusetts was injured, but not seriously, by a 100-lb. shell, which struck her 5 feet above her water line, but was repaired in a few days. None of her crew were killed, and only one slightly wounded. On the 21st Nov. the gunboat New London arrived in the sound, and in the course of a fortnight captured five Confederate vessels.

The expedition to Ship Island was projected in September, almost immediately after Gen. Butler's return from the expedition to Hatteras Inlet, and he was authorized to enlist troops for it in New England. Coming into collision with Gov. Andrew of Massachusetts, in relation to the appointment of persons as fieldofficers for the regiments he raised in Massachusetts, whom the Governor regarded as unfit

for their posts, and refused to commission, the expedition was delayed for a time. The first instalment of troops for it were embarked at Boston, on the 19th of November, on the U. S. transport Constitution, and sailed at first for Portland, Me., and thence for Fortress Monroe, which they reached on the 26th Nov., and sailed the next day for Ship Island, where they arrived on the 3d Dec. They consisted of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment, Col. Jones, the Ninth Connecticut, Col. Cahill, and the Fourth battery of Massachusetts artillery, Capt. Manning, and were under the command of Brig.-Gen. John W. Phelps, a native of Vermont, and graduate of West Point, in 1836. He served for 23 years in the army, but resigned in 1859, and was living at Brattleboro, Vt., at the commencement of the war, when he was called to the command of the First Regiment of Vermont Volunteers, (three-months men,) and in July was appointed brigadier-general.

Having completed the debarkation of his command, Gen. Phelps issued a proclamation to the loyal citizens of the southwest, for which there seemed no occasion, as his superior in command, Maj.-Gen. Butler, had not arrived, and there were on the island none but U. S. troops, and no invasion had been made upon the territory claimed by the Confederate Government. The tone of the address was also injudicious, and Gen. Phelps was stated to have been reprimanded by the U. S. Government for issuing it. He announced in his proclamation as among the principles by which his command would be governed, that every slave State which had been admitted into the Union, since the adoption of the Constitution, had been so admitted in direct violation of that Constitution; that the slave States which existed as such, at the formation of the Constitution were, by becoming parties to that compact, under the highest obligations of honor and morality to abolish slavery; urged the claims of free, and especially of free foreign labor, to a share in the occupancy and cultivation of the soil of the Southern States, and the importance and absolute necessity of the domination of free institutions to the prosperity of the Caucasian race on the continent. He then proceeded to discuss the position and claims of slavery as a social and political evil, and the necessity of its overthrow. In illustration of this necessity, growing, as he avowed, out of its want of adaptation to modern times and free institutions, he drew a parallel between slavery and the condition of the Catholic Church in France before the Revolution, and asked whether they ought not and could not revolutionize slavery out of existence. In conclusion he bestowed a high eulogium on free labor, as the basis of free institutions; as the right, the capital, the inheritance, the hope of the poor man everywhere; that it was especially the right of five millions of our fellow-countrymen in the slave States, as well as of the four millions of Africans there, and declared that

all the efforts of his command, whether directed against the interference of governments abroad or rebellious combinations at home, should be for free labor; that their motto' and their standard should be there, and everywhere, and on all occasions, "Free labor and workingmen's rights." The proclamation was not circulated upon the mainland to any considerable extent; but it created much dissatisfaction among Gen. Phelps' own command. The Constitution left Ship Island on the 7th of Dec. on her return to the North, and arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 15th; in Jan. 1862, she returned with another considerable body of troops. During the month of December the gunboats Montgomery and New London had two engagements with Confederate gunboats in Mississippi Sound, but without decisive result.

4. The Burnside Expedition.-The preparations for this expedition were commenced early in September, and in October about 11,000 troops had been concentrated at Annapolis, to prepare for the enterprise, and to be perfected in drill. Just before the departure of the expedition, an addition of several regiments was made to this force. At the commencement it was resolved to place it in charge of Brig.-Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, a native of Indiana, born May 23, 1824, who graduated at West Point in 1847, distinguished himself as a lieutenant in the Mexican war, and in 1849, and several succeeding years, was engaged in frontier service in New Mexico, during which he manifested great bravery in an engagement with the Apache Indians. He was quartermaster of the boundary commission with Mexico; and in 1851, with an escort of three men, he travelled 1,200 miles through the Indian Territory in seventeen days. He was next stationed at Fort Adams, Newport, but soon resigned, to enter upon the manufacture of a breech-loading rifle. This proving unprofitable, he entered the service of the Illinois Central Railroad Company as cashier and subsequently as treasurer. Gov. Sprague, of Rhode Island, tendered him an appointment as colonel of one of the Rhode Island regiments, in April, and he immediately accepted and took a prominent and honorable part in the battle of Bull Run, where he was acting brigadier-general. On the 6th of Aug. he was appointed brigadiergeneral, and soon after detailed for this expedition. The naval commander was Flag-officer L. M. Goldsborough, of the Atlantic Squadron, and Commander Samuel F. Hazard of the U. S. Navy had charge of the transport fleet. The army corps consisted of three brigades: the first under command of Brig.-Gen. John G. Foster, (the Capt. Foster of Fort Sumter,) and consisting of the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, and Twenty-seventh Massachusetts, and the Tenth Connecticut regiments; the second under command of Brig.-Gen. Jesse L. Reno, comprising the Fifty-first New York, the Fifty-first Pennsylvania, the Twenty-first Massachusetts, the Sixth New Hampshire, and the Ninth New Jersey; the third under the

command of Brig.-Gen. John G. Parke, and consisting of the Eighth and Eleventh Connec ticut, the Fifty-third and Eighty-ninth New York, and a battalion of the Fifth Rhode Island Regiment, together with Battery F. of the Rhode Island artillery. These three brigades numbered about 16,000 men, and required not far from 30 transports to take them to their destination, 5 vessels to transport the horses, 8 or 10 to carry the supplies, a siege train, and 2 pontoon-bridge schooners, a division hospital, and one for the signal corps; and the naval portion of the expedition, when it left Annapolis, consisted of 9 gunboats, and 5 floating batteries. The expedition did not sail from Fortress Monroe till the. middle of January, 1862, and its movements, therefore, belong to the record of that year rather than 1861.

5. The Mortar Fleet of Com. Porter.-This fleet, of which not more than, perhaps, two or three of the vessels composing it sailed until January, was fitted out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and was for some months in preparation. It consisted of one gunboat, the Octorara, mounting 18 guns, and serving as Com. Porter's flag-ship, but subsequently diverted from the expedition to Fortress Monroe, and 20 schooners, of from 200 to 300 tons each, of great strength and solidity, and carrying each a mortar, weighing 8 tons, of thirty-nine inches length of bore, forty-three inches external and fifteen inches internal diameter, and intended to throw a 15-inch shell, weighing, when unfilled, 212 lbs. They are elevated or depressed by means of projections on the breech. Each vessel also carried two 32pounders, rifled.

This class of vessels has been selected be cause they are stronger in proportion to their size than larger ones, at the same time that their light draft enables them to go into shallow wa ter; and from their small tonnage they can be handled by a small number of men.

To fit them to receive the mortars, a bed has been prepared, which is supported by an almost solid mass of wood, built from the keel to the deck. This consists of timbers over one foot square and twelve feet in length, interlaced and firmly fastened. The bed rises two or three inches above the deck, and consists of a solid horizontal surface, circular in form, with a truck near its edge, upon which run rollers bearing a revolving platform. The bed itself is carefully braced and supported by the entire strength of the vessel, so as to sustain the recoil of the mortar.

The circular platform surmounting the bed and bearing the mortar carriage, is constructed of heavy timbers, and is one foot in depth, and nearly twelve feet in diameter. When in position for a discharge, it lies flat and firmly on the bed, but by ingenious mechanism it may be made to revolve, in order to aim the mortar in any direction, or to re-sight it if the vessel shifts its position. The change of direction is eas:ly and quickly accomplished. By means of four eccentric axles in the platform, to which levers

are fitted, the mortar and machinery (weighing altogether over ten tons) may be raised, and the weight transferred by the same movement to a great number of metallic rollers attached to a framework of immense strength under the platform. Then, by means of tackle, already arranged, the whole mass may be moved to its desired position, and instantly, by a reverse movement, replaced on the bed. In the centre of the platform, and extending into the solid mass beneath, is an iron cylinder or spindle which prevents any side movement.

The mortar carriage is constructed almost exclusively of wrought iron. Its length is about nine feet, and its height and width each four feet. In form it bears the slightest possible resemblance to a land carriage-gradually sloping at the point where the mortar rests, in the direction of the breech; and having wheels, yet not resting on them when the mortar is discharged. The carriage is composed principally of plate iron, riveted together, braced and bolted. It is a framework of excellent design, and though weighing probably not more than two tons, is capable of resisting a pressure of one to two hundred tons.

Two wheels are set close to the framework, directly under the mortars; and connected with them are eccentric axles, so arranged as to permit so large a part of the weight to be thrown on the wheels, that the carriage may be moved on them.

It is not intended, however, that the recoil of the mortar shall in any degree be taken up or lessened in its effect by the moving of the wheels. The carriage lies firmly on the platform when the mortar is discharged, and the only possible motion will be that of the vessel in the water.

The bombs are the most formidable ordnance missile known, except those used in the Rodman columbiad of 15-inch bore. In addition to the two 32-pounder guns, the vessels are provided with pikes, cutlasses, and other necessary weapons.

The mortars cannot be fired directly over the sides of the vessels, and therefore the latter must be partially headed towards the point of attack. The vessels will therefore be anchored, and a part of the rigging removed. The extraordinary weight and strength of the mortars, the unprecedentedly large charge of powder, the long range and high velocity of the projectiles, with their destructive character, combine to render this novel expedition one of the most important undertaken during the war. The vessels made their first rendezvous at Key West and subsequently proceeded to Ship Island, Mississippi.

6. The Mississippi River Expedition.-Soon after taking command of the Western Department, Maj.-Gen. Fremont became convinced of the necessity of preparing a fleet of gunboats and mortar-boats, for the purpose of commanding the Mississippi and other navigable waters

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None of these guns are less than 32-pounders -some are 42-pounders, some 64-pounders, and one (on the Essex) throws a shell weighing 128 lbs. In addition to these, each boat carries a Dahlgren rifled 12-pounder boat howitzer on the upper deck. Several of the larger guns on each boat are rifled. Naval officers regarded the 10-inch Dahlgren shell guns as their most efficient weapons. The Benton carries two of these guns in her forward battery; the others carry one each.

Seven of the gunboats were iron-clad, and able to resist all except the heaviest solid-shot. These boats cost on an average $89,000 each. The other five were of wood, but strongly and substantially built; all were fast sailers.

Beside these, thirty-eight mortar-boats were ordered; each about sixty feet long and twentyfive feet wide, surrounded on all sides by ironplate bulwarks, six or seven feet high. The mortar itself weighs 17,200 lbs.; has a bore easily admitting a 13-inch shell, and from the edge of the bore to the outer rim is seventeen inches. The mortar bed weighs 4,500 lbs.

The mortar-boats were thoroughly tested before being used in actual service, and were found to produce but slight recoil, and the concussion caused by the iron bulwarks was remedied. With a charge of 11 lbs. of powder the mortars threw a shell, weighing 215 lbs., a distance of 2 miles; and with a charge of 15 to 23 lbs. the same shell was thrown from 3 to 3 miles.

There was also a sufficient number of steamboats and tugs provided for towing and transport service. The fleet was under the command of Flag-officer Andrew H. Foote, an experienced and able commander in the navy; and each boat was in charge of a lieutenantcommanding, who had already seen service. Very efficient service was subsequently performed by this fleet.

FAIRFAX COURT HOUSE is a small town and the capital of Fairfax County, in Virginia. It is 120 miles north of Richmond, 21 miles west of Washington, and 14 from Alexandria, After the United States forces had taken possession of the south bank of the Potomac opposite Washington, and the Confederate forces had concentrated at Manassas Junction, near the end of the month of May-Fairfax, thus situ ated between the two armies, became the scene of many skirmishes. On the 1st of June a dash was made through the village by a company of regular cavalry, consisting of forty-seven men, under command of Lieut. Tompkins. The Confederate troops, in some force, were in possession of the village, and made a vigorous and determined resistance.

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The cavalry charged through the principal street, and, upon their return, were met by two Confederate detachments of troops with a fieldpiece. Again wheeling about, they found themselves assailed in the rear by another detachment, through which the cavalry fought their way and escaped, bringing off with them five prisoners.

The cavalry lost nine horses, six shot down in the engagement, and three so badly wounded as to render it necessary to kill them shortly after leaving the village. They captured, however, with their five prisoners, three good horses with their saddles and bridles. The loss on the other side was estimated to be larger, This was the first skirmish of any interest between the Federal and Confederate forces in Northeastern Virginia.

FAST DAYS are periods of time, usually a day, in which abstinence from food is main tained as a religious observance. They are designated in the institutions of religion, and, in the United States, they are often appointed by the highest civil officer. In some of the New England States, the Governor has usually fixed by proclamation a day in the spring to be observed "by fasting, humiliation, and prayer," when religious services have generally been conducted in the churches. A few times the President of the United States has, since the existence of the Government, issued a proclamation inviting all the people thus to observe a particular day. During the year 1861, this occasion was made more frequent than ever before. On the 14th of December, President Buchanan issued the following proclamation:

A PROCLAMATION.

Numerous appeals have been made to me by pious and patriotic associations and citizens, in view of the present distracted and dangerous condition of our country, to recommend that a day be set apart for humiliation, fasting, and prayer throughout the Union. In compliance with their request, and my own sense of duty, I designate

FRIDAY, THE 4TH DAY OF JANUARY, 1861,

for this purpose, and recommend that the people assemble on that day, according to their several forms of worship, to keep it as a solemn fast. The Union of the States is at the present moment threatened with alarming and immediate dangerpanic and distress of a fearful character prevail throughout the land-our laboring population are without employment, and consequently deprived of to have deserted the minds of men. All classes are the means of earning their bread-indeed, hope seems in a state of confusion and dismay; and the wisest counsels of our best and purest men are wholly disregarded.

In this, the hour of our calamity and peril, to whom shall we resort for relief but to the God of our Fathers! His omnipotent arm only can save us from the awful effects of our own crimes and follies-our own ingratitude and guilt towards our Heavenly Father.

Let us, then, with deep contrition and penitent sorrow, unite in humbling ourselves before the Most High, in confessing our individual and national sins, and in acknowledging the justice of our punishment. Let us implore Him to remove from our hearts that false pride of opinion which would impel us to perseyield a just submission to the unforeseen exigencies by vere in wrong for the sake of consistency, rather than which we are now surrounded. Let us, with deep reverence, beseech Him to restore the friendship and good will which prevailed in former days among the people of the several States, and, above all, to save us from the horrors of civil war and "blood guiltiness." Let our fervent prayers ascend to His throne, that He would not desert us in this hour of extreme peril, but remember us as He did our fathers in the darkest days of the Revolution, and preserve our Constitution and our Union-the work of their hands-for ages yet to come. An Omnipotent Providence may overrule existing evils for permanent good. He can make the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He can restrain. Let me invoke every individual, in whatever sphere of life he may be placed, to

feel a personal responsibility to God and his country

for keeping this day holy, and for contributing all in his power to remove our actual and impending dith culties. JAMES BUCHANAN.

WASHINGTON, Dec 14, 1861.

On the 14th of May, the Confederate Congress passed a resolution as follows:

That the President be requested to issue his proclama Resolved by the Congress of the Confederate State, tion, appointing a day of fasting and prayer in the ob servance of which all shall be invited to join, who recognize our dependence upon God, and who desire the happiness and security of that people "whose God is the Lord."

Davis issued the following proclamation:
In compliance with this resolution, President

A PROCLAMATION.

God feel themselves surrounded by peril and difficulty, When a people who recognize their dependence upon it becomes them to humble themselves under the dis pensation of Divine Providence, to recognize His righteous government, to acknowledge His goodness in the future. times past, and supplicate his merciful protection for

The manifest proofs of the Divine blessings hitherto extended to the efforts of the people of the Confederate States of America to maintain and perpetuate public liberty, individual rights, and national independence, demand their devout and heartful gratitude. It be comes them to give public manifestation of this grati tude, and of their dependence upon the Judge of all

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