The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-28
FORCING A PASSAGE.
How Great Britain Entered the
Dardanelles in 1873.
A British Naval Offlccr's Vivid Des-
cription of the Event


or an American feet was about TO force
the Dardanelles has caused many persons
abroad 20 publish "reminiscences of the
time when the passage Of the straits was
forced by Admiral Hornby, acting upon
orders from London.
IL was in February, 1878 For months
England had been in fever Of excitement
over the operations of the Russian troops
against the Turks. The popular agitation
became tumultuous as the reports of Rus
sia's S advance toward Constantinople were
flashed across the continent. One night
false rumor that Russian soldiers had ap-
peared in the suburbs of the sultan's capi-
tai spread panic through the house of COM
mons and brought TO the doors of parlia-
ment a mob had howled for revenge and
war.
Long before the Dardanelles were forced
the admiral's plan Of operations had been
laid before the naval authorities in Lon
don 1t was as follows:
The Agincourt and Achilles we're to en-
deayor 70 silence the guns In Fort Namas-
ghia. the flrsc Of the Turkish defenses to
be passed, mounting, it was reported, some
90 heavy modern guns, Krupps and Arm
stroDgs, at the same time keeping far
enough down stream TO be out of range of
some old fashioned monster bronze guns
mounted at the castle of Kilid Bahar, a
little above, and also firing their starboard
bow guns at the Sultanieh fort on the OPP
posite side of the straits.
The Alexandra and Sultan were to un-
dertake the destruction of the 90 ton
Krupp gun at Fort Tchernak, and with
their port guns at the Same time to engage
any forts on the European side which
should oman nrn on thnp1 Tho Sxviftatfra
and Temeraire were meanwhile to pass on
to the attack of the Hamazieh fort, the
strongest OF all the forts, mounting 13 six
inch breechloading Krupp guns, and to do
as much damage as possible until the other
ships were free 20 60 TO their assistance.
There remained but the fort OF Niagara,
24 miles farther ON, which would be dealt
with as opportunity served when the 9TH
ers had been settled.
On Feb. 12 at o'clock I'm the afternoon
the admiral at last received the order to
make his way into the sea of Marmora AT
daylight on Feb. 13 he weighed anchor
from Besika. There was a strong north
east wind at the time. 1t showed, and the
weather in general was described officially
as Every thick" How the passage was
made is told thus in letter from an officer
aboard one of the warships;
EVERY preparation for active retaliation
was made, all the men being fully armed
and stationed at quarters and the tops I'LL
ed with ri1emen and gatlngs. Torpedo
defenses were prepared, water tight doors
closed, and the broadside guns loaded with
full charges and shrapnel. Our orders were
TO make no hostile demonstration, while If
the forts opened fire care was TO be taken
TO fire only at tho guns and batteries and
TO injuro the houses as little as possible
We neared the 90 ton Krupp mounted on
the earthwork near Tchernak at n speed of
eight knots, In the midst of dense fog
and half n gale of wind and snow, having
to pass within 200 yards Of this formidable
piece, against whose shot armor would
have proved of very little use. Had it open
ed fire, our orders were to dismount the
gun and destroy the works round IL.
"As we camo on in single line ahead on
board every ship brcathless silence reigned,
broken only by tho dull thud, thud, thud
of the engines At tho guns stood their
crews, one man ready to slip out the tam
pion, others to run the gun out, while the
captain of each gun stood immovable, Ian
yard in hand and outstretohed, ready for
that one jerk which would have GENT an
enormous shell flying on its deadly crrand
Our hearts were in our mouths as the flag
ship came abreast Of tho Tcheruak gun;
the puff of smoke, the flash, the reyerberat-
ing crash were intontly watched for, while
every minute seemed a whole year But
nothing happened, and then tho tension
was relieved for we had passed the first
line in peace.
'As tho feet proceeded after this the
wind increased, tho fog grow denser, tho
snow and slect fell ore thickly still,
while the current ran dead against the
ships. In these circumstances and in this
weather were the narrows Of the straits
where they contract 90 less than three
quarters of n mile across traversed safely.
After that came tho forts OF ZOcala and
Hamazeh, which also wero passed In tho
same breathless silence as before lt was
here, wo had been told, that tho Turkish
torpcdoes aud submarine mines had boen
thickly sown right across the channel
But no. again all was well with us Moth
ing occurred Co bar our progress up tho
straits, no torpedo exploded under our bot
tom, no shot or shell came crashing against
our sides. When Cape Sostos was passed,
the guns wero unloadcd and the ammuni-
tion returned to the magazines, ns thence
forth the passage permanently widened to
"a general width Of some two miles across. "
Sir Michael Culme- Seymour, the present
commander I'm chief of Great Britain's
Mediterranean fleet, took part in tho pas.
sage as commander Of the Temoroire.
As regards the difficulties 10 ne cncoun-
tered by feet trying 20 pass the Darda-
nelles nowadays i'm the face Of Turkish OPP
position, the Constautinople correspondent
Of the London Daily Graphic says:
"The numerous forts we passed between
Kun Kalah aud Gallipoli presented a
most formidable appearance, and this was
especially noticeable at Chanak Kalessi.
whore every ship that passes Up Co Con-
rantinople must stop and have its payers
Inspected The channel Is not more than
q mile in width nc this point, and immedi-