has to evacuate Richmond and retire into Tennessee. He
told me the other day, that if they did not keep Wilmington
he could not save Richmond. They nearly had Fort Fisher—they
were within sixty yards of it—and had they pushed
on as they ought to have done could have taken it. It
was a terrific bombardment; they estimate that about
40,000 shells were sent into it. Colonel Lamb behaved
like a brick—splendidly. I got the last of the Whitworths
in, and they are now at the Fort. They are very hard up
for food in the field, but the Banshee has this time 600