SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1893 . 
377 
was any sea on. On the 7th September, 1863, Fort Sumter 1 2 is said to 
have resembled a steep sandy island, not a fort ; on the 8th, a landing 
party was repulsed. In. December, 1864, the Federal fleet is said 3 4 to 
have thrown 15,000 projectiles into Fort Fisher, and on the 13th, 14th 
and 15th of January, 1865, 21,000, but an assault on the sea face was 
repulsed with loss on the last day. The fort appears to have had only 
22 guns bearing on the ships, which had 405, and could bring at least 
275 to bear at a time. At the French bombardment of Sfax “ after a 
remarkably deliberate fire of 2002 projectiles delivered under peace 
conditions, the f defensive power 5 of the place is reported to have been 
1 practically uninjured/ 33 3 At Alexandria, Fort Mex, which has been 
described as a “ pre-historic work/’ was attacked at short range by the 
in-shore squadron, assisted by the Temeraire outside the Corvette Pass. 
“In view of the tremendous fire to which Fort Mex was subjected, 
and the comparative short range at which all the ships except the Teme¬ 
raire engaged it, it is impossible to believe the fact that not a single gun 
here was dismounted or disabled during the action proper. . . The 
8-inch gun . . was bowled over by the Penelope , long after the fort 
had ceased firing, and from a distance stated to be about 300 yards/ 5 
“ So says Captain Goodrich in his official report on the action. 554 
No particular ranges can be assumed as probable for, independently of 
the hydro-graphic conditions of each locality, the permissible ranges for 
individual ships will vary according to circumstances. For instance, 
many battle-ships afford protection to their secondary armament by the 
armour protecting their primary armament when fighting end-on, and 
consequently if it is not necessary to use the former they can go in 
much closer than when they have to present their broadside to the fort. 
2. The Manoeuvring of the Ships during the Engagement . 
The most important point under this head is whether the ships shall 
be anchored or kept in motion. 
Captain Jackson, R.N., says : 5 “ Without anchoring, experience has 
shown that the greater part of their fire is thrown away. 55 
“ The bombardment of the forts of Alexandria gave an excellent op¬ 
portunity of comparing different methods of manoeuvring ships when 
attacking batteries. The Invincible and Penelope remained at anchor 
during the whole engagement ; the Monarch steamed backwards and 
forwards in a line parallel to the shore. The Sultan , Alexandra and 
Superb, at the beginning of the action, engaged under weigh, steering an 
elliptical course past the lighthouse batteries at a distance of 1500 
yards. After passing the batteries twice in this manner they anchored, 
shifting their positions as requisite. This plan was also followed by the 
Temeraire . The Inflexible dropped a small buoy at a known range, and 
steamed up to it to deliver her fire.The plan of fighting 
a ship under weigh was evidently the worst of the many adopted. Sir W. 
1 The Navy in the Civil War. 3 vols. Soley, Ammon, Mahan. 
2 The Navy in the Civil War. 3 vols. Soley, Ammen, Mahan. 
3 Fortification; Clarke. 1890. 
4 Ships versus Forts ; Jackson. E.E. Occasional Papers, 1889. 
5 Ships versus Forts Jackson, E.E. Occasional Papers, 1889, 
