Rockets for Warfare (18th through
19th Centuries)
Click on a thumbnail
to see a larger slide image. |
Description |
|
In 1696, Robert Anderson, an Englishman, published a two-part
treatise on how to make rocket molds, prepare the propellants,
and perform the calculations. |
| |
During the early introduction of rockets to Europe, they were
used only as weapons. Enemy troops in India repulsed the British
with rockets. Later in Britain, Sir William Congreve developed
a rocket that could fire to about 9,000 feet. The British fired
Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. |
|
The English confrontation with Indian rockets came in 1780
at the Battle of Guntur. The closely massed, normally unflinching
British troops broke and ran when the Indian Army laid down
a rocket barrage in their midst. |
|
William Congreve's incendiary rocket used black powder, an
iron case, and a 16-foot guide stick. The British used Congreve
rockets in 1806 to attack Napoleon's headquarters in France.
In 1807, Congreve directed a rocket attack against Copenhagen;
approximately 25,000 rockets were fired. |
|
Francis Scott Key coined the phrase the rocket's red glare
after the British fired Congreve rockets against the United
States in the War of 1812. Congreve had used a 16-foot guidestick
to help stabilize his rocket. William Hale, another British
inventor, invented the stickless rocket in 1846. The U.S. army
used the Hale rocket more than 100 years ago in the war with
Mexico. Rockets were also used to a limited extent in the Civil
War. |
Top of Page
|