technical words, "imparted directional velocity" to the bullets it
contained. Shrapnel's new shell was first used against the French in
1808, but was not called by its inventor's name until 1852.

INCENDIARIES AND CHEMICAL PROJECTILES

Incendiary missiles, such as buckets or barrels filled with a fiercely
burning composition, had been used from earliest times, long before
cannon. These crude incendiaries survived through the 1700's as, for
instance, the flaming cargoes of fire ships that were sent amidst the
enemy fleet. But in the year 1672 there appeared an iron shell called
a carcass (fig. 41), filled with pitch and other materials that burned
at intense heat for about 8 minutes. The flame escaped through vents,
three to five in number, around the fuze hole of the shell. The
carcass was standard ammunition until smoothbores went out of use. The
United States ordnance manual of 1861 lists carcasses for 12-, 18-,
24-, 32-, and 42-pounder guns as well as 8-, 10-, and 13-inch mortars.

During the late 1500's, the heating of iron cannon balls to serve as
incendiaries was suggested, but not for another 200 years was the idea
successfully carried out. Hot shot was nothing but round shot, heated
to a red glow over a grate or in a furnace. It was fired from cannon
at such inflammable targets as wooden ships or powder magazines.
During the siege of Gibraltar in 1782, the English fired and destroyed
a part of Spain's fleet with hot shot; and in United States seacoast
forts shot furnaces were standard equipment during the first half of
the 1800's. The little shot furnace at Castillo de San Marcos National
Monument was built during the 1840's; a giant furnace of 1862 still
remains at Fort Jefferson National Monument. Few other examples are
left.

Loading hot shot was not particularly dangerous. After the powder
charge was in the gun with a dry wad in front of it, another wad of
wet straw, or clay, was put into the barrel. When the cherry-red shot
was rammed home, the wet wad prevented a premature explosion of the
charge. According to the _Ordnance Manual_, the shot could cool in the
gun without setting off the charge! Hot shot was superseded, about
1850, by Martin's shell, filled with molten iron.

The smoke shell appeared in 1681, but was never extensively used.
Similarly, a form of gas projectile, called a "stink shell," was
invented by a Confederate officer during the Civil War. Because of its
"inhumanity," and probab