Rhode Island infantry, and Battery F, First Rhode Island light artillery. The regiments were full, and the command numbered upwards of twelve thousand men. Forty-six transports were employed, eleven of which were steamers. There were also nine armed propellers, to act as gun-boats, and five barges armed as floating batteries, carrying altogether forty-seven guns, mostly of small calibre. These formed the army division of the fleet, and were commanded by Commander Samuel F. Hazard. A navy, composed of twenty vessels of different sizes, but most of light draught, for the navigation of the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, carried altogether fifty-five heavy guns, and were commanded by Commodore L. M. Goldsborough. The orders for embarkation were promulgated on Saturday, the 4th of January, 1862, and their reading in each camp was the signal for outbursts of cheering. The next morning the troops commenced embarking, and on the 9th the fleet of transports steamed down Chesapeake Bay and anchored off Fortress Monroe. On the morning of the 11th, General Burnside arrived, on the gun-boat "Picket," a screw steamer, the smallest of the fleet, on which he had established his headquarters. The secret of the destination of the fleet had been well kept, and when it sailed, on the morning of the 12th, no one knew it except the general and Commodore Goldsborough. The officer commanding the troops on each ship had sealed orders given him, which were to be opened after getting six miles at sea. When the fleet left Hampton Roads the weather was fine, but the next day a terrific storm burst upon the armada, as if determined to sweep all on board into the ocean. The steamers staggered on, breasting the giant blows of 127 each successive sea, their hulls and spars trembling, their decks swept fore and aft, and all on board reeling from side to side like drunken men. One figure stood immovable, grasping the shrouds, scanning the horizon for traces of ships as his steamer rose on each glittering mass of foam. It was the square, manly form of General Burnside, whose anxiety for the fate of his army was intense. With nothing to distinguish him but his yellow belt and blue blouse, slouch hat, and high boots, he stood like a sea-king, hailing every vessel and asking affectionately after the welfare of those on board. It became necessary to find the tortuous channel of Hatteras Inlet when the storm was at its height. A few light-draught steamers succeeded in passing safely. Making the inlet, they crossed the bar, came to anchor in the comparatively smooth water of Pamlico Sound, and some of the troops were landed. But many of the steamers, which had been represented as light-draught, could not cross the bar, and were tossed about outside for nearly two weeks. Оссаsionally a steamer would work her way in, and some of them were much injured. General Burnside acted the part of admiral as well as general, and managed his great fleet as best he could, performing the duties of navigator, pilot, and harbor-master. Whenever a steamer was in distress, the general was always the first man off to her assistance, and there was not a grade in the army which he did not fill during this trying occasion, so anxious was he for the well-being and comfort of his troops. Generals Foster, Reno, and Parke gave him their ablest assistance, and the conduct of the officers and men was highly commendable. At length, on the 25th of January, the storm finally broke, and the vessels were all inside of the bar. A depot of supplies was established on shore, and some of the troops were transferred from the steamers in which they had come from Annapolis to others of a lighter draught, while the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment, which had been landed, was re-embarked, with the Ninth New York Regiment, of the Hatteras Island garrison. General Burnside was ubiquitous, moving about in every direction on the Picket," and when all was ready, he issued the following order, which breathes the broadhearted humanity that all who had even the slightest intercourse with him found to be a large element in his nature. It also showed the confidence he reposed in his troops, and it was an appeal to the humanity and honor of his men: HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA, General Orders, No. 5. } This expedition, being about to land on the soil of North Carolina, the general commanding desires his soldiers to remember that they are here to support the Constitution and the laws, to put down rebellion, and to protect the persons and property of the loyai and peaceable citizens of the State. In the march of the army, all unnecessary injuries to houses, barns, fences, and other property will be carefully avoided, and in all cases the rules of civilized warfare will be carefully observed. Wounded soldiers will be treated with every care and attention, and neither they nor prisoners must be insulted or annoyed by word or act. With the fullest confidence in the valor and the character of his troops, the general commanding looks forward to a speedy and successful termination of the campaign. By command of Brig.-Gen. A. E. BURNSIDE. LEWIS RICHMOND, Assistant Adjutant-General. On the morning of the 5th, the fleet, consisting in all of sixty-five vessels, moved forward in regular order, each brigade forming three columns, headed by its flag-ship. The gun-boats of the "coast division" occupied positions on the flanks, to be ready for a response to any demonstra |