Onagers, Oxybeles, Gastrophetes and More

While it is a departure from most of what is in my blog, another of my interests is Greek and Roman siege engines – check out the following link for images of siege engines like onagers, oxybeles, gastrophetes, etc.

See the Roman Siege Weapons Page at

http://www.frapanthers.com/teachers/white/roman_siege_project.htm

The links on this page are particularly interesting – just when you think you have seen it all – you come across a list of links that includes a computer program to help you refine the design of the trebuchet you you have been building.

The link at the top of the page to a gallery of Greek and Roman siege engines is particularly nice – nice clear images that make it easy to understand how the devices worked.  http://www.frapanthers.com/teachers/white/siege_gallery.htm

Here is another page on Ancient Greek artillery technology, including Archimede’s Architronio Cannon -

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/war/CatapultTypes.htm

Scotten “Anti-Cow” Steam Gun (1858)

Over the years many inventors sought to use steam as a weapon, but for most of them, the intend targets were enemy troops, but Steven Scotten of Richmond, Indiana targeted something more dreadful – cows!

Cows were a constant problem on early American railroads – cow catchers were eventually developed, not to save cows, but to keep them from causing derailments. Scotten had something more in mind – a steam gun mounted on the front of a locomotive that would fire gravel or other missiles at cows – see his patent at:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=ZataAAAAEBAJ&dq=steam+gun&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1850&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1866&num=100

Landships (WWI Tanks)

See the following site for great images of WWI tanks as well as artillery, uniforms, as well as other kinds of vehicles – a great resources for anyone interested in the history of WWI (or in making models of the period).

http://www.landships.freeservers.com/index.htm

THE LAST OF THE “CAMELS” (Locomotive)

Today’s item is a link to an 1890s article on a class of 19th Century locomotives built by Ross Winans, whose cigar ships and connections to a steam gun were mentioned in previous posts.  The Camels helped muscle heavy coal and freight trains up the mountains on the western portions of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s tracks before and during the Civil War.  http://catskillarchive.com/rrextra/abboc.Html

They are hulking beasts when compared with other locomotives of the day – like the real Civil War period B&O engine featured in the Wild Wild West.

Interestingly, Camels were also used on the Moscow to St. Petersburg Railroad in Russia by Thomas and William Winans, Ross Winan’s sons.  While more recent official histories from the Russian perspective tend to omit the Winans, in the 1850s and 1860s, they managed a massive operation manufacturing and maintaining equipment for the road.

Sadly, all of the Camels were scrapped, but several engines designed as improvements on the Camel’s design still exist – one in St. Louis -http://transportmuseumassociation.org/images/exhibits/baltimore173.jpg

another at the B&O Museum in Baltimore.

Timby’s Revolving Battery Tower

In the glare of the historical spotlight that shines on John Ericsson, designer of the Monitor, the fact that its turret drew on the work of another inventor is often missed.  See the link below for a patent for Theodore Timby’s Revolving Battery tower – which he had been trying to market to various governments for years, and which Ericsson licensed for use in the Monitor, although on much smaller scale than Timby had contemplated.

http://www.google.com/patents?id=B1hwAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&dq=steam+gun&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1850&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1866&num=100#PPA2,M1

Confederate Torpedo Service (Article)

An interesting article by a former member  of the Confederate Torpedo Service- http://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862ConfTorpedoService.htm

Confederate Submarine (1861)

In 1861 reports of a Confederate submarine built in Richmond circulated in various publications including Harper’s Weekly.  For many years evidence of this early sub was lacking, and she was thought to be a myth.  In recent years, historian Mark Ragan has found evidence -accounting records — showing the costs of various materials used in her construction.  What became of her remains a mystery.

See http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Submarine.htm

for an image of the period page from Harper’s Weekly.

Civil War Observation Balloons

This website gives a good history of Thaddeus Lowe’s efforts to aid the Union war effort with observation balloons -http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/Balloon-Lowe/info/info.htm

Mitrailleuse aka moulin à café (1850-1870s)

See this very interesting site for details of the Mitrailleuse – European volley guns along the same lines at the Vandenburg volley gun of the American Civil War -http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Mitrailleuse

The Hunley (1860s)

See the: “The H.L. Hunley in Historical Context”

by Rich Wills, former Assistant Underwater Archaeologist, Naval Historical Center for a detailed history of the context of the first submarine to sink a vessel in combat.  Also has information about the two vessels that preceded the Hunley.

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-7b.htm

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-7b.htm