The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-13

While a start has been made in the con
struction Of some emplacements for new
batteries on our Atlantic coast north Of Nor
folk, the enormous line extending from Fort
Monroe to the mouth Of the Rio Grande has
received thus far little or no protection, ex.
cept in the building of n casemate here OF
there for the operation Of submarine mines,
as at Charleston, or the restoration OF q gar.
rison, as at Key West barracks.
or course, the explanation is to be found
in the slow rate ut which defensive work
goes on, while this in turn must be ascribed
to the meagreness of the annual appropris-
tions made by Congress. Yet the oommer-
cial Importance of such cities as New Or
leans and Charleston Is beyond question, as
also Is the strategic value Of Key West. In
a list Of twenty-seven ports, arranged by the
Notifications Board OF 1885. to show the
order In which they should be taken up for
defence, New Orleans comes sixth. Key
West twelfth, Charleston thirteenth, Mobile
fourteenth, Savannah sixteenth, Galveston
seventeenth, Pensacola nineteenth, Will
minRton twentieth.
These places have not, Of course, been over
looked by the Engineer Corps. Defensive
plans were projected some time ago for
Tybee roads and the mouth Of the Savannah,
and for Charleston and Pensacola, while one
for the partial defence Of New Orleans was
prepared. But the actual completion Of for
t~ifications seems still distant. In a list Of
twelve prominent seaports drawn up by
SAMUEL j. TILDEN as containing an aggre-
gate Of IS, ZOO, 600, 900 exposed TO destruc-
ton by an enemy, four cities south of Hamp-
ton Roads were Observation-Disclosures
Savannah, New Orleans, and Galveston. 1t
Is true that Savannah belongs to the class OF
places which, like Baltimore and Whining
ton, allow improvised instructions for the
temporary check of a hostile feet but, tax
ing the Southern seaboard as a whole, there
is very little, II any, provision now there
adequate to prevent m enemy's ravages.
Gen. o. o. HOWARD has repeatedly called
attention to this lack and has recommended
the r~eoccupation of posts along that seaboard
from which garrisons nave now been re-
moved perhaps twenty or twenty-five years.
He has urged that the Dry Tortugas of
Florida hould he made a military post,
mounting heavy guns. One step has been
taken within the last two years in sending
Batteries I and h, Third Artillery. to Key
West barracks, thus, at least, furnishing u
garrison to man such guns as are mounted
there. But the general condition Of the un-
garrisoned posts between Barataris Bay,
Louisiana, and the Delaware was described
last year by the Inspector-General as exceed
ingly bad:
For various reasons the garrisons OF twenty. seven
of these forts have been Withdrawn until there IL not
now nor has there baRn In mOat Paaaa for mara than
twenty years, a single soldier to care for them, ord.
nance sergeants, sometimes superannuated and de-
crepit, alone excepted. Asa result OF this long sban.
donment. and the changes which have meantime
affected methods OF attack and defence. the forts and
their ornaments have come to be regarded A. obso-
lete, deserving and receiving but little attention, un.
I'll they now serve the single purpose apparently
OF reminding rs OF the high estate from which we have
fallen, and that we are not well prepared for resist
anCe against any bold and aggressive government"
Gen. BRECKENRIDGE proceeds to say
that, las matters stand, the forts are going
to ruin, and the condition of their guns, car
and ordnance stores generally Is re-
ported as disgraceful, Notwithstanding they
are included in the defensive plans OF the sea-
coast, more especially for the operation and
protection Of torpedo lines" The reports Of
his subordinate officers, who conducted the
lions, fully bore OUT the assertions
by the Inspector-Genefal. One place
visited was Fort jefferson, at the important
OF the Dry Tortugas. Concerning
this the following statement was made:
"A glance at the map will show that entrance 20 the |
3ulf OF Mexico must be through the FLORIDA Straits
,r the Yueatan Channel. both OF which would be. con
rolled by an active neet operating from such . sec ure
as the Dry Tortugas, well defended. Its impor-
aanee 10 an enemy can only be measured by It's i'm |
n ahIa Ia Iaaa q q ans sNna uva..la /
prove . serious disaster" |
The reports proceed to declare that. con
at enormous expense as the military
icy Ofthe Gulf OF Mexico, 1t has passed from
me stage Of abuse and neglect to another, I'M
to-day it serves no better purpose than a
p~esthouse." The first thing TO be
lone, therefore, Is TO remove the quarantine
The inspecting officers found
rotten gun carriages, cracked bastions,
'usty guns" on all sides, with leaky case
while the six wooden platforms for
he 1b-inch smOothbores I'm barbette were
In ruins through decay. Their condition is
% difficult TO describe n yet SO typical of
large part of the Southern armament,
a photograph alone can do justice to
he subject The condition of about
twenty-five lOinch eassmRts gum wa con-
idered good, but these were exceptional.
Fort jefferson was originally designed for
80 pieces, and has emplacements for 267.
Fort Taylor, at Key West, vas found to
e in fair condition, but with a very poor
armament. The defehoes Of the lower Mis-
between the Passes and New Or
ans are still, as in the civil war, Fort
Jackson and Fort st. Philip, and the former
yas described as " ~uninhabitable." Fort
Massachusetts,, at the western end Of Ship
sland, built during the civil war, oceu-
les a very important position, II the value
{ the Mississippi Sound as a harbOr and