Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-03-23
THE "P|NES" BATTERY
Watch Dog of Hampton
Roads Nearly Completed.
ENGINES OF DESTRUCTION


When the people OF this section of
the country read of the danger of war
between the Uuited States and .,pai
in the daily papers, they Should bear
m nll.ld that 'tlley are behind the guns
OF FORTRESS Monroe, and have Uncle
Sans mieatiest fortification to protect
them.
The worfl ON the new mortars at thu
spines' has been nearly finished, and
this battery will nearly double tire eff
fecr.veness of the already strong for
tifications at Old Point Comfort. Fort
Monroe has long been considered our
strongest coast defense point, and with
this powerful addition there will be no
longer any DOUBT about it's superiority.
The new battery is located about q
mile up the beacl from the old fortiti-
cation 1T will be known as the Pines
Battery 'l1eca use it is concealed in a
pine tree forest which extends up the
beach for some distance above the fort.
While this new fertilization is spoken
OF as one battery. in reality ii con-
sists of four. There are sixteen I2-inch
mortars at the pines" which Will he
divided into four BATTERIES of four NOR
tars each. The shells used III these
engines of war are twelve inches in
diameter. and are divided into two
classes. one class weighing 500 pounds
and the other 1000 pounds. That terri
bic damage would be done wherever one
oil these huge death dealing projectiles
The new defenders of Hampton Roads
are on the government reservation, and
With the breast works and magazines
included. cover about three acres OF
ground The batteries all face C,hesa-
pt-ake Bay and are on line Wit the
ia-al.ih LOO
The most improved of modern inven-
tons will be used to furnish communl-
cation With the main fort. and COM
,plete telephone and telegraph system
;11i =, txx-,, Vic I'm ga
OF war the orders regulating u4e NOR
tar batteries would be telegraphed
from the headquarters in the fort to the
officer in command at the PINS He,
in turn. would execute them.
The mor;arS have a 2ange, OF from
two and one half to SIX miles. and
coiuld sink the finest ship that ever
tlo.a ted if it came inside this limit. AS
the carriages ON which the mortars a1s
mounted will revoive at least $50 de
these short guns. In case of war. if u
vessel should get past the Rip Ra ps. the
mortar carriages could be turned so as
TO put Hampton Roads under their fire,
burt it is highly improbable that an enc
my's Warsh.p could get that fart
wcnld probably be sent to the bottom
before II had even passed Old Point.
The breast works and ,ramhparts of the
fortification are composed of concrete
and sand, and are from thirty to forty
feet high. me rampant is gwen US
shapa by the concrete. which is the
inner lining of the breastworks, and
The sand IS piled on top to a thickness
OF from twelve to fifteen feet, and
packed hard This makes the best
breastwork in the world for withstand
ing the effects of a shower of shot and
SHELL and as the sand is some fifty
feet in thickness from the outside of
the fort to the inside, there is every
reason TO believe that it could protect
the batteries. which are behind 1t.
AS soon as the work is fully COM
pleted the new batteries Will be gar
r.soned and field offcei--probably Ma
jGr Tiernon-will be placed in com
mand OF course, this officer Win be
under Colonel Franks orders. The
pines will be part of the F'artTess
Monroe garrison.
TIE work on the fertilization Will be
completed in about two weeks, and al
| the end of that time vii! be in ex-
cenent fighting trim. Il can be sta ted
| on good authority that in al probabil-
| ity the Rip Raps will be fortified some
| TIM. during the ensuing year, and that
! guns will be mounted at WiNoughby
| Spi, at the same time.
I Four new ten inch breech loading RI
fies will be mounted or the beach be-
! tween the pines and the fort in the
near future. The work OF mounting
these gums Wilt probably be finished by
the close of the coming summer.