The Western Democrat

The Burnside Expedition.—Various reports have been published about the losses sustained by the Burnside expedition at Hatteras, during the storm some weeks ago. A correspondent of the New York Times makes a statement about the matter which is considered more truthful than any yet published. He says 125 vessels of all descriptions sailed from Fortress Monroe on the 5th of January. They encountered the storm on the 14th and 15th about Hatteras Inlet. The steamer City of New York, with 400 kegs of powder, 1700 Enfield Rifles, bombs, &c., was lost; the Zouave gunboat, armed with 4 cannon, was lost; the Grape-shot, Pocahontas, Louisiana, and a schooner, were all lost with several horses and some men, the Voltigeur; Eastern Queen, Admiral, and a schooner, went hard aground whether they were got off again is not stated, but the probability is they were also lost. Some of the vessels started with pig iron for ballast, which was purchased at $20 per ton, most of which was thrown overboard to lighten ship—one threw overboard 75 tons of iron. The number of men in the expedition is stated at fifteen thousand. According to their own showing they did not find as many Union men about Hatteras as they expected. The correspondent says:

"The pilots, we were told, were all Union; Hatteras Inlet was Union, and New York subscribed $8,000 for the inhabitants, because they were all Union. Yet one of the pilots hired by us went over to the enemy and informed them of everything; and as for the inhabitants of Hatteras Inlet, they are too ignorant to know the difference between Union and Secession. It is all nonsense; experience teaches us that there are no Union men there; and that the 3000 rifles asked for, if they had been granted, would now be in the hands of the rebels, and that the $8,000 sent to North Carolina for the benefit of the Union men, was all lost to us. We had to pay $500 in secret service money to those self-same Union men to know whether Roanoke Island was occupied or not."