Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1915-06-16
THE SHRAPNEL, ITS
INVENTION, USE AND
PART IN WAR NOW
WAS INVENTED BY GENERAL
HENRY SHRAPNEL 100
YEARS AGO

A little more than 1874 years ago
there was born near London the great
English artillerist Henry Shrapnel. the
officer who at the age of Is conceived
the idea Of a bullet-showering pro-
jectile, which in all countries is known
by the name of shrapnel, and which
remains TO this day one OF the most
effective man-killing projectiles yet
/ devised
In all armies the field artillery units
use shrapnel. One has only TO read
the war news that is cabled or wire
lessed across the Atlantic to realize the
important part shrapnel shells play i'm
the conflict now raging.
The shrapne projectile consists of
a hollow cylindrical body with an ogi-
val or conoidal head; in the interior
near the base, is an explosive charge,
and Immediately above the charge an
iron disc, and the space between this
disc and the head Of the body of the
projectile is filled with spherical bull
let's. The fuse is fixed in the point of
the projectile, and communicates with
\ the powder charge through a central
pipe and is timed 10 explode the shell
during its flight, at point about sixty
or eighty yards short of the target.
enough TO blow off the head of the
projectile, which is lightly attached,
and thus release the bullets, which fly
forward in a shaped shower COW
ering a large front The bullets de-
pend for their force upon the speed at
which the projectile is travelling when
they are released. For exect they
should have momentum of not less
than 400 feet per second. Consequent
ly, as the force and velocity of the
projectiles increase, the striking eff
feet of shrapnel becomes more for
midable.
In all the history of warfare there
are few more interesting stories than
that which tells of the evolution of the
terrible weapon invented by General
Shrapnel in the latter part Of the
eighteenth century. Likewise il is a
story little known outside military cir
cles.
on July g. 1879, commission as a
second lieutenant in the Royal Artil-
lery was issued to Henry Shrapnel. He
was then Is years Of age. 1t was a
period in the worlds history when
great wars. which were to eliminate
in the overthrow Of Napoleon, were
being fought, an era when an officer of
the inventive genius of Shrapnel was
sorely needed in practically every
army in Europe.
As soon as he was commissioned
Lieutenant Shrapnel was ordered to
Gibraltar 10 take part in the defense
of the great rock, then besieged by the
Spaniards The siege lasted intermit
tently from 1879 TO 1888.
] he. fire. ~
Shrapnel was a student. Arriving at
I Gibraltar, he viewed the situation
/ from scientific rather than a military
standpoint, and was most impressed,
or rather depressed, by the poor effect
of the British gunnery. Shrapnel noted
on one occasion when more than 1000
twenty four FOUNDERS were fired from
the rock at body of Spanish troops
/ that out Of the entire command only
twenty-siX men were put out of action.
Another officer who was impressed as
a result of the poor results obtained
was a Captain MERCER.
MERCER recommended that an ex-
pertinent, namely, the firing of mortar
shells with short fuses so that they
should burst in the air at close proX-
Unity to the target be tried. on its
hrst trial the shells did terrible eXecu-
ion. Shrapnel witnessed the expert
ment. and then and there was born the
idea out of which has been perfected
the dreadful bullet-stuffed projectile
of to-day.
The records Of the British army
state that Shrapnel in 1887 described
to General O'Hara, then commanding
at Gibraltar. "a new method of eX-
tending the use OF grape or case shot
to the utmost range Of ordinance"
This memorandum, which is believ-
ed to have been written by Shrapnel
himself. is the first indication Of the
realization of his idea to the carrying
into effect of which Shrapnel gave
most of his life.
After Waterloo, where the shrapnel
greatly damaged and puzzled the
French, and during the long peace
that followed, the reputation of shrap-
mel declined, and in the course of time
its use almost ceased so far as the
British army was concerned. Shrapnel
who had given the best years of his
life TO the perfection of the missile,
and who had used up his private for
tune in doing so. ceased to be a popu-
lar hero, and died a disappointed man,
whose only reward had been a pen
sion of 1900 pounds and a royalty of
25 pounds given him as the result Of