New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-04

WHICH On
attack and bo1nbardment. the most spectacular
of all the problems Of the present nan9uvres.
Tho SCENE from fhn walls of Fort Wright in
This mornings attack was sight at once heaull-
f,1l and ave inspiring. As the fleet. in column
formation moved on the fort the slantfng rays
of the sun caught them hroadsde and ther
white hulls Slistened. The mist Of the night mao
cleared away. and the morning breeze gave 10
the clear atmosphere a bracing touch, The
sandy shores Of the islands. surmounted by the
low mounds Of earthvorks. stood out with Won
derful clearness. As the signal watchers caught
sight Of the fleet the warning gun sounded and
in q moment the hundreds of men who had
snen+ the night sleeping beside the big guns
sprang TO arms.
II was 80 o'clock when one of the great L.
inch guns at Fort H. c. Wright opened the
fight firing at the range Of siXty-fve hundred
yards lently the feet approached, the sound
of the firing receiving no answer. save to spur
the fleet to greater speed. Grim and silent, their
bows pIoughinE great white burrows as they ad-
vanced. the battleships sailed on. For thou
sand yards the army mad the firing to them
selves Then the battleships reached effective
range The great bow guns Of the Kearsarge
broke the navy's silence. Battery after battery
took up the work But every possible gun was
focused on Fort Wright. The sharp firing from
Fort Niche was utterly dtsregarded, and Fort
H G. Wright alone received the full fury Of the
attack.
BATTERIES IN ACTION.
Fsv this time the 12-inch 1O-inch and mortar
batteries of Fort Wright were all engaged. As
the feet passed Prospect Mount they concen-
trated their secondary batteries upon the signal
station. and in a few seconds put IL con
structively out Of business. On and on the
great ships went. obliyious 20 the fire OF all the
forts Every ship making her maximum
speed. and the passage of the Race was mat
ter OF minutes Once through the Race, they
turned in d wide circle and passed into Fishers
Island Sound, and came To anchor about -FOUR
miles off the entrance to New-London Harbor,
Here they were out OF fire from the guns of the
fort, and were able. unmolested, TO pour their
entire fire into the rear of the defenees. If one
single ship of the fleet ran clear OF the fire
which they encountered. Fort II. G. Wright was
silenced. and the most important defence 10 the
Sound was constructfvely out of the game,
At $500 yards the range best liked for the
guns both sides. the ships Of the fleet re
ceived the concentrated fire from forts Niche
and Wright alike for more than half an hour
This fire. deliberate. steady and sustained. IS
believed to be sufficient to sink any feet that
attempted the passage. Here was no question
of discovery Boldly and without any attempt
at concealnent the feet approached. engaged
and ran the batteries of the forts and entered
the undefended waters of the Sound.
FLEET REPORTED DISABLED.
At 10 o'clock General Macarthur received the
following terse summary of the action:
Prospect Hill. September 3 1902. 9:10 a. m
Chief Of Staff. Fort Trumbull, Conn Fire
Commander Fort II. O. Wright, reports hrst
ship Kearsarge put out of action at 90 a m,
the second ship Massac husetts, put out Of &C
ton at J:2T: third ship, Alabama, put out of
action at 30: fourth ship. Indiana, put out of
action 5.35 m All the ships were afterwards
repeatedly fired upon by all the guns az short
range, three to four thousand yards, and could
have beer declared out of action several times
over. Indiana also put out Of action at 6:37 a.
m. by fire from Fort Niche. DAVIS.
The first gun fired reused General Macarthur
and his staff whD were sleeping at Fort TruIn-
bull. 1t took only few moments for the gen
era and his aids to board the Kanawha, and
long before the fight was over The little yacht
of the commanding general in the midst
Of the combat. Under the rules of the game
the person of the commanding general is safe
from capture. and in the midst of his enemies
General Macarthur witnessed the conflict. The
ships were only couple of miles off Eastern
Point as they lay in Fishers Island Sound, and
sounds of the firing reused hur dreds of the
summer colony, who witnessed the combat from
the shore.
General MacArthur's official report to the
War Department on the engagement was posted
this morning and read as follows
Enemy's fleet inactive yesterday after return
ing to base indicated in last telegram.
Movement and location of all ships reported
hourly. At 80 this morning the Alabama the
kearsarge, the Massachusetts and the Indiana
sighted moving on Fort Wright $500 yards.
AT once engaged all guns Niche assisting.
Ships passed through the Race along entire
front and returned same route in single column
under concentrated and well sustained fire of
all large and small Calbre and rapid fire guns
OF Wright, and Finch battery of Niche Fire
commander at Wright claims all ships We're put
out of action Niche claims at least one ship
out AT go the Puritan, the Brooklyn and two
unidentified ships sighted in Buzzards
Bay, in the vicinity OF Rodrnan
The action at Fort Wright above described
was, perhaps, as fine a practical exemphfication
OF the ART OF war as is possible in a peace
manGuvre Pretty nearly every element of
reailSfn was present. excepting the tragedy the
moulding effect of which in real war, of course,
determines all final results In this instance
the naval tactical conception was bold, and the
execution brllhant, and if undertaken in actual
operations would have to be classified as an ex-
ample OF splendid audacity or reckless tenerity.
according to the result
THE ARTILLERY DEFENCE.
The artillery defence was all that could pos
sibiy be desired. All that the armament was
capable Of was developed to the limit of pos
sibilfty. The service OF the guns and the fire
control system. without being absolutely per-
feet enabled the IRE commanders to direct an
full effect Of which was replete with Suggestive
incidents which will be described later in de-