The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-07-24

BEFORE them lay charts or the sea
area that they were guarding. Let
ship come within the limit of their APP
paratus, and In the time required to
speak into a telephone thef gun pits
miles away down the defense line
would crack with the explosion OF tons
Of smoke1ess powder.
But under the iron vissges was weak
ness. In none of the defenses on this
morning when the time had come for
their test, were there more than one
half the number of men required to
hold them.
They could fight the guns, so long as
the action remained a ship to fort ac-
don, but if the enemy attacked at the
rear, from the land, they were not in
sufficient force to meet him and throw
him back Attacked from the land
the men of the defenses would have to
retire to the inner keep and fight from
shelter with rapid fire guns. And when
the defenses thus began to defend
themselves their hour would have
struck
Still, for the time they were deadly.
The enemy feet paid them the supreme
tribute Of scrupulous respect. Not a
vessel ventured after dawn into the
deadly circle of their reach. To make
sure that no vessel should expose it
self by accident, the minelayers Of the
enemy feet were even then moving
well outside of the zone OF extreme fire,
and laying immense steel buoys, paint
ed a vivid scarlet.
These scarlet buoys outlined an area
Of safety that was shaped somewhat
like pentagon with its apex at Block
island and its base on the Rhode Island
coast between Watch Hill and Point
Judith.
It was base marking out five miles
of beach that was safe both from the
fire of the Long Island sound defenses
shooting eastward over the water along
the Rhode Island shore, and from the
shots of the Narragansett defenses
firing over Rhode Island from within.
Here daylight revealed a land oc-
cupied in orderly, quiet, perfect mill
tary manner. Inland, as far as the
naval guns could protect them, lay the
men of the advance landing party be.
hind their machine gun positions. For
miles beyond that, east and west, their
patrols had cut telegraph and tele-
phone wires, and occupied points that
commanded roads by. which attacking
forces might approach.
On the beach, where the blocks and
tackle and hosting derricks had been
rugged in the night. gun floats were be
ing brought to the beach with cannon
and caissons.
There motortrucks and traction en-
gines, all brought to land during the
night, took them and hurried them tx
positions ready for fight or to parl
them ready for moving when the ad
vance should begin.
From vantage points inland, from
hills on Fishers island, from such ven
turesome spies as Mo, went the new,
to Washington and so through the land
The crowds in the cities, dense even a
that early hour of the morning, read OF
the bulletin boards:
Enemy effected landing during thu
| OA hAlOOC DtLdECuA NdIId
gansett bay and Long Island sound
Transports are now close in. preparinl
/ to put troops ashore. Scouts report fou
liners. aggregating 100000 tons. Arm,
officials estimate that at the usual al
lowance OF two men per ton this mean
$4,000 men, More transports waitinj
under Block Island"
Now is the time to strike 'em," crieI
the men, before they can bring NOR
forces ashore! They should have bee
attacked in the night! What kind o
generals have we got, to let 'em Ian
instead OF throwing 'em back into tn
sea as fast as they come? Where i
our army? Keeping itself safer
The army. with 10000 civilian work
ers impressed as they were needed
was destroying the railroads of south
ern New England. 1t was tearing u
the shore line OF the New York, NeN
Haven and Hartford railroad froI
New Haven to New London and fror
New London to Providence 1t wa
throwing the rails on nat cars to b
whirled away westward and nortl
ward. Concrete and stone embanl
ments, steel bridges and tunnels wer
sent skyward through the night wit
dynamite.