Page:Historic towns of the middle states (IA historictownsofm02powe).pdf/286

 are the guns taken from the burnt and shattered Almirante Oquendo and Vizcaya, and by them is mounted a submarine contact mine from the defences of Guantanamo, which the Texas broke adrift without exploding the deadly contents. Not far away was built the ill-fated battleship Maine. In these docks were outfitted many of the fleet that fought the battle of Santiago. In the Spanish war, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was where most of the yachts and merchant steamers, purchased in emergency, were converted into cruisers. Under Naval Constructor Bowles, the unparalleled record was made in 1898 of thirty-four vessels thus converted and fitted out for service in the auxiliary navy in ninety-three days!

At the southern shore of the enlarged Brooklyn are the forts and batteries defending this part of Long Island. Under the modern defences of Fort Hamilton, still is preserved Fort Lafayette, an island structure of masonry, valueless for war, but ever to be kept for its associations. Built in 1812 to defend the Narrows, its name was changed at the time of Lafayette's return in 1824. In 1861, it was used to imprison those from Maryland and the border States, whose loyalty the Federal Adminis