New-York daily tribune., 1861-05-14

S-s.19ia' S-Mi'1 '1'1se is.dr. out to I5.:I1:o'
c-cemmsndasr. quarters K-KSFSrpDss for heating
E-E-oficer.' quarters. I-L-Po.'.n.
f-Flsg bss'ion h-""e' os"''
Fortress Monroe is a Fashioned work, IN irregular
hep,sgon in p!an and the most extensive fertilization
Of any rort in this country. The walls are mainly OF
granite and are tbnty.fve feet IN hight Built at an
early day the masonry dces not perhaps in all respects
eomrarc fayorably with some other works recent,
iy constructed The embGnkm backing the walls ie
Of sand and clay, and, being Of great thickness, is
hardly capable Of being preached The tasema'es are
bomb and shot proof, and roomy. The embrasures
were originally designed for 42PouRders, but would
prove capable Of admitting Coumbiads of The largest
description il use. In some Of these, officers have
their quarters: in others the quarters OF the officers
Of the day. guard house. and barracks for guards. They
are both convenient and comfortable especially in tie
hot season. Tie classmates near seventy in num-
ber and commence near tho posiern IN rear oil uic
Water Battery ana extend around to the main entrance
On the ramparts where there are ro cascmaies are
mounted 42-pounders or Coumbds, which are the first
objects that greet the eye in approaching eler by sea
or land, mo4t, facelwith dressed granite surrounds
tie whole work, through which, when tie ga'es are
open tie tide Gibbs and Gows the water being, accord
ing to the tide from eight to fifteen feet deep, and from
Is to one hundred and fifty feet Thiss beau
tful and very important feature Of the fortress, and
contributes greatly 10 iis capacity for defense.
Perhaps however, tie feature Of the fortress, hch
both for its importance in defensive operations and s
beauty piece Of masonry, most worthy oi mention
il the Water Battery. 1t faces the ID built Of stone,
and has thickness and sodi,y that will enable 1t at
all times TO bid defiance to the heaviest shot, II s
finished with embrasures Of the most substantial de-
scription which AZ in number, and have cores
pcnding number Of 42pounders. Concerning tie front
looking seaward, this battery renders the fort as
nearly III possible impIegnabe from naval attack. ls
slope like the ranpars Of the fort generally, is covered
with green turf and is a favorite promenade. From
the porhem extremity Of this battery leads Tcdoubt
or breaswort, which extends round TO the points Qf
the b ston near the principal magazine. In the center
of this redonbt is sallyport or poste, leading to an
outerwork for the protection Of the land side Of the
fort Built a. the forts Of country have been for
protection from attack from the ser, and with little
reference to attack in the rear On the land side,
they, with scsrce. an exception Fave what is called
0weak SIDE" Strong as Fortress Monroe is,.h
nevertheless does not consti ute an exception Ills
fort has land side and consequently N this sense,
weak side" II Is that portion eAehahb NUN 'he
Water Battery to the Magazine.
In speakipg of the land side the idea is not to be
convey ed that the open country comes directly up 70
the walls of the fort On the contrary the only con-
tinuous land spproach to the fort is strip OF sandy
beach, not exceeding forty rods in width, which might
readily be cut through. For the rest the term "and
side il usnomer as the bay sets back between the
fort and the mnn nd the distance across being one TO
three miles. There is however, dyke or causeway,
leading from the fort TO the main land terminating
with bridge at the end nearest to Hampton; so mar
row however that it would not be practicable for an
effective attacking party to attempt an approach by 1t.
large number of the heaviest guns and mortars bear
directly ON IT, and can scarcely be conceived that any
body Of men would ever attempt to reach the fort by
that narrow path If by any chance the attempt should
proye successful it would be only TO arrive ut point
where murderous fire would bear directly on those
making IT, The side Of the fort OF which We are now
s.,L;uy ard which, for the sake OF designation rather
than nbfI DE-, q p,ion, is termed "the weak eide"
has ely &c en- de recipient of the engineering skill Of
the officers and the constant labor Of the garfison
rue number Of guns aud mortars OF the heaviest de-
sep;ion have recently been placed in position there
and their number is increased almost every day; 20
TINT soon that side of the fort will have II such Is not
the case now, little claim to the appellaton Of the
weak side, Wide it may not be Us strong as the
side fronting the harbor, an attacking party would
coon enough find out how little ground there was for
terming it "weak."
The recorded armament Of Fortress Monroe 10 % fol.
| lows;