OPERATIONS AT CHATHAM ON A MOCK NEW ZEALAND PA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 159, 6 February 1847, Page 3

OPERATIONS AT CHATHAM ON A MOCK NEW ZEALAND PA.

Siege Operations ax Chatham. — On Friday the 4th of September, it having become generally known throughout the garrison that an experiment of breaching a stockade was to be made by the Royal sappers and miners on the field-works of the royal engineers, under the direction of Lieutenant-Co-lonel Sir Frederick Smith, X H. about halfptst:two,p.m., Sir Thomas Wiltshire, K.C.B. commandant of Chatham garrison, and his major of brigade, Captain Wood, with almost every officer of the garrison, appeared on the ground, and a considerable number of young soldiers. The first operation was the construction of a bridge across the river at St. Mary's, one part of which was of rafts formed with barrels, and the other part with Colonel Thomas Blanchard's pontoons, the whole construction being formed in less than fifty minutes. The bridge being secure, the commandant and other military officers walked several times across; followed by a company of soldiers, and so buoyant was it that heavy pieces of ordnance and cavalry -could have gone over

without the least inconvenience., The general and officers, accompanied by Sir Frederick Smith, and the whole of the engineers' officers, proceeded to the field-works, when they inspected the erection of a double stockade, constructed on the same pi inciple of thut of Heki's pah that proved so destructive to her Majesty's 99th regiment at New Zealand. This stockade was firmly built of fir balks, and was about 30 feet in width, each piece of timber was about 12 feet out of the ground and 4 feet in, firmly fixed with the earth rammed against them, and at top and bottom the piles of timber were fixed together with ribbons of oak plank spiked with 10-inch spikes. In the formation of this stockade there was a small gallery inside for the purpose of protecting soldiers from the injuries of shells, grenades, or any other destructive missiles ; and also for the purpose of troops sleeping. On the outside of the first line of the the stockade was placed two charges of powder in bags of 100 lbs. each, and they were laid ou the ground close to the building, 5 feet apart. One charge was clamped with i two damp sand bags. Everything being ready, the order for firing was given, and both char- | ges exploded simultaneously. The effect produced was a breach of 13 feet width, the explosion not only effecting the width for some distance, but starting the timbers of the interior construction and shaking the whole of the foundation. The effect was magnificent. The next object was to destroy the interior so as to enable troops to enter, and this was effected by placing a charge of 150lbs. of powder on the ground, which on being fired the explosion was most effective ; it caused the timber to fly in all directions, and smashing some of the balks of timber in halves — a piece of timber, about two hundred weight, was thrown 300 yards. The explosion made a breach of upwards of 8 feet, sufficient to enable troops to walk in six abreast, and knocked in the banack-room under ground. These experiments gave the greatest satisfaction to all the military officers present. Sir Thomas Willshire and Sir Frederick Smith and other officers then proceeded to inspect the works carried on by the recruits in attacking fortresses of single cap, &c. At the conclusion the attendants left the ground, at five o'clock, and we are happy to say that everything went^off to the entire satisfaction of that excellent officer, Sir Frederick Smith. — New Zealand Journal.