The New York herald., 1862-12-23
THE SITUATION.

ments OF State and the Treasury, and the general
feeling in Washington now is chat no changes
whatever will take place either in the councils
Of the President or the military commanders.
The frmness of Mr.. Lincoln in rebuking the
dictstion Of the Senatorial caucus and reserving
to himself the exclusive right to judge of the con
duct OF his ministerial advisers, has served to
bring the difficulty to an end, which threatened to
embsrrass his action very seriously, and caused so
much uneasiness throughout the country for some
days past.
The movements Of the Army of the Rappahan.
mock are not Of much Importance The wounded
In the late action are being carefully attended to.
Tie weather in the vicinity Of Falmouth continues
line, and the troops said 10 be in good spirits.
The Congressional Committee on the Conduct Of
the War, who have just visited the battle field at
Fredericksburg, are to make their report to-day
npon the results Of that battle
General Burnside's official account Of the late
General Haileck, and appears in our columns to-
day. It's curious document eand evidences the
generosity Of the writer's nature with more force
than il does his judgment as military commander.
General Burnside, while accepting the whole re.
spcnsibty Of the misfortune which befeIl his
army in their desperate assault upon the enemys
works, completely exonerates the President, the
Secretary OF War and General Haieck, and
indeed every one except himself from any
blame in the unfortunate transaction. He ad-
mits that he made the advance movement
psrt;cs, at wrong place and wrong time from
Falmouth instead Of from Warrenton, and a. an
earlier moment than they desired--aDd therefore
feels that he only is to be held TO account for the
fearful consequences that followed. He adds
For the failure in the attack am responsible,
~ the extreme gallantry, courage and endurance
shown hy them (the troops) was never exceeded,
and would have carried the points had it been
possible. To the families and friends Of the dead
can only offer my heartfelt sympatllics; but for
the wounded can offer my earnest prayers for
We have another inkling OF the whereabouts Of
scmc Of the allies of the pirate Alabama. Of which
there are probably many cruising about our coast.
The ship Richard s Ely, from Liverpool, which
arrived al this port yesterday reports having
on the western edge of the Banks, on the sth in.
stsnt suspicious looking bark apparently
Friyateer y and another one not fer distant, which
soon after joined her. aud both proceeded at o
rspd rate very getting out Of sight 81 the Ely
is reported that Lexington, KY, is soon TO DO
visited again by the rebels in large force. Floyd
and Humphrey Marshall are said to have come
through Pound Gap from Western Virginia and
rapidly advancing into the centre OF the State
The town and vicinity are infested with John Nor.
xans spies. Four OF them were captured by
provost scouting parties o short distance out.
General shermsn's expedition embarked on
transports at Memphis on Saturday - route 70
N1cksburg or Grenada.
Dispatches from Cairo give us further particu-
]gs of the rebel attack on Trenton, Tenn. n sp
pears that Reconnaissance OF Colones Taylor and
Hawkins, OF our army, TO Lexington, Tenn, &c.
suited in collision with a large force OF rebel
cavalry. and the defeat Of our troops.
We publish in another part of to-day's paper an
lBteresting compilation Of sonlerp news from ls,e
richmond papers. The columns Of those journals
sc chiefly devoted 70 their late victory at
fredericksburg, extolling everybody in. their army
from Lee down 70 the private in the ranks, for
the part they took In II. General, lee in official
despatch under date OF the 10th TO the rebel
Secretary Of war, says =" The enemy has aisap.
.pcared in our immediate 'front.' and has ro.crossed
she Rsppahannock. Ipresume he is meditsting o
tsssage At some other point"
rhe Richmond Dispatch Of The 18th INST, 10
a. elaborate editorial on the victory, sayG-'It
-yas The greatest battle ever fought this cont.
,crt. Our loss IL $500 10 killed, wounded and
pnissing.n
correspondent OF The Redmond E,9uira
srtes ron the battle field under date Of the 14tt
sn4s., and says:-"Tho enemy was therefore com
ROLLED 10 advance In the fsce q rsking Gre up
Mis- inclined plane only TO meet the desth.dealine
ifrs which cur men SO surely and steadily poured
hnon them. The enemy fought we'll"
Capse,n II. Lord Kinr, son Of 7. Butler King
end ala 20 the rebel General McLaws, was si,led
curlnr he battle.
Geographic despatch TO the Richmond Whig
es.ea Godsboro. N. G., December Ie. reports