New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-15
DOWN AT FORT HANCOCh
WHAT MIGHT AND SHOULD BE DUNE Al
SANDY HOOK.
NATURE HAS MADE POSSIBLE IMPRE"NN'''" '
FENCES or NETWORK HARBOE-bi"
AND REGIMENTS OF ARTILLERY
NEEDED-THE NARROWS.

Dow, somewhere among the sand dunes OF
Sandy Hook there IL a great fortifcatlo"' VI "'
least a potential beginning Of one. IhiS - INV
as Fort Hancock. but just where it l. OF 10" u
is arranged are questions to be answer" o''i'
wien IL shall be compelled to speak ior "se'i III
thundercus voice and with tongue o. nv, ~
cess TO its interior is denied save to 'hs
authorities TIE Secretary of war Is Tue o'''
man who can grant admission 10 c''h'""' ""'
that civilian would have to be possesseu VI
trainload of necessitOus reasons why ne '"o"''
be admitted. No sign of the fortii'ca'''' en-"
from the water front. CHANGING over the map ~
the Hook with an officer OF the sea c'"f' a.
lerv recently. the reporter waved his hand rather
inGlferentlv over the territory of sard waste al"
remarked: And Fort Hancock Is rgnl ]"
There" said the official at the same time piae-
ing hand of almost Prudential dl'ne"s'olS
down over the entire Hook as portrayed %" the
map Then he smiled a deep. mysterious s'i'ie'
rs much as t. say that he was perfectly i"''''''a'
with the subtleties of the reporters art an" was
not 10 be caught mapping by shallow pfe'eHceS'
However. no one having In mind the welfare o.
his city and country. and knowing no" JeA'o"'N
the Notifications OF foreign countries are u''Heu
against inspection by officers Of other nauohali-
ties. is eager to quarrel with the military au-
thorltes for their effort to hold lnVoia'e the
secrecy which has all along been preserved with
regard to what promises to be an lhP'esnaoi'
barrier 70 hostile advance upon New-York Hay
Dor from the ocean side. The suggestion was
made in a recent article on this VITAL subject Of
coast defences that the works at Sandy HOOK
were far from complete This IS true. and while
work is going forward there with more or less
constancy. Il is rot being done fast enough to
Yorks approaches should be made secure. 1t has
been said That fer the defence Of the har6or
ninety-three guns are contemplated eNciu-
sive of the rs mostars Of the twelve
inch type. The guns are divided INTO
classes There are to be fourteen OF the sixteen
inch type fifty five twelve-nch, fifteen ten-inch
and nine eigft-inch. In the --latest estimate Of
apportionment il is to be observed that fourteen
Of the heaviest cannon to be stationed at this
port Six have been fixed upon for location at
Boston, four at Hampton Roads and eight at
San Francisco. The present armament at Sandy
Hook consists OF two Of the twelve-!nch pattern
and sixteen mortars Of the accepted type set In
batteries of four in separated groups. with con-
Meeting galleries deep under the fertilization and
lighted by electricity.
WHAT Is EXPECTED OF MORTARS.
beyond any power Of conjecture. Their purpOse
is to destroy war vessels by the firing Of deck
piercing shells. which after penetration explode
or are intended to do So and 1t is possible for
one of them completely to destroy a powerful
vessel Ii has been said they have firing
range Of six miles. Certain it is that the further
they pass out the deadlier they become In con-
tact. The last annual report of the CHIEF o:
Engineers only recently submitted to Congress
sets forth briefly what has been accomplished
through the intermediate report If Colonel
Gillespie. who has immediate charge of Fort
Hancock This report likewise contains one
from the hand of General Abbot regarding the
accuracy OF fire attained by the mortars when
trained In battery fire on a given object. Il was
found possible to attain almost absolute pre-
cision, but when that test was made it is under
stood the preparations were Of the most
elaborate and painstakng character. This
proper enough sort of preliminary test.
but what is needed according to the military
experts is battery which be fired at will
under stress of conditions and at rapidly
moving vessels along the line Of fire. Eventu-
ally. as is well-known, the entire expanse of
ocean leading up to the channel will be plotted,
the range for each square Of the gigantic marine
checker board will be accurately learned by
range-hndcrs and the results tabulated and
possibly memoriZed by the future occupants of
the coming tower. which is also an image OF the
future.
1t is understood that the most of the electric
apparatus Is in such readiness that the wires
be speedily connected to perfect all neces-
sary circuits. But the ideal of the coast mill
tary defence officer is hardly reached when
test is conducted upon lines laid laboriousy
down on the previous day by an engineer with
a transit planted on an embankment and meas
uring lines and angles rs carefully as II the
dc "A
ton of the National fabric. Add to this some
hours passed in laborious preparation of the
immense mortars for this same sort OF test so
that each one is fastened with absolute exact
ness to it's range point. What is dreamed Of by
the officers is a completeness Of arrangements
which will render speedy work effective in the
face Of actual hOstlitles.
NATURAL ADVANTAGES
Looking from the Hook out to sea and then
back toward Forts Wadsworth and Hamilton at
the Narrows. with the intervening lower Bay
and its serpentne channel. whose course is 50
well understood by coast defence arterymen,
equipped as they are with elaborate charts show
ing every curve and shallow. can well under
stand how it is possible to make this harbor i'm
pregnable from marine attack. To look over the
gtterng waters Of old ocean and the Lower
Bay the Narrows and the graceful sweeping
curves Of the Upper Bay, and so To measure the
possibilities is enough to make the observer wish
that he may be there to witness the destruction
from hurting shot and screaming. bursting
she'll IL that day of destruction ever dawns. The
long-range guns at the Hook open the entertain
ment and should a hostile fleet ever gain en-
trance to the Lower Bay. It's ships would be sim
ply circled about with the hurricane Of death From
behind them are the guns at the Hook; directly
I'm frAnt are the batteries Of Fort Wadsworth and
the completed batteries adjoining that fortfca-
tlon getting A quarter rake fire From across the
Bay the guns Of Font Hamilton lend their diapa
son to this symphony of death securing clean
raking fire almost broadsde on at the moving
ships OF the enemy.
out on the shadows are turrets containing
monster guns and on NOrt0n's Point are more
powerful adjudlcators eloquently voicns their
sentiments in the arbtrament Of arms Water
batteries and monitors hurl defiance from yawn-
ing steel thrOats If the scheme of defence Is
ever completed no fleet ever yet constructed can
hone 70 run this solid gauntlet OF fire. If any
esca ned the shells. they would be sunk by the
torpedoes but 1t Is the firm belief that no tor
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