Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-10-20
FORTIFICaTlONS.

tho Government, from bestowing that attention
noon Them which they have been long considered
10 deserve Various bellies ttires statesmen IN
Congress, under The lead of William T. Preston
have maintained tina, modern improvements 10
The arts of navigation and war, render coast for
lrc.s,s OF no value in obsruciins The entrance u
a foreign enemy into our waters and their Iano-
ing upon our shores. They have pointed 10 The
steam propeller and The iron hull as new elements
in The construction of vessels of war. which will
enable them to pass almost any fort in safety.
They have said, TOO, tina, other Governments
were relying less and less upon Notifications Tor
defence They have carried our imaglnalions
10 The gardens aud the conservaories, and The 70
mantle walks of Europe, which now stand Ia
amuse The people on the sites where the war-,ike
cannon was once planted. Castles, they say,
have decayed, willis fees and steam batteries
have been Augmented.
Let us Consider some Of these reasonngs.-
The steam propeller has, indeed, accomplished
important results in the navigation OF the ocean
Bur where and when has il been fairly lied az 'insl
abu,menrs of solid masonry, with cannon frownine
from the lops7 II i said hatthe use othe Paixhan
gun. with ali its power and accuracy Of FIRE, has
given cal advantages TO bombard'ng fleets
Have not however, the same advantages heen
gained BY the in reduction oil thai gun into forts
Then it Is said, lha. The iron hun may defy The
force Of shells and balls. Iron vessels, TOR com.
mercial purposes and tor cutters, are becoming
quite common. We are OF course. MT qua fed
TO express decided opin'nn upon The relative
merits ol vessels of iron ana wood Our prep"s-
sessions are in favor OF iron vessels, and we trus'
that practical experiments will prove their supe-
rioriiy; bur- al The same time, ruth compes Us
10 slate that The British Admiralty, Dui very long
since, gave an order for The construction OF a
numb Of large vessels of war oul Of the same
materials hui they have recently become alarm
ed on the sutject, and The last accounts from Eu-
rope inform US that il has be, n cuunterman ded,
In consequence Of experiments showing hal can
through, whilst they sink but a few Inches inlo
wood.
[since writing the above, we have conver.ed
with Capt Fraser, the accomplished Head Of the
Revenue Gutter Bureau al Washington. He is
warm advocate OF iron vessels, and says that
not ono out of hundred shots upon an iron hull
would do execu,ion-that an ori6ce when made
iu the iron BY ball Is clean and regular, and
can be stopped al once-but that the spiintcrs pre-
duccd BY cannon.ball shot into the wood do
most of the mischief 1t strikes US that there is
much force 10 these views
Blu, we come to The poe,ical idea Of parade
grounds becoming gardens, and ramrarts shady
groves. II is trne, that heights once crowned with
hostile battlements are now smiling SEATS ofpl a.
sure II is true that town, which, in days gone BY
we're defended with circling walls, are now sur
rounded and adorned by elegant promenades.-
Many castles have gone 10 ruin, bnt only becasse
feudaIsm is decayed Manv towns a re no onge'
in SAFE OF military defence because OF lie power
~ Of the Prince or The fear lest his people may
turn the fornhcations against himself. On the
contrary, places formerly unguarded have been
made strong Palaces have been chlnged iDo
barracks and The tomb OF an Emperor is al ,hi>
moment the principal fortress OF Rome. The
capital OF France has been but lately strengthen
ed in sueiences by The most gigantic military
works Of modern times, and long.wi they be re-
membercd by III. nation Tor veal or for woe-fo'
veal, it,hey are used by moderate Princes in de-
fence ofParis against foreign INVADERS for woe il
they should ever be employed BY tyrants against
the liberties Of he people. The castle Of Ehren
bre,,.,ein -",he Gibraltar of The Rhine"-is now
so much esteemed for iIs strength that three dit.
ferent powers among the GeI man States garrison
III all OF them jealous OF lis exclusive posse ssion
hg any one Who does not remember The de-
scrip;on OF Byron1
" Here EhrenbrsitHein, with her SHATTERED wall,
Back with the miners blast upon her height,
Yet shows 81 what he was, when shell and ball
Rrhounding idly TN her strength old hgh'i
A tower Of Virtor, from whence the ght
or bsfisd foes was W uchrd along the plain:
But Peace de, trnyrn hat War could never blight,
And ,a'd those proud rccfs bare To 5, mm-,'s rain
On which the iron show for years had poured IN van
II we turn TO our own country and our ow q
day, we will find that striking events pas ing
around Us have illustrated the value OF fortfca
lion. |, was bat the other day when we heard
of the ballles OF Pslo Alto, and Resaca de la Pal
ma. thai all The official accounts dwell especial
ly uron The proceedings al Fort Brown. Amid
the din and sliler oil those splendid achievements,
they did NO, forget 10 do justice 10 The men who
ras. Every one euloezsd The skill O. Captain
Ma nsfeld, and allrbaed 10 his science as an en-.
gineer the saving oil numbers OF valuable lives,
II not The preserva'i n of our army. | ook loo,
at he Cult OF Mexico-how lit s has be, done
there We have seni Z Considerable feei an al
acers ambitions OF distinction; hut The rock uf
San Juan d'l lloa stands as We, unsuhdued-aId
n ninxi 4 In hp naipted Ia
knock down argument
We find that without intending it. We have
penped more than we thought Tor We merely
Intended 10 acknowledge the receipt, from Major
w. a. Chase, of Florida, OF pamphe, with
drawings, containing a plan foi introducing a
new system OF building forts, BY relying more
upon the body of The fortress and less upon the
outworks and bv bracins The front with wrought
iron. The whole subject is entirely out OF our
line, and we do mol profess 10 understand all lis
scien,ific and practical bearings A military
friend, however, has expressed 10 US his
erauHcarion at some OF the positions Of Ma
Tor Cbase's pamphlet. and has furnished VI
the following extract as fair specimen OIL
the Major plan. We are pleased TO see the Of
fcers Of The Army exhibiting so laudaole spiri
OF enquiry, and laying before The country The
fruits Of their scientific specula'cns and praclica
knowledge. We have furnished 10 The world a.
brave and >kilful military Ulcers and soldiers as
any nation can boast OF. The late achievement.
on the Rio Grande an at Monterey will rank by
the side of The most brilliant deeds Of arms OF any
age or any people. While the results OF these
hard fought fields will confer honor and advan'
tase upon the nation, they Will also serve 10 deve
ops new principles Tor The defenes OF our shores
against foreign invasion.
But we con,en, ourselves with the following
extracts
"Thers 10 but little resemblance between the
new trace and modern Notifications. The points
OF difference are exhibited in the former BY The
square or parallelosramic figure; (,hough it does
not follow thar all works on the new trace should
be constructed on this hgure;) the fanking