The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1896-12-04
PREPARING FOR WAR.

Within few years. says the Baltimore
Sun. Baltimore will be one of the best for
tilted cities along the Atlantic coast.
general plan of defense for the city
has been carefully prepared by the United
states engineering corps, and work on the
plans is rapidly going forward. The total
cost of the system of defcnses will be
about 81 800, 900, and will not be completed
for some years. Col. Peter c. Hams, of
the United States eng ineers' corps, who is
located in Baltimore, has supervision of
the work
The system will consist of gun batteries
located at Hawkins Point and Rock Point,
on Anne Arundel county side of the Pa
tapsco river, and ut North Point, on the
Baltimore county side. These will be con-
structed Of concrete, earth and sand. The
contract for the North Point battery has
been awarded to Sanford Il Brooks, of
Baltimore. Proposals for the Hawkins
Point battery were opened on Saturday,
but the contract was not awarded. The
bidders, and the aggregate amount of their
bids, are:
Isaac S. Filbert, Baltimore, $l31, sos 30;
Nardin Il Andrews. Baltimore, $40, 5ls .05;
Douglas Il Anderson, Baltimore, S126,-
1874 10; John J. Shipman, Washingto ID.
c., $133,246: John l.. Grim, Philadelphia,
$l4l.512.10; Henry Smith 4 Sons, Balti-
more, $l35, $3.50: Owen Patterson, Balti-
more, $165, $3.50; Sandford l. Brooks,
Baltimore, $3.50, SOS. go; Jones, Pollard Il
Co., 1922, O64 .46; Maryland Manufacturing
and Construction Company, Baltimore,
*l51 ,355.26. The proposals will be for
warded to the War Department at Wash
ington.
Fort Carroll, in the Patapsco river, is
the central and Il most important point in
the general scheme of defense. The fort
will be altered somewhat, its construction
completed and it will be equipped with
improved guns. Across the river from
the fort and between the batteries will be
a system of submarine tnrpedoes which
would destroy any warship that mi ght run
the gauntlet of the batteries. The fort
and the batteries will all be supplied with
heavy, long range guns, and, when COM
pleted, will be permanently occupied by
federal troops. The number of guns to
each battery will probably not exceed
twelve and about the same number will be
placed in Fort Carroll. When the fort
was being constructed, many years ago,
provision was made in it for | - guns, the
engineer corps then believing that Il great
number of guns at each fort and battery
in the general systcmn of coast defense
was necessary. The later scheme of de-
Tense relies more on few guns of great
power and complete system of torpedoes.
In speaking of the city's waterfront de-
Tense Colonel Hams said: The plan which
is being carried out will practically insure
Baltimore against an invasion by a hostile
fleet. Baltimore is comparatively easy to
defend because of its location. With the
batteries which will be constructed and
ho Of To- ", b.,,, h
of the Patapsco river will be guarded by
long-range guns which can sweep the bay
for miles. The work as planned will take
some time to complete. If all the money
in the United States treasury was at our
command we could not erect the batteries
in one year.
Until the plan of defense is completed
the city will have little defense against
warships. There is none now. All we
could do if compelled to meet an emer-
gency at the present time would be to sink
vessels in the channels in the river and
throw out a system of torpedoes. The
sunken vessels would, of course, prevent
the passage of large warships up into the
harbor, but they would just as effectively
prevent our own vessels from going out
into the bay. There are also a few old
guns in Fort Carroll which might be used,
but the fort itself would need attention.
as the south wall has never been COM
pleted and the interior would be exposed
to an enemys fire. The fort would also
be useful in arranging system of torpe-
does which might be made to do effective
work. The defense of the city is, there
fore, most imperfect. but when the new
plan has been carried ont little apprchen-
sion need be felt of destruction from the
watar