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143-406: " The British Grenadiers " is a traditional marching song of British and Commonwealth military units whose badge of identification features a grenade, the tune of which dates from the 17th century. It is the regimental quick march of the Royal Artillery (since 1716), the Corps of Royal Engineers (since 1787), the Honourable Artillery Company (since 1716), the Grenadier Guards (since 1763), and

286-498: A Turkic culture and therefore uses marches with a mix of Russian and Turkish traditions. Tajikistan is an outlier in that it has a more Persian musical tradition. Afghanistan , like Tajikistan, has military marches that are similar to those in Iran , but with more recent American and British influence in combination with the Russian tradition. Some the more popular Central Asian marches are

429-441: A marching band . The most important instruments are various drums (especially snare drum ), horns, fife or woodwind instruments and brass instruments. Marches and marching bands have even today a strong connection to military, both to drill and parades . March music is often important for ceremonial occasions. Processional or coronation marches, such as the popular coronation march from Le prophète by Giacomo Meyerbeer and

572-454: A statement/response format. In most traditional American marches, there are three strains. The third strain is referred to as the "trio". The march tempo of 120 beats or steps per minute was adopted by the Napoleonic army in order to move faster . Since Napoleon planned to occupy the territory he conquered, instead of his soldiers carrying all of their provisions with them, they would live off

715-650: A "long lance" sending forth "evil-smelling vapors and smoke", which has been variously interpreted by different historians as the "first-gas attack upon European soil" using gunpowder, "the first use of cannon in Europe", or merely a "toxic gas" with no evidence of gunpowder. It is difficult to accurately translate original Chinese alchemical texts, which tend to explain phenomena through metaphor, into modern scientific language with rigidly defined terminology in English. Early texts potentially mentioning gunpowder are sometimes marked by

858-455: A combination of Ottoman and Mughal designs. Shah Jahan also countered the British and other Europeans in his province of Gujarāt , which supplied Europe saltpeter for use in gunpowder warfare during the 17th century. Bengal and Mālwa participated in saltpeter production. The Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English used Chhapra as a center of saltpeter refining. Ever since the founding of

1001-426: A fast triplet. Famous French marches include " Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse ", "La Victoire est à Nous", "Marche de la garde consulaire à Marengo", "La Galette", the " Chant du départ ", " Le Chant des Africains ", "Le Caïd", "la Marche Lorraine" and " Le Boudin ". While many are of the classic quick march time used today, there are several which are of slow time, harking to the slow and medium marches of soldiers of

1144-775: A favorite song of the Emperor Meiji —they were later combined in the march currently recognized today. It soon became a very popular band standard, with the Imperial Japanese Army adopting it as their signature march. After World War II the JGSDF and the Japanese police would adopt the march, where it continues to be a core part of their repertoire. In the years before 1945, many distinguished composers such as Yamada Kōsaku , Nakayama Shimpei , Hashimoto Kunihiko , Setoguchi Tōkichi , and Eguchi Yoshi (Eguchi Gengo) all contributed to

1287-468: A formula with near-identical ideal composition ratios for explosive gunpowder. Other historians urge caution regarding claims of Islamic firearms use in the 1204–1324 period, as late medieval Arabic texts used the same word for gunpowder, naft , that they used for an earlier incendiary, naphtha. The earliest surviving documentary evidence for cannons in the Islamic world is from an Arabic manuscript dated to

1430-436: A gunpowder composition containing pure carbon would burn similarly to a match head, at best. The current standard composition for the gunpowder manufactured by pyrotechnicians was adopted as long ago as 1780. Proportions by weight are 75% potassium nitrate (known as saltpeter or saltpetre), 15% softwood charcoal, and 10% sulfur. These ratios have varied over the centuries and by country, and can be altered somewhat depending on

1573-590: A key change (usually the addition of a flat), often happening for the duration the Trio. The key may change back before the song is over, especially if the Trio ends well before the last few bars of the march. A specialized form of the typical American march music is the circus march, or screamer , typified by the marches of Henry Fillmore and Karl King . These marches are performed at a significantly faster tempo (140 to 200 beats per minute) and generally have an abundance of runs, fanfares, and other showy features. Frequently,

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1716-493: A large number of modern marches incorporating both Russian themes and structure reminiscent of Dutch marches. Frequently in major keys, Soviet marches often span a wide range of dynamics while maintaining a strong melody well-balanced with the percussion, entering the bombastic range without overpowering percussion as is common with French marches. They are often in the A-B/Cb-A form or ternary form . Agapkin's " Farewell of Slavianka "

1859-733: A linguistic process where semantic change occurred. For instance, the Arabic word naft transitioned from denoting naphtha to denoting gunpowder, and the Chinese word pào changed in meaning from trebuchet to a cannon . This has led to arguments on the exact origins of gunpowder based on etymological foundations. Science and technology historian Bert S. Hall makes the observation that, "It goes without saying, however, that historians bent on special pleading, or simply with axes of their own to grind, can find rich material in these terminological thickets." Another major area of contention in modern studies of

2002-519: A medicine to an incendiary and explosive, and the evolution of the gun from the fire lance to a metal gun, whereas similar records do not exist elsewhere. As Andrade explains, the large amount of variation in gunpowder recipes in China relative to Europe is "evidence of experimentation in China, where gunpowder was at first used as an incendiary and only later became an explosive and a propellant... in contrast, formulas in Europe diverged only very slightly from

2145-633: A military band). Those marches indicative of the light infantry and rifle regiments of the Army (today The Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles), like "Silver Bugles" and "Bravest of the Brave", move at a faster 140 beats per minute pace and feature the distinctive bugle sounds common to the bands of these units (plus bagpipes for the Gurkhas). German marches move at a very strict tempo of 114 beats per minute, and have

2288-744: A pace of approximately 90 beats per minute. Many popular marches are traditional and of unknown origin. Notable examples include Scotland the Brave , Highland Laddie , Bonnie Dundee and Cock of the North . Retreat marches are set in 3/4 time, such as The Green Hills of Tyrol and When the Battle's O'er. The bagpipe also make use of slow marches such as the Skye Boat Song and the Cradle Song. These are set in 6/8 time and are usually played at around 60 beats per minute if played by only pipe bands (and 120 if played with

2431-497: A prolonged Viennese rubato. Military marches are an adapted form of the pasodoble, which feature strong percussion and have British and French influences as well, as well as German, Austrian and Italian elements. Typical Spanish marches are " Amparito Roca " by Jaime Teixidor , "Los Voluntarios" by Gerónimo Giménez , and "El Turuta" by Roman de San Jose . Many of these marches are also of patriotic nature. A significant amount of incidental music as marches has been composed and still

2574-813: A regular basis outside of China." May also states, "however [, ...] the Mongols used the gunpowder weapon in their wars against the Jin, the Song and in their invasions of Japan." Records show that, in England, gunpowder was being made in 1346 at the Tower of London ; a powder house existed at the Tower in 1461, and in 1515 three King's gunpowder makers worked there. Gunpowder was also being made or stored at other royal castles, such as Portchester . The English Civil War (1642–1645) led to an expansion of

2717-504: A ruler and tried to ward off any Mongol attempt similar to the Siege of Baghdad (1258) . Firearms known as top-o-tufak also existed in many Muslim kingdoms in India by as early as 1366. From then on the employment of gunpowder warfare in India was prevalent, with events such as the "Siege of Belgaum " in 1473 by Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahmani. The shipwrecked Ottoman Admiral Seydi Ali Reis

2860-427: A shell, grenade, or improvised " pipe bomb " or "pressure cooker" casings to form shrapnel . In quarrying, high explosives are generally preferred for shattering rock. However, because of its low brisance , gunpowder causes fewer fractures and results in more usable stone compared to other explosives, making it useful for blasting slate , which is fragile, or monumental stone such as granite and marble . Gunpowder

3003-548: A shipwreck off the shore of Japan dated from 1281, during the Mongol invasions of Japan. By 1083 the Song court was producing hundreds of thousands of fire arrows for their garrisons. Bombs and the first proto-guns, known as "fire lances", became prominent during the 12th century and were used by the Song during the Jin-Song Wars . Fire lances were first recorded to have been used at the Siege of De'an in 1132 by Song forces against

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3146-594: A soldier's position, generating fog that hinders vision, etc.). Some of it ends up as a thick layer of soot inside the barrel, where it also is a nuisance for subsequent shots, and a cause of jamming an automatic weapon. Moreover, this residue is hygroscopic , and with the addition of moisture absorbed from the air forms a corrosive substance . The soot contains potassium oxide or sodium oxide that turns into potassium hydroxide , or sodium hydroxide , which corrodes wrought iron or steel gun barrels. Gunpowder arms therefore require thorough and regular cleaning to remove

3289-408: A stock. Some consider this to be a cannon while others do not. The problem with identifying cannons in early 14th century Arabic texts is the term midfa , which appears from 1342 to 1352 but cannot be proven to be true hand-guns or bombards. Contemporary accounts of a metal-barrel cannon in the Islamic world do not occur until 1365. Needham believes that in its original form the term midfa refers to

3432-402: A strong oom-pah polka -like/folk-like quality resulting from the bass drum and low-brass playing on the downbeats and the alto voices, such as peck horn and snare drums, playing on the off-beats. This provides a very martial quality to these marches. The low brass is often featured prominently in at least one strain of a German march. To offset the rhythmic martiality of most of the strains,

3575-502: A tow, row, row, row, row, row, to the British Grenadiers. Those heroes of antiquity ne'er saw a cannon ball, Or knew the force of powder to slay their foes withal. But our brave boys do know it, and banish all their fears, With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadiers. Whene'er we are commanded to storm the palisades , Our leaders march with fusees , and we with hand grenades . We throw them from

3718-475: A wad), and by 1287 at the latest, had become true guns, the hand cannon . According to Iqtidar Alam Khan, it was invading Mongols who introduced gunpowder to the Islamic world. The Muslims acquired knowledge of gunpowder sometime between 1240 and 1280, by which point the Syrian Hasan al-Rammah had written recipes, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries. It

3861-695: Is a march composer. His most famous march piece, the " Royal Guards March ", is played by military bands during the Thai Royal Guards parade at the Royal Plaza at Bangkok every 2 December yearly. It reflects the use of German and British military band influences in Thai military music. Chinese marches tend to originate from time of the Second Sino-Japanese War , with very few still being performed that were composed before 1930 (one notable exception to this

4004-539: Is a mix of British classics ( The British Grenadiers , Trafalgar , Gibraltar ) and tunes composed by officers. Over the years, the military bands began to play an eclectic mix of the standard marching songs, as well as jazz, Bollywood and Indian compositions. The Indian military bands consists of musicians from the Indian Army , Navy and Air Force . The primary bands include Indian Army Chief's Band , Indian Naval Symphonic Band and No. 1 Air Force Band . Today,

4147-535: Is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band . In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner 's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John Philip Sousa and the martial hymns of the late 19th century. Examples of the varied use of the march can be found in Beethoven 's Eroica Symphony , in

4290-440: Is also made clear in that some Dutch military bands use sousaphones , which have a more forward projection of sound, rather than the regular concert tubas used by most other European military styles. Some well-known Dutch march composers are Jan Gerard Palm , Willy Schootemeyer, Adriaan Maas, Johan Wichers, and Hendrik Karels. By far, most Dutch military bands perform their music on foot; however, some Dutch regiments (most notably

4433-824: Is also the way of the Filipino to express their nationalistic affection to their native land. This style of music was also popular during the Philippine–American War and during the Second World War. During the late 1960s this form of music begun to be widely used as a part of military drills, parades and exercises of the Armed Forces, National Police and Coast Guard, as well as by youth uniformed groups and athletes. Prominent local march composers include Antonio Buenaventura and National Artist Lucio San Pedro. Some famous marches are: Thailand's late king, Bhumibol Adulyadej ,

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4576-430: Is an advantage in a propellant device, where one does not desire a shock that would shatter the gun and potentially harm the operator; however, it is a drawback when an explosion is desired. In that case, the propellant (and most importantly, gases produced by its burning) must be confined. Since it contains its own oxidizer and additionally burns faster under pressure, its combustion is capable of bursting containers such as

4719-449: Is called tattoo . Marches frequently change keys once, modulating to the subdominant key, and occasionally returning to the original tonic key. If it begins in a minor key, it modulates to the relative major . Marches frequently have counter-melodies introduced during the repeat of a main melody. Marches frequently have a penultimate dogfight strain in which two groups of instruments (high/low, woodwind/brass, etc.) alternate in

4862-757: Is cited as composed of 79% nitre, 3% sulfur, and 18% charcoal per 100 of dry powder, with about 2% moisture. Prismatic Brown Powder is a large-grained product the Rottweil Company introduced in 1884 in Germany, which was adopted by the British Royal Navy shortly thereafter. The French navy adopted a fine, 3.1 millimeter, not prismatic grained product called Slow Burning Cocoa (SBC) or "cocoa powder". These brown powders reduced burning rate even further by using as little as 2 percent sulfur and using charcoal made from rye straw that had not been completely charred, hence

5005-532: Is composed annually for the Moors and Christians festivals and festivities ( Moros y Cristianos ) in the south-east region of Spain. It is known as música festera and comes from military band marches. There are currently three main genres: the classic and popular pasodobles, the melodious marchas moras (Moorish in style), and the forceful marchas cristianas . Notable Czech ( Bohemian ) march composers include František Kmoch and Julius Fučík , who wrote " Entrance of

5148-528: Is implied by al-Rammah's usage of "terms that suggested he derived his knowledge from Chinese sources" and his references to saltpeter as "Chinese snow" ( Arabic : ثلج الصين thalj al-ṣīn ), fireworks as "Chinese flowers", and rockets as "Chinese arrows" that knowledge of gunpowder arrived from China. However, because al-Rammah attributes his material to "his father and forefathers", al-Hassan argues that gunpowder became prevalent in Syria and Egypt by "the end of

5291-657: Is known to have introduced the earliest type of matchlock weapons, which the Ottomans used against the Portuguese during the Siege of Diu (1531) . After that, a diverse variety of firearms, large guns in particular, became visible in Tanjore , Dacca , Bijapur , and Murshidabad . Guns made of bronze were recovered from Calicut (1504)- the former capital of the Zamorins The Mughal emperor Akbar mass-produced matchlocks for

5434-454: Is one common example of the classical Russian march, while notable examples of Soviet-style Russian marches include " Den Pobedy ", " The Sacred War ", " V Put ", and " March of the Defenders of Moscow ". In Ukraine, military marches were originally written to emulate the Russian model, with folk songs and natively Ukrainian marches only recently being used. The Zaporizhian March (also known as

5577-544: Is one of the Four Great Inventions of China. Originally developed by Taoists for medicinal purposes, it was first used for warfare around AD 904. Its use in weapons has declined due to smokeless powder replacing it, whilst its relative inefficiency led to newer alternatives such as dynamite and ammonium nitrate/fuel oil replacing it in industrial applications. Gunpowder is a low explosive : it does not detonate , but rather deflagrates (burns quickly). This

5720-559: Is relatively common to have one strain (often a first introduction of the final strain) that is played primarily by the higher-voiced instruments or in the upper ranges of the instruments' compass. Examples of Italian march music is "Il Bersagliere" (The Italian Rifleman) by Boccalari and "4 Maggio" by Creux. Uniquely, the Bersaglieri regiments always move at a fast jog, and their running bands, mostly all-brass, play at this pace, with marches like "Passo di Corsa dei Bersaglieri" (Double March of

5863-465: Is that it was William Lobb , the plant collector, who recognised the possibilities of sodium nitrate during his travels in South America. Lammot du Pont would have known about the use of graphite and probably also knew about the plants in south-west England. In his patent he was careful to state that his claim was for the combination of graphite with sodium nitrate-based powder, rather than for either of

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6006-670: Is the Military anthem of China , which dates back to the late Qing Dynasty with lyrics commissioned by Zeng Guofan ). They are typically written in a major key, and performed at around 120 beats per minute. Prussian style oom pah rhythm is heavily used, seen in the Presentation March and March Past of the People's Liberation Army. The most famous of Chinese marches is the March of the Volunteers , which

6149-579: Is the national anthem of the People's Republic of China . North Korean marches are heavily influenced by the Soviet military band tradition mixed with Korean influences. Most of the marches are dedicated to the party and to their revolution and leaders. Use of a grandiose brass sound is almost always present in the music. Many marches are adapted from the North Korean revolutionary and patriotic song tradition, known as

6292-549: Is typically around 120 beats per minute. Many funeral marches conform to the Roman standard of 60 beats per minute. The tempo matches the pace of soldiers walking in step. Both tempos achieve the standard rate of 120 steps per minute. Each section of a march typically consists of 16 or 32 bars, which may repeat. Most importantly, a march consists of a strong and steady percussive beat reminiscent of military field drums. A military music event where various marching bands and units perform

6435-416: Is well suited for blank rounds , signal flares , burst charges , and rescue-line launches. It is also used in fireworks for lifting shells, in rockets as fuel, and in certain special effects . Combustion converts less than half the mass of gunpowder to gas; most of it turns into particulate matter. Some of it is ejected, wasting propelling power, fouling the air, and generally being a nuisance (giving away

6578-501: The taejung kayo genre. Among the more popular North Korean marches played during state ceremonies are: Modern Turkey's national anthem is the march, " İstiklâl Marşı ", which has an aggressive tune. Generally, old Turkish marches from the Ottoman Empire have aggressive lyrics, for instance in "Mehter Marşı". It is notable that Mozart and Beethoven also wrote popular Turkish marches . Modern marches played during ceremonies include

6721-648: The Atatürk March , played as the march-in and march-off piece of military bands in military parades and ceremonies. Central Asian march traditions have spanned centuries and consists of many different military and national cultures. The main five Central Asian nations ( Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan ) commonly utilize Russian military marches during state functions, although they have made much quicker efforts unlike their Ukrainian and Belarusian counterparts to distinguish their military traditions from Russia. Most Central Asian nations have

6864-676: The Delhi Sultanate , and some of the Mongol soldiers remained in northern India after their conversion to Islam. It was written in the Tarikh-i Firishta (1606–1607) that Nasiruddin Mahmud the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate presented the envoy of the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan with a dazzling pyrotechnics display upon his arrival in Delhi in 1258. Nasiruddin Mahmud tried to express his strength as

7007-777: The First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War . One of the earliest and most enduring of Japanese marches is the Defile March (分列行進曲) composed in 1886 by Charles Leroux, an officer with the French Army serving as an advisor to the Imperial Japanese Army. Originally two separate marches based on Japanese melodies— Fusouka (扶桑歌) and Battotai (抜刀隊), inspired by the Satsuma Rebellion and reportedly

7150-683: The Grenadier Guards Regiment , and all Fusilier units were entitled to use it. It allegedly commemorates an assault in August 1695 by 700 British grenadiers on the French-held fortress of Namur during the Nine Years War . A tune known as 'The Granadeer's March' was mentioned in a London publication in 1706, although it is not clear that it was the same melody known today. Francis Grose in his 1786 work Military Antiquities quoted two lines of

7293-486: The Indian Armed Forces have more than 50 military brass bands and 400 pipe bands and corps of drums . A Tri-Services Band refers to a joint Indian Armed Forces military band that performs together as a unit. The band performs a number of slow and quick marches such as: Japan's march music ( Koushinkyoku , 行進曲) tradition began in the 19th century after the country's ports were forced open to foreign trade by

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7436-594: The Indian Independence Movement create a separate subgenre of Bengali music known as Nazrul Geeti included march music against fascism and oppression. His writings and music greatly inspired Bengalis of East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War . The most famous of Bengali marches is the Notuner Gaan , which is the national march of the People's Republic of Bangladesh . Among

7579-470: The Jin . In the early 13th century the Jin used iron-casing bombs. Projectiles were added to fire lances, and re-usable fire lance barrels were developed, first out of hardened paper, and then metal. By 1257 some fire lances were firing wads of bullets. In the late 13th century metal fire lances became 'eruptors', proto-cannons firing co-viative projectiles (mixed with the propellant, rather than seated over it with

7722-502: The Khmer Empire . Within a decade large quantities of gunpowder could be found in the Khmer Empire . By the end of the century firearms were also used by the Trần dynasty . Even though the knowledge of making gunpowder-based weapons was known after the failed Mongol invasion of Java, and the predecessor of firearms, the pole gun ( bedil tombak ), is recorded as being used by Java in 1413,

7865-869: The Marches Militaires of Franz Schubert , in the Marche funèbre in Chopin 's Sonata in B flat minor , the " Jäger March " in the Op . 91a by Jean Sibelius , and in the Dead March in Handel 's Saul . Marches can be written in any time signature , but the most common time signatures are 4 , 2 ( alla breve [REDACTED] , although this may refer to 2 time of Johannes Brahms , or cut time ), or 8 . However, some modern marches are being written in 2 or 4 time. The modern march tempo

8008-462: The Meiji Restoration , the country sought to centralize and modernize its armed forces, with the armed forces of France and Prussia serving as models. All of these helped augur in what would later become modern Japanese music. The march genre, already sharing roots with the preexisting tradition of " gunka ", or military songs, became very popular, especially in the years after Japan's victories in

8151-409: The Mughal Army . Akbar is personally known to have shot a leading Rajput commander during the Siege of Chittorgarh . The Mughals began to use bamboo rockets (mainly for signalling) and employ sappers : special units that undermined heavy stone fortifications to plant gunpowder charges. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is known to have introduced much more advanced matchlocks, their designs were

8294-456: The Perry Expedition . An influx of Western musical culture that the newly arrived traders and diplomats brought with them swept through Japanese musical culture, leaving a lasting legacy on the country's music. Japanese and foreign musicians of the time sought to impart Western musical forms to the Japanese, as well as combining Japanese-style melodies with Western-style harmonization. Furthermore, with Japan's government and society stabilized after

8437-498: The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (since 1763). It is also an authorized march of the Royal Australian Artillery , the Royal Gibraltar Regiment , the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery , the Canadian Grenadier Guards , the Royal Regiment of Canada , and the Princess Louise Fusiliers . The standard orchestration for the military band was approved in 1762, when the Royal Artillery Band (initiated in 1557) became recognized officially, and for all other "grenade" regiments in 1763, when

8580-478: The Sultanate of Mysore by Hyder Ali , French military officers were employed to train the Mysore Army. Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan were the first to introduce modern cannons and muskets , their army was also the first in India to have official uniforms. During the Second Anglo-Mysore War Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan unleashed the Mysorean rockets at their British opponents effectively defeating them on various occasions. The Mysorean rockets inspired

8723-593: The capture of Malacca (1511) resulted in a new type of hybrid tradition matchlock firearm, the istinggar . When the Portuguese came to the archipelago, they referred to the breech-loading swivel gun as berço , while the Spaniards call it verso . By the early 16th century, the Javanese already locally producing large guns, some of them still survived until the present day and dubbed as "sacred cannon" or "holy cannon". These cannons varied between 180- and 260-pounders, weighing anywhere between 3 and 8 tons, length of them between 3 and 6 m. Saltpeter harvesting

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8866-415: The droit de fouille or "right to dig", to seize nitrous-containing soil and demolish walls of barnyards, without compensation to the owners. This caused farmers, the wealthy, or entire villages to bribe the petermen and the associated bureaucracy to leave their buildings alone and the saltpeter uncollected. Lavoisier instituted a crash program to increase saltpeter production, revised (and later eliminated)

9009-403: The droit de fouille , researched best refining and powder manufacturing methods, instituted management and record-keeping, and established pricing that encouraged private investment in works. Although saltpeter from new Prussian-style putrefaction works had not been produced yet (the process taking about 18 months), in only a year France had gunpowder to export. A chief beneficiary of this surplus

9152-593: The euphoniums and trombones . At least one strain of a Swedish march is usually dedicated to the low brass, where the tubas also play the melody, with the rest of the instruments playing on the off-beats. The characteristics of the trio vary from march to march, but the final strain tends to be grand and loud. Examples of Swedish marches are " Under blågul fana " by Viktor Widqvist and " På post för Sverige " by Sam Rydberg . French military marches are distinct from other European marches by their emphasis on percussion and brass, often incorporating bugle calls as part of

9295-455: The glacis , about the enemies' ears. With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadiers. And when the siege is over, we to the town repair. The townsmen cry, " Hurrah , boys, here comes a Grenadier! Here come the Grenadiers, my boys, who know no doubts or fears! Then sing tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadiers. Then let us fill a bumper, and drink a health of those Who carry caps and pouches, and wear

9438-409: The loopèd clothes. May they and their commanders live happy all their years. With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, for the British Grenadiers. Before the American Revolution, Joseph Warren wrote a parody song called "Free America" to the same tune. There are a number of words in the song not commonly used or whose meaning is obscure: March (music) A march , as a musical genre ,

9581-579: The 19th century, marches became widely popular and were often elaborately orchestrated. Composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Ludwig van Beethoven , Hector Berlioz , Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Gustav Mahler , Ralph Vaughan Williams , Charles Ives , Arnold Schoenberg , Igor Stravinsky , Alban Berg , Sergei Prokofiev , Paul Hindemith , Dmitri Shostakovich , and Leonard Bernstein wrote marches, sometimes incorporating them into operas, sonatas, suites, and symphonies. The popularity of John Philip Sousa 's band marches has been unmatched. The style of

9724-411: The 20th century to commemorate important American events. In the 1960s, Anthony A. Mitchell , director of the United States Navy Band , was commissioned to write "The National Cultural Center March" for the center that would later become known as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts . The Caucasus consisting of Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia often have a Soviet/Russian influence due to

9867-565: The 9th century AD during the Tang dynasty , first in a formula contained in the Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue (太上聖祖金丹秘訣) in 808, and then about 50 years later in a Taoist text known as the Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe (真元妙道要略). The Taishang Shengzu Jindan Mijue mentions a formula composed of six parts sulfur to six parts saltpeter to one part birthwort herb. According to the Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe , "Some have heated together sulfur, realgar and saltpeter with honey ; smoke and flames result, so that their hands and faces have been burnt, and even

10010-413: The Bersaglieri) and "Flick Flock" as great examples. The most characteristic Spanish march form is the pasodoble . Spanish marches often have fanfares at the beginning or end of strains that are reminiscent of traditional and popular music. These marches often move back and forth between major and (relative) minor keys, and often show a great variation in tempo during the course of the march reminiscent of

10153-449: The Cossack march) is one of the main marches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and even replaced Farewell of Slavianka in 1991 as the official march being played during the induction of recruits to the military. Significant ukrainian marches include: The same concept is applied in Belarus but on a much more toned down style due to the fact that the country still borrows Russian marches. The few homegrown military marches in Belarus include

10296-910: The French forces during the Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Part of the French Foreign Legion 's current march music inventory includes at lot of slow marches. Also, there are marches similar to those of British rifle regiments which are used by the Chasseur infantry battalions of the Army. Greek marches typically combine French and German musical traditions, due to the modern Greek State's history of Germanic royal dynasties, combined with Francophile governments as well as French and Bavarian officers and military advisors, who brought their respective musical traditions with them, with later British influences. Among

10439-466: The German marches, much due to historical friendship and bonding with states like Prussia , Hesse and, from 1871 and on, Germany. The tempo is strict and lies between 110 and 112 beats per minute. The oom-pah rhythm is common, although it is rarely as distinctive as in a typical German march. The first bars are nearly always played loudly, followed by a cheerful melody, often with pronounced countermelodies in

10582-529: The Gladiators ". While many of the marches of Tsarist Russia share similar characteristics with German marches of the period, and indeed some were directly borrowed from Germany (such as " Der Königgrätzer Marsch ") and later on France and Austria, the indigenous, pre-revolutionary Russian march has a distinctly Russian sound, with powerful strains in minor keys repeated with low brass with occasional flashes of major chords between sections. The Soviet period produced

10725-692: The March of the Azerbaijan Higher Military Academy or the Marş «Vətən» (Fatherland March) are used in military parades. Other marches are holdovers from the Soviet era, such as Yaxşı Yol (Farewell). Bengali march music tradition began in the 19th century, during the Bengali Renaissance by the Bengali nationalists . Kazi Nazrul Islam , the national poet of Bangladesh and active revolutionary during

10868-459: The Mongols against European forces at the Battle of Mohi in 1241. Professor Kenneth Warren Chase credits the Mongols for introducing into Europe gunpowder and its associated weaponry. However, there is no clear route of transmission, and while the Mongols are often pointed to as the likeliest vector, Timothy May points out that "there is no concrete evidence that the Mongols used gunpowder weapons on

11011-675: The Our Fatherland's Flag (Айчыны нашай сцяг), as well as the remastered Motherland My Dear (Радзіма мая дарагая), Victory March (Марш Перамогi) and Song from 45 (Письмо из 45-го). Other marches include the " Vajacki marš " of the Belarusian Democratic Republic . The true march music era existed from 1855 to the 1940s when it was overshadowed by jazz , which the march form influenced (especially through ragtime ). American march music cannot be discussed without mentioning "The March King", John Philip Sousa , who revolutionized

11154-499: The Trompetterkorps Bereden Wapens) carry on a Dutch tradition in which its historical bicycle infantry had a mounted band , thus playing march music on bikes. Italian marches have a very light musical feel, often having sections of fanfare or soprano obbligatos performed with a light coloratura articulation. This frilly characteristic is contrasted with broad lyrical melodies reminiscent of operatic arias . It

11297-518: The U.S. until the 1920s that the actual source of corrosion was the potassium chloride residue from potassium chlorate sensitized primers. The bulkier black powder fouling better disperses primer residue. Failure to mitigate primer corrosion by dispersion caused the false impression that nitrocellulose-based powder caused corrosion. Lesmok had some of the bulk of black powder for dispersing primer residue, but somewhat less total bulk than straight black powder, thus requiring less frequent bore cleaning. It

11440-503: The United Kingdom, the finest grain was known as sulfur-free mealed powder ( SMP ). Coarser grains were numbered as sulfur-free gunpowder (SFG n): 'SFG 12', 'SFG 20', 'SFG 40' and 'SFG 90', for example where the number represents the smallest BSS sieve mesh size, which retained no grains. Sulfur's main role in gunpowder is to decrease the ignition temperature. A sample reaction for sulfur-free gunpowder would be: The term black powder

11583-404: The brown color. Lesmok powder was a product developed by DuPont in 1911, one of several semi-smokeless products in the industry containing a mixture of black and nitrocellulose powder. It was sold to Winchester and others primarily for .22 and .32 small calibers. Its advantage was that it was believed at the time to be less corrosive than smokeless powders then in use. It was not understood in

11726-399: The bulk semi-smokeless powders ceased to be manufactured in the 1920s. The original dry-compounded powder used in 15th-century Europe was known as "Serpentine", either a reference to Satan or to a common artillery piece that used it. The ingredients were ground together with a mortar and pestle, perhaps for 24 hours, resulting in a fine flour. Vibration during transportation could cause

11869-568: The choral versions, are also popular patriotic songs, which are taught to Greek children in school and are sung along on various occasions, such as national holidays and parades. "Famous Macedonia" also serves as the unofficial anthem of the Greek Region of Macedonia . The Greek Flag March ( Greek : Προεδρική Εμβατήριο "Η Σημαία" ) is the sole march used during the parading of the Greek Flag at ceremonies. Composer Margaritis Kastellis contributed to

12012-427: The compass, and printing did not reach Europe until centuries after they were invented in China. Gunpowder is a granular mixture of: Potassium nitrate is the most important ingredient in terms of both bulk and function because the combustion process releases oxygen from the potassium nitrate, promoting the rapid burning of the other ingredients. To reduce the likelihood of accidental ignition by static electricity ,

12155-462: The composer of the greatest American marches, John Philip Sousa , was of Portuguese and German descent. Portugal used the French tempo exclusively—the standard Sousa learned during his musical education. A military band playing or marching at the traditional British march tempo would seem unusually slow in the United States. March music originates from the military, and marches are usually played by

12298-543: The decline of its military might. The earliest Western accounts of gunpowder appear in texts written by English philosopher Roger Bacon in 1267 called Opus Majus and Opus Tertium . The oldest written recipes in continental Europe were recorded under the name Marcus Graecus or Mark the Greek between 1280 and 1300 in the Liber Ignium , or Book of Fires . Some sources mention possible gunpowder weapons being deployed by

12441-468: The development of many Greek pieces for military bands only. Dutch marches typically feature a heavy intro, often played by the trombones , euphoniums , drums, and tubas , followed by a lighthearted trio and a reasonably fast and somewhat bombastic conclusion, while maintaining occasional bugle calls due to the former wide presence of field music formations (particularly in the Army). Dutch emphasis on low brass

12584-704: The development of the Congreve rocket , which the British widely used during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 . Cannons were introduced to Majapahit when Kublai Khan's Chinese army under the leadership of Ike Mese sought to invade Java in 1293. History of Yuan mentioned that the Mongol used cannons (Chinese: 炮— Pào ) against Daha forces. Cannons were used by the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1352 during its invasion of

12727-541: The earliest Latin accounts of saltpeter purification are dated after 1200. The earliest chemical formula for gunpowder appeared in the 11th century Song dynasty text, Wujing Zongyao ( Complete Essentials from the Military Classics ), written by Zeng Gongliang between 1040 and 1044. The Wujing Zongyao provides encyclopedia references to a variety of mixtures that included petrochemicals—as well as garlic and honey. A slow match for flame-throwing mechanisms using

12870-454: The early 14th century. The author's name is uncertain but may have been Shams al-Din Muhammad, who died in 1350. Dating from around 1320–1350, the illustrations show gunpowder weapons such as gunpowder arrows, bombs, fire tubes, and fire lances or proto-guns. The manuscript describes a type of gunpowder weapon called a midfa which uses gunpowder to shoot projectiles out of a tube at the end of

13013-761: The end of World War II , and of ICI Nobel 's Roslin gunpowder factory which closed in 1954. This left ICI Nobel's Ardeer site in Scotland , which included a gunpowder factory, as the only factory in Great Britain producing gunpowder. The gunpowder area of the Ardeer site closed in October 1976. Gunpowder and gunpowder weapons were transmitted to India through the Mongol invasions of India . The Mongols were defeated by Alauddin Khalji of

13156-403: The ends of phrases (as opposed to the shorter, marcato stinger of American marches). The final strain of a British march often has a broad lyrical quality to it. Archetypical British marches include " The British Grenadiers " and those of Major Ricketts , such as the well-known " Colonel Bogey March " and " The Great Little Army ". Scottish bagpipe music makes extensive use of marches played at

13299-475: The fact, and may well have been colored by the contemporary experiences of the chronicler. Translation difficulties have led to errors or loose interpretations bordering on artistic licence . Ambiguous language can make it difficult to distinguish gunpowder weapons from similar technologies that do not rely on gunpowder. A commonly cited example is a report of the Battle of Mohi in Eastern Europe that mentions

13442-463: The final strain (the trio) often has a lyrical (if somewhat bombastic) quality. Notable German and Austrian march composers include Carl Teike (" Alte Kameraden "), Ludwig van Beethoven (" Yorckscher Marsch "), Hermann Ludwig Blankenburg , Johann Gottfried Piefke (" Preußens Gloria "), Johann Strauss I (" Radetzky March "), Johann Strauss II , Hans Schmid, Josef Wagner , and Carl Michael Ziehrer . Swedish marches have many things in common with

13585-432: The following: Gunpowder Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate, low ignition temperature and consequently low brisance (breaking/shattering) . Low explosives deflagrate (i.e., burn at subsonic speeds), whereas high explosives detonate , producing a supersonic shockwave . Ignition of gunpowder packed behind a projectile generates enough pressure to force

13728-608: The former Curtis & Harvey 's Glynneath gunpowder factory at Pontneddfechan in Wales closed down. The factory was demolished by fire in 1932. The last remaining gunpowder mill at the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey was damaged by a German parachute mine in 1941 and it never reopened. This was followed by the closure and demolition of the gunpowder section at the Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Chorley , at

13871-435: The genre. Some were military and nationalist in tone. Others, like Nakayama's 1928 Tokyo March (東京行進曲), were meant for popular consumption and wholly unrelated to military music. Among the most popular Japanese marches are the following: The Philippine march tradition is a mix of European and American traditions plus local musical styles. Several famous Philippine composers composed marches, and even Julián Felipe composed

14014-411: The granules of modern gunpowder are typically coated with graphite , which prevents the build-up of electrostatic charge. Charcoal does not consist of pure carbon; rather, it consists of partially pyrolyzed cellulose , in which the wood is not completely decomposed. Carbon differs from ordinary charcoal . Whereas charcoal's autoignition temperature is relatively low, carbon's is much greater. Thus,

14157-525: The gunpowder industry, with the repeal of the Royal Patent in August 1641. In late 14th century Europe, gunpowder was improved by corning , the practice of drying it into small clumps to improve combustion and consistency. During this time, European manufacturers also began regularly purifying saltpeter, using wood ashes containing potassium carbonate to precipitate calcium from their dung liquor, and using ox blood, alum , and slices of turnip to clarify

14300-464: The history of gunpowder is regarding the transmission of gunpowder. While the literary and archaeological evidence supports a Chinese origin for gunpowder and guns, the manner in which gunpowder technology was transferred from China to the West is still under debate. It is unknown why the rapid spread of gunpowder technology across Eurasia took place over several decades whereas other technologies such as paper,

14443-429: The ideal proportions for use as an explosive and a propellant, suggesting that gunpowder was introduced as a mature technology." However, the history of gunpowder is not without controversy. A major problem confronting the study of early gunpowder history is ready access to sources close to the events described. Often the first records potentially describing use of gunpowder in warfare were written several centuries after

14586-706: The knowledge of making "true" firearms came much later, after the middle of the 15th century. It was brought by the Islamic nations of West Asia, most probably the Arabs . The precise year of introduction is unknown, but it may be safely concluded to be no earlier than 1460. Before the arrival of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia, the natives already possessed primitive firearms, the Java arquebus . Portuguese influence to local weaponry after

14729-438: The land and march faster. The French march tempo is faster than the traditional tempo of British marches; the British call marches in the French tempo quick marches . Traditional American marches use the French or quick march tempo. There are two reason for this: First, U.S. military bands adopted the march tempos of France and other continental European nations that aided the U.S. during its early wars with Great Britain. Second,

14872-566: The late 19th century led to a contraction of the gunpowder industry. After the end of World War I , the majority of the British gunpowder manufacturers merged into a single company, "Explosives Trades limited", and a number of sites were closed down, including those in Ireland. This company became Nobel Industries Limited, and in 1926 became a founding member of Imperial Chemical Industries . The Home Office removed gunpowder from its list of Permitted Explosives . Shortly afterwards, on 31 December 1931,

15015-446: The low brass has one or more strains (usually the second strain) in which they are showcased with both speed and bombast. Stylistically, many circus marches employ a lyrical final strain which (in the last time through the strain) starts out maestoso (majestically, slower and more stately) and then, in the second half of the strain, speeds up to end the march faster than the original tempo. Marches continued to be commissioned throughout

15158-586: The lyrics ("Come let us fill a bumper, and drink a health to those,/Who wear the caps and pouches, and eke the looped clothes") as part of a "grenadier song" he already considered to be "old". It was a popular tune in both Britain and North America throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and remains so. It is most commonly heard today in the annual Trooping the Colour ceremony when the Colour Escort marches into position on Horse Guards Parade . Like " Rule, Britannia! ",

15301-419: The main problem of using cheaper sodium nitrate formulations when he patented DuPont "B" blasting powder. After manufacturing grains from press-cake in the usual way, his process tumbled the powder with graphite dust for 12 hours. This formed a graphite coating on each grain that reduced its ability to absorb moisture. Neither the use of graphite nor sodium nitrate was new. Glossing gunpowder corns with graphite

15444-414: The many examples of coronation marches written for British monarchs by English composers, such as Edward Elgar , Edward German , and William Walton , are all in traditional British tempos. Marches were not notated until the late 16th century; until then, time was generally kept by percussion alone, often with improvised fife embellishment. With the extensive development of brass instruments, especially in

15587-446: The march during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of his most famous marches are " Semper Fidelis ", " The Washington Post ", " The Liberty Bell ", and " The Stars and Stripes Forever ". Sousa's marches are typically marked by a subdued trio, as in "The Stars and Stripes Forever" in which the rest of the band becomes subordinated to arguably the most famous piccolo solo in all of music. Typically, an American march consists of

15730-615: The march that would become Lupang Hinirang , the national anthem. Several marches are adaptations of local folk music, others have a patriotic feeling. The Philippine march music tradition began in the 19th century, during the Philippine Revolution, as an offshoot of the Spanish march tradition. This is a popular form of music as a battle hymn in the same way as in the US or France specially if Filipino soldiers are going to war or winning battles,

15873-520: The median of 17 of these 22 compositions for rockets (75% nitrates, 9.06% sulfur, and 15.94% charcoal), it is nearly identical to the modern reported ideal recipe of 75% potassium nitrate, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal. The text also mentions fuses, incendiary bombs, naphtha pots, fire lances, and an illustration and description of the earliest torpedo . The torpedo was called the "egg which moves itself and burns". Two iron sheets were fastened together and tightened using felt. The flattened pear-shaped vessel

16016-490: The melody as "three centuries' evolution of an Elizabethan tune". The melody was introduced into Britain as a military march during the 1689–1702 reign of William III and has similarities with one written for Prince John William of Friesland (1687–1711) . Henry Grattan Flood suggested as another candidate the 1672 Dutch march " Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ", which in turn was a reworking of a French version from 1568. "The British Grenadiers" refers to grenadiers in general, not

16159-476: The melody or as interludes between strains. Most French marches are in common metre and place a strong percussive emphasis on the first beat of each bar from the band and field music drumlines , hence the characteristic BOOM-whack-whack-whack rhythm. Many, though not all French marches (in particular marches dating from the period of the French Revolution ) make use of triplet feel; each beat can be felt as

16302-447: The mid-17th century fireworks were used for entertainment on an unprecedented scale in Europe, being popular even at resorts and public gardens. With the publication of Deutliche Anweisung zur Feuerwerkerey (1748), methods for creating fireworks were sufficiently well-known and well-described that "Firework making has become an exact science." In 1774 Louis XVI ascended to the throne of France at age 20. After he discovered that France

16445-479: The most famous marches are " Famous Macedonia " (Μακεδονία Ξακουστή), a march to commemorate Greece's victory in the Balkan Wars , "Greece never dies" (Η Ελλάδα ποτε δεν πεθαίνει), "The Aegean Sailor" (Ο Ναύτης του Αιγαίου), "The Artillery" (Το Πυροβολικό), "From flames, Crete" (Από φλόγες, η Κρήτη), and "The Army Marches Forth" (Πέρναει ο Στρατός). Almost all Greek marches have choral versions. Many of these marches, in

16588-689: The most popular Bengali marches are the following: Currently, marches played at military ceremonies in India have British origins. For example, ‘ Auld Lang Syne ’ played during passing out parades at various military academies is a tune that originated in Britain. Similarly, ‘ Abide With Me ’, is a Christian hymn, that is traditionally played as the last tune at the Beating the Retreat ceremony on January 29 every year. The marches that independent India’s military bands plays

16731-413: The purest sulfur was supplied from a crater from a mountain near the straits of Bali . On the origins of gunpowder technology, historian Tonio Andrade remarked, "Scholars today overwhelmingly concur that the gun was invented in China." Gunpowder and the gun are widely believed by historians to have originated from China due to the large body of evidence that documents the evolution of gunpowder from

16874-482: The purpose of the powder. For instance, power grades of black powder, unsuitable for use in firearms but adequate for blasting rock in quarrying operations, are called blasting powder rather than gunpowder with standard proportions of 70% nitrate, 14% charcoal, and 16% sulfur; blasting powder may be made with the cheaper sodium nitrate substituted for potassium nitrate and proportions may be as low as 40% nitrate, 30% charcoal, and 30% sulfur. In 1857, Lammot du Pont solved

17017-488: The remaining unofficial bands gained official status. The exact origins of the tune are disputed but generally date to the early 17th century. It appears in John Playford 's 1728 collection of dance tunes as "The New Bath", while Victorian musicologist William Chappell also suggested links to a 1622 work called "Sir Edward Nowell's Delight". The debate is best summarised by the composer Ernest Walker in 1907 who described

17160-425: The residue. Gunpowder loads can be used in modern firearms as long as they are not gas-operated . The most compatible modern guns are smoothbore-barreled shotguns that are long-recoil operated with chrome-plated essential parts such as barrels and bores. Such guns have minimal fouling and corrosion and are easier to clean. The first confirmed reference to what can be considered gunpowder in China occurred in

17303-450: The shot from the muzzle at high speed, but usually not enough force to rupture the gun barrel . It thus makes a good propellant but is less suitable for shattering rock or fortifications with its low-yield explosive power. Nonetheless, it was widely used to fill fused artillery shells (and used in mining and civil engineering projects) until the second half of the 19th century, when the first high explosives were put into use. Gunpowder

17446-414: The siphon principle and for fireworks and rockets is mentioned. The mixture formulas in this book contain at most 50% saltpeter   —   not enough to create an explosion, they produce an incendiary instead. The Essentials was written by a Song dynasty court bureaucrat and there is little evidence that it had any immediate impact on warfare; there is no mention of its use in the chronicles of

17589-612: The solution. During the Renaissance, two European schools of pyrotechnic thought emerged, one in Italy and the other at Nuremberg, Germany. In Italy, Vannoccio Biringuccio , born in 1480, was a member of the guild Fraternita di Santa Barbara but broke with the tradition of secrecy by setting down everything he knew in a book titled De la pirotechnia , written in vernacular. It was published posthumously in 1540, with 9 editions over 138 years, and also reprinted by MIT Press in 1966. By

17732-419: The song is frequently used in film and television to introduce a British setting or character, or indicate stereotypical Britishness . Owing to its popularity, the tune has been frequently set to different texts, including church hymns. The following text may date back to the War of Spanish Succession (1702–1713), since it refers to the grenadiers throwing grenades and the men wearing "caps and pouches" (i.e.

17875-405: The tall grenadier caps, worn by these elite troops, and the heavy satchel in which grenades were carried) and "loupèd clothes" – coats with broad bands of 'lace' across the chest that distinguished early grenadiers. Some talk of Alexander , and some of Hercules Of Hector and Lysander , and such great names as these. But of all the world's brave heroes, there's none that can compare. With

18018-786: The three countries period under the USSR. Following the Russo-Georgian War , all Russian military marches in the repertoire of the Military Band of the National Guard of Georgia were weeded out in favor of native Georgian marches. Many Armenian patriotic military marches were developed during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . In Azerbaijan , many military marches such as Azadlıq Marşı (Freedom's March) and Görüş Marşı (Slow March) are used as inspection marches while others such as

18161-507: The time. The state-controlled manufacture of gunpowder by the Ottoman Empire through early supply chains to obtain nitre, sulfur and high-quality charcoal from oaks in Anatolia contributed significantly to its expansion between the 15th and 18th century. It was not until later in the 19th century when the syndicalist production of Turkish gunpowder was greatly reduced, which coincided with

18304-474: The traditional symphony march can be traced back to symphonic pieces from renaissance era, such as pieces written for nobility. Many European countries and cultures developed characteristic styles of marches. British marches typically move at the standard pace of 120 beats per minute, have intricate countermelodies (frequently appearing only in the repeat of a strain), have a wide range of dynamics (including unusually soft sections), use full-value stingers at

18447-458: The tube or cylinder of a naphtha projector ( flamethrower ), then after the invention of gunpowder it meant the tube of fire lances, and eventually it applied to the cylinder of hand-guns and cannons. According to Paul E. J. Hammer, the Mamluks certainly used cannons by 1342. According to J. Lavin, cannons were used by Moors at the siege of Algeciras in 1343. A metal cannon firing an iron ball

18590-446: The twelfth century or the beginning of the thirteenth". In Persia saltpeter was known as "Chinese salt" ( Persian : نمک چینی ) namak-i chīnī ) or "salt from Chinese salt marshes" ( نمک شوره چینی namak-i shūra-yi chīnī ). Hasan al-Rammah included 107 gunpowder recipes in his text al-Furusiyyah wa al-Manasib al-Harbiyya ( The Book of Military Horsemanship and Ingenious War Devices ), 22 of which are for rockets. If one takes

18733-462: The two individual technologies. French war powder in 1879 used the ratio 75% saltpeter, 12.5% charcoal, 12.5% sulfur. English war powder in 1879 used the ratio 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, 10% sulfur. The British Congreve rockets used 62.4% saltpeter, 23.2% charcoal and 14.4% sulfur, but the British Mark VII gunpowder was changed to 65% saltpeter, 20% charcoal and 15% sulfur. The explanation for

18876-523: The wars against the Tanguts in the 11th century, and China was otherwise mostly at peace during this century. However, it had already been used for fire arrows since at least the 10th century. Its first recorded military application dates its use to 904 in the form of incendiary projectiles. In the following centuries various gunpowder weapons such as bombs , fire lances , and the gun appeared in China. Explosive weapons such as bombs have been discovered in

19019-408: The whole house where they were working burned down." Based on these Taoist texts, the invention of gunpowder by Chinese alchemists was likely an accidental byproduct from experiments seeking to create the elixir of life . This experimental medicine origin is reflected in its Chinese name huoyao ( Chinese : 火药/火藥 ; pinyin : huǒ yào /xuo yɑʊ/ ), which means "fire medicine". Saltpeter

19162-517: The wide variety in formulation relates to usage. Powder used for rocketry can use a slower burn rate since it accelerates the projectile for a much longer time—whereas powders for weapons such as flintlocks, cap-locks, or matchlocks need a higher burn rate to accelerate the projectile in a much shorter distance. Cannons usually used lower burn-rate powders, because most would burst with higher burn-rate powders. Besides black powder, there are other historically important types of gunpowder. "Brown gunpowder"

19305-521: Was already an accepted technique in 1839, and sodium nitrate-based blasting powder had been made in Peru for many years using the sodium nitrate mined at Tarapacá (now in Chile). Also, in 1846, two plants were built in south-west England to make blasting powder using this sodium nitrate. The idea may well have been brought from Peru by Cornish miners returning home after completing their contracts. Another suggestion

19448-591: Was coined in the late 19th century, primarily in the United States, to distinguish prior gunpowder formulations from the new smokeless powders and semi-smokeless powders. Semi-smokeless powders featured bulk volume properties that approximated black powder, but had significantly reduced amounts of smoke and combustion products. Smokeless powder has different burning properties (pressure vs. time) and can generate higher pressures and work per gram. This can rupture older weapons designed for black powder. Smokeless powders ranged in color from brownish tan to yellow to white. Most of

19591-535: Was described by Shihab al-Din Abu al-Abbas al-Qalqashandi between 1365 and 1376. The musket appeared in the Ottoman Empire by 1465. In 1598, Chinese writer Zhao Shizhen described Turkish muskets as being superior to European muskets. The Chinese military book Wu Pei Chih (1621) later described Turkish muskets that used a rack-and-pinion mechanism, which was not known to have been used in European or Chinese firearms at

19734-512: Was filled with gunpowder, metal filings, "good mixtures", two rods, and a large rocket for propulsion. Judging by the illustration, it was evidently supposed to glide across the water. Fire lances were used in battles between the Muslims and Mongols in 1299 and 1303. Al-Hassan claims that in the Battle of Ain Jalut of 1260, the Mamluks used "the first cannon in history" against the Mongols, utilizing

19877-476: Was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and was primarily produced in the provinces of Sichuan , Shanxi , and Shandong . There is strong evidence of the use of saltpeter and sulfur in various medicinal combinations. A Chinese alchemical text dated 492 noted saltpeter burnt with a purple flame, providing a practical and reliable means of distinguishing it from other inorganic salts, thus enabling alchemists to evaluate and compare purification techniques;

20020-535: Was last sold by Winchester in 1947. The development of smokeless powders, such as cordite , in the late 19th century created the need for a spark-sensitive priming charge , such as gunpowder. However, the sulfur content of traditional gunpowders caused corrosion problems with Cordite Mk I and this led to the introduction of a range of sulfur-free gunpowders, of varying grain sizes. They typically contain 70.5 parts of saltpeter and 29.5 parts of charcoal. Like black powder, they were produced in different grain sizes. In

20163-585: Was not self-sufficient in gunpowder, a Gunpowder Administration was established; to head it, the lawyer Antoine Lavoisier was appointed. Although from a bourgeois family, after his degree in law Lavoisier became wealthy from a company set up to collect taxes for the Crown; this allowed him to pursue experimental natural science as a hobby. Without access to cheap saltpeter (controlled by the British), for hundreds of years France had relied on saltpetremen with royal warrants,

20306-561: Was recorded by Dutch and German travelers as being common in even the smallest villages and was collected from the decomposition process of large dung hills specifically piled for the purpose. The Dutch punishment for possession of non-permitted gunpowder appears to have been amputation. Ownership and manufacture of gunpowder was later prohibited by the colonial Dutch occupiers. According to colonel McKenzie quoted in Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles ', The History of Java (1817),

20449-588: Was the American Revolution . By careful testing and adjusting the proportions and grinding time, powder from mills such as at Essonne outside Paris became the best in the world by 1788, and inexpensive. Two British physicists, Andrew Noble and Frederick Abel , worked to improve the properties of gunpowder during the late 19th century. This formed the basis for the Noble-Abel gas equation for internal ballistics . The introduction of smokeless powder in

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