a fire aft, and then escaped in small boats to Wilderness. The fuses set by Rhind failed to detonate the explosives, but the fire aft did. Louisiana blew up as planned, but other than to send out a heavy shock wave, had little effect. At dawn the next day, Christmas Eve, the first assault on Fort Fisher began. However, as Admiral Porter subsequently wrote, "I was in hopes I should have been able to present to the nation Fort Fisher and surrounding works as a Christmas offering, but I am sorry to say it has not been taken yet." The expedition failed dismally. During the first attempt to reduce and invest the Confederate stronghold, on 24 and 25 December 1864, Wilderness lay in reserve offshore, in the first division. Through much of the action, Wilderness served as tender to the flagship and spotted her fall of shot. On the 25th, the side-wheeler took on board the bodies of the sailors who had been killed on and and also received the wounded from those ships. After transferring these casualties to Fort Jackson, Wilderness returned to Beaufort, where she took two coal schooners in tow and pulled them to Wilmington, getting underway on the 28th as Union forces were preparing to make a second attempt to take Fort Fisher. Delivering her tows soon thereafter, the side-wheel steamer supported the landings against the Confederate stronghold on 13 January 1865, taking on board a draft of troops from the transport Atlantic. She took the troops to within 500 yards of shore and, while anchored there, transferred the men to boats for the final run to shore. The following day, Wilderness delivered mail among the fleet and took on ammunition; later, she delivered cargo to . Subsequently, Wilderness took part in the occupation of former Confederate works at Smithville, North Carolina, on 19 January, Acting Master Arey and a boat crew from the ship participating directly in the operation. Wilderness remained in the vicinity of the mouth of the Cape Fear River into February and then returned to her former operating area, the James River. Admiral Porter ordered Wilderness up the Chickahominy River to try to communicate with General Philip Sheridan. Collaterally, the ship was to gain all the information she could learn about the river itself and Southern forces in the area before returning to Aiken's Landing with any dispatches which needed to be