American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1851-1863, 1863-10-10
GREEK FIRE.

Ia recent Northern account Of the
siege of Charleston, We find freqent men
ton made of throwing shells into the city
charged with destructive and abominable
compound called Greek fire" 1t is
doubtless M imitation Of this famous
composition. the receipt for which has
been lost to mankind for hundreds Of
years. Scientific men of modern times
are by no means agreed AS to The ingre.
dents used in the manufacture of this
wiM fire, and while some announce one
thing and some another, as forming
constituent part, all are at a loss TO form
the grand aggregate. and are left to con.
lecture;
WId fire, or Greek FIRE as tits called
was the invention of a Syrian engineer,
named CaIiinicus. who first applied it in
the sea fight under Constantine, against
the Saracens, in the HeIIespont, and
with such effect that he burnt the whole
( fleet in which were thirty thousand men.
1t is kind of artificial or Fictitious fire
which burns under water, and that, it
is SAID, with greater violence than ont Of
1t. Its composition is supposed to be of
sulphur, napthn, pitch, gum and bitumen,
and is only extinguiSed by vinegar, mix
ed with sand and urine, or BIZ covering it
with raw hides. Its motion or tendency
is said to be contrary to that Of a natural
IRE. always following the direction in
which it is thrown, whether downward.
sldcwlse or otherwise. For the annoyance
oil the enemy the Greeks employed il
with equal effect By sea and land, in bat.
ties or in sieyes. 1t was either poured
from the ramparts in large boilers, OF
launched in red hot balls Of IRON or dar-
ted in arrows and javeIins, twisted round
with fax and tow which had deeply i'm
blbed the infamable OIL sometimes il
was deposited in fire ships, and was mos
commonly blowing through long tubes o
copper, were placed on prov of galley
and fanclfuIy shaped into the mouths O
savage and hideous monsters that seem
ed to vomit streams of liquid and consu
ming FIRE. Subsequently to the year $50
about which time it was FIRST used, it wa,
on divers occasions applied with sigma
advantage; and what is remarkable is
that the Greeks were so happy as to KEEP
) the secret of the composition to them
selves, though their galies and ARTILLERY
! were sometimes loaned to the Romans
Up to the year $50 no other nation knev
the secret. Even at the end of the III
century, Plsans, to whom every scienc,
and every art were familiar, suffered th,
effects without understanding the secre
of the Greek fire.
+. ." 1t was at length either discovered o
: stolen by the Mahometans, and in the no
Iy war of Syria and Egypt, they retorle,
an invention conlrived against themselve
on the heads Of the Christians. In tn
: siege OF Damietta, under St. Louis, thi
. fire was thrown out of kind of mortar
T and some times shot with an odd kind c
/. Gloss bow, In his Historic de s.
c Louis" Joinvile says that which wa
5 shot from The mortar came flying lhroug
e The air like winged, long tail dragon
: about the thickness of a hogshead. wit
d The report Of thunder and yelosity
e lightning, and the darkness Of the nigl
5 was dispelled by its deadly illuminatior
't| Tho usa - n.n.i. G. : .,..- i .