THE OPPOSING FORCES AT FORT FISHER.
661
hold, of the Southern Confederacy on the Atlanticcoast.
I will not go so far as to say the army could nothave stormed Port Fisher without the diversionafforded by the naval assault, for no soldiers dur-ing the war showed more indomitable pluck thanthe gallant regiments that stormed the fort on thatafternoon ; but I do say our attack enabled them toget into the fort with far less loss than they wouldotherwise have suffered.
As a diversion the charge of sailors was a suc-cess ; as an exhibition of courage it was magnifi-cent ; but the material of which the column wascomposed, and the arms with which it was furnished,left no reasonable hope after the first onslaught hadbeen checked that it could have succeeded.
While kept under the walls of the fort, I was aneye-witness to an act of heroism on the part of
Assistant-Surgeon William Longshaw, a youngofficer of the medical staff, whose memory shouldever be kept green by his corps, and which deservesmore than thispassingnotice. A sailor too severelywounded to help himself had fallen close to thewater’s edge, and with the rising tide would havedrowned. Dr. Longshaw, at the peril of his life,went to his assistance and dragged him beyond theincoming tide. At this moment he heard a cryfrom a wounded marine, one of a small group who,behind a little hillock of sand close to the parapet,kept up a fire upon the enemy. Longshaw ran tohis assistance, and while attending to his woundswas shot dead. What made the action of thisyoung officer even more heroic was the fact thaton that very day he had received a leave of ab-sence, but had postponed his departure to volun-teer for the assault.
SECOND DIVISION, TWENTY-FOURTH ARMY CORPS, Brig.-Gen. Adelbert Ames.
First Brigade , Col. N. Martin Curtis: 3d N. Y., Capt.James H. Reeve, Lieut . Edwin A. Belian; 112 th N. Y., Col.John F. Smith; 117th N. Y. , Lieut.-Col. Francis X. Meyer;142dN, Y., Lieut.-Col. Albert M. Barney. Second Brigade,Col. Galusha Pennypacker, Maj. Oliver P. Harding: 47 thN. Y., Capt. Joseph M. McDonald; 48th N. Y. , Lieut.-Col. William B. Coan, Maj. Nere A. Elf wing; 76th Pa. ,Col. John 8. Littell, Maj. Charles Knerr; 97th Pa., Lieut .John Wainwright; 203d Pa. , Col. John W. Moore, Lieut.-Col. Jonas W. Lyman, Maj. Oliver P. Harding, Capt.Heber B. Essington. Third Brigade , Col. Louis Bell ,Col. Alonzo Alden: 13th Ind., Lieut.-Col. Samuel M.Zent; 4th N. H., Capt. John H. Roberts; 115th N. Y. ,Lieut.-Col. Nathan J. Johnson; 169th N. Y. , Col. AlonzoAlden, Lieut.-Col. James A. Colvin. Second Brigade ,First Division (temporarily attached to Second Divi-sion), Col. Joseph C. Abbott: 6th Conn., Col. AlfredP. Rockwell; 7th Conn., Capt. John Thompson, Capt.William 8. Marble; 3d N. II., Capt. William H. Trickey;
7th N. H., Lieut.-Col. Augustus W. Rollins; 16th N. Y. Heavy Artillery (detachment), Lieut . F. F. Huntington.THIRD DIVISION, TWENTY-FIFTH ARMY CORPS (coloredtroops), Brig.-Gen. Charles J. Paine.
Second Brigade , Col. John W. Ames: 4th TJ. 8., Lieut. -Col. George Rogers; 6thU. 8., Maj. A. S. Boernstein; 30thU. 8., Lieut.-Col. H. A. Oakman; 39th U. 8., Col. O. P.Stearns. Third Brigade, Col. Elias Wright: 1st U. S. ,Lieut.-Col. Giles H. Rich; 5th U. S. , Maj. William R. Bra-zie; 10th V. 8., Lieut.-Col. Edward H. Powell; 27thU. S.,Col. A. M. Blackman; 37th U. S. , Colonel NathanGoff, Jr.
artillery: B, G, and L, 1st Conn. Heavy, Capt.William G. Pride; 16tli N. Y. Battery, Capt. Richard H.Lee ; E, 3d U. S., Lieut . John R. Myrick.engineers : A, and 1,15th N. Y., Lieut . K. S. O’Keefe.The effective strength of the force above enumeratedwas nearly 8000. The loss aggregated 184 killed, 749wounded, and 22 missing =955. By the explosion of amagazine the day after the capture there were 25 killed,66 wounded, and 13 missing.
THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
GENERAL BRAXTON BRAGG (department commander );MAJOR-GENERAL W. H. C. WHITING (district commander).
DEFENSES, MOUTH OF CAPE FEAR RIVER , Brig.-Gen. LouisHebert.
Garrison of Fort Fisher, Col. William Lamb, Maj. James
M. Stevenson (too ill for duty), Maj. James Reilly: 10th
N. C. (1st Artillery), Maj. James Reilly (2 companies:Co. F, Capt. E. D. Walsh, Co. K, Capt. William Shaw);36th N. C. ( 2 d Artillery), Maj. James M. Stevenson(ill), Capt. Daniel Munn (10 companies: Co. A, Capt.R. J. Murphy, Co. B, Capt. Daniel Munn, Co. C, Capt.K. J. Braddy, Co. D, Capt. E. B. Dudley, Co. E, Capt.
O. H. Powell, Co. F, Lieut . E. L. Hunter, Co. G, Capt.William Swain, Co. H, Capt. Daniel Patterson, Co. I,Capt. J. F. Melvin, Co. K, Capt. William F. Brooks);40th N. C. (4 companies: Co. D, Capt. Janies L. Lane,Co. E, Capt. M. H. McBryde, Co. G, Capt. George C.Buchan, Co. K, Capt. D. J. Clarke); D, 1st N. C. Artil-lery Battalion, Capt. James L. McCormick; C, 3d N. C. Artillery Battalion, Capt. John M. Sutton; D, 13 thN. C. Artillery Battalion, Capt. Z. T. Adams; Navaldetachment, Capt. A. C. Van Bentluiysen.
Battery Buchanan : Capt. R. F. Chapman, C. S. N.EOKE’s division, Major.-Gen. Robert F. Hoke.
57th N. C.,-; 61st N. C., -. Colquitt's Brigade ,
Brig.-Gen. A. H. Colquitt: 6th Ga., Col. T. J. Lofton;
19th Ga., -; 23d Ga., -; 27th Ga. ,-; 28th
Ga. , -. JKagood's Brigade: 11th S. C.,-; 21st
S. G,-; 25th S. C.,-; 27th 8. C., —-; 7th S. C.
Battalion,-. Kirkland's Brigade: l7tliN. C.,-;
42d N. C.,-; 50th N. C.,-66th N. C. ,-.
cavalry : 2d S. C., Col. T. J. Lipscomb.
According to General Bragg ’s official report the garri-son of Fort Fisher (including reenforcements from theadjacent forts) numbered 1800 , and the movable forceunder General Hoke, including reserves and cavalry,was about 6000. In regard to the losses, the same author-ity says: “ After the enemy entered the fort our loss isrepresented to have been about 500 killed and wounded.The garrison consisted of about 110 commissioned offi-cers and 2400 or 2500 men.” The strength thus statedprobably included the 21 st and 25th South Carolina sentfrom Hagood’s Brigade. General Terry reported thecapture of 112 officers and 1971 men. Colonel Lambwrites that all present in Fort Fisher, Jan. 13th-15th,including sick, killed, and wounded, numbered 1900.