r of design on his part, as the ice during the winter would assist
very much, he thought, in the work of laying the necessary foundations;
for the fortress was not to stand on the solid land, but on a sandbank
which projected from the land on the side toward the navigable channel.
The site of the fortress was to be about a cannon-shot from the and,
where, being surrounded by shallow water on every side, it could not be
approached either by land or sea.

Peter laid the foundations of this fortress on the ice by building
immense boxes of timber and plank, and loading them with stones. When
the ice melted in the spring these structures sank into the sand, and
formed a stable and solid foundation on which he could afterward build at
pleasure. This was the origin of the famous Castle of Cronstadt, which
has since so well fulfilled its purpose that it has kept the powerful
navies of Europe at bay in time of war, and prevented their reaching the
city.

Besides this great fortress, Peter erected several detached batteries at
different parts of the island, so as to prevent the land from being
approached at all by the boats of the enemy.

At length the King of Sweden began to be somewhat alarmed at the accounts
which he received of what Peter was doing, and he determined to attack
him on the ground, and destroy his works before he proceeded any farther
with them. He accordingly ordered the admiral of the fleet to assemble
his ships, to sail up the Gulf of Finland, and there attack and destroy
the settlement which Peter was making.

The admiral made the attempt, but he found that he was too late. The
works were advanced too far, and had become too strong for him. It was
on the 4th of July, 1704, that the Russian scouts, who were watching on
the shores of the bay, saw the Swedish ships coming up. The fleet
consisted of twenty-two men-of-war, and many other vessels. Besides the
forts and batteries, the Russians had a number of ships of their own at
anchor in the waters, and as the fleet advanced a tremendous cannonade
was opened on both sides, the ships of the Swedes against the ships and
batteries of the Russians. When the Swedish fleet had advanced as far
toward the island as the depth of the water would allow, they let down
from the decks of their vessels a great number of flat-bottomed boats,
which they had brought for the purpose, and filled them with armed men.
Their plan was to land these men on the island, and car