That point being gained, the whole system of defence was necessarily made to conform to the destructive engines which now were added to the common practices of assault. The sword, buck ler, lance, dart, javelin, sling, bow and arrow, lost their wonted estimation, and, dwindling into insignificance on the great scale, were reserved for individual con test, or for the lesser purposes of de sultory warfare. The great object was, to construct such stupendous bulwarks, as might not only oppose the newly de vised missiles, but, at the same time, sup port similar means of destroying the in vading army.
Hence arose the formation of ramparts, and, gradually, the necessity for deep ditches, and various outworks ; whereby considerable delay and difficulty might be created.
The fortifications of the fifteenth cen tury, although to a certain extent new modelled, and made comformable to the necessity imposed by the invention and use of cannon, nevertheless did not dis play any ingenuity in regard to mutual defence. That great principle was little understood, and the minutia of the sci ence remained, for a longtime, miserably defective. Men of genus, at length, in part remedied the errors of the old school, and opened the way for that exactness of proportion, and for that systematic ar rangement, which characterize the works of modern times. The impregnable for tresses to be seen in various parts of Eu rope cannot fail to transmit the names of their several engineers to posterity ; un happily, not unaccompanied by those of the traitors and poltroons, who, even since the commencement of the present century, have shamefully abandoned the posts of honour, and yielded to inferior powers.
The immense armies now constantly brought into the field, and the heavy trains of artillery by which they are, in almost all cases, attended, occasion not only an adequate preparation for resist ance, but the necessity for establishing lines of communication, of depots, &c. all of which must be on the best construction for defence, containing safe lodgment for a sufficient garrison, together with ample and secure magazines for provisions and for stores. Hence the province of the en gineer becomes peculiarly important ; it comprises various branches of informa tion, and requires that readiness of com putation, of discernment, and of appro priate resource, which rarely combine in the same individual. The merely plan
ning in thecloset, and the laying down on the soil, such defences as may perhaps be void of fault, so far as relates to mutual support, and to the great work of procras tination, will avail nothing, if the other essentials are neglected ; and even when they are not, the whole may be rendered abortive,and become contemptible, mere. ly from a want of judgment in point of locality.
Fortification is generally considered un der two heads, i. e. natural and artificial. The former relates entirely to those inva. luable situations,whicb, being either com pletely inaccessible, or nearly so, require but few additions, and demand only such guards as may prevent surprise. For want of that precaution, some posts have been taken, which no army, however numerous and well provided, could have forced to capitulation. Perhaps, of all the instan ces that could be adduced in regard to so fortunate a position as should defy as sault, the fortress of Ootradroog, situated in the dominions of the late Tippoo Sa heb, sultan of the Mysore, may be justly considered as the most worthy of being cited. It stands on a plain, no hill or eminence of any consideration being within several miles. It is, in fact, insu lated, and consists of a solid rock, rising, on a average, about eight hundred feet above the adjacent level ; its sides are nearly perpendicular throughoutitswhole circumference, which measures nearly a mile. The ascent into it is by stone steps, intermixed with occasional breaks for temporary ladders, the whole of which could be destroyed by the .fall of a few large stones, always kept on the parapet for that purpose. Indeed, the interior is lined with such, they being admirably suited to the defence of so peculiar a sta tion. There is no want of cannon on the works, which are ample, and were form ed under the direction of a French engi neer; they have plenty of water ; ample stores kept in immense excavations ; and the most secure lodgment for a numerous garrison. Yet, so soon as the fall of Ban galore was ascertained, this important and absolutely impregnable fortress, to which, perhaps, there exists not a coun terpart, surrendered to two battalions of Bengal sepoys.