12th Missouri Yankee
Sergeant
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2014
An incendiary device, constructed of combustible chemicals that was used by Confederate soldiers to burn down buildings. (Not always effective as in the St. Alban's Raid in Vermont.)
BTW, the Confederate Army was only briefly in the North. Responsible historians recognize they were pretty well behaved, as these things go. The Union Army in the South, not so much.
If we're going to evaluate who burned what, it's going to be a long evening.
The Confederacy did depredate property and towns in every incursion it conducted into the Union and the fact that more pillage was not committed by Confederate forces and agents was not due to to any moral superiority of its leaders or personnel but rather the lack of opportunity or in some instances, the failure to carry out their pyrogenic assignments. And let's not forget their bio-warfare plots and attempts.
Confederate soldiers used liquid Greek Fire in bottle weapons to set fire to hotels in NYC in November 1864.
I'm sorry to be snarky, but I've read in the papers that cannabis has been legalized in a lot of places. Where on earth are you getting this information? Confederate soldiers were burning hotels in New York City in 1864?
Wow. That's really a new one on me.
Yes, Drew. confederate agents were sent into NYC to set off incendiary devices. They did set at least one hotel on fire that I understand damaged PT Barnum's museum. They did call the material they were issued Greek Fire but whatever it was it was not the same formula used by the seventh century AD Byzantines as their formula was a state secret (though probably based on naphtha) and has only been imitated, never duplicated. If I remember correctly what the Confederates were issued was some kind of binary device that would only cook off when blended.I'm sorry to be snarky, but I've read in the papers that cannabis has been legalized in a lot of places. Where on earth are you getting this information? Confederate soldiers were burning hotels in New York City in 1864?
Wow. That's really a new one on me.
Change "soldiers" to "agents" and it is true. This is probably as good a description of the events as any from the New York Times from back then...
Let's put this in more simple language. The Army of Northern Virginia behaved itself, on General Lee's orders, during its Northern incursions. Both of them.
There were no "pyrogenic assignments" and I would like to see some sources on the "bio-warfare plot and attempts" you're speaking of. Like I said, this may turn out to be a long evening.
I was stopping at the Belmont House, but moved into Prince street. I set fire to four places-Barnum's Museum, Lovejoy's Hotel, Tammany Hotel, and the New England House. The others only started fires in the house where each was lodging and then ran off.
The originators of Greek Fire chemical liquids were the Byzantine Empire around 672....