New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-21
Saturday the grand drawing.
General Sherman,s We've.

IN consultation which the House Mill
.ary Committee has held during the past
week with General Sherman. on the posi-.
bili,y Of cutting down the expenses Of the
military establishment. the General said
that Conere could not, in his judgment,
wisely reduce, either in numbers or eff.
cheney, the present ten regiments Of caval-
ry, five regiments of artillery, and twenty
five regiments of infantry. This force is
now occupying nearly two hundred posts,
the number OF which is being daily reduced.
On the seabOard, he thinks the army Occu-
pies too many little, insignificant posts,
called forts or batteries. which might as
well be washed into the sea, and the quicker
the better. There are also great many
arsenals which, in his mind, are worse than
useless, and he had no doubt that there are
a great many posts in the Indian country
to-day which next week or the week after
might be abandoned with profit, but which
eau not now be abandoned by an order
from Washington without exposing life and
property. He went through the entire list
of regiments in each branch Of the service,
stating where each was stationed and what
was its duty, and gave it as his opinion that
none of the present force could be spared.
He then referred to the engineer bat
talon, composed Of five companies Of en-
gineers, numbering 329 men. Four of these
companies are at Willett's Point, New York
harbor, and one is at West Point. These
troops are soldiers. when it is to their inter-
est to be soldiers, and they are not soldiers
when it is their interest not to be. General
Sherman said he did not know under whose
command they are, and their business is
principally to learn forthcoming and making
torpedoes. If any reduction Of the army
was necessary, he thought it ought to begin
with these. The General thought that
most Of the staff departments could be cur
tailed if necessary.
In regard to the forts for which appropri.
ations were made last year, General Sher-
man said that some of them, if he had to
defend them, he would go outside to do it.
Fort Preble is of little use. Fort Scanned
is not much better. Fort Warren is an i'm
portant point, because it covers the entrance
to Boston harbor. Forts Winthrop and La.
dependence are substantially finished. The
fort on Dutch Island, in Narragansett Bay.
is af about as much use as if it were in the
Florida channel The fort at Willett's
Point will be in connection with Fort Schuy-
Ter, a very important work IN the event OF
the government succeeding in deepening
the channel by He'll Gate to the extent of
thirty feet. If that is done it will, in his
Judgment. reverse the foreign commerce of
New York, and bring it all through Long
Island Sound, past He'll Gate to the
East river, allowing such ships as
the Great Eastern. and the largest
ships of the world. to come through
Long Island Sound. In that event the
heavy irOn-clad fleets of England could
come through the sound, and we would
have to have fort at Willett's Point; but
at present, and until that is done, he would
not spend cent on it. AT Fort Hamilton
no expense is needed. Fort Tompkins
ought to be finished. Battery Hudson he
knew nothing about. Fort Delaware, in
Delaware river, is tower in the middle OF
the river, and he should think it was sub.
stantially finished. On Fort McHenry and
Fort FOOte he would spend no more money.
1t would be waste of money to spend it on
Fort Washington. "God only knows" he
said, "what we want fort there for. No
iron-clad ship can get up the Potomac river.
We can hardly get vessels drawing thirteen
feet of water up the river" Fort Monroe
il finished. On Fort MOultrie no more
money should be spent. Fort Sumter should
stand as a monument. No money should
be spent on Fort Pulaski. A small apprO-
priation should be made for Fort Taylor a.
Key West. No more money should be
spent on Fort jackson or St. Philip, and
San Francisco harbOr ought to be pretty
well fortified by this time.
Going over the estimates of apprOpria-
tons for the next year, the General thought
that the most of them could be dispensed
with. In regard to the necessity Of having
the entire coast defended by Notifications
General Sherman said the building Of rail
roads, whereby 5000, 10000, or $4,000 men
may be picked up and thrown from one
point to another with great rapidity, and
with absolute certainty, takes away from
the country all fear of invasion by any
nation ON earth. We do not fear now the
landing on our coast of the armies of any
people. The only object of Notifications on
the seaboard is, therefore, to protect some
rich city like New York or Boston, which is
very tempting to an enemy like England,
that might dash in, lay the city under con-
tribution, and get out before we could wake
up. We do not fear the disem harkation on
our coast at Baltimore, or at Pensacola, or
in North Carolina, of any enemy
as we did in 1912. Nothing Of
that kind can now happen. There is no
remote apprehension OF it. Therefore he
would cease this extraordinary expendi-
ture Of money at every little place where
schooner. or brig, or an ordinary ship can
run in, land l would only guard the most
important harbOrs of refuge, and those
great cities which alone can tempt foreign
enemy to make an attack on our coast
The improvements in modern artillery have
been negatlved in great measure by the
greater draught of water that ships carry.
ing large ordinance have. The Channel
fleet OF England can not enter single port
of the United States, except possibly New.
port, Rhode Island. The vessels which
carry these heavy guns can not approach
our coast within range. There is not one
such vessel that can como into New York
York Tribune