Knowledge (XXG)

Blue light (pyrotechnic signal)

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114:, standard military texts listed recipes for blue light which lacked any such coloring agent. While the generic moniker "blue light" was retained, the pyrotechnic signal was meant to burn with a vivid, white light. Modern authors have been confused by the generic name of blue light, and have imagined incorrectly that the signal which was seen during the 20: 41:
era than the modern, encased signal flares, which are often launched by mortar or rifle and suspended by parachute. Widely used during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for signaling by the world's military forces, and for general illumination in the civilian sector, blue light was remarkable
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Mr. Blackwell had some 200 Bengal lights made of the largest size which it was possible to manufacture. About 20 of these were placed in a row under the cliffs, beneath Clifton House, and facing the American fall: 20 more were placed under table rock, and 20 more behind the sheet of water itself
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displays, and its synonyms "Bengal light" and "Bengal fire" can still be found in modern pyrotechnic manuals. Such displays were also popular in nineteenth century civilian life: two hundred blue lights were used in the first illumination of
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Noah Webster, International Dictionary of the English Language Comprising the issues of 1864, 1879 and 1884, ed. Noah Porter, p. 137 at www.archive.org/details/webstersinternat01webs Accessed Dec. 10,
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Proceedings of the Naval Court of Inquiry on the Sinking of the Housatonic NARA Microfilm Publication M 273, reel 169, Records of the Judge Advocate General (Navy) Record Group 125
134:. Blue light as made in 1864 has been reproduced according to the two recipes listed in period texts and has been tested with success over the same distances involved in the 83:
story as a blue lantern, since they failed to realize the 1864 meaning of "blue light" as it was known to eyewitnesses who testified to its use during the battle between the
322: 37:. Blue light consists of a loose, chemical composition burned in an open, hand-held hemispherical wooden cup, and so is more akin to the flashpan signals of the 146:
Blue light has been obsolete for signaling since early in the twentieth century, but pyrotechnic lighting is still popular for celebratory
92: 79:, on February 17, 1864, during the Civil War. Such blue light has been repeatedly misidentified by authors and researchers of the 452: 447: 123: 235:
Report of Lieutenant-Commander W.D. Whiting (commanding the USS Ottawa off Charleston, 22 January 1863); ORN I, 13, PP. 525-526
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A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery Compiled for the Use of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy
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submarine has a clear, not a blue, glass lens, further evidence which discounts the modern "blue lantern myth" of the
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carried the nickname "Old Blue Light" because his men said his eyes glowed with a blue light when battle commenced
96: 171:"Blue Light" was a derisive nickname given to military officers of the 18th and 19th centuries, whose evangelical 184: 289: 457: 216:
J.N. Cardozzo, Reminiscences of Charleston (Charleston, 1866) p. 124. Google Book search Dec. 10, 2011
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Christopher Rucker (Spring 2012). "Blue Light and the H.L. Hunley Debunking the Blue Lantern Myth".
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Chemical Experiments: Illustrating the Theory, Practice and Application of the Science of Chemistry
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by Richard Blake (review no. 799) accessed Dec. 24, 2011 at www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/799
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zeal burned as brightly as its namesake signal, to the chagrin of those less ardent. During the
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and would have been a familiar sight to both Union and Confederate soldiers and sailors.
54:), which contributed to its replacement by safer flares in the early twentieth century. 38: 436: 156: 152: 172: 64: 31: 147: 69: 102:
Recipes for blue light appear in early chemistry texts and often included
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Evangelicals in the Royal Navy, 1775-1815: Blue Lights and Psalm-Singers
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The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army
103: 91:. Pyrotechnic blue light was commonly used by the vessels of the Federal 51: 47: 43: 19: 107: 18: 122:
encounter was blue. The oil lantern which archeologists at the
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compounds meant to add a blue color, but by the time of the
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Blue light was famously mentioned in accounts of the
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which became the first to sink an enemy vessel, the
187:; the nickname is referenced in the lyrics of " 30:is an archaic signal, the progenitor of modern 309:The Hunley: The Secret Hope of The Confederacy 8: 321:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( 200: 314: 7: 58:Confusion with blue-colored lanterns 263:(3rd ed.). 1861. p. 307. 93:South Atlantic Blockading Squadron 14: 361:. Cumberland, England. 1860-09-26 124:Warren Lasch Conservation Center 380:"Illumination of Niagara Falls" 245:Samuel Frederick Gray (1828). 1: 278:(2nd ed.). p. 369. 422:Civil War Navy the Magazine 185:Shelby Foote, The Civil War 474: 97:Charleston, South Carolina 402:Gareth Atkins, review of 42:for its use of poisonous 311:. New York. p. 242. 16:Early pyrotechnic signal 453:Military communications 448:Emergency communication 355:"News from Londonderry" 191:" (penned circa 1862). 189:Stonewall Jackson's Way 335:Ordnance Manual, p.307 296:. London. p. 152. 290:George William Francis 179:, Confederate General 24: 247:The Operative Chemist 22: 307:Tom Chaffin (2008). 274:J.G. Benton (1862). 126:recovered from the 177:American Civil War 112:American Civil War 68:, the Confederate 25: 181:Stonewall Jackson 465: 429: 407: 400: 394: 393: 387: 386: 376: 370: 369: 367: 366: 351: 345: 342: 336: 333: 327: 326: 320: 312: 304: 298: 297: 286: 280: 279: 271: 265: 264: 257: 251: 250: 242: 236: 233: 227: 223: 217: 214: 208: 205: 155:during the 1860 473: 472: 468: 467: 466: 464: 463: 462: 433: 432: 419: 416: 414:Further reading 411: 410: 401: 397: 384: 382: 378: 377: 373: 364: 362: 353: 352: 348: 343: 339: 334: 330: 313: 306: 305: 301: 288: 287: 283: 273: 272: 268: 259: 258: 254: 244: 243: 239: 234: 230: 224: 220: 215: 211: 206: 202: 197: 169: 161:Prince of Wales 144: 60: 17: 12: 11: 5: 471: 469: 461: 460: 455: 450: 445: 435: 434: 431: 430: 415: 412: 409: 408: 395: 371: 346: 337: 328: 299: 281: 266: 252: 249:. p. 499. 237: 228: 218: 209: 199: 198: 196: 193: 168: 165: 157:North American 143: 140: 59: 56: 39:Admiral Nelson 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 470: 459: 456: 454: 451: 449: 446: 444: 441: 440: 438: 427: 423: 418: 417: 413: 405: 399: 396: 392: 381: 375: 372: 360: 356: 350: 347: 344:Benton, p.369 341: 338: 332: 329: 324: 318: 310: 303: 300: 295: 291: 285: 282: 277: 270: 267: 262: 256: 253: 248: 241: 238: 232: 229: 222: 219: 213: 210: 204: 201: 194: 192: 190: 186: 182: 178: 174: 167:As a nickname 166: 164: 162: 159:visit of the 158: 154: 153:Niagara Falls 149: 141: 139: 137: 133: 129: 125: 121: 117: 113: 109: 105: 100: 98: 94: 90: 86: 82: 78: 77: 71: 67: 66: 57: 55: 53: 49: 45: 40: 36: 33: 29: 21: 458:Pyrotechnics 425: 421: 403: 398: 389: 383:. Retrieved 374: 363:. Retrieved 358: 349: 340: 331: 308: 302: 293: 284: 275: 269: 260: 255: 246: 240: 231: 221: 212: 203: 170: 145: 138:engagement. 135: 131: 127: 119: 115: 101: 88: 84: 80: 75: 63: 61: 27: 26: 65:H.L. Hunley 46:compounds ( 32:pyrotechnic 23:Blue light. 437:Categories 385:2020-06-12 365:2020-06-12 195:References 120:Housatonic 89:Housatonic 76:Housatonic 28:Blue light 359:The Times 317:cite book 173:Christian 148:fireworks 74:USS  70:submarine 443:Lighting 292:(1842). 104:antimony 52:orpiment 428:(1): 6. 142:Decline 95:off of 48:realgar 44:arsenic 136:Hunley 132:Hunley 128:Hunley 116:Hunley 108:copper 85:Hunley 81:Hunley 35:flares 323:link 226:2011 87:and 50:and 106:or 439:: 424:. 388:. 357:. 319:}} 315:{{ 163:. 118:- 426:1 368:. 325:)

Index


pyrotechnic
flares
Admiral Nelson
arsenic
realgar
orpiment
H.L. Hunley
submarine
USS Housatonic
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
Charleston, South Carolina
antimony
copper
American Civil War
Warren Lasch Conservation Center
fireworks
Niagara Falls
North American
Prince of Wales
Christian
American Civil War
Stonewall Jackson
Shelby Foote, The Civil War
Stonewall Jackson's Way
George William Francis
cite book
link
"News from Londonderry"
"Illumination of Niagara Falls"

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