AMERICA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1016, 22 March 1865, Page 5

AMERICA.

Full particulars of Sherman's nxent march have now appeared in the, New York papere. and the following is given as a snmmnrv of its results : —" His army moved .'tercms the State, about 300 miles, in 27 days, living on the way on the fat of tbe land, flevastivting1 42 counties, stripping the country of everything that could be of service to the rebel armies, destroying 200 mik'sof railroad, burning millions of dollars' worth of cotton, capturing 400 prisoners, 10,000 negroes, 15,000 nonet*, and 30 pieces of artillery ; and imrnediiitely on arriving on the coast wregted Fort M'Alister from the enemy, and laid s-'fcc to the city of Savannah. In the performance of all this innrvellouß work General Sherman lost not one gun or wnggon, and his entire casualties were only i 500 men." On the 20th of December Sherman captured | Fort Lee and someof the outwork? of Savannah. He then demanded the suit, nil.-r of Savannah, stating that, if refuted, he would take no prisoners. Hanloe n-fuse-1 to surrender. During the night of the 20th, Uurdee escaped with the main body of his army by crushing the Sivannah River at Uuinn causeway leading to Charleston, after destroying th» ironclads and navy yard?. Sherman occupied the city on ttiu 2lst, capturing 150 guns, 100 cars, three smalt stcam<:r«, 30,000 ; bales of cotton, 800 prisoners, and a lurg.j qmmtity of ammunition. Twenty thousand uilmbitunts remained in the city. Trie value of the captured cotton is estimated at L8.ooo.000; it is believed to belong to foreigners. It is reported that the cavalry expedition sent hy Sherman, uuder Ktipatrick, to rtsluiis-j the Federal prisoners in the S'luth had ratnrncd unsuccessful, havirtsy bsen un-'tble to find tho prisoners. It hud destroyed a portion of the Savannah and Gulf Riilway. Sierrutn states that a portion of his army is ng;ifn in motion. Ilardee, who seems to anticipate an attack upon Charleston, was said to he. i:> position some 10 miles from thit city. Tho inhabitants worn leaving Charleston, whoso rear defences were being strengthened. Meanwhile Sherman has issued a prcclamation t > the people of Savannah, guaranteeing to them proti-ctioa of private property and the rights of citizjns. N>) oaths are required ; the people are sitnply to conduct thwnselves as jjooil citizens ; those wishing to g<> within the Confederate lines ca.n do bo. AH the civil departments will continue to cxerciw their functions. ■ Tha p<w will bi* (supplied with provisions. Churches, schools, ttml places of amusement are to be re-opened and encour"Keel, and commwee will be allowed to ftn extent commennurate with the wants of the people. Savannah and the surrounding country wi'l be hold as a military p.wt. At a meeting of the citizens it was resolved to lay asi.ie all difTdrouces and use their best tiT.trts to restore prosperity -, thit a strict obedience was flue to the iaws of thu United States ; an*i Governor Brown bi requested to call a convention for tue purpwe ol (lotrrtniniiiEj upon a conti.m'inc .> of the war. Copies of the res '.Jut-ions were to be sent to President Lincoln, General S">-;nn,m, G >vernor Brown, and the Miyors of Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Atl mta.—An ajj^nt hud been despatched from Savannah to Now York, with authority to barter 50.000 dollars worth of rice for supplies a.n>i provision*, to be distributed among the needy inhabitants of Savannah. The junction effected between Sherman and the Federal squadron is not the only piece of intelligence unfavorable to the Oxifed-irates which has reached England. An engngemont ha<t taken-place between th« Federal army under the command of Th'^naf occupying Nashville, and the Confederate forces which, under H<>od, have recuuily laid sieg.t tn that town. The Federal General, reports that ou tha 14th Dectriibttr, ha attacked the left wing of the Confo'letate army, driving it from its entrenchments, "ajid capturing 1000 prisonc-rs and 16 tftini, besides several traini. Thomas again attacked Hood on the 16th, and drove him in confusion from alt his eutrenchmfints to B'-entwooJ-hilh. He captured 30 to 40 cannon and 3030 prisoners, with a loss to himself of 300 man From Tennessee, TiJoinns reports that he j had pursued Fiood to Spring-hill, south of the Franklin, on tho 18th of December, mnkinpf daily captures of men and artillery. The Confederate losses were, however, believed to be greatly exaggerated, and it is afiserted tbat, with the exception of the battle of the IGtti, in which Thomas idmits a loss to himself of 3000, the engagements have been confined to skirmishing with Forrest's cavalry, Acting as rear guard to Hoosl's main army, which had crossed the Duuk River, over which he had erected pontoons above tbe reach of tho Federal gun boats. On tbe 25th, it was reported that Hood's army had retreated still further ; he was moving to strike the Tennessee River at Btinbridge, near Florence. Oa that day a portion of Thomas* force was repulsed in au attack upon Hood's rearguard, with considerable loss in men and one cannon. Notwithstanding all prediction* to the contrary, Hood got acroaß the Tennessee Kiver without

molestation, anil was »till retreating southward. Bi» mrmyia reported to be in good order. General Thomas f* aaid to have dis continned the pursuit. Southern scconnig modify the ktter*« eueccas before Nashville. They also assert that the military authorities in Richmond contemplate.a heavy concentration of troops iD Virginia, to march northward to conquer peace. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad is reported cat below Corinth. The great expedition against Wilmington has proved & failure. Admiral Porter wports that his whole fleet bombarded Fort Fisher, Wilmington, on. Saturday, the 24th Dec, having previously exploded a large powder*.hip under the walls of the fort, the shock doing little damage. The botnbardmi nt continued until dark. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 25th, a body of troops, under Weit*el, landed ander the fire of the fleet, nome entering the outworks, and capturing a flng. Weitzel captured two batteries an<> advanced within 50 yardg of the fort. Finding an assault impracticable, however, he re-em-barked his troops the name evening. The point of attack was a series of works commanding the eastern inlet to Cape Fear Biver, about 20 miles below Wilmington. The principal fortification—Fort Fiuher—fa described as " a casemated earthwork," of great power, mounting 36 heavy guns, some of them rifled, and having a rango of more than ihree miles. This fort was the key. of the position, and was the object of the Federal bombardment. The armanunt which made the attack wai extremely formidable. It consisted,, according to the varioua accounts of the Federal press, of from 50 to 80 war ships, carrying from 600 to 700 guns, some of them of the largest calibre, and two divisions of the Federal army, under General Butler, accompanied the fleet. It i» said that st least 200 guns could be brought to bear at one time tipon the fort. If this be an accurate account, the complete failure of so extraordinary a force to make any considerable impression upon an earthwork, however powerful, will be one of the most remarkable incidents of the war. The attack was opened by a novel expedient. A ship, containing between 200 and 300 tons of gunpowder, was run on shore under the wall of the fort, and was there exploded. The effects anticipated from this explosion rnav be estimated (rom the fact that the whole amount of powder which produced the late terrible explosion at Erith was but 55 tons. Indeed, the idea was partly ; suggested by the account of that event. lm". j mediately after this attempt the bfl.mbardineut was commenced, and was continued \ throughout the day, an average fire being I kept up, according to the Confederate account, of no less than 30 shuts a minute. The Confederates replied, it is said, slowly [ and deliberately, and at the end of the day | they report their loss at only 23 men wounded. 1 The bombardment was renewed on Sunday morning (Christma day), and at the same tircie. the co-operating farce of General Butler tff'-cted a landing above the fort. The news of the lodgment was received with some anxiety in Richmond ; but the Confederates were soon relieved. Tiie trocps nuide a recor.niiissance ia the rear of the fort t!ie same evening, but found the works to be of such strength that an ussault was impracticable. General Butler and his fiubrirc]i»at>j officers decided, in fact, that the works were impregnable except by protracted siege operations. These it was considered impossible to undertake, partly in consequence of the high sr-a which prevailed, and which made it difficult to land the troops, and partly in consequence of the rapid advance of a force from Wilmington. Tho troops were therefore re-embarked on the Monday morning, the 2GCh, and sent back to Fortress Monroe. Admiral Porter had withdrawn the fleet to Beaufort, North Carolina, to await further orders. General Butler had returned to his headquarters with tho army of tho James Eiver, leaving General Wcitzat in command of tho lsite Wilmington expedition. Admiral Porter thinks Builcr'a forces might huve captured Fort Fisher had he made a more determined attack. Tho land forces included t omo 5000 black troops, who suffered severely from the Confederate fire. Six 100-p wider Parrot enrsa exploded on board the Federal fleet, killing an.l wounding 45 persons, and three vessels were damage 1 by the fire from the fort. The admiral denounces the 100-pounler as unfit for service. A blockade-runner run in safely just previous to tha great powder explosion. The " Tribune*" correspondent says that Admiral Porter's loss was 56, and Butler's U7O. It exonerates Butler from blams, as his whole column wouJd have been destroyed had it asiuultcd Fort J?i*her. Nevertheless Butler is severely censured at Washington, and has been ordered to tepttrt himself to tho authorities. The expedition against Wilmington is to bo renewed uuler Goaural Ord. The only news of importance- from before Richmond is the tot.il lailure of Butler's Dutch Gip C*nal. Au attempt was madu to open it ou the Ist January, when the earth fell in and closed the channel. Deserters to Grant's lines revive tho statement that L2O will fpi;«dily aiguine tha offensive. Other military news unimportant. In consequence of the discharge of tho St Alban'a 'raiders ami preparations in Can-td* for tho renewal of similar enterprises, tho military commanders on the frontier were directed by General Dix, in owe of further acts of depredation, to shoot down the p«rpetratorß if possible, and, if necessary for their capture, to cross tha Cinidian boundaries, and pursue them wherecver they take refuge, and not to surrender them if captured, but to send them on to headquarters for trial by court martial. This order of General Dix to cross the Canadian frontier has been disavowed by the President, and General Dix now requests military commanders in his department to report to him before invading neutral territory. The release of tho Vermont raiders had produced, much exciteme.it in Washington. Resolutions were at once-offered in tho Senate authorising the stationing of an army along the Canadian frontier, and the Bourse passed without) debate tho bill for the construction of six steam revenue cutters for tho lake*. Resolutions were also introduced demanding indemnity of EogUnd for vesiels destroyed by Confederate cruisers. The House Committee on foreign relations was instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing for tho better protection of the frontier by treaty or otherwise. Mr Chandler, of Michigan* in a speech in the Senate, strongly condemned tho spirit of the Canadian people, and the feeling in Congress is said to be fully up with the tone of General Dixs orders. The Canadian government have disavowed the discharge of the *•' raiderf." Some of them have been recaptured, and will be tried again. The Brazilian demand for explanation and reparation for the seizure of the Florida had been replied to by a note from Mr Seward. ; Kegret ia expressed for the proceeding at ! Bahta, Captain Collins is suspended and ordered to bo tried by coart-martia). The Federal consul aS Babia ia dismissed, and the

men captured in the Florida are to be set at liberty. Mr Seward s»y« the Federal State* have a complaint against Brazil for rscog nisinjr Jim Confederates us belligerents ; bat j he «dds that it is no part of the duty of an ODcer to take upon hinw If the redressing of nfs country's wrongs. Bfe aavs the sinking of the Florida in Hampton Boads was on accident, for which the Federal government is pot responsible, bat that a. court of inquiry is investigating the circa instances. The news from America is still unusually barren of military event*. We hear much of preparations, and some movements are reported which may prove preliminary to important undertakings ; but there are no operations of consequence The armies before Richmond nnd Petersburg have now censed to be the most active o« the Federal forces, and the only change reported from that quarter is the Rupercession of General Butler by G..n<>ral Ord, an able and well-tried soldier. General Sherman is stated, in Rchmond papers, to be concentrating hi» army at IfrrdeviHe, in South Carolina, to the North of the Savannah Eiver ; he is therefore preparing to advance The statement that G> neral Lee is about to place himself at thehcad of an army to opprimjhim.compi) as a mire Washington rumor ; but the c stimadon in which Sherman's military qualities are hpld at Richmond makes it far from probable. The accounts from the South-west are interesting. General Thomas is establishing a base of supplies on the south bank of the Tennwsee, at East Port, in the norfh east corner of Mississippi, The intention of capturing Mobile is ascribed to him. Nothing further is related of Grainger's expedition against Mobile, a subject to which tiie New York papers have from the first been very indifferent That great raider General GHtrrBon haa broken up the Mobile and Ohio Knilway from Corinth as far as Okolona, a distance of about 80 miles, destroying many bridges and much rolling stock that cannot easily be replaced. Probably the least important item of the news is that which has attracted most notice in England the peace mission of Mr Francis BJair to Richmond. Nothing in our information leads ua to believe that the restoration of peace is likely to be at nil advanced by this means Mr Lincoln could not it he would, and would not. if he couM. make peace on tho only terms which Mr Jefferson Oaviu's position permits him to accept.