Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-10-08

An Altos missile in toke-oH.
tack. But there was no real pro-
cedure and the Secretary Of State,
James Monroe, was galloping
about as an army scout.
Near noon Of August oath, in
scarlet coats, marching q ca
denced six abreast the British
Light Brigade arrived for battle
at BladenSburg, just outside Of
Washington. Seven thousand
Americans, mostly volunteers, I'M
der the faltering command Of
Gen. William H. Winder went out
to meet them.
It didn't take the practised
British long to rout the Ameri-'
can artillery and a barrage OF
Congreve rockets soon scattered
the American infantry stationed
on a hill above the main battle
field.
A Two-Mile Ronee
These rockets had a two-mile
range and whizzed overhead with
a crazy roar. When exploded, their
warheads produced a choking
black smoke that prevented the
approach Of firefighters. The first
volleys flew high but the follow
ing ones were lower, grazing the
militiamen's heads. Three regi-
ments panicked and led a STAN
pede Of the American forces to-
wards Georgetown.
But long before this unhappy
moment in American history the
Chinese first used the freely ris-
ing rocket as an instrument OF
war. The occasion was the siege
of Pien-king by the Monsols in
1882 AID.
The Chinese had discovered the
explosive properties Of saltpeter.
BY the 18th century they had
bombs, demonstrating thun-
der" that exploded with great
noise and rockets, arrows Of fly
ing fire." powerful enough to de-
part on ignition without a shoot
ing instrument.
Eight years after the battle Of
Pien King, an Arab scholar
known as Ibn Albaithar, son Of
the horse doctor" compiled
book on the ineendiary values Of
saltpeter. His work was followed
by a more detailed study by an
other Arab scholar named Has
sen er-Rammah. Hassan's book,
Fighting on Horseback and with
War Engines" detailed the max
ing of both gunpowder and rock
cts and contributed further to the
art of war with the designs for
a rocket-propelled torpedo en-
titled the "self-moving and COM
busting egg"
Fell Into Disuse
Although rockets were used and
written about in the 18th and
14th centuries In Europe, they
gradually fell into disuse with
the improvement Of guns. And
it wasn't until the end Of the
18th century and the accounts
of the Indian rockets effective
ness against the British in the
wars on the Coromandel Coast
that interest was again revived.
These rocket had bamboo
guiding poles, 10 to IL feet long.
and a maximum range Of one
and a half miles. Although thor
oughly inaccurate, the princes Of
Mysore soon saw that rockets
could be mass applied with con-
siderable confusion to the enc
my's cavalry. And the Indian
rocket corps sometimes numbered
up to 5000 men.
The brief rocket vogue amongst
the military after 1900 is known
as the "Congreve period" named
after an Englishman who had
never seen the Indian rockets ir
action. Sir William Congreve, the
story goes, became so inspired
by the Indian campaigns that hi
went out and bought some sky.
rockets used in celebrations and
began little long range practic.
ing on his own time and his owr
money.
The Congreve rockets main ad.
vantage over contemporary artil.
lery, was the absence Of recoil
Foot soldiers could use them ant
they could be shot from small
gunboats. Congreve referred tx
his rockets as "the soul Of artil
1ery without the body"
Even at the peak OF its sue
cess in the Napoleonic wars, tn,
sieges Of Boulogne, Copenhagen
and Danzig, the more competitive
members Of the artillery attacket
, the Congreve rocket as too expen
sive. Congreve only pointed to tn
mobile success Of the British
Rocket Corps" in the Battle o
Leipzig which broke Napoleon
and drew a scathing comparison
Of the 10-inch mortar gun, tn
:. most ponderous piece Of ord
: nance In the service"
I The British may have invente
the war rockets Of the early let
century but the Americans i'm
mortaliZed them in song ate
= the siege of Maryland's Fort Nc
= Henry. And although they faile
J. to aid the British in capturin
I Baltimore. as a history of rock
= cts in the magazine, Army Ord
t nance, states, I'VE may indirectl
t Cor perhaps Directly thank Con
= greve and his invention for tn
. capture and burning Of Washing
ton" -