Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1862-05-23
Forts en- the Mississippi.


stronger work, is a regular pentagonal
Fashioned fertilization, having three fronts
bearing on The river, and three on the land
side. The land fronts have each glacis
and covered way, and the channel is COM
manded by battery of twenty-f guns.
A wet ditch, from forty to seventy feet
wide, and six feet deep, surrounds the
main work on the river, and similar
ditch, one houndred and fifty feet wide the
land fronts. There is also wet ditch six
feet deep and thirty feet wide, around the
channel bearing battery. The two chan
nel-bearing forts have each eight casemate
guns, which are the only casemated ones
in the work The bitches are defended
by "a FOUNDER howitzers at either flank.
The parapet is carried across the gorge of
the bastion, so that there is no faux para
pet defense. The bastions are on arrang-
ed for musketry fire from the walls. The
main work of the lower battery mounts, IN
the aggregate, one hundred and twenty
five guns, of which one hundred bear on
the channel. There was one-story brick
citadel within the fort, having two tiers
of loop holes for musketry defense, the
walls of which are FIVE feet thick. The
entrance to the work is by wooden bridge
on the west side, connected with draw
bridge ten feet wide
| Fort St. Philip consists of main work
and two attached batteries, which bear
respectively up and down the river. The
principal work is irregular in form having
seventeen faces. 1t is surrounded by a
wet ditch six feet deep and from twenty
to thirty feet wide. At the foot of the
glacis is ditch from 70 to 140 feet wide.
There is a glacis and covered way entire
| " around the fort Outside of the princi-
pal ditch is another, which was dug to fur
nish earth for the levee, and this is 90
feet wide and 4 feet deep. Fort St. Phil
ip mounts 100 guns, of which rs bear on
the channel All of the guns are mount
ed en- 6a15ette. The scarp works have
been Strengthened by relief arches, which
are pierced with loop-holes for musket
ry.
Both forts are built of brick. The guns
of Fort Jackson are 25 feet above the le-
vel of the river, and those Of St. Philip 10
feet. The guns of the outer batteries Of
both forts are 4 feet above tie river.
When the rebels took possession of these
forts there were only So guns mounted
none of which wer- of larger caliber than
| 80 Founders. All the carriages were poor.
The plans for completing these forts were
stolen from the Custom House at New Or
| leans, Just after the rebellion broke out
and the works were finished in accord
ance with the original intention. From
center to centre of the forts the distance
is three-quart ers Of a mile, and the river
| between them half mile in width.
johnson K. Duncan, who commanded
these stronghods, was born in Pennsylva-
nia and appointed to the Military Acade-
my at West Point, from Ohio He gradu-
ated in / $40, fourth in his class. He was
appointed to the artillery corps and sta
toned at PASSPORT, Me-, afterward in
Texas. He received his commission, and
accepted position as Chief of Artillery,
in Wallis lberating army in Northern
Mexico. Afterward he became connected
with Major General G. W. Smith, of the
rebel army, ex-Sreet Commissioner of
New York, and Brig. Gen. Mansfield Low
ell, also rebel, IN Qutman's fiIibusterinr
expedition. Next he became Smith,
clerk, during his superintendent of tho
Marine Hospital at New Orleans, and
when Smith vacated the Office, he succeed
ed him. In 1853, Wien New Orleans
attempted to reform her municipal affairs
by establishing Vigilance Committee,
Duncan was chosen leader of the organi-
Eating. Subsequently, be was appointed
State Engineer of Louisiana, and he held
this position up to the time when he &C
cepted his Generals position.