New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-06-10
what is a congreve Rooketa

Whoever has stood upon a fortidcation near a
cannon when fred, will have noticed the recoil.
or backward movement Of the piece ON it's
wheels. More feelingly the force Of the recoil
will manifest itself to the rooE-shooter, who,
firing skyward many times in succession, often
gets punished for his Wanton destruction Of cor
vine-life, by bruised shoulder, or occasionally
even broken collar-bone
NOW, in all ordinary cases, it is the object OF
the gunmaker-understandi the term gun in
its generic sense, including cannon as well az
small arms, to deaden or diminish this force OF
recoil. As concerns small FIRE arms, more espe-
clally rifles and pistols, any considerable recoil
is most injurious as it throws the barrel out Of
the due line Of aim; and this is the chief reason
why SO great q weight of metal is put into such
barrels. In the case Of pieces Of ordnance, it
will be found that the force of recoil, when it
goes beyond certain extent, not only disar-
| ranges the aim, but renders the piece uuman-
ageahle, more especially on board ship.
Let US suppose, now, that the cannon on the
fertilization is charged-is liseharged--and re-
coils, The explosion, however, being instanta-
neous. the recol soon comes to u end If the
explosion were susceptible of prolongation, and
| II the mouth Of the cannon could be maintained
ny some device in the original position, then the
best way OF attacking an enemy, surprising the
| expense of cannon to be no object, would he to
allowing it to take flight through the air like
any other projeetile This motion may cause a
smile; but we do not know in what manner the
general theory OF rockets could be rendered 50
| intelhgible, as by commencing where we have
commenced--with the recoil of a gun. Arocket.
in point of fact, may be described as a gun
charged with slow burning combustible, 50
that when discharged, or rather ignited, it re.
coils, first little, then little more, and so
Il1T aF a g., 3
10 the mass power proportionate to It's weight
multiplied by its velocity
Most people have seen skysrocket; many
have examined it perhaps; still more have
traced the fiery course Of the beautiful protech-
mic ornament as it mounted aloft With arrow.
like velocity. then watched its graceful bend
and final distribution of variegated stars
Lastly. most persons are eognizant, we presume,
OF the fact that each rocket is furnished with a
SUCK, serving the purpose of rudder, or II tail
Now, the sky-Focket is propelled in consequence
of its recoil Were we to retain the idea with
which We commenced cur description, nc should
say repelled, In consequence Of this reeoil; but
lnasmuch as Tecoil becomes in the rocket the
primary OF chief force, we had better from this
period to the end Of the paper, turn cur ideas
of recoil upside down As for this stick, or rud.
der-the reader may denominate it as lie
pleases--itsu use is to keep the mouth OF aperture
VI the Ipchets l! oA WIliGn the name escapes, con-
tlnually downWards. II is tied lateraliy to the
rocket If it admitted Of bengaflixed centrally.
then the flight of the rocket would be more di-
rect, instead OF having a general tendency to
lateral flight Considering the rocket as nm
ornamental frework, this direetness Of flight
would be rather prejudicia1 than otherwise, its
curvflinear path being exceedingly beautiful
We're 1t desired, however, to metamorphose the
sky rocket into warlike prejectile, then in
r1rpr, ,1IItp tn ito n l.
its advantages.
Step by step we are now approaching the con-
struction of q Congreye, or war rocket, which.
as at present made. chiefly differs from n sky-
rocket IN the two particulars, of having u sheet
IRON instead OF paper cone, and of being sup
piled with central instead of a lateral stick
The first CongZeVe- rockets did not possess the
latter advantage. They had sticks latterally
attached, like those of ordinary sky rockets, as
may be seen IN the Rotunda or Military Museum
at Woolwich. OF this kind we're the rockets en-
ployed by our troops at the battle of Leipsic
and so desolating were their effects, that some
French troops against which they were fired
Immediately laid down their arms The war
rocket is so intimately associated with the name
OF SlraWllliam CongreYe, that, by over Jealous
advocates, he is assumed to be their inventor
although he himself disclaims the honor. In
his book on the rocket practice, he states that
rockets, considered as proiectiIe weapons, were
of great antiquity in India and China, and
claims only TO be the improver of the weapon.
Indeed, we have met with undoubted testimony
that the proieetile force of the rocket used MS
military weapon was known in Europe before
the latter part of the sixteenth century; in the
year 1896 appeared the collection of Tyaftes
,AfiiitaiTes, by Hanzelet, i'll which book there
exists. not only full description Of the manner
of using rockets as military weapons, but a rude
wood-eut, showing the method of firing them
Some years ago, we remember to have seen in
the London Adelaide Gallery certain Chinese
war-rockets They were captured byoar troops
at the siege of Annoy, and brought to the British
metropolis, To all intents and purposes, they
were sky rockets, with the sole addition to each
Of q barbed arrowhead affixed lateraliY in the
line of the stick, and projecting beyond the
head of the rocket Compared with even the
smallest Congreye rockets employed in our SER
vice, they were insignificant affairs Their
flight would be altogether irregular, their power
Of penetrating comparatively weak. Neyerthe.
less, one Of them would undoubtedly have killed
man at the distance Of 200 yards; conse.
quently, these Chinese weapons admit of being
regarded rs Q variety Of small firearms; while
even the smallest Congreve rocket may be com
pared with artillery. So much then concerning
the history of the war-rocket up to the time Of
Congreve He was the first who employed an
iron instead OF paper case He was also the
first who applied the central stick; and sue
ceeded in making rockets of one denomination
SO equnl in weight that the elements Of the
hight of one being known, data were afforded
for the discharge of others.
The war rocket is very terrible instrument
of destruction, possessing certain advantages
which other proiectiles do not Thus, for exam
pie, the discharge of rockets, as consequence
Of their very nature, is attended with no recal
against solid body That what corresponds
with recoil in an ordinary gun, is, as we have
seen, the propnlsive force of the rocket, aud the
counterpart Of this propulsive force is exerted
against the air. Owing to this absence of prae-
tlcalreeoll, rockets may be fired from boats Just
large enough to carry them; whereas shells of
equal weight, ifemployed in naval warfare, can
be fired only from strong ships. Rockets carry
ing within themselves their own propulsiye DOW.
er, require neither guns nor mortars to project
them; consequently, they may be fred from
places altogether inaccessible to artillery, and
they may be constructed Of much larger iimen.
sions than any available shot or she'll. Gum
founders are now pretty well agreed, that no
piece OF ordnance can he cast without flaws if
much larger than q i8einell mortar; and the
weight OF the Latter is tons, although the
charged ll-ineh shell scarcely weighs 200
pounds.
The French tried the experiment of increasing
the size OF Il mortar preparatory to the siege Of
Antwerp. The experiment was unsuccessful,
their monster mortar bursting after having been
only few times discharged ssThe rocket to
use the words of Congreve, &c brings into opera
ton the power Of artillery everywhere, and is