The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-23

tween Cojimar and Carmelo On the shore
side the battery is protected against in-
fantry attack by a slight stone wall,
abundantly loopholed for musketry fire.
Strong as La Playa del Chivo is in one
sense, it possesses one fatal defect In the
fact that the great Krupps are mounted
high above the parapet of sand, complete
~ exposing both guns and carriages 10
the fire of ships.
A mile or so further TO the eastward
stands another sand battery of similar con-
struction, mounting four s-inch Hontoria
rifles and as many small mortars.@ The
battery is too far distant and It's arma'
ment is too weak to play more than
minor part either in the defense of the
city or in that of the little haven at Coji-
mar, which the British selected as land
inb place and which may serve our own
troops for the same purpose.
From Cojimar, where the shore end of
the cable lands, there is a fine high road
running to Guanabacoa, whence two rail-
roads run to Havana and another runs
through the wilderness or "manigua,"
past the two sand batteries, to the Moro
and La Cabana. 1t is unlikely, however
that our forces would give much atten-
ton to these approaches to the town.
To the westward of the harbor entrance
the shore of the city, lined, be il remem-
some suburban residences, extends for
three miles or so around shallow bay, at
the eastern horn of which Is the ancient
Punta, comparable to our own Castle Will
liam on Governors Island, and If posi-
BILE, even less mllitarily valuable. Next
to 1t and in immediate proximity TO a
crowded district is the Battery La Reina,
hopelessly obsolete masonry work
mounting a half dozen or so old n1uzzie
leaders of American make.
A few blocks to the westward lies the
great Santa Clara battery, the only work
that is calculated TO give any trouble 10
our men behind the guns"
If Santa Clara were placed as our Sandy
Hook batteries are, twenty miles from the
city, she might sbe fairly hard nut for
us to crack, but her gunners will fight
under the depressing influence of the fact
that every American shot that misses the
parapet will land in the city beyond.
Santa Clara is a combination of earth
swork and the kind of concrete work that
is now generally employed in modern for
tnications. defect only second TO its
position, rendered unavoidable by the top
ographical conditions, is its armament.
This is heavy enough, as tar as the calibcr
of the pieces is concerned, but Il is badly
deficient in quality. It consists OF two
long 12-inch Ordonez guns and three
Krupps of the same caliber. 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 cond-
tons, 1t is not surprising that one Vt the
gun tubes cracked during the experimental
Stirring a year ago.
II Is reported that the emplacement Of
the companion gun became so depressed
at the same time as to almost completely
disable the piece. This, however, has
probably been remedied The three krupps
are serviceable weapons, but are OF the
I old-fashioned short type, in no way COM.
para BILE to the modern long high-power
| guns such as are mounted In our ships
and forts. Another defect 10 the Santa
Clara battery Is the fact that its guns
are deficient in train, particularly to the
westward from which quarter the attack
of the feet will probably be directed
On the beach, just below Santa Clara
and about 300 yards 10 the westward, lies
a little masonry battery, mounting four
mortars of but 8-inch caiber. An idea Of
its utter ineficiency may be gathered from
the fact that the steel breech-ioading NOR
tars of our coast defence service are Of
Pinch caliber, and are mounted in groups
of four, with four groups in each battery,
defended not by fiimsy masonry, but sunk
in deep pits protected by forty or fifty
feet OF earth. .t
At the foot OF II street, a mile or so
further westward. lies another battery,
with a fine armament of four Hontoria
steel rifles. two of 10 and two Of 6-inch
calibre. Here the utter imbecility OF the
Spanish military engineers Is seen at its
best. Instead of mounting these splendid
guns behind heavy earthworks, as IS The
modern practice la all countries, their
muzzles rise in barbette above nothing
better than simple masonry. Fine mason