"The Coal Torpedo – The Confederacy’s Own Improvised..." Topic
7 Posts
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| Tango01 | 17 Jan 2014 9:54 p.m. PST |
… Explosive Device. "The Confederate States may well have lagged behind the Union in manpower, industrial capacity and natural resources, but the rebellion made up for these shortcomings with spirit, determination… and a healthy dose of innovation. In fact, some of the American Civil War's most inspired (not to mention peculiar) weaponry came from Southern mills, armories and workshops. Submarines, steam-powered cannons and landmines were just a few of the rebellion's more ambitious inventions. And then there was the "coal torpedo" – an ingenious, if not devious, ‘improvised explosive device' pioneered by a 42-year-old Confederate spy named Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay. More booby-trap than torpedo (at least in the modern sense of the word), the weapons were actually 4-lb. (2 kg) explosive artillery shells cast to resemble lumps of coal. The hollowed out iron orbs were loaded with several ounces of gunpowder, sealed with wax and coated with soot making them largely indistinguishable from ordinary furnace fodder…"
Full article here.
link Hope you enjoy!. Amicalement
Armand |
| David Manley | 18 Jan 2014 5:52 a.m. PST |
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| jpattern2 | 18 Jan 2014 8:27 a.m. PST |
I had never heard of these. Very clever! Thanks for posting this, Armand. |
| Tango01 | 18 Jan 2014 10:38 a.m. PST |
Happy you enjoyed the article boys!. (smile).
Amicalement
Armand
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| Marshal Saxe | 18 Jan 2014 6:23 p.m. PST |
Joseph M and Thomas H Thatcher, Confederate Coal Torpedo: Thomas Courtenay's Infernal Sabotage Weapon, 2011 |
Dn Jackson  | 19 Jan 2014 5:49 p.m. PST |
There' nothing 'improvised' about it. |
| rebmarine | 19 Jan 2014 5:50 p.m. PST |
I have a friend that makes replicas of these. One of them is on display on Jefferson Davis' desk in the Confederate Whitehouse in Richmond, VA. One was presented to Davis during the war and he displayed it on his desk. |
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