The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 34, In Four Parts. Part 1, Reports. Page: 40
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IA)UIS. A NA AN DI) T'II E T''IA NS-M I51S 1I'I1.
ften'il wvith Adrliu:LJ PorFter aIs to1 the f0r iirO(< 1't'({liGI 1l(1 11o t11ime of
strltin 11g. A lorce of 0.5) men was 'ega'd(ledl 15s sl11i(ielt. Thlte t11lle
otf st artin' was not (defillite(ly 'l'r tlg'(l. 1)t i w11as thought all wouil(l
be ready by the (th of l)ecemtber, if not )ef(ore. Leaning on' (a tlte
:ioth 1of November that Bragg had gone to Georgia, taking with himn
,most of the forces about Wilmington, I d(leem]e( it of the utmost im-
)ortance that the expedition should reach its destination( n before thel
return of Brago' and directed General Butler to make all arr'aie-
Ilents for' th e departuree of Major-General Weitzel. whlo hat d ' been
designated to conmmand the land forces, so that the n vy ig1ht not
le (tltailll 0'1110 UlIIent.
)On the ;tlih of )ecember the following instrulctions were given
CITY POINT. VA.. l)ecember 6, 1864.
Maj. (aen. B. F. BTlu'Rui
(GiENERAL : The first object of the expedition under generall Weitzel is to (l'hse to
the ('e1lelty tihe port of Wihnington. I" successful in this, the second( will le to
capture Wilmington itself. There are reasonable grounds to hope for success ift' ad-
vantage can be taken of the absence o(f the greater part of the enenlmy's forces
now looking after Sherman in Georgia. Tihe directions you have given forI tl(
llnutl'ers and equipment of the expedition are all right, except in the unllll llortant
matter of where they embark and the amount of intrenchliing tools to be taken. The
ol)ject oft the exleditioi will be gained by e'ffecting a landing on the llailland be-
tween Cal)e Fear River andl the Atlantic. north ofl the north ('entrance to the river.
Should such landing be affected d while the eiemily still holds Fort .l'isleir al the hat-
teries gual'rdling the entrance to the river, then the troops should iltrench l themselves,
anlI, by co-(operatingl with the nav, effect the reduction and capture of those places.
Tlhes(e ill l our hands. the navy could enter the liarbor', and thle po(t of Wilmnington
w(ul( be sealed. Should Fort Fisher and the l)oint of land on :which it is built fall
illt) the hands of our troops i5nnlediately on a iadig, then it will )be worth the atteml)pt
to capture Wihnington byya forced :mrai'cli slxrll)rise,. .If tulle is ('onsimed in
gaining the first object of tihe expedition, tihe second will )ecom(') matter of after
('onsi(lera'Ltion.
'Thle details for execution are intrusted to yoLu aLuld the officer iluediatelv in c(mn-
mand (f the troops.
Should thle troops 1ul(r1' generall Weitzel fail to effect a landing at or near Fort
Fisherr. they will be r'eturne(l to the armi'es ope1'atilig against Rilnolnl without
delay.
U. S. GRANT.
Lieutclnwa t-Ge (e('r!.
General Butler commanding the army from which the troops were
taken for this enterprise, and the territory within which they were
to operate, military courtesy required that all orders andt instructions
should go through him. They were so sent; but General Weitze;
has since officially informed me that he lever received the foregoi
inst'(uctionls, nor was he aware of their existence until lhe read Gell-
eral Butler's published official report of the Fort Fisher failure, with]:
my indorsement and papers accompanying it. I had no idea of Gen.
eral Butler's accompanying the expedition until the evening before it
got off from Bermuda Hundred. and then did not dream but that
General Weitzel had received all the instructions and would be in
command. I rather formed the idea that General Butler was actu-
ated by a desire to witness the effect of the explosion of the powder-
boat. The expedition was detained several days at Hampton Roads
awaiting the loading of the powder-boat. The importance of getting
the Wilmington expedition off without any delay, with or without
the powder-boat, had been urged upon General Butler, and hlie ad-
vised to so notify Admiral Porter. The expedition finally got off on
the 13th of December, and arrived at the place of rendezvous (off
New Inlet, near Fort Fisher) on the evening of the 15th. Admiraljo
(CHAP. XLVI.
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United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 34, In Four Parts. Part 1, Reports., book, 1892; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146033/m1/69/?q=Tappan%27s: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.