PONTOON BRIDGE AT JONES' LANDING, NEAR DEEP BOTTOM.
On the evening of the 6th, orders were received to pack up and be ready for a march, but the movement did not take place until the afternoon of the 7th, when the 2d division, to which our regiment was assigned, formed in line and started for Jones' Landing, near City Point, where they arrived on the morning of the 8th. Here they embarked on the steamer Perritt, and proceeded to Fortress Monroe, the point of rendezvous of the expedition. On the 13th they left Fortress Monroe, and for much of the time until the 30th were steaming up and down the coast. For several days they were at Beaufort, N.C., taking in supplies of coal and water, and from there proceeded to Cape Fear River, and landed near Fort Fisher, intending to make an assault; but General Weitzel, who had immediate command of the troops, declared it would be suicidal to make the attempt, and the men re-embarked, and the transports returned directly to City Point.
General Butler, who had charge of the land forces, conceived the idea of sending in near to Fort Fisher a vessel loaded with powder, expecting that by its explosion the fort would be materially damaged. The plan was carried out, but no visible effect followed the explosion, and the expedition, which was based upon the success of the plan, proved a failure. From City Point the regiment returned to its old position at Chapin's Farm. The men had suffered from their long confinement on the dirty steamer. The food was insufficient and the vermin intolerable, and it was a blessed relief to get back where they could cleanse and purify themselves and clothing.
From December 30 to January 3 they were allowed to remain in camp, enjoying quiet and rest. On that day everything was packed and made ready for a change, in obedience to orders, and on the evening of the 3d they started for Bermuda Hundred. On the 4th, they embarked on the steamer Tonawanda, and the next day were at Fortress Monroe. On the 8th they were in Hatteras Inlet. On the 9th, they joined the fleet off Beaufort, N.C. On the 12th, they were in Cape Fear River, and on the 13th moved farther in, and nearer Fort Fisher.
A change had been made. General Butler had been relieved on his return from the former expedition, and General A.H. Terry was now in command of the troops, while Admiral Porter commanded the naval forces, as before. At ten o'clock on the morning of the 13th, a landing was effected in small boats, and the troops formed on the beach and stacked arms, and proceeded to throw up intrenchments from Cape Fear River to the beach. During the 13th and 14th, a heavy bombardment was kept up on Fort Fisher by the navy, and on the 15th our division, which had been working round to the rear of the fort, prepared for an assault.
Having left behind knapsacks and all other encumbrances, about two o'clock in the afternoon the first charge was made, which resulted in securing the outer section of the fort. At the same time, the naval brigade charged in front. Charge succeeded charge, until ten o'clock in the evening, when the garrison, having been driven into our bastion, surrendered. The fighting on both sides was very stubborn. From the description of the fort, which I gather from those present at the assault, it was composed of detached mounds. When one was taken, our men gathered behind it for a short halt and rest. And then, with a sudden rush and bound over and around this mound, another was taken, until at last the whole was captured, with twenty-five hundred prisoners and sixty guns. Our losses were quite severe. Captain Dunn, my old orderly sergeant, who behaved so well at Chester Heights, was killed; and many names in our regiment, as well as in the others engaged, were added to the long list of martyrs. Everything had been arranged to blow up the fort, rather than surrender it; but the wires connecting the batteries which were arranged to effect the explosion were cut off from their connections with the magazines by the shot and shell from the navy. A slight explosion did take place, late at night, after our regiment had been withdrawn. Several other small forts in the vicinity were blown up by the Confederates, but the garrison of Fort Anderson, some little distance up the river, remained in possession until February 19, when the disposition of our troops was such that there could no longer be any hope of being able to hold it, and it was evacuated.
