#582 The Shrapnel Brigadier

 Fun Fact #582

The Shrapnel Brigadier

In 1784, Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel saw a need for the British Navy to obtain a longer range anti-personnel weapon for their ships. Thus using his own resources he came up with a simple design utilizing two halves of a hollowed out cannonball filled with  whatever you could find (glass, stones, and small coins). This ball would then open after launch with the debris quickly expanding and shredding whatever it came across. This style of weapon would soon be known by his name “Shrapnel” and the term is still used today taking the word “Shrapnel” away from its former meaning to refer to bankers who specialized in small denominations (low value coins and money).

    For his efforts Lieutenant Shrapnel was promoted to the rank of Brigadier and received £1,200 pounds a year as a reward for the rest of his life (Roughly £106,023 a year in 2021 money).

Image of a Shrapnel canister (called Cannister shot) from The American Revolutionary war.

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