Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1861-03-29

WISE. MILITARY POLICY or GEN. SCOTT
Viewed entirely in a military point Of view,
;he pacific policy towards the Southern Ststti
which General Scott Is uudsss,ood 10 SbeSS:ur.
ging at Washington, must command tie an. J.
proval of Intelligent and cundid minds of all
sections aud all parties, We are persuaded
that those who clapor 90 loudly against the
abandonment by the Goyerannent Of ooercive
meaiarssthsve not the faihtsst idea OF the i'm.
;inetse difficulties audcxpense of ttis:enterprise
TO which they would urge the Exeeutive-
ThsyhAve vague idea thut q strong n val ex.
pedition, carrying some thousands ofstroops,
could with great ease capture the,forts in tho
seeded States and reduce the country 10 sub
jsetiop.. We shall entitls ourseiv IS to their
gratitude BY coudcnsing; from military work
Of high authority. ssde,ai ied history Of actions
between chips aud dforssfsstions, which incou.
.estably e.tablishes the getsf eule HAT guus
ashore are superior t6 guns .sfioat, aud thst
naval expeditions are utterly impoteut against
. well fortified coast. y.
In 1875 British expedition was fitted out
at an expense Of e'ght millions Of dollars
sgsinst Quiberon, port of-the French coast
The bay of Quberon is pronounced by Breu-
ton, in his British Naval History,' "the finest;
on the coast Of France, or perhaps in tho
world. for landing an army" Moreover the
inhabitants of tho country wore in open ,insur-
rection, and eager to incorporate with the in
vsdsrs. Ten thousand soldiers were Landed
and arms furnished TO as many moro roy alst
troops. bat the combined force failed in their
attack upon the Notifications, and General
Hoche, from his entrenchments, with seven
thousand men, held in check body Of
eighteen -thousapd, penned up. without de-
fences, in the narrow peninsula. This single
fact alone justi6ss the opinion. which the high.
est military authority in our own nrmy has ex.
pressed, thatA would require twenty thousand
men and the whole navy Of tho United States
TO overcome the Notifications Which the Caro-.
linians have erected in Charle.ton harbor.
10 1909 the English and Russians made a
descent upon Holland with fourteen ships of
the line and ten frigntes, carrying about eleven
hundred guns and great number of trans.
ports, with an army Of thirty.six thousand
men, The defensive army consisted of ouly
fwenty.eight thousand men. Besides their
immense moral and military superiority, tho
'nvaders had the CO operation of tho Orange
party in assisting the landing of their troops
YET they failed to get possession of single
strong place, and after loss OF six thousand
men were compelled to capitulate. .sucl, :
Allison. "was the disastrous i.sue of tho
greatest expedition which had yet sailed from
the British hsrbor during the war" Let the
men who clau,or for coercion most Justify de-
eide whether the United States can raise such
naval expedition against the South as that
against Holland, and II 60, il it is likely to be
moro successful against united, than that
was against divided. peoplei -.
In 1901. tire Alustrious Lord Nelson, theN
poleon Of the Seas, with three ships of the line.
two friga,e,. and thirty-6vc smaller vessels,
made'a desperate attack upon the harbor of
Bologne. but was repuleed with severe loss.
In 1909 She English fitted out an immense
naval expedition to seize upon tho French de-
fences Of the Sche'dt. Flushing, at the mouth
Of the river, was but itlsecured, aud Antwerp,
sixty or seventy miles fur til er up, was entirely
defeuceless nt the time when the British arr
we'd at Flushing. The British attacking force
eonsisted u tlirty-ssven ships Of the line,
twenty three frigates. thirty three sloops OF
'waF. twenty. .cight gun, mortar and bomb YES
sells. thirty six smaller vessela. eightytwo gun.
boats. inuumerable transports, with over forty
thousand troops and an immense artillery
train. making in all! sayssthe English historian
"sn hundred thousand combntants." Yet the
feebie defences at Flushing resisted successfully
"a FIRE from the aeet, compared! with which
French officers, who had been at Austerlitz and
Jena. declared that the canonade at those bat.
ties was = mere jeu dentans and we're only re.
Sdpced ty The land forces after . scige OF
eighteen days. In the meantime the fortifica-
lions st Antwerp had been repaired, and after
. fruitless operation of whole month in the
ssriyer the English were gradually forced to re-.
. treat % e:ndonth Of the ssclirdt, and finally
toievaeusts fbelr entire conquest Such was,
the result " AN expedition eotnprising naval
fofssn more than. three times the number of all
!, the ships lin ths Navy OF the United States,
md moe sttauu, Bvs hmess tl,e combat.
sstses Tia whole United: States Arnyi !.
- ISasss s;l.fgs FreneI. ,qsasdron attacked
Csglisri, whose defence. were 80 3dilapidstsd
as scarcely TO deserve Abe name, but amer !
ibdihbAsdment Of tbfes days, was s;snaIly de-
fssted ma obliged ssto ssretire. Id 1884 Two
British ships As Fortisude esof ven ty:fonr,
and ths DINO fgate 5:pf thirty two guns. at
!: taeksd sstnaIl 1ay Of Mortellp,
ssSCofsisa Nzhieb one gun ia bar.
bsfsS md dtA s4 thfrsy aiisn.s After
bombsfa 6 Rssf the ship.