The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-14 00:00:00

The following letter is written by an American
lady resident at New Orleans :
" New Orleans, Sept. 1, 1862.
" (Fifth month of the reign of terror,)
„ dear Mr. --,—Shortly after the opening
of the port of New Orleans, I received a kind letter
from you, which, bearing a date a year old, never-
theless gave me much pleasure. As all letters are
subject to military supervision, I did not answer it
until I thought I had found a safe opportunity of
sending a letter unseen by the authorities. Think-
ing I had found such an one, I wrote you a volume,
giving a detailed description of the taking of New
Orleans, and the treachery which led to it ; I also
enclosed copies of orders and acts of Gen. Butler,
upon which the Northern press have made no com-
ments, preferring to appear ignorant that such acts
of barbarism are countenanced by their Govern-
ment, to criticising them. I only heard a few days
ago that the person to whom I entrusted the pack-
age had found it, necessary to destroy it to prevent
its falling into the hands of Government. I cannot
tell you how disappointed I felt on many accounts.
There were several inhuman threats made in the
official journal of Gen. Butler to make New Orleans
a second St. Domingo, if there was any attempt to
retake it. . . I cannot again undertake the
recital of the universal mutiny in the forts Jackson
and St. Philip ; the garrison spiking the guns and
firing upon any officer who appeared upon the para-
pets. . . . As war absorbs ail my thoughts, I
shall naturally write of nothing else ; in fact we
never speak of anything else. The excitement and
expectation we are constantly in are enough to wear
out body and mind. For three weeks past we have
daily, I may say hourly, expected New Orleans to
be attacked by the Confederates. The Yankees
have thrown down every house in the remote
suburbs, including the town of Carrolton, and
thrown open the country to the lake, that the Con-
federates may have no shelter from their fire, and
may be seen many miles off. They sleep under
arms, and are prepared at all times for an attack.
In the meantime, Butler refuses every one a pass
to leave town unless they take the oath of allegi-
ance, and amuses himself by telling all the women
who apply for passes that while he is fighting the
enemy in the suburbs he will deliver the town to
the mercy of 20,000 negroes, and adds that he will
leave the town a heap of ashes if obliged to eva-
cuate. He finds that the women are not to be
shaken in their devotion to their country's cause
by the threat of rapine and murder, and is tho-
roughly exasperated with the sex. He says the
women were the entire cause of secession, that they
tabooed and sent to Coventry every man who would
not fight, and that even if they took the oath he
would not grant them passes. It is true that we
recognise no man who has remained at home and is
able to serve in the army. You cannot conceive the
horrible position we are placed in here. I will en-
deavour to give you a faint sketch of what we have
to expect. In the first place, we are now subject
to the caprices of our servants. Imagine an army
where the officers were punished with fine and im-
prisonment for even enforcing ordinary discipline,
such as preventing their soldiers leaving for days
at a time, or resenting not only impertinence but
personal violence! This is the case with us ;we
are invariably told that the testimony of a ' loyal
negro' is preferable to that of a rebel, and no asser-
tion they naake against their masters is too absurd
to obtain credence. In the presence of these facts
we are disarmed, not being permitted the smallest
weapon to defend our houses or persons. Forsee-
ing that many would not comply with this order,
Butter excites the cupidity of the slaves first, by
offs ring a reward for every weapon they may find,
arid next by offering liberty (which they have al-
-ready) if they will denounce their masters. This
has proved such an inducement to perfidy, that
many have hidden weapons in the house and then
denounced their master and mistress. Some of our
most respectable citizens have been sentenced to
one year's imprisonment with hard labour, drag-
ging a ball and chain, for having retained, some a
sword-cane, others a revolver, or bowie-knife.
While we are unarmed, Butler arms all
the free coloured population, while Phelps drills
the negroes in camp to be ready at a moment's
warning to be armed. Is it not dreadful ?
They endeavour to excite the revengeful passions
of the slaves by continually reminding them that
the b our of retaliation is come. You hear the
creatures in the streets boasting they will wade
knee deep in the white man's blood.'
" The fear of fire is now added to all these horrors.
Three days ago all the operators of the fire tele-
graph were removed, on the ground that they had
not taken the oath. The first day the Yankees had
possession two large fires broke out in the heart of
the business part of the city ; the flames had made
great havoc before the telegraph gave the alarm,
and the citizens who ran to extinguish the flames
were kept back by the military. Since then fire
alarms continue, and we feel apprehensive that they
intend gradually to burn the town.
" You have heard of the brilliant victory' of the
Yankees at Baton Rouge. Notwithstanding the
victory' they had to evacuate the place ; in doing
so they blew up the State-house, removed the State
library and Washington statue, laid the town in
ashes, threw open the doors of the Penitentiary,
and turned out about 500 convicts, who are now
loose en our community. Here also the gaols were
thrown open, and murderers and felons were turned
loose, a great 'number of slaves among them.
Dotft think this is exaggeration. I can assure you
I write nothing but facts, which I can vouch for.
"The navy boasts of doing nothing against the
usages of civilised warfare. Ir returning from
Baton Rouge they endeavoured to destroy the towns
of Bayou Sara and Donaldsonville ; finding their
shells did little damage, they landed the crews with
buckets of tar, with which they smeared the houses
and then set them on fire, and boasted in their
official paper that they had only left a few sticks
where these towns formerly stood. The mayor of
Bayou Sara had informed them that guerillas were
near; they left hurriedly, but returned when the
guerillas had departed, and in return for the mayor's
kindness laid the town in ashes. It is hard to believe
that such things take place in a civilised country;
but, nevertheless, every word I have written is
true. The fact is, we are such a mendacious nation
that I hesitate to write many things which would be
considered American exaggeration, to express it in
polite terms.
"Youhave heard of the imprisonment of • Mrs.
l'hilliPs• She is a charming woman, with a large
family of children, all of them unacclimated, many
of them very young, and thus deprived of a mother's
care. When
called before Butler, he simply asked
her if she did not smile when the funeral procession
of Captain de R.,37 ?
Passed her house ? She re-
plied, ' It was possible, as
she
that day.' Without turteetr .was in good spirits
al he sentenced her
to close confinement on
ship
Island for an indefinite
period. Upon her husband
endeavouring to speak
for her, he told him that he Would have
if he opened his mouth again. pe,orvelihiPrn gagged
on been snore than two months '
that desolate
in
sand bank without a hope of release.
She is
wretched shanty, which neither keeps oat
rain nor
in a
sun; she has had to pass the entire night sitting
under an umbrella ; she receives a soldier's rations ;
she was allowed a servant, but this poor worean is
not permittsd to leave the room, and has to share
the close confinement of her mistress. Mrs. Phillips
being dangerously ill a short time ago, her husband
was permitted to visit her. She had concealed
from him her wretched condition ; they gave her
neither a bed nor chair ; she took one of each with
her, which comprises the furniture of her wretched
ison. She had been ill for a week, during which
time her servant could not cross the threshold of her
door, anal no one entered to see if they required
anything; a little faro
wroot cooked over a piece
of tallow candle, was all she could pi ocu
plained to him her
she sent for an
officer, and ee
helpless condition, and the absolute necessity there
r for hot applications.
was of her having hot wax
He left her, promising to send her some imme-
diately. In four hours after some was
sent. She had had time to die of her
agony. Mrs. Phillips had already been impri-
soned in Washington, with two lovely daughters,
on suspicion of corresponding with the enemy'