is made simultaneously along a line of nearly 50 miles. I write hurriedly, and I do not wish to detain the steamer, which is now ready to leave. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. R. S. DAVIS, I. N. PALMER, Brigadier-General, Commanding. Assistant Adjutant-General. MAJOR By direction of the commanding general I inclose the within statement of the condition of the subsistence department at New Berne; also of Morehead City, Beaufort, and Fort Macon. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. A. JUDSON, Assistant Adjutant-General. [Inclosure No. 1.] JANUARY 31, 1864. Rations on hand at Morehead City, including Forts Macon and Beaufort: NEW BERNE, N. C., February 3, 1864-8 p. m. MAJOR: My last communication to you concerning the state of affairs at this place was addressed to you yesterday at 5 p. m. At that hour the communication with Morehead City by telegraph was interrupted, and the telegraph operator at Newport reported the rebels on the railroad at that place. I was in communication with the stations Croatan and Havelock until 10 p. m. yesterday, at which time I ordered the commands at those points to this place, as the post at Evans' Mill was about to be attacked; and, if carried, the commands at the stations mentioned would have been jeopardized. The commands came safely. At midnight the rebel force, under the immediate command of General Pickett, commenced to retire toward Kinston. They had been immediately in front of Fort Totten, apparently making preparations for an attack during the day. I only directed firing upon them when they were in plain view. The firing was excellent, and whenever they appeared they were forced to retire immediately. On the south side of Trent River the same thing occurred. I had placed all the forces there under the command of Colonel Amory, of the Seventeenth Massachusetts Volunteers. I was not surprised when I discovered they had retired, although I certainly thought with their large force they would make a strong effort to capture this place. I have never had any fears as to my ability to hold the position, and in writing to you of affairs here, I have merely wished to keep the commanding general posted as to the actual condition of affairs; not to request re-enforcements, except so much as to re-establish our communication with Morehead City, and to keep the river clear in case the rebels commenced to erect batteries on its banks. To-morrow I hope to open the communication with the coast. To-day I have followed up the retreating force with cavalry on the Neuse road toward Kinston, and on the other side of the Trent River toward Pollocksville. They appear to be making for Kinston, but I am still on the watch for them from a new quarter. The force here is in good shape. I have armed a very respectable force of negroes, and we are in a good situation to stand a siege. At the first attack on our force at the Neuse bridge we lost 1 officer killed and 3 wounded. A few non-commissioned officers and privates were also killed and wounded. At this point the rebels suffered considerably, and among the killed was Colonel Shaw, of the Eighth North Carolina Volunteers. I made every effort to relieve the section of artillery reported as lost in my communication of the 1st instant. This section, with two companies as support, was sent to the support of a company of North Carolina loyal troops at Beech Grove, some 9 miles from here. The rebels came down the Neuse road so rapidly that they got in rear of the force at the Grove, and yesterday afternoon they sent two regiments and three pieces of artillery against them and captured them. The most of the North Carolina troops, I am happy to say, escaped. Deserters have been coming in all day, mostly from North Carolina regiments, some few from Virginia and Georgia regiments. From them I got the following list of the forces brought against me, all under command of General George E. Pickett: Pickett's division, consisting of the three brigades of Kemper, Corse, and Armistead's old brigade; the brigades of Clingman, Hoke, Ransom, and Barton; sixteen pieces of artillery, formerly under Major Dearing, but now under Major Read; two or three regiments of cavalry (one of them Baker's); in all, probably about 15,000. I cannot at this time give any correct account of the losses in the Sub-district of Beaufort, but hope to communicate with Colonel Jourdan to-morrow, and to send complete reports to your office soon. I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. R. S. DAVIS, Assistant Adjutant-General. I. N. PALMER, NEW BERNE, N. C., February 4, 1864-3.15 p. m. MAJOR: Since my communication of yesterday several gun-boats have arrived, and in case of attempt to erect batteries on the river we have sufficient force, I think, to put a stop to them. I have been feeling my way down to the coast by the railroad to-day. The rebels have been hovering along the track, but as yet I have heard of but little damage done by them. I have sent a force to Croatan, 10 miles from here, and I hope soon to have communication along the whole line. The force of the rebels on the opposite side of the Neuse River was three regiments of infantry, four pieces of artillery, and 500 cavalry, sent there, as I am informed by some deserters who have come in, for the purpose of capturing the force at Forts Anderson and Chase, in the event of the capture of the post of New Berne. There is a rumor that the enemy is still in large force at Newport, 11 miles from Morehead, but I doubt it. I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Maj. R. S. DAVIS, Assistant Adjutant-General. NEW BERNE, N. C., February 5, 1864. GENERAL: I am directed by Brigadier-General Palmer, commanding, to express to you his thanks for your prompt and generous compliance with his request for re-enforcements from your command. The Fifteenth Connecticut, Colonel Upham, was reported at these headquarters about 9 o'clock last evening. Appearances favor the conclusion that the enemy has retired from this vicinity, and should this prove to be the case your troops will be returned so soon as we feel secure. In the mean time information from you will be attentively awaited, and the general will hold himself in readiness to respond to any demands you may feel called upon to make. General Butler states that two regiments from each division of Lee's army, in all about 8,000 men, had been sent into North Carolina, and is of the opinion that this constituted the entire force in our front; but our information is positive that Pickett's entire division from Tennessee was also here, the whole force being under Pickett's command. We have deserters and prisoners from all Pickett's brigades. If General Butler's information is accurate the enemy must have been in stronger force than we had believed. We are now reconnoitering the line of the railroad toward Morehead, in which direction there are still traces of the enemy. We have no reliable information that Washington is threatened; should such be the case we may have to spare some of our troops in that direction. I remain, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Brigadier-General WESSELLS, NEW BERNE, N. C., February 7, 1864. MAJOR Since my last communication to you the Spaulding has arrived at Morehead, and the Twenty-first Connecticut are doing good service in the Sub-district of Beaufort. The enemy left the vicinity of New Berne, as I informed you in my last, and scouts, which have been kept busy, report them as apparently returning by the different routes to Kinston. The force of the enemy that attacked Newport are, however, still hovering in that vicinity. I will remark here that the enemy did not succeed in getting any of our artillery at Newport, and am told our losses in men in Colonel Jourdan's command will probably be in the vicinity of 50. The enemy left one iron gun in the neighborhood of Newport, which we can make serviceable. Working parties have been very busy in repairing the railroad, and I was very much in hopes of getting it in running order before the departure of the Spaulding; but this morning Colonel Dutton, who is at present in command at Morehead, informs me that there is a considerable force of rebels threatening Newport, and this will cause some delay. Colonel Jourdan came to consult with me last night, and he will return, if possible, to-day. It is perfectly easy for the enemy to harass our line toward the railroad, for they must have considerable force at Trenton to keep open their communication via Young's Cross-Roads, and it would take a larger force than we can spare just now to organize an expedition for the purpose of taking possession of these points. In any event, Colonel Jourdan considers the position at Morehead perfectly safe. I have, from what I consider good authority, learned the programme of the enemy on this expedition. The object was, of course, to get possession of this place, and the operations were to be as follows: General Pickett was to come immediately to New Berne, and, provided all the others came to time in order to make the attacks simultaneously, he hoped to get into the place by Fort Totten. He had about 6,000 men. General Barton had about 5,000 men, and he was to gain possession of the works on south side of Trent River, commencing at Brice's Creek. Colonel Dearing had three regiments-Fifteenth and Seventeenth Virginia (of Corse's brigade), and Sixty-seventh North Carolina (Whitford's), four pieces of artillery, and some 300 cavalry at a point about 2 miles from Fort Anderson (across the Neuse), and this force was to capture our forces there when this place should fail. General Martin was to attack Sheppardsville (Newport) and the places on the railroad. He had about 4,000 men. General Pickett, although his force was so large, was delayed some ten hours in getting from the Neuse bridge, where a stout resistance was made to the front of Fort Totten. General Barton arrived in good time at the front of Colonel Amory, but he could not cross Brice's Creek without bridging it, and although he had his own brigade, a portion of Ransom's and Kemper's, with four pieces of artillery and a respectable force of cavalry, he was forced to retire without effecting anything. Whitford (or Dearing), of course, remained quiet, and the good preparations made on my line from the Neuse to the Trent made the matter of an assault then absurd. Martin performed his part well; at least, he broke no communication with the coast, and he is still hovering around. You may, perhaps, see some flaming accounts in Southern papers of the success of the raid, but the commanding general may rest assured that, with the exception of the section of artillery lost at Beech Grove, the loss is too trifling to be mentioned. I sent out a couple of surgeons, with two ambulances, for the purpose of providing for some poor unfortunate small-pox patients, directing the surgeons to explain the humane errand on which they were sent. The rebels permitted the sick people to remain where they were, and the medical officers were made prisoners, with the ambulances. This will probably be magnified into something of importance as well as heroic. The deserters and stragglers are constantly coming in. The number of these will probably exceed the number of our men lost at the various points. The following regiments are represented among the deserters and prisoners, the great mass of them being deserters, who appear to be too well satisfied to get in here: Virginia regiments: Twenty-fourth, Fourteenth, Thirty-eighth, Fifty-third, Ninth, Fifteenth, Twentyninth, Eleventh, Seventeenth, Fifty-seventh; total, 10; North Carolina regiments: Eighth, Fifty-first, First, Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth, Forty-ninth, Fifty-fourth, Nineteenth, Sixty-eighth, Fifty-ninth, Forty-fourth, Fourth, Sixty-first; total, 13; Georgia-Twenty-first and Second; Stribling's battery, Fithler's* battery, Third North Carolina Battery.* Five sailors of the C. S. Navy were captured at the time of the burning of the Underwriter. The boat expedition that came down the Neuse was made up of parties from Charleston, Richmond, and Wilmington. It was commanded by John Taylor Wood, formerly a lieutenant in the U. S. Navy. There were several C. S. Navy officers with him. The night before the Underwriter was captured and burned the expedition came into the river and searched it thoroughly for some naval vessels to destroy. It was so foggy that they returned to wait for a better opportunity. This shows a lamentable lack of vigilance, I conceive, on the part of the gun-boats, and I hope the lesson will be a profitable one. I will remark, however, that at the time of the capture of the Underwriter there were but two or three small gun-boats here, Commander Davenport having gone up the sounds with his own vessel, and I have no idea of the locality of the others. I have requested Commander Davenport to attend to the picketing of the river, and he cheerfully attends to my requests. One of the prisoners informs me that he had been detailed to work on the rebel iron-clad ram, now building at Kinston. He says they are finishing the work on her as fast as possible; that the engine is not yet in her, but it was thought that a few weeks would complete her. She has four embrasures; can carry four heavy guns, and is plated with 4-inch iron and built after the model of the Merrimac. This is a matter for serious consideration. A vessel like the one described, could she get into the harbor, would do incalculable damage. I think there is no doubt of the truth of this statement. Dispatches from Colonel McChesney, from Washington, report everything quiet there, and I hear nothing to cause me to think that the enemy is at Plymouth. I should feel that Morehead was more secure if we had more lightdraught gun-boats there now. The Nansemond is doing good service there, but if we had some gun-boats that could run up the Newport River we could prevent easily the assembling of the enemy on the peninsula north and east of Morehead. I shall direct Colonel Jourdan to direct the Spaulding to proceed to Fort Monroe, on his arrival at Morehead, unless there is some good reason for her delay. I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant, I. N. PALMER, Brigadier-General. Maj. R. S. DAVIS, Assistant Adjutant-General. *Probably reference is to Ellis' battery, Third North Carolina Battalion. |