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Island sound or against more southern cities, would equally alarm the country in that direction. If, in short, he merely contented himself with menacing the coast, it is difficult to estimate the embarrassment and expense into which he would drive the government.

Of the existing forts, viz: Fort Adams, Dumpling Tower, fort on Rose island, Fort Wolcott, and Fort Green, the two latter are the only ones retained in the projected system of defence. Fort Adams, besides being entirely unsuited to the important position it occupies, is in ruins, and the Dumpling Tower, and fort on Rose island, also very inconsiderable works, were never more than partially completed.

The project of defence proposed by the board contemplates for the middle channel a strong fort with outworks on Brenton's Point, another on the Dumplings, a smaller fort on Rose island, and the preservation of Fort Wolcott and and Fort Green. The eastern passage is already shut by the permanent bridge at Howland's ferry. As to the western passage, three modes present themselves. First Reducing the depth of water by an artificial ledge, so as to prevent the passage of ships-of-war. Second. Relying on fortifications alone to close the passage; or third. Resorting in part to one and in part to other means just mentioned. Being the least expensive and most certain, the board have founded the estimate on the first. The total expense of Narragansett defences will be $1.817,578 26.

Stonington harbor, Connecticut, and Sag Harbor, New York.-These harbors have not been surveyed, and the board are therefore unable to give any information as to the kind of defences they require or their probable cost.

Gardiner's bay. The most valuable harbor to an enemy investing this part of the coast is probably not defensible by fortifications. It has not, however, been surveyed; and at some future day it may be a very interesting question whether by steam batteries, under the protection of and aided by fortifications, its defence may not be accomplished.

New London harbor.*-New London harbor is very important to the commerce of Long Island sound, and as a port of easy access, having a great depth of water, never freezing and being easily defended, it is an excellent station for the navy. It is also valuable as a shelter for vessels bound out or home and desirous of avoiding a blockading squadron off Sandy Hook.

In the plan of defence the present forts, Trumbull and Griswold, give place to more efficient works, whereof the expense is estimated at $209,675 63.

New Haven harbor.-It is proposed to defend this harbor by improving and enlarging Fort Hale, and substituting a new work for the slight redoubt erected during the late war, called Fort Wooster. The expense of both will be $59,609 18.

New York harbor.-The object for the projected works for the vicinity of New York are to cover the city against an attack by land or sea, to protect its numerous shipping, to prevent as much as possible the blockade of this great port, which will soon have, added to the immense wealth of its own rivers, the productions of the boundless regions on the northern and western lakes, and to cover the interior communication projected to unite the Raritan with the Dela

ware.

In the present condition of that harbor as regards defence an enemy would meet but little opposition, whether his attempt were made by land or water. Coming by the sound he might land within ten miles of the city, upon the main or upon Long Island or both; and coming into the lower harbor he might either force the passage of the channel, anchoring in the Hudson or East river, or he

See report of 1821

+See report of 1820.

+ See reports of 1820 and 1821.

might land in Gravesend bay, eight miles from the city, and march directly to Brooklyn, where he would find the navy yard, and whence he might levy a contribution or destroy the city. The only mode of resistance would be the harassing, expensive, and uncertain one, of arraying a large body of militia upon Harlem and Brooklyn heights, and this could be resorted to only in the event, not to be anticipated, of having received timely intelligence of his design. If we fortify Throgg's Neck and Wilkins's Point, on the east river, and if we complete the works at the Narrows, making them all too strong to be carried by a coup de main, we shall secure the means of transferring the neighboring militia upon the flanks and rear of an enemy should he march upon Brooklyn, while we shall secure the same advantage should he pursue the route by Harlem, besides increasing the length of his march through an intersected country to twenty miles. This arrangement of defensive works, necessary as it is, still leaves the lower harbor open to an enemy's vessels, where, safe at all seasons, he can enforce a strict blockade, cut off the line of interior communication by the Raritan, and where he has a landing place in somewhat dangerous proximity to the city. In view of these considerations, the board projected the additional works on the east bank and middle ground, which will completely protect the harbor, compel an enemy on this side to land upon a dangerous coast near thirty miles from his object, and to enforce his blockade by riding on the open sea with a dangerous coast on either hand.

Of the permanent works heretofore erected Castle Clinton has been already ceded to the city. The others should be maintained as constituting a last barrier, as affording convenient places of deposit for stores and munitions of all kinds, and of rendezvous for recruits and good positions for military hospitals. The total cost of all the works projected by the board is estimated at $5,201,834 28.

Delaware bay and city of Philadelphia.*—The coast, from the mouth of the Hudson to the Chesapeake, as well as that on the south side of Long Island, is low, sandy, covered by numerous sandy islands, lying near and parallel to the coast, and having, besides the Delaware, many inlets and interior basins, but none, with this exception, affording water enough for sea-going vessels. The Delaware bay itself being wide and full of shoals, having an intricate channel, and being much obstructed by ice at certain seasons, affords no very good harbor within a reasonable distance of the sea. It is, however, of great consequence that the deficiency in this respect should be remedied by artificial means, not only on account of the value of the commerce of the upper part of the bay, which is hazarded by the peculiar dangers of the lower, but also on account of the dangers to which the exterior commerce is exposed for want of a harbor for so great an extent of coast, and of the means which will thereby be attained of depriving an enemy of one of the shelters of the coast not otherwise defensible, and of rendering the blockade of this and the neighboring parts of the coast more difficult.

Should the proposed breakwater near Cape Henlopen be constructed, it will be necessary to provide works for its defence. The board is not, however, prepared to present a plan or an estimate of such as would be required.

The lowest point at which Philadelphia is defensible is at Pea Patch island, about forty-five miles below that city. Fort Delaware, on that island, now almost completed, together with a permanent work on the Delaware shore, opposite a temporary work on the Jersey shore, to be thrown up at the commencement of a war, and floating obstructions in the channel, will effectually cover Philadelphia, the other important places on the river, and the outlet of the canal connecting the Delaware and Chesapeake. The expense of the permanent works will be $817,025 45.

See report of 1817 on the defence of the Delaware; report of 1820, and a report on a projected breakwater of 1821.

Chesapeake bay.*-The naval commissioners and board of engineers entrusted with the selection of sites for great northern and southern naval depots recommended, in their joint reports of 1819 and 1820, Burwell's bay, on James river, for the one, and Charlestown, near Boston, for the other; they also recommended Boston harbor and Narragansett bay at the north, and Hampton Roads at the south, as chief naval rendezvous. In these reports the commission entered at large into the consideration of all the matters relating to these important subjects. The board, now referring to those reports for details which would too much encumber this more condensed communication, will first briefly advert to the objects to be secured by defensive works in the Chesapeake, and next state, in their order, the positions to be occupied and the mode of defence proposed, so far at least as these have been determined.

The immediate object of the defence of Hampton Roads, near the mouth of the Chesapeake, is to shut this roadstead against an enemy, and secure it to ourselves; to cover the interior navigation between the Chesapeake and the southern States; to secure, as a naval place of arms, a point serving as the connecting link between the middle and southern coast, whence the navy may protect the exterior trade as well as the trade of the bay; to defend the public establishments at Norfolk and such as may be made at James river, and to prevent an enemy from making a permanent lodgement at Norfolk. Another very important object, but more remote, as requiring all great temptations to be placed out of the reach of an enemy, is to cover the coast and the minor settlements of the bay from predatory attacks; for no trifling expeditions would ever venture up the Chesapeake while a portion of our naval force occupied the road at Hampton.

The object of other fortifications in these waters is, therefore, to cover the valuable harbors, cities, and trade of the upper part of the Chesapeake.

Hampton Roads, James river, and Norfolk.*-In the present state of things an enemy may land in Lynnhaven bay, and in one or two days' march reach the narrow position which lies to the east of Suffolk. Bounded on one side by the Dismal Swamp, and on the other by Bennet's creek, near the mouth of the Nansemond, this position cannot be turned, and may be easily fortified. Here he might defy all the forces of Virginia and North Carolina. Secure of a retreat so long as his fleet occupied Hampton Roads, he could only be driven out by efforts on the part of the United States, involving great sacrifices both of men and money. But when these roads are fortified, he will be able to anchor only in Lynnhaven bay; his march then upon Suffolk will be taken in flank and rear by our forces crossing Hampton Roads, and he will therefore find it impossible to take permanent quarters in the country.

The works projected for the defence of Hampton Roads, James river, and Norfolk, are: First, a fort and advanced lanette at Old Point Comfort; second, a casemated battery on the Rip Rap shoals; and, third, a line of floating obstructions extending across the channel between these works. In the event of a great naval depot being fixed on James river, it might ultimately be advisable to provide additional strength by adding works at the positions of Newport News, Naseway Shoal, and Craney Island flats. Exclusive of these the cost of the projected works is estimated at $2,164,147 69.

The existing forts, viz: Fort Nelson and Fort Norfolk serve for the defence of Norfolk and the navy yard. They are small and inefficient works, but may be made useful as accessories to general defensive operations.

Harbor of St. Mary's.-The central situation of this fine basin as regards the Chesapeake, its relation to the Potomac, its depth of water, and the facility

See reports of 1819 and 1820.

See reports of 1819 and 1821.

See report of 1819.

wherewith it may be defended, indicate its fitness as a harbor of refuge for the commerce of the bay, and as an occasional, if not constant station during war of a portion of our naval forces. A survey of the harbor and the surrounding country has been made. The maps are, however, not yet complete, and the board are unprepared to state the cost of the defences.

Patuxent river.-The more effectually to protect the city of Washington from a sudden attack by troops landed at the head of navigation of the Patuxent, and to provide an additional shelter for vessels, a fort has been projected to occupy Point Patience, and another Thomas's Point, about six miles from the Chesapeake. Their expense will be $337,000.

Annapolis harbor. From not having as yet been able to consider the particular subject of the defences of this harbor, or to obtain preliminary surveys, the board are unable to state whether new works will be required.

Harbor of Baltimore.t-The proximity of Baltimore to the bay places that city in a dangerous situation. In the present state of things an enemy can, in a few hours' march, without being exposed to a separation from his fleet, after an easy landing, make himself master of that great commercial depot.

Baltimore requires for its security two forts in the Patapsco, one at Hawkins's Point and the other at the extreme end of the flat on Sollers's Point. Besides the advantages which will result of obliging the enemy to land at a greater distance, thereby delaying his march, gaining time for the arrival of militia, and preventing his turning the defensive position our forces might occupy, it will be impossible for him to endanger the city or its shipping by a direct attack by water. The present Fort McHenry, Redoubt Wood, and Covington battery

should be retained as a second barrier.

The expense of the fort on Sollers's Point flat is estimated at... $673, 205 44 A preliminary estimate of fort at Hawkins's Point (to be corrected by applying the project with more accuracy to the ground than could heretofore be done) gives

Total....

244, 337 14

917, 542 58

Mouth of Elk river.—The construction of the Delaware and Chesapeake canal will make it necessary to place a small work somewhere near the mouth of the Elk, to prevent an enemy by a sudden enterprise destroying the works which connect that canal with the river. Some surveys must be made before the most suitable location, or the form, or the cost of this work can be determined.

City of Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown.t-Fort Washington, a work recently completed, covers these cities from any attack by water, and will oblige an enemy to land at some fifteen or eighteen miles from Alexandria, should that city be his object. It will also serve the very valuable purpose of covering the troops crossing from Virginia with a view to fall upon the flanks of an enemy moving against the metropolis. All these objects would have been better fulfilled had the work been placed at Lower Cedar Point; as it is, however, the works in the Patuxent being constructed, and the militia of the surrounding country being in a due state of preparation, an enterprise against these cities would be one of great hazard. The cost of Fort Washington was $446,467 37; a small work should nevertheless be placed on Lower Cedar Point.

See report of 1819, and memoir on the defence of the Patuxent, 1825.
+ See report of 1819.

From the mouth of the Chesapeake to Cape Hatteras there occurs no inlet navigable by sea-going vessels, and we therefore proceed at once to the

SOUTHERN SECTION OF THE ATLANTIC COAST.*

This coast is invariably low, and for the greater part sandy, much resembling that from Cape Hatteras to Montauk Point. A ridge of sand, occasionally interrupted by the alluvion of the rivers, extends throughout its whole length; this ridge lies in certain portions on the main land, while in others it is divided therefrom by basins or sounds of varying width and depth, and is cut into islands by numerous channels of greater or less depth connecting these interior waters with the sea. Wherever this ridge is broken, its place is supplied by low and marshy grounds, bordering the principal and the many lesser outlets of the rivers.

The nature of the country through which the rivers of this coast flow after leaving the mountains is such that the banks being easily abraded by the current the waters are always turbid, and are continually transporting new supplies for the formation of alluvion and the maintenance of extensive submarine banks, shoals, and bars; that these last do not rapidly increase is owing to the force of the current, the action of the sea, and the mobility of the particles of matter. It is to this cause, viz: the wearing away of the shores of the rivers, that is to be attributed the want of harbors on this coast unobstructed by bars, and which as a coast particularly distinguishes this and the Gulf of Mexico frontier (where similar operations have been going on) from the more northern and eastern portions.

The board have not examined the coast of East Florida; their description, therefore, of the southern coast will extend no further than Amelia island or mouth of St. Mary's, while that of the Gulf of Mexico frontier will begin at Pensacola.

Ocracoke Inlet, Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.*—In their report of 1821, the board adverted to a project then if not now in agitation to open a navigable, direct communication from Albemarle sound to the sea, and they also indicated, as probably a less expensive and a less dangerous mode of transporting the produce of the Roanoke, Tar, and Neuse rivers to the ocean, a canal from river to river, and terminating in the harbor of Beaufort, North Carolina. If the first of these projects be executed, defensive works would be necessary at the new inlet; if not, no others will be needed than such as are indispensable in any event to cover the important harbor of refuge at Beaufort. The shallowness of the water on the bars at Ocracoke effectually excludes all vessels-of-war from the harbors within. But as this, in the present state of things, is the outlet of an extensive commerce, and as through this opening attempts might be made in small vessels or in boats to interrupt the interior line of communication whereon so much would depend in time of war, it would be proper in the beginning of a war to throw up a temporary work as a defence against all minor enterprises. Beaufort harbor, N. C.t-Beaufort harbor and the mouths of Cape Fear river are the only issues navigable by vessels of more than a light draught of water, by which the interior of North Carolina communicates with the ocean. They are important points in the line of interior navigation to be sooner or later opened from the Chesapeake southwardly, and they are besides the only harbors of refuge on an extent of coast of more than 400 miles.

The fort projected for the defence of Beaufort harbor will take the place of the ruins of Fort Hampton. Its estimated expense is $175,000.

Mouths of Cape Fear river, N. C.‡-It is proposed to defend the main chan

*See report of 1821.

See report of 1821, and memoir on the defence of Beaufort, 1824.

See report of 1821, and memoir on the defence of Cape Fear river, of 1824.

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