As the Royal Navy tightened its blockade of the American coast during 1813, US Navy captains searched for innovative ways to give American warships an advantage against superior numbers. In Boston, Captain Charles Stewart, a life-long tinkerer, conceived of a portable furnace capable of quickly heating cannonballs to between 1200 and 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. The red-hot balls might be fired at a pursuing warship; if they stuck in its timbers, they could quickly ignite dry, tarry, painted wood. READ THE FULL STORY ON LOG LINES>>
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