The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1862-01-03
Correspondence on tho Subject OF
Coast Defences.


The President has transmitted to Congress
correspondence between the Secretary oil
State, the Secretary Of War, and tho Gov
ernor Of Maine, on tho subject Of the iortit'
cation Of the sea coast and lakes. The fol-
lowing is the reply ofGov. washburn to the
letter Of Secretary Seward, which was nd
drcs.ed to the Governors Of the loyal States
and also the letter of the Secretary OF War:
AuousrA, Ocr. %, 1861.
The undersigned, governor OF Maine, &c.
knowledgcs the receipt Of the official note OF
the Secretary Of State, under the date Of the
l4th instant, inviting the attention OF tue
executive Of this State to the important mat
ter of tho public defence OF its coast, In view
ola possibility Of an interruption OF the
present friendly relations Of the government
of the United States with those OF foreign
powers. Fully sensible Of the watchfulness
aud fidelity Of the President, and OF those IN
charge Of the various departments Of the gov
eminent, in guarding against any possible
danger, whether arising from domestic in
surrection or foreign invasion, the authorities
and people Of Maine cannot have failed TO
feel the deepest solctude in reference to the
subject matter Of that communication, from
tho very great extent OF her undefcnded sea-
coast, and the remembrance of the suferings
Of the people OF this State in former wars
and in her behalf desire to tender my most
cordial thanks for this wise and thoughtful
recognition by the general government OF
what her position and circumstances demand.
Without recounting the facts Of tho early
history of that portion Of the continent now
included within the limits OF the present State
of Maine, the contest between France and
England for its possession, and the Indian
cruelties that followed In the train Of war,
by which its villages and towns were devas-
tatcd, need not only remind your excellency
of the events of the wars Of the revolution,
and of 1912 with England, to impress on the
government the vast importance OF Maine in
a military and naval point ofview asa means
of power and strength to the national govern
ment.
It's shores are indented with many excellent
harbors, and its geographical position for
military, naval, and commercial purposes
commands the finest portion ofNorth Ameri-
CO.
Tho failure Of the French to hold the shores
of tho Atlantic ocean between Piscataqua
and Sagadahoc, and maintain their commune
cation between Montreal and the sea, lost to
them the noblest colonial empire the world
has ever seen.
Though settled by the French as early rs
1904, and by the English in 1908, under
separate grants covering the entire territory
that from the French King dated in 1903,
and that from tho British crown in 1906
IL was not until the conquest of Canada, by
the capture of Quebec in 1859, that Maine
enjoyed peace and repose under the dominion
of Great Britain. During the war of tho
revolution the bulk of her territory was in
the possession of the English. and the war OF
1919 found her coast deienceless, and oil her
eastern harbors, from Castinc to the st. Croix
river, occupied by the enemy.
Should war again occur with any leading
European power, Maine must fall ut once
into the hands of the enemy, unless means OF
defence are provided.
From the State line at Kittery to West
Quody Head, in coast line OF three hundred
miles, there IRE over one hundred good har-
bors at which ships are built and manned,
with an actual shore line of more than three
thousand miles, following the line OF tide
water into navigablo bays, inlets, and deep
river estuaries. Not one harbor is properly
defended, and in only three have attempts at
defence been made.
A slight brcastwork battery ut Eastport,
called Fort Sullivan, Fort Knox, partially
constructed at Bucksport Narrows on the
Penobecot, and the forts at Portland harbor,
are oil the Notifications on the coast OF
Maine. ......
Castine, the British naval station on the
Atlantic ocean in the war Of 1872, could
again be occupied in the same way, for oil
the delenccs of former times have fallen to
ruin and decay. Belfast, Rockland, Georges
river, Wiscassct, and the Kennebec river, nre
all without any sign OF defence. The i'm.
portant shipping port of Bath, the city Of
Augusta, the State capital, and tho larger
towns on tho Kcnnebec, are oil at the mercy
Of single sloop-of.war.
The highest military authorities would un-
doubtedly concur in the opinion that Port
land should DO made the great naval depot
of the United States on the Atlantic Ocean.
Its geographical position commands Canada
on the north, and the lower provinces on the
east, II properly fortified, as lines OF railway,
completed or in process of construction,
radiate from 1t to Quebec and Montreal, and
to st. John and Halifax. pol,
Tho harbor Is one of the finest on tho At
lantic ocean, or in the world, and can easily
be so fortified as to DO rs imprcgnable as
Gibraltar. and far stronger than Quebec,
Sebastopol, or Cherbourg.
Halifax harbor, the great British naval
depot on the American continent, now &C.
cupied by the combined fleets Of England and
France, closes the outlet of the great gulf
lying between Cape Cod and Cape Sable,
and unless Portland is defended the whole
peninsula east of Lake Champlain is easily
subjected to foreign control.
II Great Britain held the harbor OF Port.
land and the line Of railway to Montreal and
Quebec, she would drive American commerce
from the ocean and the great lakes.
The strategetic importance OF Portland Is
shown by reference to any general mar, OF the
whole country, and its capabilities Tor de-
fence arc exhibited by the charts OF tho
United States coast survey OF 1889.
Portland harbor is IN arm OF tho sea,
formed by Eve outlayins islands, that shut
out the swell of the ocean. . '',
The main or great ship channel Is only one
hundred and seventy rods in width, carrying
from eight to ten iathoms at low water, in
to Bangs Island.
This island is the natural fortress that do
fends the approach to the harbor Its outside
shore line extending over one mile in nearly
.,r,;,bt lima rises about eighty feet above