Sir William Congreve

“ The Rocket trooper has no heavy weights to lift—no guns to spunge, or to limber up and unlimber. He is required merely to be light and active for mounting and dismounting, and for moving nimbly on foot with a single Rocket, when in action: so that, whereas an artillery man cannot average less than 13 stone, the Rocket trooper need not exceed 10 stone, a difference amounting within a few pounds to the whole weight of ammunition carried by the men, even in action. It is needless to add that this difference in the men must also give great facility in recruiting for a Rocket corps. ”

“ In battle also, where there is not, of course, time to prepare the ground as above stated, but where it is tolerably level, he may, in addition to the apparatus he possesses, add to his fire by discharging, from the intervals of his frames or cars, Rockets merely laid on the ground in the direction required: and, if an enemy be advancing upon him, there is, in fact, no limit to the volley he may be prepared thus to give, when at a proper distance, but the quantity of ammunition he possesses, the extension of his own ground, and the importance of the object to be fired at. ”

“ A For a hundred fires breaking out at once, must necessarily produce more destruction than when they happen in succession, and may therefore be extinguished as fast as they occur.
There is another most important use in this weapon, in the storming of fortified places, which should here be mentioned, viz. that as it is the only description of artillery ammunition that can ever be carried into a place by a storming party, and as, in fact, the heaviest Rockets may accompany an escalade, so the value of it in these operations is infinite, and no escalade should ever be attempted without. ”

“ The Rockets are laid in rows or batteries of 100 or 500 in a row, according to the extent of ground to be protected. They are to be concealed either in high grass, or masked in any other convenient way; and the ambuscade may be formed of any required number of these batteries, one behind the other, each battery being prepared to be discharged in a volley, by leaders of quick match: so that one man is, in fact, alone sufficient to fire the whole in succession, beginning with that nearest to the enemy, as soon as he shall have perceived them near enough to warrant his firing. ”

“ In bombardment, as well as in the field, the quantity of instantaneous fire is equally important, and the greater number of Rockets that can be thrown, not only increase the number of fires, but, by distracting the enemy’s attention, prevent their extinction. To this end, therefore, an officer should always employ as many bombarding frames as possible; and here again he will find, that in bombardment, as well as in the field, the weapon affords him the means of extending his fire beyond the compass of his apparatus. ”

“ But independent of this comparison as to quantity, there are others in which the Rocket has advantages exclusively its own: there are situations where artillery cannot by any means be brought into action, while there is no situation, no nature of ground, which is passable to an infantry soldier with his musket in his hand, that is not equally to be passed by the Rocketteer with his arm and ammunition. ”

“ Thus the longest ranges of the 32-pounder Carcass Rockets are obtained at about 55°, or rather more, if the Rockets have been long made. An officer, however, being prepared for this circumstance, will soon discover the maximum range of the Rockets he may have to discharge.
Some allowance in elevation also must be made for the direction of the wind: if it is powerful, and blows in a contrary direction to that in which the Rocket is projected, the frame requires more elevation; for the wind acting more on the stick than the body of the Rocket, depresses the elevation in its rising. ”

“ It should be observed that, with due care, the Rocket ammunition is not only the most secure, but the most durable that can be: every Rocket is, in fact, a charge of powder hermetically sealed in a metal case, impervious either to the ordinary accidents by fire, or damage from humidity. I have used Rockets that had been three years on board of ship, without any apparent loss of power ”

“ To insure every Rocket that is fired having the desired effect, they are so heavily laden, as not to rise off the ground when fired along it; and under these circumstances are placed in a small shallow trench, run along to the foot of the glacis, from the nearest point of the third parallel, and in a direct line for the breach: by this means, the Rockets being laid in this trench will invariably pursue exactly the same course, and every one of them will be infallibly lodged in the breach. ”

“ It is evident, therefore, that however extended the magnitude of Rockets may be, and I am now endeavouring to construct some, the falling mass of which will be considerably more than that of the 13-inch shell or carcass, and whose powers, therefore, either of explosion or conflagration, will rise even in a higher ratio, still, although the first cost may exceed that of any projectile at present thrown, on a comparison of effects, there will be a great saving in favour of the Rocket System. ”

“ These large Rockets have from their weight, combined with less diameter, even more penetration than the heaviest shells, and are therefore equally efficient for the destruction of bomb proofs, or the demolition of strong buildings; and their construction having now been realized, it is proved that the facilities of the Rocket system are not its only excellence, but that it actually will propel heavier masses than can be done by any other means ”

“ From the 24-pounder to the 9-pounder Rocket, inclusive, a description of case shot Rocket is formed of each nature, armed with a quantity of musket or carbine balls, put into the top of the cylinder of the Rocket, and from thence discharged by a quantity of powder contained in a chamber, by which the velocity of these balls, when in flight, is increased beyond that of the Rocket’s motion, an effect which cannot be given in the spherical case, where the bursting powder only liberates the balls. ”

“ The men are armed with a sabre, which is in action suspended to the saddle, that they may not be incumbered in mounting and dismounting. Each man has besides a pistol in his cross belt, and a spear head in his holster, which may be occasionally fixed at the end of one of the Rocket sticks, so as to give the further aid of a very formidable lance. Instead of carrying slow match, which would be dangerous as well as inconvenient, the portfire is lighted in action by a flash of powder obtained from a pistol lock and pan, mounted on a small stock ”

“ It is evident, from this view of the weapon, that the Rocket System is not only capable of a degree of portability, and facility for light movements, which no weapon possesses, but that its ponderous parts, or the individual masses of its ammunition, also greatly exceed those of ordinary artillery. ”

“ The system here shewn is the use of the Rockets by infantry—one man in ten, or any greater proportion, carrying a frame, of very simple construction, from which the Rockets may be discharged either for ground ranges, or at high angles, and the rest carrying each three rounds of ammunition, which, for this service, is proposed to be either the 12-pounder Shell Rockets, or the 12-pounder Rocket case shot, each round equal to the 6-pounder case, and ranging 2,500 yards. ”

“ The weight of ammunition carried by the troop horse, with the full complement going into action, is three stone six lbs.; to which the horse is fully equal for any ordinary operation. But in long marches, it would be not only useless but improvident to burthen him to this extent; small tumbrils, therefore, are provided to convey three rounds of each man’s Rockets, he still carrying one round on the near side, and the four sticks on the off side to balance, which leaves the horse, in travelling, only one stone four lbs. weight of ammunition to carry ”

“ The great advantage of this system is, that, as it dispenses with apparatus: where there is time for forming a work of this sort, of considerable length, the quantity of fire, that may be thrown in a given time, is limited only by the length of the work: thus, as the Rockets may be laid in embrasures cut in the bank, at every two feet, a battery of this description, 200 feet in length, will fire 100 Rockets in a volley, and so on; or an incessant and heavy fire may, by such a battery, be kept up from one flank to the other, by replacing the Rockets as fast as they are fired in succession. ”

“ These men can always supply the ammunition quicker than it can be fired, and one or other must therefore advance towards the frame to meet No. 2 with the round prepared. No. 2 having thus received the Rocket, places it on the cradle, at the same instant that No. 1 puts a tube into the vent. No. 2 then points the frame, which has an universal traverse after the legs are fixed; he then gives the word “Ready,” “Fire,” to No. 1, who takes up his portfire and discharges the Rocket. No. 1 now sticks his portfire stick into the ground, and prepares another tube ”

“ The holsters, thus connected, slip on and off from the pummel with great facility, which is an object of importance, as a part of the service of the Rocket trooper is, when from some impassable obstacle, he can no longer advance on horseback, to dismount and pass over such obstacle, with his ammunition holsters and chamber, on foot. ”

“ So that even with the present disadvantages of manufacture, there is an actual saving in the 32-pounder Rocket carcass itself, which contains more composition than the 10-inch spherical carcass, without allowing any thing for the difference of expense of the Rocket apparatus, and that of the mortar, mortar beds, platforms, &c. which, together with the difficulty of transport, constitute the greatest expense of throwing the common carcass; whereas, the cost of apparatus for the use of the Rocket carcass does not originally exceed £5 ”

“ Another vast advantage is the few men required to make a complete section, as by this means the number of points of fire is so greatly multiplied, compared to any other system of artillery. Thus it may be stated that the number of bouches a feù, which may comparatively be brought into action, by equal means, on the scale of a troop of horse artillery, would be at least six to one ”

“ There are two descriptions of these cars, of similar construction—one for 32 or 24-pounder ammunition, the other for 18 or 12-pounder; and which are, therefore, called heavy or light cars: the heavy car will carry 40 rounds of 24-pounder Rockets, armed with cohorn shells, and the light one will convey 60 rounds of 12-pounder, or 50 of 18-pounder ammunition, which is packed in boxes on the limber, the sticks being carried in half lengths in the boxes on the after part of the carriage, where the men also ride on seats fixed for the purpose, and answering also for small store boxes ”

“ It is evident, also, that the most extensive destruction to the enemy may be calculated on, as the discharge will commence about the time that the fire-ship has drifted in amongst the enemies’ ships: when issuing in the most tremendous vollies, the smallest ship being supposed not to have less than 1,000 Rockets, distributed in different directions, it is impossible but that every ship of the enemy must, with fire-ships enough, and no stint of Rockets, be covered sooner or later with clouds of this destructive fire ”

“ An officer, therefore, having the use of this weapon under his direction, must ever bear this maxim in mind—and his first consideration must be—to make his discharges against the enemy in as powerful vollies as he possibly can. ”

“ These cars not only convey the ammunition, but are contrived also to discharge each two Rockets in a volley from a double iron plate trough, which is of the same length as the boxes for the sticks, and travels between them; but which, being moveable, may, when the car is unlimbered, be shifted into its fighting position at any angle from the ground ranges, or point blank up to 45°, without being detached front the carriage. ”

“ For the accomplishment of any particular service, he may dispense entirely with wheel carriages or even horses; there is nothing which the men themselves cannot transport and bring into action; and if any bombardment were required by a coup de main, 1,000 men would not only5 convey 1,000 rounds of the heaviest Carcass Rockets, a number sufficient to destroy any place within the compass of their range, but would perform that service in a few hours, having neither batteries or platforms to erect, nor mortars to convey. ”

“ No demonstration should be made with less than twenty rounds in a volley; to maintain which, in any fixed position, at the rate of two or even three vollies a minute, twenty men may be said to be sufficient, and this with Rockets projecting cohorn, or 51⁄2-inch howitzer shells, or even 18 and 24-pounder solid shot. ”

“ It is evident also, that as the weight of the Rockets diminishes by supplying the mounted men, the weight of the sticks also is diminished, and the centre of gravity may, if desired, be brought lower and lower, as the load diminishes, by taking the ammunition from the upper tiers gradually and equally on each side downwards. ”