The Manchester Journal

The Fall of Wilmington

Our operations against Wilmington were inaugurated on the 22d inst. with the possession of the city. After the capture of Fort Fisher, active operations were suspended until the arrival of reinforcements delayed by the stormy weather on the coast. Of the army thus strengthened, Gen. Schofield took command. One column under Cox went up the left bank of the Cape Fear River to invest Fort Anderson, while another under Gen. Terry moved against the line of works on the right bank of the river opposite Fort Anderson. Finding themselves in danger of being cut off, the garrison evacuated the Fort, and at the same time Gen. Hoke, in command of the defenders on the other side of the river retreated towards the city. He took up a new line within four miles of the city, while the troops on the west side crossed Town Creek and then made a stand. Cox ferried his forces over the creek on a flat-boat, attacked and routed them. He then pushed his troops up to the Brunswick River opposite the city of Wilmington. The rebels on the east bank immediately fell back upon the city, and that night the cotton and rosin were fired, and the city evacuated. The capture of two cities as important as Wilmington and Charleston within so short a period show the extent and effectiveness of our army operations.