medium for the transmission of correspondence from traitors at the North to rebels in the South, was arrested, together with ex-Governor Morehead and Reuben T. Murrett, one of the proprietors of the Courier, a rebel sheet. The State had now become a portion of the ground which was to be so fiercely contested. Rebel journals and leaders made no concealment of their purpose to wrest Kentucky from the Union at every hazard. The Ohio river was to be the boundary of the Southern empire, and notwithstanding the emphatic voice of her people, all the energy of the combined forces of the rebel armies were to be brought to bear upon the work. The fact could be no longer disguised from the people, and the loyal men, finding that their patience and confidence in the 'disloyal portion, with their previous consent to a negative position of neutralty, were in vain, boldly declared that the time had come to arouse and resist the impending ruin. The attempt of the conspirators of the Cotton States to make Kentucky the battle-field, along with Virginia, was to be defeated at every cost, and the people, rising to a comprehension of their responsibility, hastened to the work of organization and defence. Among the loyal men of the State to whom the highest honor is due. for their bold and stirring advocacy of the Union, and for the most summary measures which patriotism and honor could dictate, were Hon. JOSEPH HOLT, and Hon. LOVELL S. ROUSSEAU, of the State Senate, and the gifted divine, R. J. Breckinridge, D.D. NAVAL OPERATIONS. At the commencement of hostilities the Government was unprepared to meet the naval requirements incident to the contest which had so suddenly been forced upon it. The necessity of a stringent blockade of the entire southern coast had become apparent; while the protection and supply of the naval stations in the rebel States still in possession of our forces, and the recapture of those which had been seized, required a a navy vastly greater than that at the command of the Government; and no time was lost in preparing as far as practicable to meet this emergency. Long before the attack on Fort Sumter, the enemy had given evidence of a determination forcibly to destroy their relations with the Government by seizing the revenue cutters belonging to the United States stationed in the harbors of Charleston, Pensacola and New Orleans, contemporaneously with their appropriation of the forts, arsenals, marine depots and other property belonging to the Government within the limits of the disloyal States. Immediately upon the opening of host lities, and to give the pretence of law and authority to the proceedings now determined on, Jefferson Davis, on the 17th of April, 1861, by proclamation, invited men of every class, without regard to nationality, to become privateers under letters of marque, to be issued by the Confederate Government. A "reward" of twenty dollars was offered by the Confederate Congress for every life taken by these privateers in conflict with a Federal vessel, and twenty-five dollars for each prisoner. In view of the extensive commerce of the United States, the large number of vessels sailing to all parts of the world, and the supposed inefficiency of our navy, confident expectations were entertained by the rebels of a rich harvest of wealth from this source, as well as of the destruction of our commerce. The hope was also indulged that many vessels would be secretly fitted out in northern ports to engage in this enterprise. This hope soon proved to be futile; while the want of proper vessels for the service in their own ports, and the scarcity of able seamen, and, more potent than either, the rigorous blockade that was soon established, presented insurmountable obstacles to their plans. The English Government, by the Queen's proclamation of June 1, decided that privateers should not take prizes to any of her ports; and France and Spain also declared that such vessels should remain but twenty-four hours within their harbors, and prohibited either confiscation or sale during such stay. The first offensive act of the war on the part of our navy was the attack on Sewall's Point battery, in Virginia, on May 18, 1861. This battery, then not completed, was situated at the mouth of Elizabeth river, commanding also the entrance to James river. On the 18th the United States steamer Star, two guns, and transport Freeborn, of four guns, opened their fire and dislodged the enemy from their entrenchments. During the night, however, the works were repaired and occupied by a larger force. On the following day the steamer Star again opened fire on them, and after exhausting her ammunition retired. On the 31st of May, the United States steamers Thomas Freeborn, Anacosta and Resolute attacked the rebel batteries at the railroad terminus at Acquia Creek. As the tide was out, the vessels could not approach near enough to accomplish their reduction. On the following day the fire was renewed by the vessels, under command of Captain Ward, and returned by the enemy with spirit from three batteries on the shore, and one on the heights above. They were soon driven from the shore batteries, but that on the hill was at an elevation which could not be reached by shot from the gunboats. The vessels were struck several times, with but little damage, and two men were wounded. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained. On the 6th of June, while reconnoitering on the James river, the steamer Harriet Lane discovered a heavy battery at Pigs Point, at the mouth of the Nansemond river, opposite Newport News. She opened fire on it to discover its character, and finding from the response that it was too formidable for her guns, she withdrew, having five men wounded in the encounter. On the 27th of June, Commander J. H. Ward of the steamer Freeborn, accompanied by a party of men from the Pawnee, under Lieutenant Chaplin, who were engaged in erecting a breast work at Matthias Point, on the Potomac, were attacked by a large force of the enemy. The men on shore were exposed to a galling fire, but made good their retreat in their boats, three only being wounded, taking all their arms and implements with them. Commander Ward immediately opened fire from his vessel on the attacking party, and drove them to cover. While sighting one of the guns of the Freeborn, Commander Ward was struck by a rifle ball, mortally wounded, and died within an hour. Captain JAMES H. WARD was born in the year 1806, in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. His early days were spent in the usual studies of youth, and on the 4th of March, 1823, he entered the United States service, sailing as midshipman, under Commodore McDonough, in the frigate Constitution. After serving faithfully for four years with McDonough, he was promoted to the position of lieutenant, and was for some time attached to the Mediterranean service. Many years of his life were spent on the coast of Africa, and he was also in the gulf, as commander of the United States steamer Vixen. Nearly all his naval life was spent on the ocean. For some time he had a very responsible professorship in the naval school at Annapolis, and later was in command of the receiving ship North Carolina. His talents were not entirely devoted to naval affairs, for he is well known as an ́author by his works, entitled "Steam for the Million," "Ordnance and Gunnery," and "Naval Tactics." The news of his death brought sorrow to many, and his memory is safely embalmed in the heart of an appreciating nation. THE EXPEDITION TO CAPE HATTERAS The first naval achievement of the war which was attended with any important result was the successful attack of the fleet under Commodore Stringham, accompanied by General B. F. Butler, and his land forces,. upon Forts Hatteras and Clark, at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. The whole length of the Atlantic coast from Chesapeake Bay to Charleston has a peculiar character. A long line of low, sandy beaches, of variable width and elevation, rise above the surface of the ocean, broken at occasional intervals by a passage, ordinarily of shallow depth of water, communicating from the open sea with the lagoons inside. These bodies of water, by the indentations of the main land and the mouths of the rivers, expand into large bays, of which Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds are the principal. These two form capacious highways of safe and easy communication along the coast, and through the Dismal Swamp Canal connect with the Chesapeake Bay, on the north, at Norfolk, Va. At the south-western extremity of the long, narrow island or beach, the outer angle of which has received the name of Cape Hatteras, and which gives its name to the inlet, the rebels had erected two strong fortifications known as Forts Hatteras and Clark. Captain Samuel Barron, late of the United States navy, was here in command of the naval forces, while Colonel William F. Martin, of the Seventh North Carolina Volunteers, and Major W. S. G. Andrews, commanded the garrisons. Hatteras Inlet was one of the principal passages through which the vessels of the Confederacy made their way, in defiance of the blockade, and which it was desirable to command with the Federal forces and fleet. An expedition was accordingly planned, and the preparations were far advanced when General Wool reached Fortress Monroe. All things having been made ready, on the 26th of August, the fleet, under Commodore S. H. Stringham, left Hampton Roads for its destination. It consisted of the flag-ship Minnesota, Captain G. A. Van Brune, having in company the United States steamers Wabash, Captain Samuel Mercer; Monticello, Commander John P. Gillis; Pawnee, Commander S. C. Rowan; Harriet Lane, Captain John Faunce; United States chartered. steamers Adelaide, Commander Henry S. Stellwagen; George Peabody, Lieutenant R. B. Lowry; and tug Fanny, Lieutenant Pierce Crosby, all of the United States navy. The transports Adelaide and George Peabody, towing schooners with surf-boats on them, and the Monticello and Pawnee surf-boats only. General Butler embarked his land forces on the two transports Adelaide and George Peabody, having with him five hundred of the Twentieth New York regiment, Colonel Weber; two hundred and twenty of the New York Ninth regiment, Colonel Hawkins; one hundred of the Union Coast Guard, Captain Nixon; and sixty of the United States Second Artillery, Lieutenant Larned. The expedition left Fortress Monroe on Monday, the 26th, at one o'clock, P. M., and the last vessel had arrived at Hatteras Inlet by four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. Preparations for landing troops were made the same evening, and at daylight the next morning dispositions were made for an attack upon the forts by the fleet, and the landing of the troops. |