The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-12-29

We published yesterday q historical para
graph concerning Fort Mouitrie, which is
one out Of many proofs Of the inability
of ships to cope with forts. Whilst MouL.
rRiR was building that fort, and it was In
q condition so unfinished and weak that
the American General declared that IL was
no better than "a slaughter pen,' pow
erful British feet attacked 1t, and was most
triumphantly driven Off, with one ship en-
tirely lost, two others SO riddles as to become
almost wrecks. and Two hundred and TWEEN
ty-two men aIiied and wounded. while the
fortress was hardly injured by the fire of the
British squadron, aud when the battle was
over, every gun but one was stu in position
Only eleven Carolinians were killed and
twenty-six wounded This 10 the uniform
history. almost without exception, Of con.
t.s,s between ships and f)rts. In late ar
ticie In Biack,rood'S Magazine on the subject
OF Iron. clad Ships" 1t 10 stated that every
assault Of British squadrons upon Russian
foris In the Crimean wars was successfully
repuIsed, and this notwit this landing the weigh t
of metal was in favor OF the ships. In one
case, British s.eam-frigate, carrying more
than thirty heavy guns, was knocked to pieces
and forced to surrender by trumpery Rus
sian battery of only four guns. with furnace
for heating shot. The French did not even
attem pt to employ their ships against the
Russian forls, but &C tually built earthworks
on the shore to protect the ships. In our own
wars with England, repeated instances OF
similar kind have occurred At Stonington,
Connecticut, in the late war. single cannon
drove of q British squadron. Such facis as
these have led the Emperor Of the French 10
Introduce 81 iron sheathing" for vessels, which
was at first tried upon gunboats, and, in the
assault upon Kinburn, proved completely
successful, protecting the ships from the
shot Of III Q forts, and compelling the latter,
after a short and furious cannonade, to sur
render. Since that time, Louis NAPOLEON
has applied this defensive armor TO large fri
gates, the first experiment being the Gloire,
which was SO entirely successful that he has
built q NUMBER of those upon the same plan.
The English have been compelled, at heavy
cost, to initiate his example, for, II all &C.
counts of the G!0ire be true, dozen sucn
vessels could become masters OF the channel
at any time 1t pleased their Imperial master to
ri Se the command, and then, with hundred
and fifty thousand Frenchmen thrown upon
the British coast, the memory OF Waterloo
and the existence Of England would be wiped
ont together With such means of aggression
in NApoLEoN's hand, the English Govern
msnt-which is already piling up the taxes to
an in tolerable amount-will be forced TO con-
struct almost an entirely new navy, or trust
TO the for bearance of their powerful ally, who,
thus far, 1t must be conceded, seems to be just
and merciful to his apprehensive comrade.
The relative merits o: forts and ships, when
brought into collision, are not without inter-
est at the present time In this country. There
are no iron. clad ships in the American Navy,
and none others can be depended upon TO ST.
lence the guns of any respectable fertilization.