Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-02-07
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1926.
Mn McLANE's SPEECH ON FORTIFICATIoNs,
Concluded

MIR McLANb oIN iio-'S'
Concluded.
For the defence of Virginia, the report pro-
poses Fort on Old Point Comfort, and on the
Rip Raps. For the defence Of New Jersey
Fort az the Pea Patch.-And here, that may
shcw the unreasonableness Of this call for more
information, / refer the House to the documents
A. and B. accompanying the reports in which
thew will find these works distributed into their
respective classes, the number Of men required
TO garrison each of them in peace and in war,
together with the expense oftheir construction.
Here is also given the order Of their relative
importance; from which it appears that the
Forti6c alton first recommended was at Chief
Menteur; then, that at the Rigolets: next, that
al the Bayou Bienvehue; then al Old Point
Comfort, then at the Rip Raps, and then al The
Pea Patch. Now, in this bill, no other works
are inserted, except those reported as OF the
first class, and recommended as Of immediate
and indispensable importance, with the single
execution OF the work in North Carolina.
And need not, I presume, again state, because
fully exclaimed on Friday, how thiswork got
into the bill 1t was not al the instance OF the
Committee Of WAYS and Means, nor by the re-
commentator of the BoardIof Engineers-not
at the application of the War Department II
-
change the plan of the Board Of Engineers, x
required the commencement OF this work out
of the order in which it had been placed in the
original plan. The Department, therefore was
bound to carry the order Of this House into
effect; and, on this subject, said MIR Mel.
must be permitted to make statement which
is due in Justice to the Department When
at the last session they were urged 10 recon-
mend this work fer immediate commencement,
instead Of complying with the request, they
addressed letter to the committee OF ways
Means, apprizing them, thatits commencement,
al this time, would be lnconyenient to the De-
partmeut, as they had no officer whom they
could detach on that service. Congress, not
outstanding, put the work into the appropri-
alton bill, and they cannot now take 1t out, un-
less they will violate the contracts entered INTO
by the War Department, and thus increase the
endorsements to which that Department has
been innocen,ly subjected in this matter
AS TO the work at the Bay OF Bienvenue, 1t is
not new work in fact 1t is only apart oil the
For,i6cations at New-Orleans. New-Orleans
was one of those points at which the system OIL
Fertilization was TO be commenced immediate
", and sos 900 was proposed to be appropria'
ted TO begin, and to finish the defence OF that
place This is no more new work than IL
Won were to order new bastl0n 10 be added TO
any one of the Forts already built. The FOR
tiGcations Of New-Orleans was commenced at
tie RigSets and Chef Menteur. The Fort at
the Bay of bienvenue was deferred, until these
previous works should be in state OF forward
ness-The Department now informs US that
they are ready 10 commence 1t, and they ask
an appropriation for that purpose. It's, there
fore, essentially an old work, and not new one
But we are told that il these works are com
Melted. we are TO have standing army, and
there will be no end to the expense. gen.
tleman from Ohio, Mr.. Vance, has taken the
trouble to MAKE calculation on this subject,
and has ascertained that 10000 men will be re-
ouired to man these forts in time Of peace -
That gentleman is in general so accurate that
when he mentioned this, took 1t for granted,
he was correct, and supposed 1t must be So
But on turning TO the documents, and consult
ing the original Report Of the Board OF Engi.
neers. found an official statement already made
out of the exact number Of men which II will
reouire 10 garrison these fortihcalions. hat
number. in time Of peace, is 1890, and IN war
il is 81, $685. that is, on the suppositon that all
these Notifications should be attacked by the
enemy at the same time-a state oil tninSs d.
most impossible. II appears, therefore, that
Che gentleman from Ohio has labored under
great mistake; and that less Than our present
army, small as it is, will be sufficient TO garri-
son the entire line of Notifications along our
whole frontier. Many Of these forts VIII re,
qure but 200 men each, even during war, ana
there is but one that will require 600.
One word about the expense OF this system.
The cost Of completing the entire three classes
proposed in the original report will not exceed
in all Sl7,oOo,ooo. 1t has, however, been said,
that all of them which have yet been erected,
have exceeded the estimates, and that therefore
there is no knowing, what the total expense
will be. | concede that two OF these works
have exceeded the estimate. One OF these is
fort Delaware, where it was discovered that the
Ground sunk under the weight OF the erection,
and this occasioned an extra expense, and
.welled the amount beyond the estimate; and
A. fort Monroe, where an alteration took place
~ the nlan of the fortress. With these two
all the works which have been built
have been completed for sum less than the
estimate. ...,,
If the gentleman wishes minute stase;nen'
Of the alteration in Fort Monroe, with full ex.
nlanation of the causes which led TO 1t, ne VIII
find them in the document to which nave re-