Chapter V.

Before pursuing the general thread of this memoir, it may be worth while to introduce a chapter parenthetically, in order that the reader may, if he chooses, observe the nature of the transition from the plan of the Engineer Bureau to that selected by the War Department, and presented at large in the Memoir on the "Dangers, &c., of New York." It will be seen that the difference between them is a natural and inevitable consequence of the difference between the actual realities which the latter is made to conform to, and the office data, as I may call them, which would appear to have been the foundation on which the former was constructed.

Thus when the bureau asserts that "the two works on Throgg's and [Willet's] Wilkins' Points may therefore be regarded as perfectly protecting, on that side, the city and navy-yard from the attempts of an army debarked on the 'sound' shore of Long Island, it rests such confidence upon the fact that the proposed fort on Willet's Point would cover the crossing of the East river by our troops who might fall on the enemy's rear. This fact becomes of consequence, according to the reasoning of the plan in question, on the supposition that by such move we could cut off his communication with his fleet. This takes for granted we should be able to defeat his army in the field; but admitting this supposition, for the sake of argument, to be well founded, we have seen above that if cut off from his place of landing, he would not necessarily or even probably be prevented from rejoining his fleet.*

The fleet could sail around and meet him off Rockaway inlet, which forms the communication between Jamaica bay and the ocean; or he could re-embark at Coney Island. I have shown in the preceding memoir that the inner beach of that island, on Gravesend bay, is not commanded by the guns of the forts at the narrows with their present armament, and that the sand-hills which constitute it would perfectly screen debarkations on the outer side, whatever might be the range of such armament. And between Coney Island and Rockaway inlet there is an extent of some five miles of beach that could be used for re-embarkations.

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* As to the proof that large bodies of men can safely, in summer weather such as it almost uniformly is along the coast, get into boats and be rowed out to ships, I have no documentary or published evidence to offer; I am satisfied of it, from having long noted the calmness that prevails along shore during all westerly or northwesterly winds, which blow from the land, and from the fact that such winds prevail in summer. Nor is there much surf on the beach of Coney Island in light easterly weather; nor would such surf offer difficulties to boat navigation in and out of Rockaway inlet. As to easterly storms, they would interrupt transportation from the beach to the ships, but such are infrequent in the summer months. It would not be prudent to calculate on their springing up at the precise juncture when we wanted them. —See beyond, at page 489, for a description of Jamaica bay, which offers considerable facilities for communications from an army once landed with its fleet, via Rockaway inlet, or, in case of the defeat of such army, for favoring and sheltering its re-embarcation.

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