Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-05-10

Strong Cne-How an Army Could Land.
Probably on no subject connected
with the threatened war is there q
greater extent of popular misconception
than on that of the defenses of the city
of Havana. Tt will probably be a sur
Prise to most Americans to learn that
that gorgeously picturesque old forta-
lice, MORO Castle, the bombardment of
which appears to the popular mind as
the indispensable preliminary to the
capture of the Cuban capital, is, so far
as its military value is concerned, a
majestic myth. Whatever work cur
fleet may have to do before Havana it
cannot afford to waste ammunition on
the Moro. And the same is true of the
wonderful fortress of La Cabana, whose
toothless ramparts crown the heights
on the eastern shore Of the harbor.
The modern defenses of Havana, with
the exception Of torpedoes, which, as
will be shown, cut but small figure in
the problem OF attack, have been
erected on the seacoast, eastward and
westward of the mouth of the harbor.
10 the eastward the first position that
demands attention is en- outwork of
MORO Castle, called Battery Velaseo,
which mounts three heavy Krupp guns
of an obsolete type, and three 8 inch
American Parrot rluzzle leaders, guns
OF the style that became obsolete 25
years ago. These are mounted behind
masonry and offer no obstacle to the at.
tack OF even unarmored ships On the
harbor front OF the MORO is a water
battery mounting en- barbette five an =.
clent cast iron muzzle leaders, fOrmida
bic enough to the eyes of the tourist en-
tering the harbor. but as valueless in a
military sense as SO many classical cata-
pulls.
About mile to the eastward of the
MORO stands the only approach to a
formidable modern work which is called
the Playa Gel Chivo battery. It mounts
two enormous IL inch Krupps of the
very latest type, two or three small
mortars and two pound rapid fire
guns. These are apparently designed to
prevent boat from landing, il singular
| oblivion Of the fact that the rocky shore,
| upon which a surf beats necessarily, is
OF such a character as TO absolutely pre-.
clude the possibility Of landing troops
| anywhere between Cojimar and Car.
melo. On the shore side the battery is
protected against infantry attack by a
light stone wall, abundantly loopholed
for musketry fire. Strong as La Playa
del Chlvo is in enc sense, it possesses one
fatal defect il the fact that the great
hrupps are mounted high above the
parapet of sand, completely exposing
both guns and carriages to the fire Of
ships.
n milo or so further TO the eastward
stands another sand battery Of similar
construction, mounting four inch Hon.
toria rifles and as tnepy small mortars.
The battery is too far distant and its.
armament is too weak to play more than
a minor part either in the defense of the
city or in that Of the little haven at
Cojimar, which the British selected as
landing place and which may serve
cur own troops fer the same purpose.
To the westward Of the harbor en-.
trance the shore of the city. lined. be it
remembered, with closely built streets
and handsome suburban residences, ex-
tends for three miles or SO around
shallow bay, at the eastern horn Of
which is the ancient Punta, comparable
to our own Castle William on Govern
ors island and, If possible, even less
militarily valuable. Next to it and in
immediate proximity to a crowded dis
trict Is the battery La Reina, hope
iessly obsolete masonry work mounting
q half dozen or so old muzzle leaders of
American make. \ few blocks to the
westward lies tho great Santa Clara
battery, the only work that is calculat-
ed TO give any trouble to our ''men be-
hind the guns
Santa Clara is g combination OF earth.
work and the kind of concrete work
that is now generally employed in mod
ern Qualifications. a defect only second
&c its position, rendered unavoidable by
the Typographical conditions, is its
armament. This is heavy enough as far
as the oaliber Of the pieces is concerned,
but it is badly deficient i'll quality. 1t
consists of two long ~ inch Ordonez
guns and three krupps Of the same cali
Der. The Ordonez guns are Spanish
pieces. with nothing to recommend
their system Of construction beyond
economy, consisting as they do OF steel
tubes REINFORCED by nothing better than
cast iron jackets Under these condi-
tons 1t Is not surprising that one Of the
gun tubes cracked during the expert
mental firing a year ago. The three
Krupps are serviceable weapons, but
are of the old fashioned short tyne. in
no way comparable to the modern long
high power guns such as are mounted
in our ships and forts. Another defect
in the Santa Clara battery is the fact
that Its guns are deficient in train, par
ticularly to the westward, from which
quarter the attack Of the feet will prob.
ably be directed.
On the beach, just below Santa Clara
and about 800 yards to the westward,
lies a little masonry battery, mounting
four mortars Of but inch caliber. An
idea OF its utter inefficiency may be
gathered from the fact that the steel
breechloading mortars of our coast de-
Tense service are Of II inch caliber and
are mounted in uroups nf four with