rapidly with which they plied between the vessels and the landing I estimated that they could not have landed less after Captain Chambers had fallen back then 300 men per hour. Therefore, at the very smallest estimate, not less than 1,000 men were landed after Captain Chambers had left the ground. I therefore called a conference of the officers at the batteries. Captain [John C.] Richard, Lieutenant Stuart, and myself were present, and the question of the practicability of holding the place was discussed. The opinion was unanimous that our forces were not sufficient to resist those against us in our rear. I then sent a courier to Major Brevard, informing him of our conference at the batteries, and requesting him to procure an expression of opinion from himself and the officers commanding companies outside the batteries. In the mean time, however, I understood a conference had been held by the several captains under Major Brevard, sustaining unanimously the opinion that the forces there were insufficient to repel the enemy in front. At 9 p. m. the post was reluctantly abandoned.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHAS. F. HOPKINS,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding.

Brigadier General JOSEPH FINEGAN,

Commanding Department of Middle and Eastern Florida.

[Indorsement.]

Respectfully referred for the information of the commanding general. While I impute no want of courage to the officer in command, I consider that he mistook his duty as an officer in not making a personal reconnaissance of the enemy, their strength, position, &c., and in not resisting with the whole force at his command their approach to his works. If overpowered by actual conflict with the enemy it was then the duty of Lieutenant-Colonel Hopkins to have spiked his guns and destroyed his ammunition and retire in the best order he could. Neither of these seems to have been done. The evacuation seems to have taken place some eighteen or twenty hours before the approach of the enemy by land. The guns were not spiked, nor the ammunition, of which there was a large quantity, destroyed.

JOS. FINEGAN,

Brigadier-General, Commanding.

HEADQUARTERS APALACHICOLA RIVER DEFENSES,
Alum Bluff, Fla., December 24, 1862.

GENERAL: I have the honor to state, for the information of the commanding general, that his communication of November 3, though General Finegan, has been received. In reply, I inclose my demand for a court of inquiry and the decision of the court. Brigadier-General Finegan says in his report to you that I mistook my "duty as an officer in not making a personal reconnaissance of the enemy with a glass from the batteries, and could plainly and distinctly see the men as they disembarked from the transports into smaller boats and were conveyed up to the landing in Pablo Creek; and from the number that I saw land I was convinced that unless I made a retreat my small command would be captured, as the guns from the batteries