1826.] P^rugress of the Continental Manufacture of Congreve Rockets. S93 



tinguished officer of French artillery, whose name he does not {;ive, made parti, 

 cular inquiries, but unsuccessfully, into their composition. Jjike Baron Uiipir, 

 he guesses that they are in part composed of chlorate of potash. Under these 

 circumstances, we think that Sir William will have every need of circumspec- 

 tion to keep his secret undiscovered. 



M. Montgery passes next to the attempts made in France. In 1813, in con- 

 sequence of the dangerous situation in which France at that time was, a com- 

 mittee of men of science and engineers was formed to consult on every ()03sil)le 

 means of defence, and Garnerin the aeronaut laid before them a rocket of bis 

 construction, to which in place of a stick he attacheil a weinhtas a counter])oii5e, 

 in the expectation that this would cause it to describe in its fliifht a true |)arul)olic 

 course; the horizontal range being estiuiated at about 4,.'> tO toises, or 9,500 yards. 

 The experiment, however, was not made. For the idea of substituting a weight for 

 a stick, this gentleman was indebted to a German military engineer of the name of 

 Shelvoek, who, in a volume upon artillery and fire-works, which he published 

 more than a century ago, states that he had employed this invention witii 

 success. Another of Mr. Garnerin's missiles, which he called i\\c court e-a-tcrre, 

 the intention of which was to run along the ground, was also rejected, as 

 being calculated to do as nuich injury from its recoil to the party that launched it, 

 as to the party against which it was discharged. Montgery says, that the only 

 merit Garnerin's rockets had was, that they were thicker and shorter than any 

 before made, a merit since recognized by the English experiments. 



Denmark next occupies his attention. Copenhagen having been partly con- 

 sumed by our besiegers with rockets, the Danes sensibly felt the necessity of 

 thinking seriously of these implements. Schumachker, captain aide-de-camp of 

 tile King of Denmark, a man of great skill and information, in ISlI, established 

 a manufacture of rockets in the citadel of a little island in the Cattegat. Part 

 of his workmen were convicts destined to that emj)loyment, a part free 

 labourers. Schumachker never confided entirely, to any of them, the processes 

 by which he wrought: each had his appointed task, and knew nothing of the 

 labour of his fellow-workmen. The more delicate part of the work he exe- 

 cuted himself, and so determined was he to keep secresy, that he never wrote 

 down any of his receipts or propositions, imposing on himself the. task of keep- 

 ing them all in his memory. A French artillery officer, named Brulard, was 

 permitted, by a convention made in 1813, to visit Schumachker, who at that 

 time commanded a flotilla about the island of Zealand. Brulard received from 

 him, viva voce, all the instruction possible, but the ministry would not consent 

 that he should be conducted to the manufactory of the rockets. He obtained 

 some of the models, and had some experiments made before him ; the exactness 

 of their aim particularly surprised him. In Denmark, Schumachker is gene- 

 rally considered as the inventor of rockets, which they call Brand-raketen. It 

 is certain that he never had any means of imitating Sir William Congreve, and 

 in that sense may be called an inventor; but he had seen the Congreve rockets 

 in action, and set his very ingenious mind to work to produce something oi" the 

 saine kind. He died about two years ago. 



While Brulard was with him, he heard of the affair (so M. Montgery calls 

 it) of Leipsic, and he at once hastened off to the army. On his return to 

 Hamburgh, he was ordered by Davoust to make rockets, and on the 10th of 

 .January 1814 those of his making were tried before Davoust and his staff 

 The first was, in spite of his remonstrances, pointed too low, and plunged into 

 a branch of the Elbe, through which it dashed, and, on gaining the opposite 

 bank, cut many ver}- whimsical-looking capers ; the others succeeded, and 

 carried about 950 toises. At this Davoust ordered rockets to be manufactured 

 at once, and of course employed Brulard as their maker : but the dynasty of 

 Buonaparte had reached its last days, and there was scarcely an opportunitj' of 

 trying the success of the new operation. They have been in abeyance ever 

 since : the French had them not at Waterloo, nor are they making any at prr- 

 seut. Schumachker to his death continued to employ himself in perfecting !iis 

 rockets.' In 1819, he discharged some in the little island of Hielm iu the 

 M. M. Neiv Series— Yoj.. I. No. 4. 3 E 



