September 22, 2011
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/22/2011
War-date retained copy of a letter by Admiral David Porter, 2pp. quarto, North Atlantic Squadron, US Flag Ship Bualvera, off Beaufort, North Carolina, December 17, 1864, with endorsement, it reads in part: "...A vessel filled with powder will be sent in under Fort Fisher and exploded. You will after receiving this, run off every night, after it is dark enough not to let the enemy see that you are gone - make all the vessels you have run off at least 12 miles as fast as they can go, and then let their steamer run down so that the concussion won't effect the foilers. Place your vessels in a position where they can cut off a blockade runner attempting to go in or out that is spread them out in line...Be in at the bar again at daylight not to excite suspicion of the enemy and to let them know you are still vigilant. Do this every night until the explosion takes place, and when that does happen you will come round at once to the east bar, run inlet...and see that nothing gets out while we are attacking the forts..." Fine condition. The First Battle of Fort Fisher, was a siege fought from December 23 to December 27, 1864, was a failed attempt by Union forces to capture the fort guarding Wilmington, North Carolina, the South's last major port on the Atlantic Ocean. The Union navy first attempted to detonate a ship filled with powder in order to demolish the fort's walls but this failed; the navy then launched a two day bombardment in order to demolish the fort and force the Confederate defenders to surrender. On the second day of the bombardment, the Union army started landing troops in order to begin siege operations but the landings were called off when the weather became too bad.
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