New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-07-10

he onnsu - oo,er hsrbors and ancnorages to
close the entrance 70 rivers, sno tne , line, of
~ c,,ies and naval establishments, ano ele1ss ee.
communication. The EuroPssnh .ysI IL here entire
txnrlnovn We have defenses OF sne "la ~ &c
II Toulop Havre and Cberoours, 10 psaoa on onr
Chatham snd Portsmouth 70 vs nropose 10 our sys
,s,n siynniv no compel enemy :, lsnc aIsao S
ssseous point and 70 march 'nsoeI h SIs 49,,
s1e he can reach his object trusting otne as'ay
~ "A m hiring a relieving torce ana, VITO the
~ W 40 1870 thrown up after the declaration OF
Val. 10 beat bin back 10 his ships e
,,,,or M soon destined 10 exceed London In popu-
i,s - NH ana resources has not the defensee OF
1000 rst. place in Europe-as Cherbourg, With 10000
=, Portsmouth with 10000 inhabitants. Our largest
WORKS have simply the SIZE OF tne ao'an0eu ""iAAl Al
European systems
You are also in error in denomlnating our sys-
tam asthat Of Gen. Bernard. Itistrlly en- Aneri-
cansystem, one that has been studied and arranged
IN view Of our own changing wants and circum-
stances. do not mean to say that the system
perfect. BY no means. No men are more reaoY
50 acknowledge that mistakes have been mace
thsn our own officers But we contend 'iia' "0
are more entitled to commentator LOT ou' oN'
lions to carry out restricted and econoin'o"'
cam than censure for the few MISTAKES y; WG d,e
made. And it is a remarkable iact Ull"' go
% the exertions Of our own t oman T. an American
Swift and Totten, that our system Is al $500
and mot an European system. Oen. peInaiu1
views were based on his European eSpeIlenISo' III
were not concurred IN by our own oniceIs ~ 10
studied and did understand our own W nS be;ng
Tar AS our system is open TO the 49, oS tbe
nsxagg.y9ted one is manly due to tne act VI .no
s.a.srrn,eot in placing Gen. berbafu o'oi t
S.sds of our own officers, and gWhg Jun a'uooS
nnj;nif ed confidence. IL Grove nun t"o 80 IL
Niece now numbered with tine oead, VIM hnu
a.. renns TO command large army, and OF whose |
Extraordinary powers all his friends speak IN terms |
of the highest admiration ana SWIM, sun ielC "
.ladden his friends in green old age, gentleman
ss xsr;ed accomplishments, of brilliant talents and
" .ha most exalted character. Tstten was left |
- stand in the breach, and he did it like man, |
and the country owes him debt OF gratitude. |
will ask YOU again to quote from Shields Report !
Although much misspprehension has existed In the |
pubEc mind, as TO the undue development oil WORKS,
spd great Injustice has thereby been done, both to the
corps Of engineers and 10 the several Congresses that
Rave sanctioned their recommeDdaiioDs still, there can
he no Question that al Of works are oil unneces
ssrv RE ana that strength has been given to them not
even called for at the time they were planned. Such
was the opinion of Gen. Cas- In 1886 and suca Is toe
opinion Of the present Secretary TINS Is admitted IN
he case Of Fort Monroe by the Chief Engineer, Cen
Toteu al viii appear by the following extract from his
report "wheD the system of coast defense was about
10 be taken up wss thought best by the Governmn
and Congress call from abroad portion OF that skil
md eciepce which long course OF active warfare was
suppose6 10 have supplied Fort Monroe is one oi the
results of that determination was not easy 2rooa
blv "a; come down from the exaggerated scale OF war
fare 10 which Europe then accustomed; nor Tor
those who had been up where wars were often
prodaced, and always msguided by juxtaposinon OF
proximity TO realize TO what degree remoteness from
belhe erent stions might diminish military means ano
ousiiv military objects Certain 1t Is, that this expert
nept costly as II In the case of Fort Monroe, would
have been much but for the oppositon Oh some
whose more moderate opinions had been mon'oeo py
the circumstance and want. of our own country The
mistake 10 one relating TO magnitude. however, h'to
strength. Magnitude In tortihcatonsis oen measure
of ngtb but not always, nor In ths instance roI
Monroe might have been strong as II is now against
water attack assault or siege with onetnd lts
present capacity and perhaps at not more than nst us
cost do think this work too strong Tor lts posi-
Hon nor too heavily and the force OF the gar
rson viii depend mainly the extent OF the armament
the which has caused excess la the hrst outlay
will not involve much useless expense aiter compIe
No class Of persons more alive to the infu
ence Of all our improvements in modifying the
system of defense, than our own officers. These
improvements are in the a, b, C of our profession,
and we consider thorough knowledge and appre-
citation of them to be essential to all right action,
and to all professional exec Hence. IT, in your
next visit to Washington, you will call at the En-
gineer's Office, you will be satisfied OF this TACT
II is admitted on all sides that we do not require
works to hold out as many days as formerly, and
our Corps have quietly been acting on this, years
before public attention had been called to the mat
ter. will ask you again to quote from Shields
Report
have been Iesorpg TO smaller and cheaper construc
tons In view OF the vastly Increased facilities OF csncen
Sratipp military means The plan of Fort Knox, as
made In 1929 had double works the land front; two
bitches hso 10 be crossed and two walls TO be sealed
In le43 the plan essentially modified snd reduced,
the work being dispensed with, and the width OF
the bitches dimnlsbtd and this reduced scale the
work Is now being constructed. The works at Fort
Winthrop. Governors Island, Boston Harbor, nj Black
Rock, near Buffalo, and those proposed at froctors
u adj Uu fnU axutfh in
wsy or in water batteries at commanding points The
guns at Fort Cunch, Cumberland Sound Georgia, and
Fort Gaines, Dauphn Island, Alabama, are not placed
In wber batteries In consequence Of the lowhess OF the
ground but on the psrspets of the work The new
work Oh Sellers Point is on shoh about half mile
from shore where special arrangements are not neces-
SaIy TO resist tiege.
Gen. Shields, in his report, lays down the prin-
cipies which should regulate the strength of
works. as follows
What are the principles therefore, that ought regu
late the str ength to be given 10 worksf Now these
works rav have two dist CT otices 10 perform. They
must have batteries in the waterfront to prevent the
passage Of ships Recent improvements steam nsvi
Qaiicn make IL necessary to strengthen and enlarge
tbese batteries; arming them with the heavie.t guns.
They must have strength enough on the laieronts to
hold out against any force which likely be brought
against n I'LL succor arrives. The Increasing fsci
Ties Of transportation enabling rapidly TO
eeptrste men and munitions OF war; enable u. also TO
sary that In all there should be at least STIR myth
enough to resist coup dc main aud compel an invading
army incur the delay Of landing heavy guns, and 10
placing them In position again ct the works.
There are undoubtedly positions which ought TO be
prot ced sgapst siege; the most imp rtant harbors
Of the Pacific Coast the keys d the Gulf 10 wit: key
West and Garden Key, commanding the vast commerce
of the Missss ppi Valley, and controlling the OF
the Cult Stream The works being constructed a:
these stter points admitted all sides 10 be
sary aud they should be flushed without delay
These are the principles acknowledged by all
professional men. They are the principles which
guide our boards Of officers. At this moment we
have a board of officers planning the defenses Of
the western coast. Ii is a board Of unusual ability,
and they will propose simple, economical aud
efficient works this session Of Congress for the
defense OF San Diego and San Francisco. We
recommend no magnificent or European systen.
We, in the words Of ten. Cass, contend for the