The New York herald., 1862-03-17
The Lesson OF New Madrid.

The Lesson OF New Madrid.
The evacuation of New Gsdrid conveys q
lesson of great significance. 1t is fatal symp-
tom Of the breaking up Of the re5elilon-a
patent fact of its speedy dissolution. New
Madrid was the last stronghold in Missouri.
On Saturday we learned by official des-
patches from Generals Pope and Halleck that,
after several days skirmishing and a number OF
attempts by the gunboats of the enemy to dis
lodge General Pope's batteries, the rebels
evacuated the forts and intrenchments at New
Madrid, leaving all their heavy artillery field
pieces tents, wagons mules and military
stores. Nowhere now in Missouri floats the
Confederate flag.
1t may have been military necessity to
abandon this strong position, after recent
events in Kentucky and Tennessee. But to
leave all the heavy artillery and field pieces,
consisting Of twenty-five rified twenty-four-
Founders of the former kind, and thirty-two
batteries of field pieces, being two hundred and
seventeen guns in all, together with several
thousand small arms, so much needed by the
rebel confederacy, an immense quantity OF
cannon ammunition, hundreds Of boxes of
musket cartridges, three hundred mules, tents
for an army of twelve thousand men, and other
property estimated as worth million OF dol
lars, is something not so easily explained, un-
less upon the hypothesis of complete
caving in of the rebellion and the utter
demoralization Of the disheartened troops.
It is stated that, being surrounded by the Union
army, and fearing an assault at daylight, just as
in the case of Fort Donelson, the rebels escaped
unperceived across the river in the night, during
violent thunder storm. Their force has been
variously estimated at from 5000 to $4,000
men. In escaping capture they have done
somewhat better, owing to the lucky accident
of thunder storm, than the Fort Donelson men;
but the result is not very different. For all the
use these dispersed and disorganized troops
ever will be to the rebel cause, they might as
we'll have been taken prisoners. They are
without arms and ammunition, and it is evident
they had no confidence in themselves or their
leaders; otherwise they would not have fed
without struggle. To surrender or fly, leav-
ing their arms behind, seems to be now the
order of the day with the rebels. At
Port Royal, Roanoke, Fort Henry Fort Donel-
son, Fernandina, Brunswick, Columbus, Bowl
ing Green, Nashville, Manassas, Winches-
ter, and on the Lower Potomac, this has been
the case, and now it again occurs at New Ma
drid If the Confederates saved their cannon
they might retrieve their fortunes; but without
artillery what could the bravest troops do
against the formidable batteries with which the
insurgents will now have to contend. 1t is
evident that there is great scarcity of all
kinds of arms at the South The shotguns in
the hands Of the troops are about as numerous
as rifles and muskets, and so scarce are the lat
ter that at Florence the recruits were COM
PEELED to drill with wooden muskets, speci-
men of which we have in our office. Cannon
of the same material were found on the forti-
fications at Centreville. Among the guns found
in the rebel batteries of the Lower Potomac
was an Armstrong cannon, which was imported
from England to Savannah, and brought thence
to Virginia. proof that cannon are far from
abundant in Rebellion. Owing to their hope Of
European Intervention to break the blockade,
if not to go greater lengths, the rebel govern
ment appear to have manufactured few cannon
or small arms Of late. expecting to get all they
needed from abroad. Notwithstanding. there
fore, the number of arms of all kinds stolen by
Floyd, that big thief did not steal enough; they
have no time now to manufacture any, and they
cannot get supply from Europe. Their want
of arms alone, therefore. would defeat them, if
there were no other causes in operation to con-
tribute to that result. Truly did JEFF. Davis
say that they attempted too much. A battle in
Virginia, if tas insurgents will fight, will be the
finishing stroke to the war. ="