New-York tribune., 1902-08-30
ARMY AND NAVY WAR.
THE JOINT MANOEUVRES BE-
GAN AT .NIDNIGHT.
NO FIGHT BEFORE TOMORROW NIGHT
ATTACK EXPECTED AT FORT
H. G. WRIGHT
fBr TELEGRAPH To THE TR1sUSE.I

TBT TELEGRAPH To TIE TRIsUSE1
New-London. Conn, Aug 29-At midnlgnt
tonight the army and navy will be engaged in
warfare. and for the next ten days constant
and unremitting struggle will be carried on oy
both branches The army has before 1t the
problem of detecting the approach of hostile
fleet by signal service. balloon. wireless teles-
raphy and heHograph. apprsing the forts OF
the coming of the enemy Then they have also
TO repuIse the attack of the fleet
The fleet may attack in broad daylight. sail
ing boldly before the guns Of the forts. over the
mines and the torpedoes sunk in the channel.
or II NAV take advantage of fog darkness
TO try to steal by he forts nd through the mar
row channel swept bv a dozen searchllsnts' and
anchor far inside the defences. This Would De d
notable achievement. for, theoretically view"
York would be at the mercy of the foe 1t may
also land detachments. cut cables, capture Sig
nal stations searChlights and detachrnents or
men scattered along the coast, thereby minimiz-
ing the danger of detection
1t is generally believed among army officers
here that the navy will use smaller ships to
worry and feint and suddenly mass the battle
ships and cruisers at an unexpected point
To understand the game a knowledge OF
the topography of the country IS necessary
From the northeastern end of Long Island 20
the southwestern coast of Rhode Island, seal
ing the entrance TO Long Island Sound, runs a
huge sand bar. This bar is cut at nurnoer
of points by channels. only two or Whicn are
availabl for the big ships. These are the
Eaca a vrida straight channel. and Plum Gut.
narrow and winding The Race is something
moro than three miles wide. On one side -
Fort H. g. Wright. on the other Fort Niche
1t cannot be mined. because the current rusnes
through it at eight miles an hour Az tnis
channel the army has concentrated the greater
mart of it's preparation. Forts H. IT, Wrlshl
and Niche have been filled with reinforcements
and target practice and searchi1sht driiis haSo
been going on for days
Ar ,ba very northeastern tip OF Long Island
is q little channel cutting off Plum Island from
the main shore Here is the only other passage
the feet can use This is commanded by Fort
Terry. The garrison here has been increased
from two companies to nine. and constant
work has been done. The channel is tortuous
and the current swift
II is also POSSIBLE for Admiral Higginson's
aaA+ m reduce the forts defending Newport,
seize the city as a naval base and win the
came But the entrance to Newport is narrow,
strongly defended and susceptible of mining and
Of being blocked by the sinking OF ships. and IL
is generally doubted here whether the attempt
will be made
Watch Fort n g. Wright is the advice
given by army officers Here they have concen-
trated their best strength. Here the great oS-
inch searcbIights the largest in the country.
sweep the race. and the many other lights VIII
watch eagerly for a glimpse of the white prov
of an enemy Directly back of Fort Wright
lies New-London and General Macarthur
headouarters so IL Newport escapes. Newton
don will hear the first sounds of battle
Army officers here were greatly excited to-day
by the discovery that naval representatives IN
civilian clothes had been examining the fortih-
cations both here and at Earragansett and
we're in possession of every detail OF fnror111a-
ton concerning the preparations IF there IS
ANYTHING that they don't know. I can't under
stand what IL is said General Greedy last
night THE one satisfaction that is left Is the
realization that We piped them off and would
have them all strung up by this time IL real
war existed.
Hard luck has followed the balloon detach-
nent's preparations The balloon which was
ordered last week has not yet arrived II has
not even reached New-York. The same i'll luck
that pursued the balloon work in Cuba con-
tnues here General Greedy expressed grave
doubts tonight to the possibility Of getting
the balloon in shape at this late date. More
over. an explosion at Fort Myer. Virginia. de-
stroyed the machinery for filing the pipes with
the gas used in the balloon. and there is no
factory In the country which replace the
loss. As a result, the balloon corps will have
only half as much gas as is needed.
General Macarthur spent the day at Newport
inspecting the forts, and there has been a. day
of comparative rest at the forts near here. Fort
Terry, Plum Island, the only place where
there target practice From New-London
Harbor the low shore line OF Plum Island was
plainly visible and above il foated large white
clouds of smoke while the reports Jared the
windows in the Casino
The signal corps continues to be the busiest
branch of the service officers are arriving and
departing at all hours The Connecticut signal
corps is now at work New-York is also to be
represented Sixteen members of the First
New-York Signal Corps have volunteered. and
will reach here tomorrow morning. To their
commander. Captain Oscar Eilandersen, General
Greedy sent the following dispatch:
Appreciate thoroughly the professional zeal
which caused First Signal Corps, N q. N Y to
offer it's services and TO furnish it's own ratfcns
and transportation Accept your offer, and ask
YOU TO report at New-LOndon where Captstn
Edgar Russell will have instructions regarding
assignments of men,
Captain Eilandersen answered follows.
Lieutenant McKibben. electrical engineer; two
sergeants. excellent signal men; twelve privatss
mostly men. and myself leave Friday ON
midnight train for New-London- VIII carry
complete personal equipments, signal kits and
heliOgraphs
Tomorrow morning two companies of coast
artillery of the Connecticut National Guard will
leave here for Fort Terry. Several detachn,ents
have already been sent there On Sunday the
naval militia of Connecticut will arrive here and
be taken board the Panther. which is stiil
lying in the lower harbor- They will be dis
tributed over the fleet The Puritan and the
Scorpion. which had been at the coaling station