The silver messenger., 1908-04-07
LETTERS IN SHELLS.
New Method of Communication by
Armies in Time of War.
Ordinary CnnnOnA Are Successfully
Uaed as Mail Oarrier@-BOmbs
Explode mt VIII of the
Sender.

One of the most interesting sug-
gestions recently submitted TO the
military authorities is that made by
Capt Hardin Beverly Littlepage, AT
present employed in the division OF
naval war records in the navy de-
partment. 1t is a new method in the
forwarding OF dispatches in the time
of war, a system by which time Will
be almost obliterated, while there
will be no danger of the courier fall
ing into the hands of the foe, says |
| the Washington Post.
The means is an ordinary cannon,
from which dispatch boom can
be fired to the distance to which a
shell is sent. The projectile is q
cylinder or sphere so constructed as
10 insure its fight, its explosion at
the proper time, it's breaking into
harmless fragments and at the same
time unfolding trailing streamer
of any color preferred containing
the message.
dispatch at night could be made
of luminous ribbon, so as to be read
lily found in the darkness, while the
shell itself would be SO pyrotechnio
in character that it would plainly in
dicate its course while in the sky
, and be easily seen at its explosion.
The shell, which can be timed so as
, to explode at any point desired. is
\ so arranged that when explosion
: takes place the sides of the prCjec-
tile will fall apart. releasing the rib
y bon on which the message is written
and allowing it to trail on the
! ground.
; This method will obviate the diff
s Guilty which so hampered both armies
\ during tile civil war. Captured
: couriers have betn the reason of one
branch of the army being delayed
or routed through their ignorance
( of orders which were intercepted
5 while the bad results of such orders
: falling into the hands of the enemy
( cannot be overestimated.
: Had the French during the siege of
: Paris by the German army employed
: such methods they could have sent
y messages over the heads of the enc
= my right into the hands OF friends.
s The confederates could have signaled
= bNNl thN hAiibll iIAAtS III AhN fAfaA " o.
< at the assault on Fort Fisher, whils
= at the investment of Fort Morgan,
: after Farragut's feet had passed in
3 side and the fort was entirely cut of
\ from the confederates. the latter
& could have sent dispatch booms over
( the federal lines without a single
y message being intercepted.
< At present the navy is experiment
= ing with wireless telegraphy. which
4 of course, can be used as a means OF
. communication even with an enemy
= intervening. but there are man!
e points about the bomb which rende
z it efficacious in places where III
y tel. graph could not be convenient,
x utilized.
= Capt. Littlepage is a Virginian b!
l. birth. a graduate of the naval acad
x emy al Annapolis and was in the serv
- ice of the government at the beginning
n of the civil war, when he resigned hi
e commission TO cast his lot with hi
n native state. He was one of the GREY
r. of the famous Merrimac, the building
e of which he graphically describes.
~ He also says that the statement S
OltEn InaUt III BlSlotltS anu UNIVERSAL
e ly believed-that the Monitor defeat
n ed the Merrimac-is absolutely with
x out a vestige of truth and that tn
~ facts are that the Merrimac not onl
whipped the Cumberland, Congress
. Minnesota, St. Lawrence and Roanoke
but that she gave the little chees
= box" such shelling that the latte
y was glad to run into shallow waite
into which she could not be followe
by the Merrimac. On being invited I
battle next day by the proud victor II
W Monitor drew away, declining to a
cept the gage.
The idea of armoring the Merrima
he also states. was not the results
one mans thoughts, but the gradu
outgrowth of the suggestions of sc
eral naval officers. Railroad irons we
first used in their original state, b
later on were taken to the Tredag
works in Richmond where they we
rolled out. In this way they we
fastened in overlapping style. both {
- the sides and top, while ships grea
was literally rubbed over all to faci
tate the glancing of the balls.
THAT the Merrimac was not 4
-s featcd by the Monitor, but that I
latter declined to renew the contest
says Capt. Littlepage, 81 can prove
the reports of the captains of sever
of the federal ships, as well as
dispatches sent to home goyernmer
bv foreign ships in our waters"
The flag of the Merrimac W
brought home by Capt. Littlepage, b
'eA' is now owned by c. f. Gunther. of G
cago. the famous relic collector W
removed Libby prison from hiehmoI
.ho. Capt. Littlepage is a warm friend a
classmate of Marmaduke, now co
. mander of the Bogota, which is fig
~ ing the insurgents in the interests
B The Colombian government. The o
cials of the Colombian governme
first offered the commission in tn
navy TO Litticpage. but as he was mi
ricd. he was unable to accept a
turned it over to Marmaduke, who
bachelor, was free to seek his f
tune in any part of the world.