my force with your main army at or near Goldsborough. Wilmington was made my first objective, because it would afford a valuable auxiliary base to Morehead City in the event of our junction being made at Goldsborough, as designed, and because its possession by us would be of great value to you in case the movement of the enemy's main army or other circumstances should render advisable a concentration of your army at some point farther south than Goldsborough. As soon as it became possible to navigate the Potomac I started from Alexandria with the Third Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, under command of Major General J. D. Cox, and reached the mouth of Cape Fear Fiver on the 9th of February, and landed upon the peninsula near Fort Fisher. Major General A. H. Terry, with about 8,000 men, then held a line across the peninsula about two miles above the fort, and occupied Smithville and Fort Caswell, on the south side of the river, while the naval squadron, under Rear-Admiral Porter, occupied positions in Cape Fear River and off the coast, covering the flanks of General Terry's line. The enemy occupied Fort Anderson on the west bank, with a collateral line running to a large swamp about three-quarters of a mile distant, and a line opposite Fort Anderson running across the peninsula from Cape Fear River to Masonborough Sound. His position was impregnable against direct attack, and could be turned only by crossing Masonborough Sound above his left, or passing around the swamp which covered his right. The force I then Had seemed too small for so extended a movement as either of those mentioned; but time being important I determined to make the attempt without waiting for the arrival of more of my troops. On the 11th of February I pushed forward General Terry's line, supported by General Cox's division; drove in the enemy's pickets, and intrenched in a new position, close enough to the enemy's line to compel him to hold the latter in force. I then made preparation to send a fleet of navy boats and pontoons by sea to a point on the beach above the enemy's position, while a force composed of General Cox's and General Ames' divisions was to march along the beach in the night to the point where the boats were to land, haul them across the beach into the sound, and cross the latter to the main land in rear of Hoke's position. The weather, however, became so stormy as to render the execution of this plan impossible. On the night of February 14 I attempted to move the pontoons upon their wagons along the beach with the troops, but the unusually high tides caused by the heavy sea wind made it impracticable to reach the point of crossing before daylight in the morning, when our movement would be discovered by the enemy before a crossing of the sound could be secured. Hence, after a hard night's work, the attempt was abandoned, and I turned attention to the enemy's right, where I would not have to contend with the difficulties of both land and sea. General Cox's and General Ames' divisions were crossed over to Smithville, where they were joined by Colonel Moore's brigade of General Couch's division, which had just debarked, and advanced along the main Wilmington road until they encountered the ene Fort Anderson and adjacent works. Here two brigades were intrenched to occupy the enemy, while General Cox, with his other two brigades and General Ames' division, started around the swamp covering the enemy's right, to strike the Wilmington road in rear of Fort Anderson. The distance to be traveled was about fifteen miles. The enemy, warned by his cavalry of General Cox's movement, hastily abandoned his works