The Great Naval Expedition

Philadelpliin. Xov. 12 The IftfHVW lias tho inliowing froi i Fortress Mouroo, derived froin vebel sources: " Iu anticipation of 'jo 1 val of the groat oxpedition. the rebels had been engngcd in eretcing batteriea upon a point at Uiltoii's llèiid, and on the opposite nco' of 'land. The priucipal fbrtifioation on Ililton's Head was dcnomiiiatud Fort Walker, situated on low land, r.nd partially concenled by trees and undcr brush. Adjoining it Wré odièt batterks of smaller size, but so connected as to prove a formidable bar to the entrnncc of vesscls. ' Fort lienufort was of considerable importance, baving been moonted with heavy guns. Tho garrisons are supposed to have been cumposcd of South Carolina regiments atsisttd by additional reg iinents sent ftoin Kichmond. Tho battériee at Buy Point, opposite llilton Head, were Gqually formidable, " Iiiside of Port Rojal entrance, and bchind the batteries, Iay the fleet of Commodore Tatnall, whieh consisted only of small vessels carrying a few heavy guns but prinoipalty lïrlit ones. Tuga consíitutrd a great portion of the fleot. lany of these remained outside of the entrauce till the arrival of our fleet, wheu they formod in miniatnro line of battle, in the position already statcd, bchind the guns of their own forts, aud across the eutrunee. " On the morning of Thursday last, the Unsted States fleet, numbering fortytwo vesscls, hoadt'd by the flng ship, approach the inoutli of Port lxoyal entrauee. This wás at half past 9 o'clock. Several of the transports reinained off the coast. Upon arriving at a suitablo position, the guns of tbo fleet opened a continuous nre upon Forts Walker and lïeauregand, as weil as upon thosc (if Bay Point. - Under ïover of this fire au efFort was made to run tho gauutlct of the batteries whieh thcy did. A number of the vessels pushed through the lire fróin the shore butteries, with very trifling injuries. At leasi fif'teun of thom suooeeded in passing up beyond the reach of land batteries. "As the Union fleet sailed up, tho mosquito fleet of Tatnall opeucd fire, but Beeing the impossibility of making any reaistance, soou dispersed. .Somo wcre forced to run on shore. Others were driven up the niets out of sight. " Com. Tatnall wotrt on shore with his me'j to assist in working the batteries, and use theui agaiust our vessels, whieh were endeavoring to follow tho" advance of the others. The passige of the fleet through the chantiel wsnot aceomplished uutil the firing had continued from halfpast four in tho morning till ncarly five in ihe evening. " One of the Union gun-boats is believed to have been burned aud three stcamers disablcd. " It is acknowledged by the encmy that they had twenty men killed io Fort Walker, but it is impossible to state v:bat their loss was at the other batt&riès, doubtless very great, as our tiro is Raid to have been very effeetive and the guus wc-1 aimed and of heavy calibre. " No sooner did our vessels go past the batteries at Port lloyal eutraneo and sliüe into what is termed Broad Kiver, tlian they made for the mouth of the inleta lead.ng to Beaufort, Savannah and Charleston. These they immediatelv blockaded thongh not iu time to prevent the escape of small rebel vessels. " Not one of the Federal vessels was sunk, and the only one believeJ to have been destroyed by iire was the gun-boat referred to above. The crew are said to havo passed through a murderous fire to another vessel, whieh they reachcd with very little, if any, loss. " The Union vessels acted under special instructions in blockading the inlets whieh led to the most important points, and whieh afforded loop holes of escape to the enemy. " VV hile a portion óf the fleet cutered upon this duty, four ships made at ouco for Beaufort, and at three o'clock on Thursday these vesscls were iu sight of the town. " A dispateh datod Beaufort, Nov. 7t'i, to the Charleston Mercury, says at that time the Union forces were preparing to labd, evidently with the design of tbrowingup intrenchmonts aud attackiug the town. " We hars no means of knowing the exact loss of the Union forces, but the rebeb confeiss that their own firiug was very bad, and thoir artillery men were badly in want of practico. They declare moreover that the guns iu the fort wcre Droperly mounted. Whcn Commodore Tafaall went to assist the men in the forts, he fniud that many of their cannou were dismouiif-ed by their owu rebound. To tliis faalt the rebd journals attribute their defeat, and louuíj' cali upon the Confederuto government to i.'d out where tho blame reïts. " A telegraph dispatch, whieh )cft Richmond on Sntuiday, stated that tliero was uothiug particalarly important from the Southern coast. It is evident from this that the rebel government bas prohibited any further information from coming north of Kichmond. This iuiplii'S that thcy have suffered a heavy defeat. "The Charleston Mercury, after summing up resultf, says: "The Yankees scem to have driveu Oommodore Tatuall's Mosquito Fleet up the crueku leadi:ig to Savannah, and cut off all water eominuU Catión with Charleston by sailing up Skull Creek. Althougb the Yankees havo effuetcd as yet uo landing, it is certa in thcy have made some progress, and it behooves jus to immediately send such reiufurcenieuts as may be needüd to oheck any moveiuents they may mako toward- gainiug even the smallest foothold ou our soil. If the in vaders cairtake Charleston with 25,000 men, let them, as we wuld be unworthy to po-sess it, and it will be a fit memorial, laid in ashes, of our own Southern imbecility.' " The following is a special dispatch to the Charleston Aleicury: " Hendersonville, Nov. 7,-9 P. M. " The practico of our artülery at Hilton Head has been very bad, henee the successful passage of seven of the cuemies men of war. Their transports aro still outside. Our loss thus far been has very slight, and the troops are good in beart. " The firing of the Yankee war vessels was very accurate. Hiltou's Jlead and Bay Poiut, as at first reported, received the bruut of the attack. Our failure to Bnk ai'y of the vesaels whieh passed our batteries is owing to the poor practico of the artillery ists. " The enemy's ships, whieh passed our batteries, eau be distinctly scen froui Beaufort. Forts Walker and Beauregard are still firing. " The enemy haa lost one ganboat, whieh was burnod. Shells eau be eeon from here bursting in the woods. " Our liues of communicatioa are sent here with artillcr}' and cavalry. " Four ships are now in gight near tlic land and np as ftir as Skull Crcuk. 11 Tlicre is rcason to beüevo that tho encmy aro now making proparations to land a largo forco :it Ililton licad, cithur to-uiglit or to-morrow morning.