Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-01-14
TLo OIty of savannah and Its Defense

Tie City of Savannah and its Defeuses
Savannah is the seat of Justice and the
largest city in the State Of Georgia, and
contains 10000 inhabitants. 1t is situated
on the southeast bank of the Savannah
River, on high bluff, forty feet above the
low-water mark. It is twelve miles distant,
In direct or air line, from the ocean, and
eighteen miles, following the course of the
liver. The city is regularly laid out in the
| form OF parallelogram, with streets (many
OF them wide) crossing each other at right
angles. There are ten public squares in tho
city, containing two acres each, at equal dis
tances from each other. These squares and
many of the streets are bordered with trees
and particularly Of the genus known as the
pride Of India, which give them beauti-
full appearance. The monument erected to
General Greene, and especially the one to
Count General Pulaski, who fell in the at
tack against the British at Savannah, are
beautiful and tasteful structures.
Many of the houses are of brick, and a
considerable number of them, including the
| principal public buildings are elegant. The
city is lighted with gas, and well supplied
with water from the river, raised by two
| powerful steam engines into reservoir 100
feet above the surface of the river and dis
| tributed through the city in iron pipes. On
the east, and west of the city are marshes,
and pine barren extends two miles to the
| vessels in distress, haYing dry-dock capa-
| bic for taking vessels 235 feet in length by
| sixty feet over all, and every thing necessary
| for repairing vessels. There are also ways
for drawing up vessels of 300 tuns There
are twenty feet of water on Tybee bar at
I high water, with fall of six feet.
The city was founded in 1873, by General
James Oglethorpe, and others. Itwas taken
| by the British in 1878, but they abandoned
| it in 1882. On the 10th of january, 1920,
463 buildings were destroyed by fre-four
million dollars worth of property destroyed;
but it has been rebuilt with additional
beauty.
THE DEFENsEs OF THE o1TY--FoRT PULASKI.
The city is guarded on its sea approaches
| by Fort Pulaski, built on Cockspur Island,
fourteen miles from Savannah, at the mouth
Of the Savannah River. The site of the forti-
| fcation was selected by Major Babcock, of
the United States Engineer Corps, about
| twenty-six years ago, but it was not till
1881 that the work of erecting the present
massive masonry fertilization was COM
menced in earnest. In that year. Captain
Mansfield, now Colonel Mansfield, Of the In
spector- Generals Department, took charge
of its construction. The fort was finished a
few years ago, at O cost of $685. 900. The
eral acres; its walls are forty feet high and
present two faces on the sea approach, with
ranges Of fire radiating at opposite angles
The fort is embTasured on the front and
channel side for one row Of guns under
bomb-proof casemates, with an additional
tier of guns open or en- tGrbette.
The salient points and hanking approaches
in the rear of the work have no embrasures
for heavy cannon, but are thoroughly COW
cred by enflading musket loopholes, which
! renders a land or escalading attack extra
hazardous to an enemy. The full armament
4 of the fort, when it shall have been brought
| within its walls, will consist on the lower
tier of sixty-6ve thirty.two FOUNDER iron
pieces, and the upper tier with fifty-three
twenty-four Founders, four eighteen-pounder
fianking howitzers, one thirteen-inch mortar,
twelve eight inch Columbiads, and seven
ten-inch mertaTs--in all, $50 guns, We-un-
derstabd, however, that notim more than one
half the number of guns required for its full
armament are in the fort and these are dis
mantled. The Columbiads, to which refer
ence has been made are very destructive
weapons, Of long range and adapted to use
| spherical shot or shells.
Many of those now in Fort Pulaski can be
mounted to have q horizontal fire of 1902,
and vertical FIRE of 30 depression to $50 ell
eYation. The interior ofthe fort is well sup
piled with massive furnaces for heating shot,
officers quarters, soldiers barracks, mag
azines, and tolerable supply of shot and
figure, on Oockspur Island is Fort Pulaski,
somewhat diminutively displayed, but suf-
ficient for our purpose; the exterior line rep
resents the ditch which surrounds the work,
and which, when dry, can be used by sharp
shooters, or should it be necessary at the ap-
proach of an enemy, easily flooded. Beyond
this ditch is glacis or inclined bank, which
is enfiladed by the guns, from the lower or
casemate row on the fertilization. The fsrt
at present is not on full war footing; to
complete it, twenty-six new barbette gun
platforms are required to suit the prescribed
armament; and the ditchesshould be cleared
of the mud accumulated throughout theiI
whole extent, the bottoms of the bitches re-
; paired, and the banks of the feeding canal
revetted.
The full war garrison of the work is 800
men, bnt one half that number could hold il
-uccessfuly against any armada the Federal
Government can bring against it. Vessel;
: of any considerable size, in bearing up the
channelto Savannah, are obliged to approach
within seventy yards of the fort, and at this
point many guns of large caliber can be made
to concentrate their fire. The fertilization is
pronounced by expert army engineers, ONT
Of the strongest and most perfect its kind
on this continent. 1t covers more area than
Fort Sumter, but has one tier Of guns les:
than that work.
Fort Pulaski is now garrisoned by upward
of 200 Georgia State troops, who are work
ing like beavers to put the place in COM
plete state of defense.
The garrison is now under the command
of Col. Alexander r. Lawton, graduate Of
West Point, and subsequently an officer o.
= the first regiment of United States artillery
He afterward resigned, and we understand
he is the present President of the Savannah
and Augusta Railroad.
FORT JACKSON. r..
This is a small work, built on a low marsh
four miles from Savannah, on a site near the
bend ofthe river, and commanding importani
points in the channel. IL is built of heavy
brick masonry. Its armament consists o.
ten twenty-four FOUNDER iron guns, threG
field. pieces, fve eight-inch howitzers, on'
ten inch mortar and one eight-inch mortar
Its war garrison consists of seventy men. i
cost the Government $80,00e.
DELIeHTs OF Social LIFE IN NEW MExIoo
Z / On the 4th ult. five men, ali Americans