Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-04-29
Tine Attack upon Cha hat n
French OFFICER Thinks Of 1t.
Erox, tha Me- yor U.rsiJ =.

A French officer who present ut the attack
on Charleston by our fleet mikes the following
valuable remarks. which we reproduce here:
judging from the condguration of Charleston
Bay. and from the position Of the forts defending
it, entrance he believes that the furreted Mont
tors, the merit of which he fully acknowledges in
u SEA hght. were not suitel for the attack OF the
place. He believes that the tnrrets offered too
large a surface to the shots Of the enemy. and
thai the strength Of the blow was. in many in
stances seiicient both To put the revolving apps-
r.tus cut OF order, and to render the boat unman
ageable.
He thinks that the only way by which the Reb
el for,resses might have been successfully attack
Ell vas by means of RACED batteries. perfectly
tight and covered with IRON all over. with no
tangible object above deck. and two rows OF guns
one on each sie. placed one foot or two above
the surface OF the water he believes that the
number OF guns mounted upon our Monitors was
quite insufficient TO silence the Rebel batteries
and that il ought to have been four times as large
70 have been felt in q sensible degree by OPP
ponent~.
he believes also, that IT, instead of venturng
our Moptors on that expedition. We had had TX
floating iron batteries constituted upon the mod
ell above described. and provided with fifty guns
each. we might have opened breach IN one ol
the fortresses, dismounted mos; Of the batteries
on shore. aud perhaps been alie To effect land
ing on some of the points occupied by the Reb-
els To that effect several iron clad transports
carving several companies of sharpshOoters.
whose duties would have been To pick off the enc
my e gunners, ought TO have Teen attached to the
expedition.
As an instance of the efficiency of this system
of reducing ssrongholds. he quotes the attack on
kinburu in the Crinea. by the allies In that
attack. the first in which iron plated vessels
moved by steam were used. the French had only
three iron doatng batteries. mounted with one
hui Re and dry guns, aud the Eaglish bali
dozen bou1baris and cunhoats. supported howev
er. oy powerful heet watch was almost useless.
The 20 ting batteries and the gunbosts did all
KIb lrn and several earthwork2 defended by
one hundred and seventy-fonr guns and two
Thousand men. were compelled 10 surrender. In
that attack the Russians had nearly three humid
rei men kilesi. While the allies had only sixty
me1 -Aars da combsf.r ~ ~ a - -
Our il ormant does not believe that the Rebels
~ere pressaed with the bcst implements of mod
crn warfare. He thiuds that IL they had been
thew would have sunk all the Monitors which
were i've hundred yards distant from their guns
The French navy. he SAYS. has now found 81 ex-
plosive prnjecte which. at that distance. goes
through any iron plate. however thick, and pro-
euces an EXPLOSION sufficient u blow up sny ves
Sc Of The six~ 90 the Monitors II Is obvious
O. hs els had o know ledge OF IL; for most
OF their shells vere SOLID, aud had not that
strength OF impulse peculiar TO the pewly in
vented French shot