OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Confederacy unveils a new metal-plated ram to break the Federal blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Category: Weapons
Ballooning Operations and the Coffee Mill Gun
165 YEARS AGO: Professor Thaddeus Lowe ascends in a balloon to demonstrate the usefulness of aerial military reconnaissance, and J.D. Mills demonstrates a forerunner to the modern machine gun. Both of these innovations capture President Lincoln’s interest in advanced technology.