Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1861-02-21

Secession Items.
The Charleston correspondent of I'll
M Yerkf Tripsne !has speaks of tn
means Of asssnlt and defense of Fort Sun,
ter: q
Major Anderson WIN be caught nappin
neither as TO tho precise character of III
battery itself. nor as to the intentions q
ttherebels in regard toitgl On this poiu
~ speak with considerable positiveness.-
The guns on the walls of Fort Sumte
sweeping the. horizon (of which there ar
thirty m osflys2 80 Founders. can be elevs
ted SO as to strike objects at the distanc
OF . quarter Of mile. The battery,
moved nearer the Fort than q quarter of
mile. would therefore be out Of the way q
these guns. zee sAa.i1- az
Bat The lower tier Of guns are With
six feet Of the water. and may be brough
TO bear on objects, at any distance not OK
cecding four miles. rising six feet ont o
| the water. The Floating Battery will pre-
sent surface Of about twelve by ninety
FIVE feet above the water, and wonld there
fore be q ine target for Sumter's heavies
guns throwing l2O pound shot. 1 hav
competent authority for saying no batter,
the rebels are likely to build can withstand
these shots, whether encountered while th,
moving is being undertaken, or after tina
has been done at their leisure. Informed
as Major Anderson unquestionably is, o
the character and capacity Of the famous
Floating Battery. do not think shat eth
er he or his, corps of experienced officer,
under him. are at oil exercised concerning
it,. Either the Rebels are, wrong in esiim
a,ing the capacity Of the thing for the OBJ
jects for which it. is designed. or Major
Anderson is wrong in estimating the ca.
pacity Of his guns to knock it into finder,
in space Of time that will be regarded as
iastonishingly brief by the Rebels,
The Rebels no doubt expect to so con.
due. the seige as to weary ost Major. An.
'derson's men. They make great calcula
tons on this. and persuade themselves that
within twenty -four hours after the seige
shall have been commenced, the walls will
BE-. preached, and the garrison quite at their
mercy. will not undertake to say how
long the garrison will be able to Withstand
the siege and keep up tho fire on the be.
siegcrs, but predict that the caiastro } he.
II it comes at all, will not be within twen-
ty- four hours. / am rather prepared to
think that Cummings Point Battery may
finally effect a breach in Sumter's walls,
If Sumter's guns do not first destroy Cum
ming's Point Battery. The fight. If there
is one. viii have two sides to It. While
Cummings Point Battery is the one that
will annoy Fort Sumter most, at the same
time Is the one to which Fort Sumter will
pay its earliest. warmest, and continued
compliments. 1t is no further from Fort
Sumter than Fort Sumter is from it; and
from what ] know of what pertains to the
matter, I think it at least as much as q
question whether Sumter will not com.
plctely knock up Cumming Point Battery,
as that the walls Of the fort will be knock
cd up by it. 1t may. after all, turn on the
point Of human endurance. 49,.
2 AS to Fort Moultrie, Major Anderson
will probably waste n, unnecessary shot
or time on her. He may make single
meal 81 her. or leave her for lunches at
odd spells. lie knows just what he. can
do with her. and how to do it. A terrific
battery Of four AZ Founders. five 10-inch
Columbiads.- and seven thirty two pound
crs bears directly on her. The same is the
fact as to Cummings Point Battery anil
Fort johnson, which latter is much to be
feared.
q.
As to Castle Pinckney I expect to sec
her go down like an egg-shell If it shall be
thought worth while to give her wipe or
two. You may rely upon it that Major
Anderson will not expend the thought or
time Of his men with unnecessary attcn-
tons to those points that cannot materially
annoy him. Cummings Point will be the
chief one of interest.
AS to whether Major Anderson will un-
dcrtake to she'll the city or make any de-
monstration on Charleston, there is con.
siderable speculation and some uneasiness.
I am satisfied that he will not, unless it
becomes necessary to touch the enemy in
that particular spot. That he can do it,
am certain. but do not think he will. j
do not hesitate to express the opinion, how
ever, that should he do so, and rain a del
ugc Of shot and she'll on this rcbcllious
city, history would record it as noble act
of re,r;butive justice on the hot of the
greatest crime anywhere written on its
pages. 49, ns e4.s M