Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-10-23
New Mortar Batteries that will Com
plete the Defences of New York
HarbOr.
Land Acquired by the Government for
Defensive Operations of Immense
Importance.
The Guns and MOrtars will be En-
tirely Invisible From the
Ocean.

! - blltu pUdito aim 10 ltllNNGlh5 lllC Atbob
details of the plans for work of vast i'm
portance as it will complete the defense
! of New York harbOr against any known
power of war. These plans are for great
! fort of modern mortar batteries, to be
constructed facing the ocean and defending
| the broad grateway of the harbor,
The land on which this fort will stand
has been purchased within few days by
the government. On October / the United
States, fulfilling the oft and earnestly re-
Epeated requests of the war depart
ment, acquired fifty acres of Plum Island,
! lying at the east end of C0ny lsland, pay
ing for the low, sandy soil, 800 900. Here
in few days, the ground will be broken
| the most noteworthy OF modern batteries
for vertical fire.
FoI many years the engineers of the war
! department have been casting sOlicitous
glances at the most dangerous omission in
! the line of defenses about the ocean en-
! trance to New York harbor, rendered
every year more dangerous by the i'm
provements in the carrying capacity and
| destructiyeness of the guns placed on
ships of war. This danger is a secret
! from no foreign power. The coast survey
charts in currency all over the world show
il at glance and in graphic figures. Be
sides the two or three narrow channels
that are navigable through the entrance to
| New York harvOr i'll the waters between
Coney Island and Sandy Hook, there Is a
pocket Of deep water approaching the
Long Island shore from the ocean, some
miles to the east Of these channels, that is
nayigabIe to any vessel, whatever may be
her drauqht.
BY means of this deep pocket a man of
war could arrive at safe anchorage IN
BocElway inlet. less than six miles away
from this anchorage are the outlying wards
of Brooklyn, two miles further is the East
river, and another mile beyond is the heart
of New York city. From this inlet,
hostile iron clad could lombard Brooklyn
and New York with destruction unparaI
Ieled in the history of bombardment, and
there could be no effective reply to this at
tack. Fort Hamilton and Fort Wads-
worth, guarding the narrows between the
upper and lower bays would be nine miles
away from the disturber, safely anchored
in Rockaway inlet, and these forts have no
armament that could throw shell such
distance
In 1882 General John Newton and
body OF engineers from the army made a
critical examination of this pocket with a
view to perftctng the defense of the great
twin cities They found that this deep
water could be brought under effective fire
in a circle having Plum island in the cen
ter with radius Of six miles They rec
commended the acquisition of Plum island
by the government and the immediate
construction of Notifications there. Since
that time several schemes have been pro,
posed for guarding the entrance of New
York harbor that would include he de-
tonse,of this deep water approach to the
shore of Long Island. Soon after the act
of congress approved August Is, $780, to
purchase lauds for defensive purposes,
Colonel c. l., Gillespie, constructing engl-
neer of the Notifications at the port of
New York, was Instructed 10y the war de-
partment to examine into the feasibility
Of binding defenses on Plum island He
reported favorably ON the scheme, and pro.
posed the acquisition of fifty acres of the
island to be covered by mortar batteries.
The land was owned by the estate of VIM
Engman, represented by Thomas b. Pear,
sail, of Brooklyn. The government offered
$50 900 for the fifty .cres, tor which the
Engman estate wanted Sl50,0O0 During
the past summer the question of TIE value
of the land was argued before a commits
sion appointed 10y the United States dist
riot court By the decision of this tribunal
the Eugmans received 81 500 an acre for
their land and $4,000 for the damages
that the erection of the fort would do their
adjacent property.
Plum Island is partly in the rear of the
low bar of sand forming the eastern end
of Coney Island known as Point Breeze,
The island has a low slanting beach backed
by few sand hills and stretches ii salt
meadows. Behind across Hog Creek and
Broad Creek the low lands extend back
for many hundred acres. The highest
spot on the island is not fifteen feet above
mean high tide. During the heavy seas of
early spring large part of the island is
under water. rs only buildings are three
fShermen's shanties now uninhabited. No
drearier spot exists on the ocean shore
than this isle of a hundred acres whose
very air is polluted 10y the stenches from
the fertilizer flct)ries at Barren Island
lust across the narrow inlet to Jamaica
bay.
The importance OF the work, which will
soon he begun on this desoate little slip
of sea sand cannot be oyerstaed. 1t in
! CludeS the entire outlying ocean detenSe OF
! the greatest of America harbors and the
protection from bombardmeut of its great
est cities The batteries will command not
only the deep water pocket that would
allow an ironcad to approach the shore
| from the ocean but in the longest ranges
of its guns can defend the channels of the
narrows against the entrance Of a
foreign hostile feet to the harbor Of New
/ York. In case fleet of war ships
succeeded in entering the lower bay it
could Join in the grand conflict that would
arise when they met the guns of the
| forts that standat the entrance to the upper
/ bay.
While the Plum Islands batteries will
be able to render this assistance 20 the
bay Notifications until the hostile men Of
war have drawn within a mile or two OF
the Dig guns at the narrows. Forts
Wadsworth and Hamilton could not Drop
a single shell on a man-of war anchored IN
Rockaway melt, ten miles from their
mortar batteries. From the forts on
Plum Islands line drawn almost due
southwark viii cross the whiStllng bouY
which marks the entrance to Gedney
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