AMERICA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 8, Issue 616, 27 May 1865, Page 3

AMERICA.

i "restoration of the Union flag upon Sumpter. |!Mr. Seward ordered the illumination of the I and buildings at Washington on j "Washington's day, in honor of the recent triumphs. There were great rejoicings ■throughout the North, and the Northern Press •published an exultant account of the recent .success. Mr. Stanton ' telegraphed to the •Governor of New York the news of Sherman's ■capture of Columbia. He urges him to hasten ■the recruiting, and says that the rebellion must l receive a final blow this spring campaign. On Feb. 16, Sherman had moved westward '. along the Congaree River, and during the night ! crossed to the north bank above Columbia. I Beauregard immediately evacuated the city, rej tiring towards Charlotte, North Carolina. On j the following day Sherman occupied Columbia, I but at once pursued Beauregard with the bulk j of his army, sending at the same time a detachment in the direction of Charleston. On the 19th, Sherman was at Winsborough, 30 miles north of Columbia. It was understood that Sherman's main army was pushing steadily northwards to Charlotte or Fayetteville, and ; that an expedition of no little magnitude was i striking at the railroads near the coast. General Grant had telegraphed to Mr. Stanton the following extracts from the Richmond: papers of February 20: — " The Confederate War Department received information on the 19th that Sherman's advance was near Winsboro, 30 miles north of Columbia. Charlotte was thronged with refugees from Columbia, who report that Wheeler's cavalry plundered the city. Up to the ,14th it was uncertain whether Columbia would come within the immediate range of Sherman's purpose, consequently the public mind was not prepared for such an early solution of the question. The government, however, removed all the specie, amounting to. several millions, and also the dies and plates of the Treasury department, together with the supplies of Treasury notes on hand. The enemy possessing Branchville, Orangeville, and Kingville, precluded any movement on the road leading to Charleston. An accident on the Charlotte road prevented the authorities from having other valuable materials in the city. Beauregard withdrew to a position 20 miles from Columbia, where he remained on the 19th. The enemy's force entered Columbia, consisting of Sherman's main army, a large portion of which immediately moved up the Charlotte Road. Another portion moved down in the direction of Charleston. ' On Sunday morning, February 19, Sherman was advancing towards and near Winsboro', on the railroad leading to Charlotte, 90 miles north of Columbia. Beauregard was retreating before him towards Charlotte. Richmond papers say that Sherman enforces strict disci* pline and punishes all outrages on citizens. He has issued a retaliation order for the maltreatment of Union men. It is reported that 10 more regiments have been recruited from contrabands who joined Sherman's army in Georgia. From this point it has become difficult to obtain accurate or reliable information, in consequence of the reticence imposed, very wisely, upon the Southern papers. Consequently we are compelled to treat such- information as reaches us very cautiously. Thus the New York World gives a circumstantial account of a battle said to be fought on February 24 between Sherman and Johnson, with indecisive results ; but the whole report is of a dubious character. The last intelligence concerning Sherman which may be considered authentic, is that he occupied Cherau, and defeated Cheatham. Admiral Porter's fleet bombarded Fort Anderson, on Cape Fear River, for 24 hours on the 17th and 18th February, during which a land force under General Scholefield assaulted the fort, but was repulsed. On the 19th, however, the fort was captured by the army and navy, but most of the garrison escaped to Wilmington, whither the combined forces immediately followed. The guns of the fort were uninjured. General Lee had issued an order assuming the chief command, in which he says he, impressed with the difficulties and responsibilities of his position, humbly invoking God for gui- ( dance, relies for success upon the courage and : fortitude of the army, sustained by the patriotism and firmness of the people. He is confident that their united efforts will secure peace and independence. His headquarters for the : present will be with the army of Northern Virginia. The Petersburg Express says that Grant shows no disposition to assume the offensive, ( and has rather shortened than extended his 1 line, and has withdrawn to the works on this * | side of Hatcher's Run. Heavy cannonading . [ was heard at Dutch Gap on February 20, and , j an unusual activity was reported in Lee's army. According to deserters' reports a Confederate ' ! attack was threatened. Hill's Corps was under , marching orders. A considerable movement | took place along the Confederate lines near i Petersburg. Grant shelled the town heavily < on the 20th of February. j On the 4th March, President Lincoln deli- j vered his inaugural address. It is somewhat of i an extraordinary document, full of Scripture quotations, to show that the nation ia being . punished for the sin of slavery, and that the < stain of it will probably not be obliter ated until i every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be - paid by another drawn by the sword. Except . a firm determination to continue the wai? againßt , I the South, no policy is indicated, and nothing < is said about foreign relations. The Federal ' Senate had adopted unanimously a resolution by j Mr. Sumner, declaring that the Confederates j would under no circumstances be recognised \ by the Federal States. ' Mr. Seward has rescinded his order requiring j passports to be obtained by all travellers bet- , ween the Federal States and Canada. It has : also been agreed that for the present the naval ' force on the lakes shall not be increased. ! The proposition to arm 200,000 negroes pas- i sed the Confederate House of Representatives \ on Feb. 22, but was indefinitely postponed by ; the Senate on the following day by a majority of one. The Confederate House of Representatives in secret session had, however, passed a resolution authorising the arming of negroes tendered by their owners, and the Senate of Virginia had authorised the Governor, to call

The capture of Branchville by the Federals under Sherman has been confirmed ; but the details of the affair have not been fully explained. . From that point, Sherman has resumed and continued his triumphant march. On February 16, the Federals, under Sherman, shelled Columbia from the south bank of the Congaree. During tiie night they moved up the river, and on the following morning forded the Saluda and Broad rivers. During the Federal passage of these rivers Beaure-' gard evacuated Columbia. The Federals soon after took possession. Two days previously, when it was decided not to attempt the defence of Columbia, a large quantity of medicinal stores was destroyed. Sherman's centre column had already reached Kingsville, 25 miles north-east of Columbia, the junction of the Charleston and Columbia and the Wilmington and Columbia Railroads, and thus cut off communication with Charleston. It was admitted by the Southern papers that the fall of Colum- | bia would necessitate the evacuation of Charleston, which had, in fact, already begun. The evacuation took place on the night of the 17th of February, after destroying two ironclads and spiking the guns in the fortifications. Six thousand bales of cotton in the upper part of the city were ordered to be burnt, and the flames communicating to a \ quantity of ammunition stored in the Wilming- j ton Railway depot, an explosion took place, spreading the fire in all directions, and killing and injuring several hundred citizens. It is estimated that upwards of two-thirds of the city were destroyed. The evacuation was not discovered by the Federals until the morning of the 18th, when a force from James Island took possession" and occupied the forts at 2 p.m. on that day. Admiral Dahlgren and General Gilmore, on board of gunboats, steamed up the harbor and landed at the wharf. They found nobody in the city but negroes and the poorer part of the population, all the richer citizens having left a fortnight or three weeks previously, in anticipation of the evacuation. The official despatches of General Gilmore report that 200 cannon and a small quantity of ammunition fell into his hands. The following additional details have been received : — It is stated that the operations of the Confederates began at 10 on the evening of the 17th, and in about 12 hours the evacuation was complete. Early on the morning of the 18th the fleet observed two terrific explosions. Burning fragments filled the air for a great distance. The shock was severely felt by all the Federal vessels. Many thousaiid bales of cotton were burnt by the explosion of the warehouses and the firing of other public buildings. The Confederates, who remained to the last, are stated not to have been well organised. The majority of them merely remained for plunder. The inhabitants state them to be guilty of many disgraceful acts. Several hundred Confederates, deserters, concealed themselves in the houses when Charleston surrendered, declaring themselves tired of the rebellion and of fighting for it. They were received as prisoners. Crowds of negroes met the Federal troops and made demonstrations of joy. They wanted food, and said they would be glad to work. Some proposed to take up arms against their masters. Their condition is described as much worse than that of the inhabitants of Savannah. The appearance of the city, the lower part of which was uninhabitable and the upper part in flames, is described as desolate in the extreme. It is stated that the evacuation of Charleston began nearly three weeks ago. Since that time the Confederates had been busy removing stores. Heavy supplies were, however, left at the time of the evacuation. The Confederates were said to number 14,000 men, and took a northerly direction. News of the evacuation was received with great applause in Congress. The War Department ordered a national salute to be fired at every fort and arsenal, and at the headquarters of the United States, in honor of the

for volunteers among the slaves and free negrdep ."• "' for the defence of Richmond and other threat* / ened points. Captain Semmes has been made a rear-ad-* miral with the command of the James River' squadron. Mr. Maculloch has been appointed Secretary of the Federal Treasury.