Ancient indian missile tech & the US national anthem-- the connection

Rockets were invented in medieval China (Circa 1044 AD) but it's first practical use for serious purpose other then entertainment took place in 1232 AD by the Chinese against the Mongols at the siege of Kai-Feng-Fue.

Thereafter from 1750 AD to 1799 AD Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan(Sultan of Mysore, in south India) perfected the rocket's use for military purposes, very effectively using it in war against British colonial armies. Tipu Sultan had 27 brigades (called Kushoons) and each brigade had a company of rocket men called Jourks. In the Second Anglo-Mysore war, at the Battle of Pollilur (10 September 1780), Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan achieved a grand victory, whereby the whole British detachment lead by Colonel Baillie was destroyed and 3820 soldiers were taken prisoner (including Colonel Bailli). the contributory cause being that one of the British ammunition tambrils was set on fire by Mysorean rockets.

At the Battle of Seringapatam in 1792, Indian soldiers launched a huge barrage of rockets against British troops, followed by an assault of 36,000 men. Although the Indian rockets were primitive by modern standards, their sheer numbers, noise and brilliance were said to have been quite effective at disorienting British soldiers. During the night, the rockets were often seen as blue lights bursting in the air. Since Indian forces were able to launch these bursting rockets from in front of and behind British lines, they were a tremendous tool for throwing the British off guard. The bursting rockets were usually followed by a deadly shower of rockets aimed directly at the soldiers. Some of these rockets passed from the front of the British columns to the rear, inflicting injury and death as they passed. Sharp bamboo was typically affixed to the rockets, which were designed to bounce along the ground to produce maximum damage. Two of the rockets fired by Indian troops in 1792 war are on display at the Royal Artillery Museum in London.



Portrait of Tipu Sultan ,Sultan of Mysore, present day Karnataka, India
Present Mysore is 80 km from the city of Bangalore, capital of Karnataka.

Later at the battle of Srirangapattana (4th Anglo-Mysore war) in April 1799, British forces lead by Colonel Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) ran away from the battlefield when attacked by rockets and musket fire of Tipu Sultan's army. Unlike contemporary rockets whose combustion chamber was made of wood (bamboo), Tipu's rockets (weighing between 2.2 to 5.5 kg) used iron cylinder casings that allowed greater pressure, thrust and range (1.5 to 2.5 Km). The British were greatly impressed by the Mysorean rockets using iron tubes. At the end of war more then 700 rockets and sub systems of 900 rockets were captured and sent to England.

William Congreve thoroughly examined the Indian specimens to reverse engineer and making its copies that were later used successfully in naval attack on Boulogne (1806), siege of Copenhagen (1807) and also against Fort Washington (New York) during the American Independence War, that is recounted as, rockets' red glare in the U.S. National Anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."

On 13 & 14 September 1814, a 25-hour barrage of Congreve rockets (derived from the Mysorean rocket) was fired from the British ship Erebus against Fort McHenry in Baltimore. Each of the rockets fired against Fort McHenry weighed about 30 pounds, and carried an incendiary charge. A number of American ships were destroyed by Congreve rockets during the War of 1812 during the siege. The battle was witnessed by a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key, who mentioned the Congreve rockets' red glare in his song "The Star Spangled Banner". The song later became the U.S. National Anthem, paying tribute to the tenacity of the American forces under siege. Congreve rockets launched by British ground troops reportedly terrified the American soldiers. These rockets typically weighed 3 to 12 pounds each, and carried case-shot carbine balls that flew out like shrapnel when a charge of gunpowder exploded. The rockets surprised a rifle battalion led by U.S. Attorney General William Pinkney at the Battle of Bladensburg on 24 August 1814. After his victory at this battle, British Commander Lt. George R. Gleig wrote of the American soldiers, "Never did men with arms in their hands make better use of their legs."

Francis Scott Key coined the phrase the "rocket's red glare after the British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. Congreve had used a 16-foot guidestick to help stabilize his rocket. William Hale, another British inventor, invented the stickless rocket in 1846. The U.S. army used the Hale rocket more than 100 years ago in the war with Mexico. Rockets were also used to a limited extent in the Civil War. (Reproduced from a painting by Charles Hubbell and presented here courtesy of TRW Inc. and Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio). image and caption from history.msfc.nasa.gov...

------





Indian troops rout the British. The English confrontation with Indian rockets came in 1780 at the Battle of Guntur. The closely massed, normally unflinching British troops broke and ran when the Indian Army laid down a rocket barrage in their midst. Source:history.msfc.nasa.gov...

After the defeat of Tipu Sultan (04 May 1799) after he was betrayed by his own commander who was bribed by the british and other Indian kingdoms, major parts of India either fell to British colonialist or accepted British hegemony. Indian independence was largely compromised and the country was systematically exploited and suppressed by the British colonialism.


----

More than 2000 derived versions of Mysorean rockets were fired against the city of Boulonge. These rockets reportedly so stunned the French that not one shot was returned. ( www.spaceline.org...)


In 1807, Copenhagen was severely damaged by fires caused by the launching of 25,000 Mysorean-derived versions of rockets



----

sources :

home.btconnect.com...
www.spaceline.org...
www.vigyanprasar.com...
images : history.msfc.nasa.gov...

[edit on 8-4-2005 by Stealth Spy]

Great post! You've got a "way Above" vote from me

Great post! Very interesitng.


As I side note, does that first guy in the picture strongly resemble Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air to anyone else?

very good report you got way above vote from .

it show how far indian is in technology at that time .

it is open secret how britain expliot india.

not just technology but many historical item is shippend to britain and still there like kohinoor,sikh gurus religeaus as well as other item like armament, clothes still in there museam

i think in this forum memabers need more about that because they know us only with indo-pak war .

let post more about that here in appopri. section

Ahh yes mogol's are always indians. Actually the mogols altrough theire name is based on mongols were turkish not that theres a big difference between mongols and turks.

Yo... yeah he does look like Carlton, man I knew I had seen that guy on TV before

Also the rockets that Francis Scott Key was talking about were fired on Fort McHenry, and at the end of the attack the U.S. “flag was still there”.

[edit on 9-4-2005 by WestPoint23]

Yeah flags really win a battle.

Yes they do.
The British attacked in September 1814. For 25 whole hours the British bombarded Fort McHenry from ships off the cost of Baltimore Harbor.
Yet when day broke they could not take the Fort because the soldiers defending it were still there. When the British left the harbor the commander of Fort McHenry flew a even bigger U.S. flag to let the Brits know they were still there.

The part about the flying of the bigger flag is hard to find online, but earlier this year I watched a documentary about the War of 1812 on the History Channel and they had the part about the flying of the U.S. flag.
Though I would tell you that before you say I’m lying or wrong.

[edit on 9-4-2005 by WestPoint23]

Ohhhh so that's the rockets the US anthem was talking about. Now I see. Nice post.

Damn that look s like carlton!!
nice post stealth..
stick to stuff like this instead of anit chinese propaganda!!

Originally posted by Cutwolf
As I side note, does that first guy in the picture strongly resemble Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air to anyone else?

LMAO! Funniest post of the week!

^^
HeII no!! funniest post I've read/seen on ATS ever!!