Autobiography and personal reminiscences of Major-General BenjFButler : Butler's book : a review of his legal, political, and military career . it was to be set onfire, Gomez fuses should be runthrough all these boxes of finepowder so placed. By this meansevery box of powder would be ex-ploded at substantially the sameinstant of time. It was also arrangedthat all the fuses should start fromthe cabin where the ends were tobe placed in a receptacle filledwith powder. When this powderin the receptacle should be fired, itwould instantly set fire to the wholemass. The Gomez fuse to be usedfor this
Autobiography and personal reminiscences of Major-General BenjFButler : Butler's book : a review of his legal, political, and military career . it was to be set onfire, Gomez fuses should be runthrough all these boxes of finepowder so placed. By this meansevery box of powder would be ex-ploded at substantially the sameinstant of time. It was also arrangedthat all the fuses should start fromthe cabin where the ends were tobe placed in a receptacle filledwith powder. When this powderin the receptacle should be fired, itwould instantly set fire to the wholemass. The Gomez fuse to be usedfor this purpose was bought andfurnished. To permit time for the crewto escape an ingenious gentlemandevised an apparatus from each ofthree marine clocks. These wereto be set running, in communicationwith devices, a dra-\ving of whichis given, wliich would drop througha tube, at any time to which the clock should be adjusted, a two-poundshot upon a percussion cap fixed to a nipple at the lower end of the the fall of the shot the cap would be exploded and fire communicatedto the powder in the aforementioned receptacle where the ends of the. Clockwork Devised and OrderedTO BE Used to Explode thePowder-Boat Louisiana, butnot Used fob that Purpose. BUTLERS BOOK. 803 several fuses were gathered together. A number of experiments weremade with this clockwork device, and they worked perfectly. Threesets of apparatus were to be taken lest some disorder of the machineryof one might hinder the proper discharge of the powder. In case theyall should fail from any unforeseen contingency, then, in order toprevent this quantity of powder from falling into the hands of theenemy, a fire was to be built on the forecastle of the vessel, which,by its burning, should at last reach and destroy the powder. Butthis was to be done, not with any expectation that it would cause aproper explosion, but only as a means of the destruction of thepowder without beneficial results.^ It ivas vitally necessary to a
Size: 1079px × 2316px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectgenerals, bookyear189
