The New York herald., 1863-12-25

influence though devoted 70 the Confederate cause Gen.
Slaughter, Of Mobile 10 IN this city, with bis star ndisn
ns he indians are armed by he YANKEE. ond sent
upon the defeneeees frontier 70 10y wasse To small
pox has made ,ts appearance in this city.
General Walker's division 10 now the Mississippi
river peggng away They have already suuh trans
port aad burned another They have also sunk four
barges and burned the large transport Black Hawk No
thing OAa paee their batteries unless conveyed by
clads; and even then We hear u much hmeptatiop
QusAtrell Is in shreveport. Onaciai Information has
been received that Corpus Christi In the bands Of the
enemy
Che Case OF General Maasnsld Lowell.
GENERAL oRDERs-No. 162,
ApJuTANr INSPECTOR GESRRALs OYF1CE,
RicBh0sD, Nov. "a, 1868.
I. court Of inquiry having been convened at Jack
February 2o 1885, 70 examine and report the facts
New Orleans BY tho enemy, IN April 1862, and de-
fence Of the city by the Confederate troops under
mand Of Major General Mansfield Lowell, together with
their opinion thereon and the court having discharged
The duty assgoed hem their opinion is published for
| the bene1t Of oil whom 10 may concern
| OPINION OF THE COURT.
Tho Court, having maturely considered the evidence
adduoed, submit the following opinion
i. As against land attack by any force the enemy
could probably bring, the interior line OF fortiAcatons
adopted and completed by Major General Lowell was
greatly impaired BY the Withdrawal from him, by supe
O. The exterior line, adopted and improved by him,
was well devised, and rendered strong the at
3. Until tbe.iron clad gunboats Louisiana and Misss
sippi should DO ready for SERVICE II ndispensably
river between Forts jackson and st. Phillip The raft
completed under General L0ves direction, adequate
e tbs yvsr IN 81
some error In Its construction neglect in preventing
the accumulation Of drift or because Of indispensable me-
pared TO give an opinion General Lowell communicated
to the government opinion to the insecurity the
nor did he Immediately make the fact whom il
occurred In this 1t is considered that he n
his duty.
4. when the raft was swept away, General Lowell,
With great energy Immediately endeavored replace it,
this last obstruction broken by the careossness Of
vessels Of the rlver defence feet colling with it, and
by FIRE RATS drifting against IT, and by tho failure of tho
guard boats to protect 1t against night expeditions Of tho
enemy.
The completion Of the ironclad Runboats Iouisi
ana and Mississippi made II impossible for the navy TO
cooperate efficiently with Gen. Lowell.
The 80 called river defence feet wholly useless
as means Of resistance to the enemy, for which Cen
Lowell was in no wise responsible.
Under existing circumstances, the passage Of the
forts by the enemy fleet could not have been
by General Lowell with any under his control and
the forts being passed. the fall OF New Orleans was ipev
table, and Its evacuation military necessity.
When the first raft was broken and the danger Of
New Orleans thus became imminent necessary prepar
alton should have been made for removing the pub
lie property and Private property available for military
uscs and when the second obstruction swept away
menced Immediately The failure to take these timely
steps caused the losses Of property that occurred but
there was comparatively little property lost for which
g. The failure Of General Loveto give proper orders to
Brlgader General Smith for the retirement Of his
command from Chamette is not sufficiently explained
and is, therefore. regarded as a serious
TO- The proposition Of General Lowell to return to New
Orleans with his command was not demanded by his duty
as soldier involving as it did the useless sacrifice OF
himself and hs troops though ep ains itself upon the
ground OF sympathy for the population, and natural
senstiveness TO their reprOachee.
H. General Lowell displayed great energy and
marked by all the cooness and sepossession due TO
the circumstances and his position and be evinced
many Of bis measures FOR ihs SeieDcS Of New 0resps
The Court respectfully report that its assembly was
delayed by the failure Of s President to receive his
orders 10 due tme and that s session by
the taking Of testimony under the OF War De-
partmen as to the conduct OF naval officers duty
derng useless and irrelevant much Of the labor OF the
court The testimony referred TO- although appearing
on rssord &c was not considered BY the court in detormu
The Court OF Inquiry in the foregoing case hereby
Adjutsnt and Inspector General
Unsuccessrul Attempt Of Colonel str eight
and His Adjutant to Escape from Rich
,o o LTrom o.Fl The Reh@Sna Ens.irsr, Dec ;l
on several occasions lately made unsuccessful attempts TO
escape from that institution The desire to escape seems to
have with them since the successful evacuation o.
the premises by Captain Anderson and Lieutenant Sketon
heretofore noticed and which was produced by brbng
the sentinel on duty at the time On Friday evening
was sounded By two officers on the snoec, Of an
three O'Clock that night he agreed to their pro
posals they promising to give him an bupdred dollar
Turner, being notified of the affair, directed
the sentinel 10 let the parties escape and
would take care they did not get very far es &c.
cordngy at halfpast three O'clock rear window OF
the middle tenement Of the LIBBY establishment was
a rOp az n and tuUr
men descended. Hastily approaching the sentinel,
they handed him the greepback and two silver
when they baied by Lieutenant LaToucho and
anded TO stop This accelerated their speed IN the
when the guard, bad bean posted. closed around
the fugatious Yankees. ana their capture complete
recognized he notorious Colonel ~ streighi and his
Adjuant, Lieut. Reed They conducted back 70 the
the dungeon of the prison whore they were, al last
account, "chewing the cnd of sweet and bit
attempt OF srcght, determined to celebrate Christmas
night by grand musical entertainment Whether
purpose will be elected by sue'ebts proceeding,
mains TO be seen.
Explosion and Great Loss OF Life.
From the Richmond Sent mol, lee. IL
On Thursday last an explosion, caused by tie igni-
ton of gas, occurred in Raccoon rt, Clover Hi,
worked by the Chesterfield Coal and Iron gnine Com
pany resulting in the dea,h by wounds and suiocaton
Of sixteen workmen, a number Of others being also
was killed. All the bodies recovered. The
explosion was succeeded by sheet OF flame ascending
several hundred feet above the mouth OF the pit The
damage done TO the pit must have been serious Opera
tons will doubtless be again commenced without DELAY
Has Sir H. Davy celebrated safety lamp fallen into dis
use IN our pitsS Where used England explosions are
or rare occurrence
LOufstana.
THE REBEL ELECTIONS IN LOUISIANA.
From the Richmond Daily Dispatch, Nov. 80
The election State aud Congressional officers took
place In Louisiana the 2lst inst. Brgadier General
Henry W. Allen was elected Governor without opposition
B. W. pearce Lieutenant Governor p. Hardy, Secre.
tary Of State f. s. Goode Attorney General IT, Paralta
Auditor OF Public Accounts j. nefreese State TYea-
surer BY oGcial Of the Legislature tho for
members OF Congress taken by general ticket Lit.
tie doubt entertained OF the election of the old
bers-C. j. Where N. Conrad, u. f. Kenner, j. J. Du
fore, Henry Marshall, John Perkins, Jr.
Confederate Currency Circulated at the