The record-union., 1894-02-03
FORTS TO GUARD BBANToWN.
One Battery Completed, the Guns Hay
inc q Range of Six Miles.

One Battery Completed, the Guns Hay
ing Il Range of Six Miles.
The first of the new series of fortifca-
tions for the defense of Boston Harbor is
now practically completed. This is the
mortar battery on Winthrop Highlands.
All that remains to be done on the con-
struction of the battery itself is a little
grading along the front. Inside the
works the guns have not yet been put in
position, and this, according to the ITGn-
script, will not be done until spring, as
the platforms will have to be put in, and
this work cannot be done during the cold
weather. This is essentially a mortar
battery. 1t has no sighted guns in lis
equipment, which consists of sixteen
tWelve-inch rifed mortars. 1t is situated
just back of the highest part of Winthrop
Highlands, and is in appearance large,
obloDg mound, forty feet high and about
200 by $50 feet in area. In it are four
large pits, which look a good deal like
the craters OF extinct volcanoes. They
slope down at sharp angle until within
about ten feet of the bottom, when Ver-
tical wall OF masonry takes the place of
the earthen embankment. The DISPOSE
ton Of these pits is like that Of the spots
on four of cards, and it is in them that
the mortars are placed, four in each pit.
The entrance to the battery is on the
north side through low archway. This,
like all the others in the fertilization, has
an arch of concrete over it, nine feet in
thickness, with tWenty-three feet of earth
over that. 1t would be impossible for any
vessel, which could reach the location
with her tire, to break through this de-
fense. Passing through this archway, we
reach the first or northeasterly Of the
mortar pits. and another archway of
similar kind connects it with the cOrre-
spending pit on the southeast corner.
These are the two pits nearest the water
and the front of the fortification, but they
are not very near TO it, as seventy feet OF
earth and masonry separates them from
the outside world. Halfway through the
connecting passage is another passage,
running at right angles to it, which con-
meet with the two westerly mortar pits,
Halfway between the two sets of pits,
and directly in the center of the fortitica-
ton, are the magazines. which run OFT at
right angles from the connecting passage,
one to the north and the other to the
south. They are carefully arranged 50
that there shall be no confusionln IN getting
out ammunition in time OF haste, and
open into the connecting passage at two
different points, the north magazine sup
plying the eastern pits and the south
magazine the western pits. In connection
with the magazines are several good
sized rooms for the handling of the am
munition, and these may also be used as
quarters for the men. The two westerly
pits are similar to the other two, except
that they are open on the land side. No
earthwork is necessary here, as no fire
could come from this side.
This battery is most important one
as from it's position it commands the en-
frances to Boston barbor through Broad
Sound and to Lynn harbor. The guns
have range of six miles, and no vessel,
however heavily armored, would dare to
come within this range. The mortars
are designed to throw shells upward so
as to fall ON the deck of vessel, where
she can be lightly armored, an6 are
arranged so that the whole sixteen can, if
necessary, be concentrated on one point
and fired at once by means of electricity,
dropping sixteen 12-inch shells on the
deck of a vessel. 1t was originally pro-
posed to have another battery Of the same
size and equipment close beside this one,
but it is probable this plan will be
changed and the battery be placed some-
where else, just where is not now known.
1t is certain, however, that there will be
number of these mortar batteries
around Boston, as there are 128 of the
mortars TO be disposed of. 1t is probable
that another one will be begun in the
spring at some location which is not yet
decided upon.