The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-04-04
The British Fleet Near ConstantinopIe.

The details of the passage of the Oar
danelles by the British deet are more
interesting than the bloodless result
would warrant. When Admiral Horribly,
with five of his biggest ships, was turned
back from Chanak by the Sultan's order,
the disgust OF both officers and men
was loud and emphatic For three DAYS
the fires were kept banked ready for ten
knots steaming at few minutes notice.
On Tuesday, the 18th of February, a
second telegram arrived, and a meeting
of the Admirals and Captains was held
on board the flagship, at which plan
of attack was determined upon. In the
morning the ships weighed anchor amid
an excitement which had not been
psralleled since the days when Nelson
signaled his famous order at Trafalgar.
The rain was pouring in torrents,
thick haze obscured the land, and the
sea was rough and stormy. Shortly
after 10 O'Clock the fleet passed the
castles of Europe and Asia, at the en-
trance of the straits, the Alexandra.
Sultan, and Temeraire, in the starboard
division, and the Agincourt, Achilles,
and Swiftsure on the port. The guns
were double-shotted with heavy charges
of shrapnel shell and the tops filled with
rifemen and Gattling guns. Three
miles below Chanak the Turks had an
immense Krupp-gun weighing forty
tons, from which serious trouble was
anticipated. twas mounted in a small
earthwork on the Europeon shore, the
exact locality of which was unknown.
In the midst of high wind and thick
snow-stOrm the six ships padded about
in search of this dreaded gun. At one
time they passed within two hundred
yards of it without knowing it. Above
Chanak the wind, fog, and sleet in
creased. 1t was impossible to see the
length of the decks. and it was only by
the constant use of the lead that the
narrow channel between Abydos and
Sestos was cleared. The great batter
les of Forts Namazieh and Chanak Gas.
tie were reached only in the afternoon.
The former mounted twelve Is ton
Krupp guns behind heavy earthwCrks
faced with stone. The Turkish flag
huttered from the battlements, and no
one knew whether it meant peace or
war. As the ships passed abreast of
the frowning fortress,
The boldest held their breath for a time.
A single shot from either side would
have precipitated conflict of which no
man could foretell the end. The shot
was not fired, however, and the fleet
passed amid profound silence. A few
miles to the northward the Turks had
laid down torpedoes to bar further in
gress, but, strange to say, none of them
were hit by the ships. Smaller ferts and
redoubts were left aStern in rapid sue
cession, and at in the evening the fleet
dropped anchor before Gallipoli. Many
of the inhabitants had fled in expecta-
ton of bombardment, and the English
found some difficulty in calming them.
Princes Island, in the Sea of MarmOra,
was reached three days later. From
this point the minarets of Constantine
pie were plainly visible. Both here and
at Tuzla the most stringent precautions
were adopted against surprise by the
Russians. Steam launches made night
ly circuits of the ships, and torpedo net
tings were in constant requisition. The
exact time occupied in the passage from
Besika Bay to Gallipoli was eight hours.
Considering that the heavy ironclads
had to be carried up a tortuous channel
against strong headwinds and Il current
running four miles an hour, the feat de-
serves to rank among the most credita-
Bile of modern SeamanShip.