- Joined
- Jul 23, 2017
- Location
- Southwest Missouri
I came across the calcium floodlight being used so I started doing some research to find out what it was and where it came from. It appears multiple sources I can find put the first use for combat during a July 1863 bombardment of Fort Wagner.
In 'Memoirs - Historical and Personal (Campaigns of the First Missouri Confederate Brigade)' - author Ephraim McDowell Anderson states the following...
The celebrated Blakely guns had not long before been brought to Vicksburg, and some of them placed in battery on the river line. They were found to be very effective against the iron-clad vessels, and discharged a steel-pointed ball with great accuracy of aim and extraordinary power.
The upper battery was a mile above, commanding the bend of the river, and one stood immediately on the edge of the town; two others were lower down, on the first slope of the bluff from the river. The number of guns on this line was about twenty five or thirty.
Aided by darkness, many of the enemy's vessels had succeeded in passing with impunity. Calcium lights had recently been introduced, by the use of which the river could be lighted up in a few minutes almost as bright as day, and the danger of attempting to pass in the night was greatly increased.
While no actual date is given, considering the timing of the town's surrender, it is implied that they were in use at Vicksburg in June 1863, or possibly earlier.
Any thoughts or other accounts?
In 'Memoirs - Historical and Personal (Campaigns of the First Missouri Confederate Brigade)' - author Ephraim McDowell Anderson states the following...
The celebrated Blakely guns had not long before been brought to Vicksburg, and some of them placed in battery on the river line. They were found to be very effective against the iron-clad vessels, and discharged a steel-pointed ball with great accuracy of aim and extraordinary power.
The upper battery was a mile above, commanding the bend of the river, and one stood immediately on the edge of the town; two others were lower down, on the first slope of the bluff from the river. The number of guns on this line was about twenty five or thirty.
Aided by darkness, many of the enemy's vessels had succeeded in passing with impunity. Calcium lights had recently been introduced, by the use of which the river could be lighted up in a few minutes almost as bright as day, and the danger of attempting to pass in the night was greatly increased.
While no actual date is given, considering the timing of the town's surrender, it is implied that they were in use at Vicksburg in June 1863, or possibly earlier.
Any thoughts or other accounts?