Worcester daily spy., 1861-09-11
0NOrtester Daily Syn.
The Advantages of land Forts over At
tLckinE ShIps.

'"hu ""u oca, 'iS lAOt PIcpdTeu 10 appreciate
the nature Of the victory at Hatteras as
simpe military operation. 1t was a victory
won by ships over forts, which are the rarest
in the annals of warfare. Naval assaults, how.
ever formidable, are seld }m successful against
fortified positions on land. Ships fight, unless
with each other at great dsadvantag es. They
are mostly constructed of wood, everywhere
vulnerable, and may be sunk by single
she'll. Moving on an agitated element, the di-
rection and range Of their guns are often di-
fiicut of adjustment On the other hand, in
fort the batteries and men are behind almost
impenetrable walls--their magazines are in.
combustible, and their fire. from solid ground
may be reduced to almost mathematical accu.
part Of ships, naval assaults upon land forts
have always required an immense superiority
of force to become successful Captain Hal,
leck, in his excellent work on military art
and science, has collected numerous instances
of such assaults, with an almost invarabe
want OF success on the part of the vessel. We
abridge from his account few of the most in.
teresting facts
''ln 1897 Nelson attacked the little ineffi.
cient batteries of Santa Cruz, in Teneritie,
with eight vessels, carrying four hundred
guns But no. lwithstanding his great superi.
oriy in numbers, skill and bravery, he was re-
PEELED with the loss of two hundred and fifty
men, while The garrison received little Or no
damage. single bali from the land battery,
striking the side Of one OF his vessels instant.
l,yg
marines
In 1889 a French fiotilla OF fifty.two brigs
and gunboats, manned with near seven thou.
sand men, attacked little English redoubt on
the island Of Marcou, which was armed with
two thlrty-t@o Founders, two siX-POunders,
and four four Founders, and two carronades,
and garris0ned with two hundred and fifty
men. Notwithstanding this great disparity OF
numbers, the little redoubt sunk seven Of the
enemies brigs and gunboats, captured another,
and forced the remainder to retreat with great
loss, while the garrison had but one man killed
and three wounded.
In 1901 the French, with three flgates and
six thousand men, attacked the poorly con.
structed works of Porto Ferrairo, whose de-
fensiye forces was IA motley garrison of fifteen
hundred Corsicans Tuscans and English.
Here the attacking force was four times as
great as that of the garrison, nevertheless they
were unsuccessful after several bOmbardments
aud siege of five months.
In 1906 French battery on Cape Lcosa of
only two guns and garrison Of twenty five
men, resisted the attack OF British eighty.
gun ship and two frigaes. The carriage of
one OF the land guns failed on the second shot,
so that, in fact, ouly one of them was availa.
BILE during the action. Here was a single
piece OF ordnance and a garrison of twenty five
men, opposed a naval torce of over one hun
dred and fifty guns aud about thirteen hundred
men. Aud what effects were produced by this
strange combat. The attacking force lost
thirty y-seven men killed and wounded, the
eighty-gun ship was much disabled while the
fort and garrison escaped entirely unharmed.
In 1878 Leghorn, whose defences were of a
very moderate character, and whose garrison
at that time was exceedingly weak, was al.
tackled by an English squadron Of six ships,
carrying over three hundred guns, and land
force OF one thousand troops. The whole at
tempt was perfect failure.
Let us now examine the several British ma
val attacks on our own forts, i'll the wars of
the revolution and OF 1872.
In 1776 Sir Peter Parkei, with a British
fleet Of nine vessels, carrying about two hun
dred ana seventy guns, attacked Fort MOul-
tre, i'll Charleston harb0r, which was then
armed With only twenty six guns and garri.
regulars, and few militia, In this contest
the British were entirely defeated, and lost in
killed and wounded, two hundred and five
men, while their whole two hundred aud sew
enty guns killed and wounded only thirty two
men in the fort,
In 1914 British fleet of four vessels, carry
ing nipetytwo guns, attacked Fort Boyer Il
small redoubt, located on point OF land com
manding the passage from the gull into the
bay OF Mobile. This red0ubt was garrisoned
by only one hundred and twenty combatants
officers included and lis armament was but
twenty small pieces of cannon, some OF which
were almost entirely useless, and most of them
poorly mounted, in batteries hastily thrown
up, and leaving the gunners uncovered from
the knee upward, while tie enemy's land
force, acting in concert with the ships, consist
ed of twenty artiIeryistS, with a battery oftwo
guns, and seven hundred and thirty marines,
Indians and negroes. His ships carried five
hundred and ninety men in all. This immense
disparity Of numbers and strength did not al.
low to the British military and naval COM
manders the slightest apprehension that four
British ships, carrying ninety-two guns, and
land force somewhat exceeding seven hundred
comhatants, could fail i'll reducing small
work mounting only twenty short carrOnades,
and defended by little more than a hundred
men, unprovided alike with furnaces for heat,
ing shot. or easements to cover themselves
from rockets and shells Nevertheless, tue
enemy was completely repulsed ; one OF his
largest ships was entirely destroyed, and
eighty-fve men were killed and wounded on
boar, the other; while our loss was only eight
or nine. Here naval force OF five to one was
repeiled by the land.battery
Again, in 1914, barbette battery of one
tour-pounder and two eighteen FOUNDER guns,
at Stonlngton, repeed a British fleet OF one
hundred and thrty-four guns During the
engagement the Americans exhausted their
ammunition, and spiked their eighteen pound
ers, and only one OF them was afterwards used
Two of the enemy'S ships, carrying one hun
dred and twelve guns, were engaged during
the whole time of attack, and during much of
this time bombarded the town from a position
beyond reach of the land-battery. They were
entirely too far off for the four FOUNDER gun to
be OF any use Sapposing the two eighteen.
Founders to have been employed during the
whole action, and also all the guns of the fleet,
one eighteen .pounder on land must have been
more than equivalent TO sixtyseven guns
afloat, for the ships were so much injured as to
render it necessary for them to withdraw. The
British loss was twenty killed, and more than
fifty wounded. Ours was only two killed and
six wounded.
The fleet sent to the attack of Baltimore, in
1914, consisted of forty sail, the largest of
which were ships OF the line, carrying an ar
my OF over six were ships OF the line, carry
ing an army of over six thousand combatants.
The troops were landed at North Point, while
sixteen OF the bomb vessels and frgates ap
preached within reach of Fort McHenry, and
commenced bombardmeHtwhicha lasted TWEEN.
Et.a ham Al -