Chemical Corps: Difference between revisions

Discussion of the topic dates back to the American Civil War. A letter to the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] dated 5 April 1862 from New York City resident John Doughty proposed the use of [[chlorine]] [[Shell (projectile)|shells]] to drive the [[Confederate Army]] from its positions. Doughty included a detailed drawing of the shell with his letter. It is unknown how the military reacted to Doughty's proposal but the letter was unnoticed in a pile of old official documents until modern times. Another American, [[Forrest Shepherd]], also proposed a chemical weapon attack against the [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]]. Shepherd's proposal involved [[hydrogen chloride]], an attack that would have likely been [[non-lethal]] but may have succeeded in driving enemy soldiers from their positions. Shepherd was a well-known geologist at the time and his proposal was in the form of a letter directly to the [[White House]].<ref name=miles>Miles, Wyndham. "The Idea of Chemical Warfare in Modern Times," ([https://www.jstor.org/stable/2708553 JSTOR]), ''Journal of the History of Ideas'', Vol. 31, No. 2. (Apr.–Jun., 1970), pp. 297–304. Retrieved 14 October 2007.</ref>