without any known effect than that the picket reported the small boats of the enemy repulsed. I did not capture, kill, nor see any of the enemy on the land. Have not lost small-arms by the enemy's shots.

My company behaved with conspicuous gallantry during the whole action.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

O. H. POWELL,

Captain Company E, Thirty-sixth North Carolina Troops.

[Colonel LAMB.]

No. 22. Reports of Captain Samuel B. Hunter, Thirty-sixth North Carolina Regiment (Second North Carolina Artillery).

DECEMBER 28, 1864.

Report of commencement and progress of the bombardment of Fort Fisher:

The engagement commenced at 12.40 p.m. on Saturday, 24th of December, the Ironsides taking the lead, followed in close succession by two monitors - one a single and one a double turreted. In regular order after these a large number of heavy frigates, carrying from forty to fifty guns each, formed in order of battle, some halting in the rear of the Ironsides, others passing to the left of her until they extended past the direction of the bar. The Ironsides took position about one mile and a half from the fort and in nearly an eastern direction from the northeast corner; the iron-clad monitors about the same distance, but a little farther to the northward. The first shot fired by the enemy was from the Ironsides, as the took position first and was nearer at that time to the fort than the rest. Soon after the bombardment commenced in earnest, shot and shell, shrapnel, &c., flying thick as hail, but perhaps a little hotter. The fort remained silent for thirty minutes, when the signal upon therefrom was fired from the pulpit (a 10-inch) at the nearest frigate in. The bombardment continued with increased fury from the enemy's fleet till nearly 5 p.m., when it began to slacken, and finally ceased at 5.30 p.m. The fort only fired occasionally, as but very few of the wooden ships were in range of our smooth-bore guns, and they were not much exposed to our rifles except these lying far out. Toward the latter part of that day's operations about a dozen of the enemy's vessels extended much farther to the southward and westward, thus getting a cross-fire on the fort, which exposed the guns on the land face much more than before, their rear being almost entirely unprotected. Long range but small Parrott guns were mostly used from this latter position.

S. B. HUNTER,

Captain Company F, Thirty-sixth North Carolina Troops.

Report of first day's fight at Fort Fisher, December 24:

Number of guns under my command, four, viz, one 8-inch Blakely and three 10-inch columbiads. Fired Blakely twenty-four times with shell exclusively; fired one 10-inch columbiad twenty-one times with