Show 0 OPENING PF NING ENOL ENGLISH isn EYES that admiral porter made no vain boasts in tile the hints which hia reports of the bombardment of fort fidlier contained relative to what our iron dads might do across the water if called upon is is significantly shown in tile following letter from om blakely akely BA the inventor an and d manufacturer of the famous klake jy ay english guns to the editor of the london I 1 post now that fort fisher fiaher has fallen in spite of the heroic defense of general whiting and colonel L lamb amb and the rest of its ite marrison garrison there can be no indiscretion ll 11 in my aly giving yos aois some immor illation about its armament tile the fact most moat instructive to us is i that the foyt fort contained not one gun powerful enough to sink an ironclad iron clad ship A very late letter mentions aa the most effective gun jn a the place an eight inch five tun cannon rifled on the plan of commander scott of the english navy and firing one hundred and thirty pound shells of the rest about half were seven inch built up rifles half were ten inch smooth bored cast iron guns most of these guns were more powerful than any gun mounted on any fort in england or on any english ship except one which has a few of the valuable nine inch one hundred ordered eresby by the duke of somerset yet they failed to injure the federal fleet it follows that the fleet could attack portsmouth or VIly mouth with more impunity than F fort ort fi isher fisher aa far as artillery ler y fire is concerned I 1 am sir your obedient servant T A BLAKELY |