A stinkpot or stink-pot was an incendiary and suffocating weapon used in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty, especially in naval operations. It is an earthenware incendiary weapon part filled with sulphur, gunpowder, nails, and shot, while the other part was filled with noxious materials designed to emanate a highly unpleasant and suffocating smell to its enemies when ignited. British Admiral Sir William Robert Kennedy recorded the use of the stinkpot in 1856 during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

in his book ''Hurrah for the Life of a Sailor - Fifty Years in the Royal Navy''. He described it as: Describing the method of use of the stinkpot, Kennedy writes: Stinkpots were used in the War of 1812 by the British Navy during a bombardment of

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

on August 9th, 1814. Rossiter Johnson in his book, "A History of the War of 1812-1815 between the United States and Great Britain", writes: "It was toward evening when Hardy opened his ports and fired upon the town every kind of missile in use at that day--round-shot, grape-shot, canister, bomb-shells. carcasses, rockets, and stink-pots." Johnson, Rossiter. Chapter XVI. Operations Along the Coast. A History of the War of 1812-1815 between the United States and Great Britain. Rossiter Johnson.. Stinkpots are mentioned in ‘The Siege of Krishnapur’, novel by J G Farrell.

References

Bombs Chinese inventions Naval weapons of China Military history of the Qing dynasty Sulfur {{Navy-stub

See also

References