The Penn's Grove record., 1884-03-22
Old Fort Ciinoh.

We have made a visit to old Fort
Clinch, Florida, writes a correspondent.
Leaving the town the road passes
through a series of hnllows and sand
hills, through a tangled piece of wood
land past the town cemetery OF Old
Town. This cemetery is unlike any
thing ever seen in New England, and
IN fact, nearly every Il we have seen
here is the same, being without form or
order and nearly destitute of tombstones.
The graves are, most of them, lnclosed
in little fences, with, perhaps, a wooden
cross to mark the resting place OF
somebody's child" Very few bear
any inscription. The cemetery is a
large one, and located in a most beauti-
full spot covered with cedars and various
other trees. The spot is one of the
most beautiful and quiet ones conceiv-
able - nature having done everything,
and man little, to make it an approprl-
ate resting place for The dead.
Fort Cliuch covers about four acres
of ground. and is situated at q point
where Its guns command the entrance
to thu harpor. The river at this point
is only about three-fourths of a mile in
width, and the big guns of the fort can
etiectually stop its navigation. The
fort is built of brick walls filled be-
tween with concrete and oyster shells
and backed by embankments of earth,
and faced on the water front by a long
and high brick and concrete wall with
q heavy earth ~embankment between the
two. The front Is made doubly strong
to resist the fire from a hostile fleet,
and it would seem as if it would require
a pretty heavy missile, backed by q
pretty large charge Of powder to per.
forate q front OF such thickness. The
fortress is in form a pentagon, and sur
rounded by a moat, which Is 10 filed
with various kinds of trees and bushes.
The walls are pierced at short intervals
for the discharge of musketry, and five
portfolios at each corner for the use of
cannon. Within were four or five brick
structures that have been used for bar
racks, hospital, prison, etc, The prison
is a brick building, n story in height,
containing three rooms, one being the
dungeon used for solitary confinement.
Here is where SIX colored soldiers were
confined for mutiny at Jacksonville,
who were subsequently taken to a sand
hill outside the fort and shot. 1hefort
used as a place of confinement for
rebel soldiers after its capture. Within
the fort, among a lot OF dismounted
guns, we saw an English gun and car
rage of large size, which was landed
from a blockade runner, but which the
confe6erates had not had tune to get
mounted before the Federal gun-boats
drove them out of the works. On the
front OF the fort are four Rodman guns,
weighing $4,000 pounds each. These
huge pieces are Is feet long aud have a
bore OF 10 inches; they throw a shell
weighing $50 pounds and an explosive
charge of 20 pounds OF powder. The
charge of powder required to project
this enormous missile is 60 pounds. In
the covered passages leading to the
magazines were piles Of shells Of sew
eral kinds, and grape for use in the
smaller guns. In the magazines we
we're shown powder manufactured in
1861. The fort is provided with a sys.
tenn of ctsterns of great size SO that a
sufficient supply of water is provided to
enable the garrison to stand a long
siege. The fort, at present is in a dilapi-
dated condition, but Congress having
provided the sum Of $50, 900 for its re-
pair, work viii shortly be commenced
upon it. The country adjacent Is one
jungle, but Immediately around
the fort II Is L mass of sand hill and
drifts, presenting a very singular and
homesick appearance. In the field near
by are the remains of gun carriages.
wagons, ambulances. etc
just as they were at the close OF the
val