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

--,--. from fhp llnrnru-
inent many evidences of ita trnst at 't.,a
Department N"'" Wy the war
,o,rn s aast service, previous TO his taking
OF o, the commission. ordered last snm,nsr hv
CoheIess, to inquire into the manner Of in.
sn s,ueaon AT the West Point Military Aca.
wh;Sn ., rne iaoors OF that commission, in
SnICn MAJOR Anderson performed his mart
nave already been laid before Congress-
IN physique. the Major is about five feet
nine inches In height; his figure is we'll set and
r,s, MS nsir is thin aud turning TO iron
siey ms complexion swarthy; his eve dark
auo ihteiilgenti his nose prominent and well
ioftned. a stranger would read in his air
ana appearance, determination and an exac.
ion OF what was due to him He has "a GOOD
oeai OF manner. In Intercourse he /, very
courteous, and his rich voice and abundan;
gesacuiations go we'll together He is aluays
asreeaDie and gentlemaniy, firm and di ignified.
man OF nndaunted courage, and as a true
solder may oe relied on to obey orders and TO
do his duty" N ~
FORT SUMTER,
Inc tort in which the Government troops
have now concen trated, 10 five miles from thu
Charleston Battery. II is thus described bv
the Charleston Mercury:
Fort Sumter is built upon an artificial
| island, at the entrance of our harbor. The
| Iounoatlon being OF stone, ii must he of the
| strongest nature. That portion OF the tori
! above the water line is of brick and concrete
or the most solid character Its nIan ia q
Iuhca'ed pentagon, with one side parallel to
| the adJoin1ng shore, thus preSen ting an angle
| TO the channel Of the truncated angles the
eastern, western and northern are simply
| formed into Pdn-compess, whilst the other two
are formed of two small faces MAKING an an =
| gle OF about fifteen degrees with The sides OF
| the pentagop. At each intersection of the
! small faces is a sally port. The height of the
| parapet above the water line is sixty feet On
| the eastern and western sides are the barracks
| FOR the priyates, mess ball, kitchen &c ON
| the southern side are the officers quarters
| which are finished in very handsome style
| IL is mounted with the heaviest guns of the
Ohited States service, arranged in three tiers
the two lower being Classmates and the upper
| bar roelte guns. ne Casemate guns are those
| which are fired from an embrasure in the
Scarp walls, and are protected from the ene-
| my's saetls by an arChed bomb proof covering
| over head; the Barbette, those which fire over
| the p1rapet, which exposes the cannoniers to
| the fire of the enemy, although, in this in
stance the height OF the ramparts is so great
| that there is comparatively no danger from
| the shot OF an enemy's fleet. The armament
| consists Of liO pieces. placed in he following
order: The heaviest guns such as the 81 and
6i-pounders, on the first tier; u and % pound
ers on the second tier; Columbiads Is and 10
| lnch) and heavy sea-coast mortars On the top
| OF The ramparts.
| The heaviest pieces are turned toward the
| harhOr, the lighter toward the land side :;
| which side is further projected by sketry
| for which loopholes are cut in the Scarp Wall
| 6i-pounders the same mum Der of 81 FOUNDERS
| forty 2l-pounders. ten of each calibre of CO.
| lum bad, ten l3-inch and ten I0-inch mortars
| capable OF throwing about four thousand
| (4.u00) pounds of shot and four thousand three
hundred (4,3UG) pounds Of shell at each dis
charge.
On the terra. parade plain are situated two
| furnaces for heating shot. The magazines are
| situated on the inner sides of the sally ports
| ana contain, at present, 10000 pounds of pow
| der, and proportionate quantity OF shot and
htl la 6inu TNr rbaf ,h.,s,
! ern or land side, and is formed by wharf
| projecting towards the shore, and also ex-
| tending the length of that face.
| This fort would be nearly impregnabIe il
| finished and properly manned. 1t is at pres
| ent so far completed that, with little tenn
| porary work. 1t could be made so strong as to
| defy any attack By fleet OF large vessels. Its
| weakest point is on the south side, OF which
! the masonry Is not only weaker than that of
| the other sides, but il is not protected by any
| flank fire, which would sweep the wharf
| Once landed. an entrance may, at the present
| state of the construction, be easily made. for
the blinds of the lower embrasures, though
six inches in thickness, may yet be easily
| blown away, and even if this was impossible,
| scaling ladders can reach those of the second
| tier, which are not projected in this manner.
| THIS concludes the brief sketch of a fort
| which is Il most perfect specimen OF civil and
| military engineering. The whole work has
| been Conducte ted in a manner that reflects the
| highest credit upon the engineers, and ia
| worthy to occupy the prominent position that
|
! allude to one point OF especial beauty the
| construction of the arches-of " hich there are
| nearly every yariety-the Fall Centre" the
| Segment" the '1froined," the "ASkeW," and
| the Ram pant'-and TO add that the walls at
| their base are IL feet thick and at the top !,
| feet thick.
| Another description of the forts in the har-
| bor of Charleston says:
The two works which are designed to COM
| mand the entrance of the harbor are Forts
IS fhA
| larger OF the two, with three tiers of guns
| surrounded entirely by water, too shoal for
| heavy ships TO approach, and yet sufficient 10
| prevent the use or batteries nearer than $40 or
| 800 yards, where the shore line appro 4ches
| most closely. With a very moderate garrison,
| it would be entirely mpreg IA BILE to any means
| at the disposal of the State
Fort Stunt ter lies about one mile from the
| shore, directly on the main ship channel
| which passes between the tort and Sullivan's
| Island, on which d located Fort mouItrle,
| about one mile Instant. From the battery OF
| Charleston city Fort Sumter lies about five
| miles Distant, standing out in the open bay,
| one mile from the land on either side. Fort
| Moultrie is, in military phrase commanded
| by Fort Sumter.
The following is a description Of Castle
| Pinckney, into which Governor Picken. has
| thrown State troops "f for the preservation OF
the property ~
Castle Pinokney is q small work, situated
on the southern extremity OF " Shute's Folly
| Island" between the Hog and Folly Channels
! Though in itself not a very considerable mill
| tary work, yer, from its position, command
| ing II does the whole line of our eastern
| wharyes, it becomes of the utmost importance
| for it TO be held by the State authorities. 1t
| is. in fact, the immediate outwork of the city,
useful TO annoy an invading fleet should 1t
| pass the outer torts, aud to render their land
| ing very difficult, if not impossible.
| In its plan ii presents to the South a semi
| circular face; the eastern and western faces
| are formed by the line of rampant following
| the direction of the tangent to the circular arc
| at it's extremity. and for a distance of twenty
| yards; the northern side is plain; at both the
| northeast stern and northwestern angles are
semi-circular bastions, the outer extremities OF
the arcs being tangent respectively 10 the east
| erp and'wes TERN sides OF the fort. There are
| two rows Of guns-the lower being in case
ment Is, (bomb proof, the EN- brasures for which
are about seven feet above low water mark
| and the upper being bdrbette. The height
OF the rampant is twenty, and the width thir-
| ty-two feet the width of the outer wall and
Of the p2rapet is six feet; the depth of the case
| ments is twenty feet, height ten the dame
| ter (east and wesD of the castle is l70 feet
| The entrance is on the northern side, on
| either side of which are the officers and pri-
| Yates quarters, mess room, sc. The ascent
10 the barbette is made in the northeas tern and
| northwestern corners of the terrs parade pteia
/ III the centre OF the latter is the furnace for
| heating shot.
| Around the foot of the scarp. wall Is break
| water, about twelve feet in width, horizon
tally, which has its western side extended in a
| tangent direction TO the south, to form the
| landing. The landing is protected by the fire
| Of several guns sweeping its length.
The armament OF this castle consists OF about
| twenty. nye pieces, - and 80 Founders, few
| sea-coast mortars, and six Columbiads-the
| latter not being mounted In the magazine is
| q sDfficiency of ammunition, including shot
and loaded shell.
This work has been Of late put in as thorough
! rspair as possible Owing 10 the want of yen-
saa rt.ara arIa of no nd