Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-09-25
ELECTRICITY IN MODERN WARFARE.
riie Torpedo Military Telegraph = Fir
ing BroadsIdes- Other Uses
TNew York SUM-

Ing BrOadsides-O uses
New York SUM-
The essay of Lieut.. b. A. Fiske, of tho
navy, read befor the Franklin institute,
Of the part played by electricity in war
fare, shows it to be already a military
agent of high Importance, instead of
power to be developed only in the
future.
Probably few people appreciate the
tact that electrical torpedoes really date
back over forty years, to the time when
Col. Samuel Colt, in the presence of
President Tyler, Gen. Scott, and many
congressman, blew up vessels FIVE
miles away by the use of an electric
wire. Long after, nevertheless, both in
European wars and in our own civil
conflict, combatants were content to
rely chiefly on the old mechanical mine.
which, when once fixed in channel for
the defense of harbor blows up i'm
partially friend and foe. Hereafter the
almost universal rule will be to plant
torpedoes that remain harmless until a
signal delivered through the electric
wire shows that the enemy is upon them,
which will instantly be responded to by
the return current from the firing bat
terry on shore. The harbor is then. no
longer blocFed to all friendly commerce
from the moment that torpedoes are
planted. On the other hand, electricity
may be employed also to detect the
presence Of fixed torpedoes. In NOV
able torpedoes it exercises constant con-
troll over the weapon, directing it against
the enemy, and hence preventing him
from evading it, as he may evade non
electrical torpedoes.
The torpedo, however, though Just
now the most prominent military appli-
cation of electricity, is only one of
many. The military telegraph was
familiar in our civil war, where it had
its origin; and now military telegraph
corps, with their special apparatus 70"
laying wire at great speed, form a part
of all great armies, The telephone sup
plements the telegraph, and both instru-
ments are used in artillery practice to
track hostile vessels so as to determine
exactly when to fire on them, and also to
register the time OF flight of pro ectiles.
Since Lieut.. Fiske says that 'the pre-
else instant of start to within thou
sandth of second" is recorded
for pro ectiles by electricity, the
suggestion comes up whether
some application of electricity
will not one day give more accurate in
dications in racing than stop watches,
whose recorded tiftbs Of a second are
sometimes looked on with doubt on mar.
row questions of breaking records
Electricity now fires whole broad
eiIaS of prn1irio-1r c,unS M tha touob Of
a button. thereby not only producing
that absolutely Simultaneous discharge,
which has hitherto not been known, but
also eliminating the element of change
in aim produced by even an instant's
roll of the ship during the slower
process of hand firing. Electricity also
can handle with ease heavy ordnance
in forts and on shipboard: though this
must rather he ranked among its use;
hereafter to lie developed.
Electricity examines the bores of gun:
TO ascertain their condition, and in the
powerful form of the electr odynamc
search light unveils in the darkest night
secret movements alike on ship and
shore. of bes.egers and besiegel, the
cteaithy approach of the torpedo boat
or the movement Of q Hostile column II
surprise fort. AS signal light it j!
palpably useful, while it can even BE-
made to confuse an enemy by THROWN!
upon him sudden alterations of blind
ing light and paralyzing darkness.
Launches have been driven by cleo
tricity, which will, doubtless, on ao
count of the steady improvement o
storage batteries, one day wholly re
place steam for this purpose. Electri
sights for rihei muskets are now. fur
nished for night firing; and combines
with them are small lamps for illuminat
ing the target Rubber bands faster
these ingenious devices to the marks
mans gun. There are also electri
rifles, in, which the soldier presses
small button, thereby, unless he is
very skillful marksman, gettinga bette
aim than when he pulls trigger.
If, in addition to all these applica
tions, electricity should furnish con
pact and not too heavy power for steer
ing military balloons, its contribution
60 the art Of war will be still MOI
remarkable.