Trivia #13 Concoction (10/13/2014)

[Trivia Master]

Tonight's Civil War Trivia Question Value: 10 points.
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This question will be open until Wednesday at about 9:30am EDT
New Questions are Posted Every Night at 9:30pm EDT
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Please do not post your answers anywhere but in this forum! This includes you FACEBOOK users!
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Name the chemical concoction used to set fires in several New York City hotels in November of 1864.
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Post your answers BELOW. Good Luck!
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If you have a Civil War book, or perhaps some other interesting Civil War product you'd like to promote by giving it away as a trivia prize, contact the Webmaster, Mike Kendra

 

[Tumbleweed]

Greek Fire

 

[nitrofd]

Greek fire

 

[Stony]

'Greek Fire,' an incendiary mixture of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime that bursts into flame when exposed to air.

 

[chellers]

Greek fire

 

[ErnieMac]

Greek fire.

 

[csb1971]

Greek Fire

 

[adisciu9]

Greek Fire

 

[BrrrBRRRR]

Greek fire

 

[Brenal]

Greek Fire.

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

The website http://www.historynet.com/american-history-1864-attack-on-new-york.htm states: "Confederates had arranged to obtain 12 dozen bottles of a mixture that contemporary reports said was phosphorus. Other reports called it 'Greek Fire,' an incendiary mixture of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime that bursts into flame when exposed to air."

Though phosphorus could be the answer you are looking for, MY answer will be: 'Greek Fire,' an incendiary mixture of sulfur, naphtha, and quicklime.
Thanks!!

 

[Eagle eye]

Greek fire

 

[Bob Owen]

Phosphorous and Carbon Bisulphide

Edit - Faraway Friend's post indicates that, at the time, a report indicated that the fire-starting agent included phosphorus and sulphuret of carbon. Sounds close enough to "carbon bisulphide" for you to get credit for this answer.

Hoosier

 

[kholland]

Greek fire

 

[C.S.M 1861]

"Greek Fire"
"Headley said he had taken rooms in four separate hotels, and the other conspirators also took rooms in multiple hotels. They had obtained a chemical concoction dubbed "Greek fire" which was supposed to ignite when jars containing it were opened and the substance came into contact with the air.

Armed with these incendiary devices, at about 8:00 p.m. on a busy Friday night the Confederate agents began setting fires in hotel rooms. Headley claimed he set four fires in hotels, and said 19 fires were set altogether."

http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/a/Confederate-Plot-To-Burn-New-York.htm

 

[ole]

Greek fire, apparently containing phosphorous.

 

[DickWilliams]

"Greek fire"

 

[War Horse]

Greek fire, one ingrediente seems to have been phosphorus

 

[Copperhead-mi]

Greek fire.

 

[FarawayFriend]

New York should have been set on fire with Greek Fire, a mixture from phosphorous and hydrogene sulfide, that started to burn when in contact with oxygene and if set aflame, could not be extinguished with water.

However, the chemist altered the formula and now the concoction was much less powerful. From two bottles which were found unbroken, the New York Fire Marshal Alfred Baker analysed that it consisted of "phosphorous dissolved in sulphuret of carbon". Together with the lack of oxygen (all doors and windows had been shut) the fires could be easily extinguished and the plan failed.

From the book: True crime in the Civil War : cases of murder, treason and counterfeiting / by Tobin T. Buhlk, pp. 149-154
http://books.google.de/books?id=ra4...r+new+york+hotels+1864&hl=de&output=html_text