CIRCULAR. New Orleans, September 21, 1863. The following extracts from the revised Army Regulations are republished for the information and guidance of the Commanding Officers of all permanent and field fortifications, within this Department: ARTICLE IX. Care of Fortifications. 40. No person shall be permitted to walk upon any of the slopes of a fortification, excepting the ramps and glacis. If, in any case, it be necessary to provide for crossing them, it should be done by placing wooden steps or stairs against the slopes. The occasional walking of persons on a parapet will do no harm, provided it be not allowed to cut the surface into paths. 41. No cattle, horses, sheep, goat or other animal, shall ever be permitted to go upon the slopes, the ramparts or the parapets, nor upon the glacis, except within fenced limits, which should not approach the crest nearer than 30 feet. 42. All grassed surfaces, excepting the glacis, will be carefully and frequently mowed (except in dry weather), and the oftener the better, while growing rapidly-the grass never being allowed to be more than a few inches high. In order to cut the grass even and close, upon small slopes a light one-handed scythe should be used; and in mowing the steep slopes, the mower should stand on a light ladder resting against the slope, and not upon the grass. Crops of hay may be cut on the glacis; or, if fenced, it may be used as pasture; otherwise it should be treated as other slopes of the fortification. On all the slopes, spots of dead grass will be cut out and replaced by fresh sods. All weeds will be eradicated. A very little labor, applied steadily and judiciously, will maintain the grass surfaces, even of the largest of our forts, in good condition. 43. The burning of grass upon any portion of forbidden. a fortification is strictly 44. Particular attention is required to prevent the formation of gullies in the parade, terreplein, and ramps, and especially in slopes where grass is not well established. If neglected they soon involve heavy expense. 45. Earth, sand, or ashes must not be placed against wood-work; a free ventilation must be preserved around it; and all wooden floors, platforms, bridges, &c., will be kept clean swept 46. The machinery of draw-bridges. gates, and posterns must be kept in good working order by proper cleaning and oiling of the parts; the bridges will be raised, and the gates and posterns opened as often as once a week. 47. The terrepleins of forts, the floors of casemates, caponniers, storerooms, barracks galleries, posterns, magazines. &c., and the sidewalks in front of quarters and barracks, as well as other walks, are sometimes paved with bricks or stones, or formed of concrete. These surfaces must be preserved from injury with great care. In transporting guns and carriages, and in mounting them, strong way-plank will be used, and neither the wheels nor any other part of the carriages, nor any machinery; such as shears. gins, &c., nor any hand spike or other implements, will be allowed to touch those surfaces. Unless protected in a similar manner, no wheelbarrow or other vehicle, no barrels, hogsheads, &c., will be rolled upon these surfaces. No violent work will be suffered to be done upon them, such as cutting wood, breaking coal, &c., and no heavy weight he thrown or permitted to fall thereon. In using machines, as gins, &c., in casemates, care must be taken not to injure the arch or ceiling, as well as the floor. Neglect of these precautions may cause injuries, slight in appearance but serious in effect, from the leaking of water into masonry and casemates, and expensive to repair. 48. The doors and windows of all store-rooms and unoccupied casemates, quarters, barracks, &c., will be open several times a week for thorough ventilation. 49. The masonry shot-furnaces will be heated only on the approach of an enemy. For ordinary practice with hot shot, iron furnaces are provided. 50. The foregoing matters involve but little expense; the labor is within the means of every garrison, and no technical knowledge is called for beyond what will be found among soldiers. Other repairs requiring small disbursements, such as repainting exposed wood or iron work, can be also executed by the garrison; but reports, estimates, and requisitions may be necessary to obtain the materials. 51. No alteration will be made in any fortification, or in its casemates, quarters, barracks, magazines, store-houses, or any other building belonging to it; nor will any building of any kind, or work of earth, masonry, or timber be erected within the fortifications, or on its exterior within half a mile, except under the superintendence of the Engineer Department, and by the authority of the Secretary of War. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL BANKS: G. NORMAN LIEBER, Acting Assistant Adjutant General. HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THe gulf, New Orleans, September 24, 1863. CIRCULAR. The unpardonable neglect of the Assistant Adjutant Generals of Brigades and Divisions in this Department, in not rendering at the proper time the returns, required by law, makes it necessary to announce that in future the officers, thus failing to perform their duty, will, by direction of the War Department, be recommended to the President for dismissal from the service. One week will be allowed for the rendition of all returns now due, including those for July and August, and no excuses will be received for a failure to comply with this order. BY COMMAND OF MAJOR GENERAL BANKS: G. NORMAN LIEBER, Acting Assistant Adjutant General. HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF. I. The heroic efforts of the Army of the United States have re-established the free navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries. The vindication of the freedom of these waters by the iron hand of war, against a confederation of rebel States, is an event of equal import with their discovery and settlement, and makes the Union a nation. It is a baptism of blood, In a brief period of time this vast and fertile valley will be opened to the peaceful commerce of the world. Notwithstanding the ravages of war, the destruction of property, the dispersion of laborers, and the decimation of population, the inhabitable globe does not offer a nobler theatre for intelligent enterprise than the Valley of the Mississippi. The cultivation of new products, the application of new elements and different systems of labor, the immediate re organization of local Governments and the resistless energy of many millions of freemen, will create individual and national wealth, such as the world has never seen. Never was a country better worth fighting for, better worth defending. The highest duty of the people is to maintain and defend the freedom of the Mississippi, upon which depends the support of the present aud the hope of the future. The Government is entitled to the armed assistance of all those who claim the right of citizens or seek to share their privileges. Those who covet the profits of trade, disclaiming citizenship and acknowledging allegiance to foreign nations only, remain here by permission and favor, and not of right. In the performance of this duty, and to assist in maintaining the important advantages secured by free communication between the Valley of the Mississippi and the markets of the world, the citizens of the First and Second Congressional Districts of Louisiana, liable to military duty, have been enrolled for general military service, in accordance with the provisions of the law of Conscription, passed by Congress, so far as it may be applicable to this Department. Proper publication will be hereafter made of the number of troops required for this purpose, and the time and manner of their selection. The conscription will not be held to embrace those well-disposed persons who, in the event of capture by the enemy, would not be entitled to the full immunity of soldiers of the United States. II. The organization of one or more volunteer regiments, to be designated "The New Orleans Volunteers," whose services will be limited, by the terms of enlistment, to the protection and defence of New Orleans, is hereby authorized. |