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Thelma & Louise

Thelma & Louise is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforeseen circumstances. The supporting cast includes Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt (in one of his first major roles). Filming took place in California and Utah from June to August 1990. Following its premiere at the 44th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 1991, Thelma & Louise was theatrically released in the United States on May 24. It became a critical and commercial success, receiving six nominations at the 64th Academy Awards, with Khouri winning Best Original Screenplay. Scott was nominated for Best Director, and both Sarandon and Davis were nominated for Best Actress.

Thelma & Louise has influenced other artistic works, and became a landmark of feminist film. In 2006, the American Film Institute ranked it 78th on its list of most inspiring films. In 2016, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot
Two friends, Thelma Dickinson and Louise Sawyer, set out for a weekend vacation at a fishing cabin in the mountains to take a break from their dreary lives in Arkansas. Thelma, a housewife, is married to disrespectful and controlling carpet salesman Darryl, while sharp-tongued Louise works as a waitress in a diner and is dating easygoing musician Jimmy, who is on the road most of the time.

On the way, they stop at a roadhouse bar, where Thelma dances with a flirtatious stranger, Harlan Puckett. He takes her to the parking lot and tries to rape her until Louise intervenes and threatens to shoot him. As the women walk away, Harlan yells he should've continued the rape, causing Louise to fatally shoot him in a fit of rage. The two women immediately drive off.

At a motel they discuss how to handle the situation. Thelma wants to go to the police, but Louise fears that no one will believe a claim of attempted rape as Thelma was drinking and dancing with Harlan, in addition to having no evidence of the rape; they would be facing a murder charge. They decide to flee to Mexico, but Louise demands they travel there without going through Texas, as something happened to her there several years earlier which she refuses to reveal.

Heading west, they come across an attractive young drifter, J.D., to whom Thelma takes a liking. Louise contacts Jimmy, asking him to wire her life savings to her. He surprises her by delivering the money in person, and they spend the night together. Jimmy proposes to Louise, but she refuses. At a motel, J.D. talks his way into Thelma's room and they sleep together. She learns he is a convicted armed-robber who has violated the terms of his parole. The following morning, the women discover J.D. has stolen Louise's savings and fled. Louise is distraught, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and later robs a nearby convenience store using tactics she learned from J.D.

Meanwhile, the FBI closes in on the duo after witnesses at the bar identify Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. Led by Arkansas State Police Investigator Hal Slocumb, the police tap into the phone line at Darryl's house. He sympathizes with the pair's situation, and understands why they did not report Harlan's killing. During a few brief phone conversations with Louise, Hal expresses his concerns and tells her he knows what happened to her in Texas, but is unsuccessful in persuading her to surrender.

Thelma tells Louise she will not go back to Darryl and asks her friend if she intends to cut a deal with police so she can return to Jimmy. Louise rejects the notion of betraying her friend and promises Thelma they will keep going together. While back on the road, Thelma recalls the incident with Harlan and tries to ask Louise if something similar happened to her in Texas. Louise responds angrily and tells Thelma to never bring it up again.

Later, they are pulled over by a New Mexico state trooper for speeding. Knowing he will soon discover they are wanted for murder and armed robbery, Thelma holds him at gunpoint and locks him in the trunk of his police car. Driving further west, they encounter a foul-mouthed truck driver who repeatedly makes obscene gestures at them. They pull over and demand an apology from him; when he refuses, they fire at his fuel tanker, causing it to explode. The women leave him stranded in the desert with the wreckage.

Thelma and Louise are finally cornered by the authorities only a hundred yards from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Hal arrives on the scene, but the women refuse his last attempt to talk them into surrendering. Rather than be captured, Thelma proposes that they "keep going". Both kiss and hold hands as Louise steps on the gas and, as Hal desperately pursues them on foot, they accelerate over the cliff to their certain deaths.

Cast

 * Susan Sarandon as Louise Sawyer
 * Geena Davis as Thelma Dickinson
 * Harvey Keitel as Det. Hal Slocumb
 * Michael Madsen as Jimmy Lennox
 * Christopher McDonald as Darryl Dickinson
 * Stephen Tobolowsky as FBI Agent Max
 * Brad Pitt as J.D.
 * Timothy Carhart as Harlan Puckett
 * Lucinda Jenney as Lena, The Waitress
 * Jason Beghe as State Trooper
 * Marco St. John as Truck Driver

Development
The idea for Thelma & Louise originated in the spring of 1988 when Callie Khouri, then a music video producer, was driving home from work to her apartment in Santa Monica. She spent the following six months working on her first screenplay, which was noted to have drawn inspiration from her own experience as well as her friendship with country music singer Pam Tillis. She had intended it to be a low-budget independent film, directed by herself and produced by fellow music video producer Amanda Temple (wife of English filmmaker Julien Temple).

After shopping the project around and finding no takers, Temple showed the script to her friend Mimi Polk Gitlin, who ran Ridley Scott's Percy Main Productions (later Scott Free Productions). Gitlin in turn showed the script to Scott, who expressed great enthusiasm for the project. He agreed to produce the film and bought the film rights for $500,000. Pathé Entertainment, then led by Scott's friend and collaborator Alan Ladd Jr., came on board as a co-producer and financier.

Scott considered four people for the role of director, all of whom turned down the opportunity. Per Gitlin's recollection, three of the candidates were Bob Rafelson, Kevin Reynolds and Richard Donner. Scott was reluctant to direct the film himself but eventually took on the role, having been persuaded by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Casting
Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally chosen for the leads; both accepted their roles with enthusiasm. As pre-production of the film dragged on, the two eventually dropped out, with Pfeiffer going on to star in Love Field and Foster in The Silence of the Lambs. Pfeiffer would later admit that passing on the film still kills her. Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn then offered to play the leads, but Streep later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts while Hawn was not considered right for the part (Hawn and Streep portrayed the lead duo a year later in Death Becomes Her). Geena Davis (who had been vigorously pursuing the lead role for nearly a year) and Susan Sarandon were ultimately chosen. The two took extensive driving and shooting lessons in preparation for their roles.

Scott personally convinced Harvey Keitel to take on the role of Hal, the sympathetic Arkansas detective. The two had previously collaborated in Scott's feature directorial debut, the 1977 film The Duellists. Davis recommended her ex-boyfriend Christopher McDonald for the role of Darryl, Thelma's controlling husband. Scott wanted Michael Madsen for Harlan, Thelma's would-be rapist, but Madsen was unwilling; he eventually won the role of Jimmy, Louise's boyfriend. Brad Pitt auditioned for the hustler J.D.; however Scott thought he was "too young" for the role so they moved on, the part went to Billy Baldwin. Pitt eventually secured the role after both Baldwin and his replacement dropped out. George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Grant Show, John Mellencamp, Dylan McDermott, James LeGros, and Dermot Mulroney were also considered for the role of J.D. Davis did test scenes with Clooney, Show, Ruffalo and Pitt; her advice to the directors was to choose Pitt.

Filming
Principal photography for Thelma & Louise began on June 11, 1990, and concluded on August 31, 1990. Although the setting for the film is a fictional route between Arkansas and the Grand Canyon, it was filmed almost entirely in the states of California and Utah. The primary filming locations were rural areas around Bakersfield, California and Moab, Utah. The Grand Canyon scenes were filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah. Parts of the film were also shot at Shafer Overlook, Monument Valley, La Sal Mountains, La Sal Junction, Cisco, Old Valley City Reservoir, Thompson Springs, Arches National Park, and Crescent Junction in Utah. Of filming his love scenes with Davis, Pitt said that it was awkward being nearly naked with everybody standing.

Soundtrack
Pete Haycock on slide guitar contributed to Thunderbird, the theme music for the film. In addition to Glenn Frey's "Part of Me, Part of You", which became the film's primary theme song, the soundtrack included songs performed by Chris Whitley ("Kick The Stones"), Martha Reeves ("Wild Night" written by Van Morrison), Toni Childs ("House Of Hope"), Marianne Faithfull ("Ballad of Lucy Jordan" written by Shel Silverstein), Charlie Sexton ("Badlands"), Grayson Hugh ("I Can't Untie You From Me"), B.B. King ("Better Not Look Down" written by Joe Sample & Will Jennings), Michael McDonald ("No Lookin' Back"), The Temptations ("The Way You Do the Things You Do" written by Smokey Robinson & Bobby Rogers), and Johnny Nash ("I Can See Clearly Now").

Release
Thelma & Louise was screened out of competition as the closing film at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Theatrical release was delayed due to financial turmoil at MGM-Pathé. The film eventually opened in American theaters on May 24, 1991 and was a box office success, grossing $45 million within the country. It proved especially successful in the home video market; with 380 000 VHS rental copies being shipped throughout the United States, it became the most rented movie of 1992.

In February 2023, The Criterion Collection announced the film would be joining the collection in May that year.

Reception
The film received widespread critical acclaim. Janet Maslin of The New York Times had only praise for the film in her review:

"Mr. Scott's Thelma and Louise, with a sparkling screenplay by the first-time writer Callie Khouri, is a surprise on this and many other scores. It reveals the previously untapped talent of Mr. Scott (best known for majestically moody action films like Alien, Blade Runner and Black Rain) for exuberant comedy, and for vibrant American imagery, notwithstanding his English roots. It reimagines the buddy film with such freshness and vigor that the genre seems positively new. It discovers unexpected resources in both its stars, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, who are perfectly teamed as the spirited and original title characters."

Roger Ebert also praised the film, writing "What sets 'Thelma & Louise' aside from the great central tradition of the road picture -- a tradition roomy enough to accommodate 'Easy Rider,' 'Bonnie and Clyde,' 'Badlands,' 'Midnight Run' and 'Rain Man' -- is that the heroes are women this time: Working-class girlfriends from a small Arkansas town, one a waitress, the other a housewife, both probably ready to describe themselves as utterly ordinary, both containing unexpected resources." He added, "This film shows a great sympathy for human comedy", and "Sarandon and Davis find in Callie Khouri's script the materials for two plausible, convincing, lovable characters. And as actors they work together like a high-wire team, walking across even the most hazardous scenes without putting a foot wrong." However, Ebert deducted half a star from his four-star review on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste .... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear."

The film also received harsh criticism from those who thought it was biased against men and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative. In response to these criticisms, Maslin and Khouri claimed that Thelma & Louise was being subjected to a double standard, as unethical behavior in male-driven road movies had not provoked a similar level of backlash. Maslin argued that viewers were simply offended at how "men in this story don't really matter... They are treated as figures in the landscape through which these characters pass, and as such they are essentially powerless. For male characters, perhaps, this is a novelty, but women in road movies have always been treated in precisely the same way." In response to claims that the film had no sympathetic male characters, Khouri pointed to the character of Hal Slocumb, the Arkansas detective who shows empathy for Thelma and Louise’s situation. Khouri said that Hal represents "the moral sense of the audience". She also said she wrote the script in "a conscious effort to counter" Hollywood's tendency to portray women as "bimbos, whores and nagging wives." Khouri added, "If [critics are] feeling threatened, [they're] identifying with the wrong character."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 147 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and peppered with action, Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise is a potent, well-acted road movie that transcends the feminist message at its core." On Metacritic, the film received a score of 88 based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

The film placed second to The Silence of the Lambs as the best film of 1991 in a poll of 81 critics.

Accolades
American Film Institute
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers - #78
 * AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains - #24
 * AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills - #76

The British Film Institute published a book about the film in 2000 as part of a Modern Classics series. On the Writers Guild of America Award's list of 101 best screenplays, it made No.72.

Legacy
The final scene, where the title characters embrace before committing suicide by driving off a cliff, has become iconic. Numerous homages and parodies of the scene have appeared, including alternate film endings, cartoon parodies, video game "Easter eggs", and as a tragic ending to television series, music videos, and commercials. After the film's release, there were reports of a few incidents where people appeared to copycat Thelma and Louise's suicides by driving off the edge of the Grand Canyon.

After watching the film, singer-songwriter Tori Amos wrote "Me and a Gun", the story of her rape several years earlier.

Feminism
Many critics and writers have remarked on the strong feminist overtones of Thelma & Louise. Film critic B. Ruby Rich praises the film as an uncompromising validation of women's experiences, while Kenneth Turan calls it a "neo-feminist road movie". Jessica Enevold argues that the film constitutes "an attack on conventional patterns of chauvinist male behavior toward females". In addition, it "exposes the traditional stereotyping of male–female relationships" while rescripting the typical gender roles of the road movie genre.

In her review for the Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objected to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values.

In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz of The Atlantic called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". However, she also said that women-themed films have since been losing ground.

Stage adaptation
In early 2021, it was announced that Khouri was adapting the film as a stage musical alongside Halley Feiffer, with original songs by Neko Case, and Trip Cullman attached to direct. In January 2023, a workshop reading was held starring Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood.

title: Thelma & Louise


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Talk:Wendy Carlos

But why does the infobox need to deadname her twice?
I get the MOS policy in this situation, but if you look at articles for Elliot Page, and others, there is no reference to deadname in the infobox. The article only says "formerly X Y Z"

Where does the policy say that the infobox also needs to say the birth name? Lillianama (talk) 00:51, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

 * You're right, MOS:DEADNAME only gives us guidance for including the name in the article's lead. Additionally a recent RfC on GENDERID left us with a clear consensus to use prior names as little as possible. So with that in mind, I've removed Carlos' former name from the infobox. Sideswipe9th (talk) 01:30, 9 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you! Lillianama (talk) 02:28, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: More recent photos
The only photo in the article is from 1958, before her gender transition. It would make more sense to have more recent photos. What about this portrait she uses on her website? With proper attribution, could this go in the infobox? https://www.wendycarlos.com/photos/wendy+pandy.jpg? JCLarsson (talk) 03:19, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

 * Alas, there seem to be no public domain, CC-by, CC-by-SA, or freely licensed pictures of Wendy Carlos after her transition. The image that you ask about is clearly marked as All Rights Reserved. Peaceray (talk) 03:47, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

 * Also, the high school yearbook photo has found its way back into the article. This was discussed here and I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have this.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 10:49, 27 December 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree. It fails to illustrate the subject. Including it at all is dubious but using it as the only image is awful. That's not to cast any aspersions on the intentions of the editor who added it. I can see why somebody might think that a bad picture is better than none at all but, in this case, it isn't. I have removed it. DanielRigal (talk) 13:28, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

synthpop? jazz?
I don't recall that any of her works could be categorised as "synthpop". Can you provide any examples or should we remove that label? And how about jazz? --80.221.189.8 (talk) 14:58, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

 * Jazz is at least somewhat attested in the NYT review of Switched-On Bach that's cited. I've removed synthpop pending a mention in the article and a source. Good catch. Remsense  诉  15:28, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

It would be easier to read if the period of Carlos' life before the gender/sex change was referred to as "he"
Since Carlos began gender/sex changes around 1968, it would be much easier and factually correct to refer to the earlier period as "he" rather than "she". Perhaps consider using "they" to highlight that the gender of the earlier period is not plain vanilla "she"... Cawag98 (talk) 00:18, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

 * Switching pronouns would be more confusing and less correct. The Manual of Style says not to do this. Please see WP:GENDERID, particularly the Retroactivity section. We can't use "they" for people who have not chosen "they", or at least disclaimed everything else. DanielRigal (talk) 12:08, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Wendy Carlos


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Modesty

Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word modesty comes from the Latin word modestus which means 'keeping within measure'.

In this use, revealing certain body parts is considered inappropriate, thus immodest. In conservative Middle Eastern societies, modesty may involve women completely covering their bodies with a burqa and not talking to men who are not immediate family members. In Christian Anabaptist and similar sects, it may involve women wearing only ankle-length skirts, blouses up to the collar, and often a small head covering or shawl. Among both and others, a one-piece swimsuit may be considered modest while wearing a bikini is not. In most countries, exposure of the body in breach of community standards of modesty, as well as public nudity, is considered indecent exposure and is usually punished by law.

Nudity may be acceptable in public single-sex changing rooms at swimming baths, for example, or for mass medical examinations of military personnel. A person who would never disrobe in the presence of the opposite sex in a social context might unquestioningly do so for a medical examination, while others might allow such examination but only by a person of the same sex.

Overall, standards of modesty vary widely around the world because of sociocultural and contextual differences and particular situations.

Body

Standards of modesty discourage or forbid exposure of parts of the body, varying between societies, which may include areas of skin, the hair, undergarments, and intimate parts. The standards may also require obscuring the shape of the body or parts of it by wearing non-form-fitting clothing. There are also customs regarding the changing of clothes (such as on a beach with no enclosed facilities), and the closing or locking of the door when changing or taking a shower.

Standards of modesty vary by culture or generation and vary depending on who is exposed, which parts of the body are exposed, the duration of the exposure, the context, and other variables. The categories of persons who could see another's body could include:

 * a spouse or romantic partner of some sort,
 * a friend or family member of the same sex,
 * strangers of the same sex.

The context would include matters such as whether it is in one's own home, at another family member's home, at a friend's home, at a semi-public place, at a beach, swimming pool (including whether such venues are considered clothes-optional), changing rooms or other public places. For instance, wearing a bathing suit at the beach would not be considered immodest, while it likely would be in a street or an office. The context may change during specific events or rituals such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans or during neopagan Skyclad work.

Excessive modesty is called prudishness. As a medical condition, it is also called gymnophobia. Excessive immodesty is called exhibitionism.

In the law
Indian Penal Code (IPC), and penal codes of other nations other nations based on IPC such as Singapore Penal Code, Malaysian Penal Code, Pakistan Penal Code, Bangladesh Penal Code, etc have gender-specific female-oriented cognisable offences and punishment to protect women which include imprisonment for the outraging of modesty of a woman. For example, "IPC Section 354" deals with the use of criminal force for outraging the modesty which is punishable with imprisonment up to 5 years, "IPC Section 354(A)" for sexual harassment, "IPC Section 354D" for stalking, "IPC Section 509" for using words gesture selections to outrage the modesty of a woman. Well known cases are Tarun Tejpal who was acquitted and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who is chargesheeted after the 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest.

In medical settings
At times of public or private emergency, expectations of modest dress may be suspended if necessary. This may apply to decontamination after a chemical or biological attack, where removal of contaminated clothing is important, or escaping from a night-time fire without time to dress. For example, during suspected anthrax attacks in 1998 and 2001 in the United States, groups of people had to strip to their underwear in tents set up in parking lots and other public places for hosing down by fire departments. On the other hand, even in an emergency situation, some people are unable to abandon their need to hide their bodies, even at the risk of their life.

In dress

Most discussion of modesty involves clothing. The criteria for acceptable modesty and decency have relaxed continuously in much of the world since the nineteenth century, with shorter, form-fitting, and more revealing clothing and swimsuits, more for women than men. Most people wear clothes that they consider not to be unacceptably immodest for their religion, culture, generation, occasion, and the people present. Some wear clothes which they consider immodest, due to exhibitionism, the desire to create an erotic impact, or for publicity.

Generally accepted Western norms
Appropriate modesty depends on context and place. For example, in single-sex public changing rooms, nudity is often acceptable.

In Western and some other societies, there are differences of opinion as to how much body exposure is acceptable in public. In contemporary Western society, the extent to which a woman may expose cleavage depends on social, cultural and regional context. Women's swimsuits and bikinis commonly may reveal the tops and sides of the breasts, or they may be topless as is common on the beaches of French Riviera. Displaying cleavage is considered permissible in many settings, and is even a sign of elegance and sophistication on many formal social occasions, but it may be considered inappropriate in settings such as workplaces, churches and schools. Showing the nipples or areolae is almost always considered toplessness or partial nudity. However, in 2014 newly elected Pope Francis drew world-wide commentary when he encouraged mothers to breastfeed in church if their babies were hungry.

In private homes, the standards of modesty apply selectively. For instance, nudity among close family members in the home can take place, especially in the bedroom and bathroom, and wearing of only undergarments in the home is common.

In many cultures it is not acceptable to bare the buttocks in public; deliberately doing so is sometimes intended as an insult. In public, Western standards of decency expect people to cover their genitalia, and women to cover their breasts.

Since the 1980s it has become more common for young women in Western societies to wear clothing that bared the midriff, "short shorts", backless tops, sheer and other styles considered to be immodest.

In the United States in the early twenty-first century, public breastfeeding has become increasingly acceptable, sometimes protected by law. President Barack Obama's health care bill from 2010 provides additional support to nursing mothers, requiring employers to provide a private and shielded space for employees to use in order to nurse.

Gender differences
Men and women are subject to different standards of modesty in dress. While both men and women, in Western culture, are generally expected to keep their genitals covered at all times, women are also expected to keep their breasts covered. Some body parts are normally more covered by men than women—e.g., the midriff and the upper part of the back.

In 1992 New York State's highest court accepted Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution arguments and struck down the provision in New York's Exposure of the Person statute that made it illegal for women to bare their chests where men were permitted to do so.

Religious traditions

Most world religions have sought to address the moral issues that arise from people's sexuality in society and in human interactions. Each major religion has developed moral codes covering issues of sexuality, morality, ethics, etc. Besides other aspects of sexuality, these moral codes seek to regulate the situations which can give rise to sexual interest and to influence people's behaviour and practices which could arouse such interest, or which overstate a person's sexuality. These religious codes have always had a strong influence on people's attitudes to issues of modesty in dress, behaviour, speech, etc.

Buddhism
Modesty (appicchatà or hiri) is the quality of being unpretentious about one's virtues or achievements. Genuinely modest people are able to see themselves as they really are and rejoice in their good qualities without becoming vain or self-promoting, and acknowledge their faults without shame or self-loathing. Modesty in dress is important in Buddhism. The Sekhiya rules of Buddhist Monastic code, for example, provide guidelines on proper clothing as well as recommended ways of dressing for monks.

"I will wear the lower robe [upper robe] wrapped around (me): a training to be observed."

"I will not go [sit] with robes hitched up in inhabited areas: a training to be observed."

The 'robes hitched up' phrase above refers to lifting one's 1 or 2 piece cloth robe, thereby exposing either side or both sides of one's body to other human beings in an inhabited area. Such exhibitionism is not recommended to monks. Beyond monks, the Buddhist belief is that modesty has a purifying quality for everyone.

Christianity

There are verses in the Christian Bible that discuss the issue of modesty. Before the fall of man, "Nakedness was 'very good' from the beginning, but its innocence was corrupted by the fall", a concept taught in and. , and  discuss that after the fall of man, "publicly exposed nakedness is a symbol of the shame of sin." In, Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness, though their attempt was inadequate for God and so God properly clothed humans in. and explicate that God instructed humans to cover their torso and thighs. instructs Christians to dress in "modest apparel" rather than to adorn themselves; in the same vein, Saint Peter wrote to Christians that "Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God".

Historically, female communicants of traditional Christian denominations (including Anglican, Baptist, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed, and Roman Catholic) wore a headcovering while praying at home and worshipping in the church, or all the time as with Anabaptists such as the Mennonites and the Bruderhof, in keeping with their interpretation of, which has been practiced since the time of the early Church. Apostolic Tradition commands: "let all the women have their heads covered with an opaque cloth, not with a veil of thin linen, for this is not a true covering." John Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407) delineated Saint Paul's teaching on the wearing of headcoverings by Christian women, continually: "Well then: the man he compelleth not to be always uncovered, but only when he prays. 'For every man,' saith he, 'praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.' But the woman he commands to be at all times covered. Wherefore also having said, 'Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head unveiled, dishonoureth her head,' he stayed not at this point only, but also proceeded to say, 'for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.' But if to be shaven is always dishonourable, it is plain too that being uncovered is always a reproach. And not even with this only was he content, but he added again, saying, 'The woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.' He signifies that not at the time of prayer only but also continually, she ought to be covered. But with regard to the man, it is no longer about covering but about wearing long hair, that he so forms his discourse. To be covered he then only forbids, when a man is praying; but the wearing of long hair he discourages at all times." These ancient Christian practices regarding modesty continue to be normative among Christians in regions such as in Eastern Europe and in South Asia, though they have waned in the Western world starting in the 1960s. Many Trinitarian Christians consider modesty extremely important, though considerable differences of opinion exist about its requirements and purposes. The early Church stressed the importance of modesty in the practice of Christianity, with early Church Father Clement of Alexandria teaching: "Woman and man are to go to church decently attired, with natural step, embracing silence, possessing unfeigned love, pure in body, pure in heart, fit to pray to God. Let the woman observe this, further. Let her be entirely covered, unless she happen to be at home. For that style of dress is grave, and protects from being gazed at. And she will never fall, who puts before her eyes modesty, and her shawl; nor will she invite another to fall into sin by uncovering her face. For this is the wish of the Word, since it is becoming for her to pray veiled. (The Instructor 3.11)" The early Christian manual Paedagogus (198 AD) teaches that clothing worn by faithful Christians should extend beyond the knees and warns against the wearing of expensive clothing, in addition to forbidding the excesses of jewelry: "As, then, in the fashioning of our clothes, we must keep clear of all strangeness, so in the use of them we must beware of extravagance. For neither is it seemly for the clothes to be above the knee, as they say was the case with the Lacedaemonian virgins; nor is it becoming for any part of a woman to be exposed. Though you may with great propriety use the language addressed to him who said, 'Your arm is beautiful; yes, but it is not for the public gaze. Your thighs are beautiful but, was the reply, for my husband alone. And your face is comely. Yes; but only for him who has married me.' But I do not wish chaste women to afford cause for such praises to those who, by praises, hunt after grounds of censure; and not only because it is prohibited to expose the ankle, but because it has been enjoined that the head should be veiled and the face covered; for it is a wicked thing for beauty to be a snare to men." Early ecclesiastical writer Tertullian echoed the same teachings regarding modesty in his On the Apparel of Women, also including a prohibition on Christian men and women dyeing their hair. Rather than to ostentatiously display the hair, Tertullian said that Christian women are to wear a headcovering in public. He taught that Christians should be able to be easily distinguished from non-Christians by their wearing of modest clothing.

Anabaptists

Many Christians belonging to the Conservative Anabaptist and Old Order Anabaptist traditions (including the Amish, Conservative Mennonites, Old Order Mennonites, Hutterites, Apostolic Christians, Charity Christians, Bruderhof, River Brethren and Schwarzenau Brethren) have plain dress prescriptions designed to achieve modesty and create a sense of church identity, as Petrovich writes: "Their dress standard is not only intended to specify a pattern which all members agree to be a modest covering for the human form but must also correspond to their vision of Jesus as meek and humble, dressed as a simple peasant from a common village. Since an established dress standard promotes uniformity, it also provides a sense of shared purpose." These requirements are either written in denominational or congregational statements or are understood and reinforced through informal pressure and ministerial reminders.

Requirements vary across churches and denominations; however, all conservative Anabaptist women wear Christian headcoverings and a skirt or dress, and all men wear long trousers. From there, considerable variation exists in men's, women's, and children's styles. Anabaptist adherents read a church group's relative strictness, distance from popular culture, and even religious ideas by their appearance and the speed of dress changes. Accordingly, the extent to which popular fashion elements show up in an Anabaptist person's dress often depends on the social distance of that church from popular culture. For example, women's headcoverings have numerous subtle design elements that distinguish church association, age, and attitude toward modest dress. Women in more fashion-conscious groups, especially among some Conservative Mennonites as well as young adults among some Old Order Amish, may wear a lacy doily that fits a stylized appearance, whereas groups and individuals holding to a distinctive form of modesty wear a fixed-style kapp with a back part that covers the hair bun and is pleated to a front part that vertically encircles the head.

Churches vary in how much members may experiment with modesty and fashion in dress. Some groups, for example, may be less inclined to censure tight dresses so long as the church's distinctive style is maintained or to censure popular swimwear worn while swimming in groups or in public; others carefully observe and embrace their church's pattern for modest, distinct dress on all non-private occasions.

Catholicism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church points out that "Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing" (CCC, 2522)."

The wearing of a veil (headcovering) for women while praying at home and while worshipping at Mass has been practiced by Christian women since the time of the early Church. The wearing of headcoverings during the celebration of the liturgy was mandated as a universal rule for the Latin Church by the Code of Canon Law of 1917, abrogated by the Code of Canon Law of 1983.

The standards issued by Pope Pius XI declared that "women who wear immodest dress shall be denied Holy Communion, and shall not be admitted as a godmother at Baptism or as a sponsor at Confirmation". They further stated "Nuns, in accordance with the Letter of 23 August 1928, of the Sacred Congregation of Religious, shall not admit to their colleges, schools, oratories, or amusement centers, nor allow to remain there any girls who do not observe Christian modesty in dress; and in the education of their charges they shall take special care to sow deeply in their hearts a love of chastity and Christian modesty.

Pope Pius XI also issued the standard of decent dress, declaring that "A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat; which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows; and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees. Furthermore, dresses of transparent materials are improper."

The Catholic Legion of Decency has been active from 1933 in monitoring morally objectionable content in films. It has condemned a number of films including several on account of the clothing worn. For example, the Legion has condemned the display of cleavage in The Outlaw (1941) and in The French Line (1954).

In 1944 on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the so-called "Marylike Crusade" (formally known as the "Purity Crusade of Mary Immaculate") was initiated by Rev. Bernard Kunkel to codify Pope Pius' XII directives on the Catholic standards of dress, known as "Marylike modesty". It seeks for Christians to emulate the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title "Mother Most Chaste" as the model for modesty. Mary-like Modesty includes for women, wearing sleeves "extending at least to the elbows" and "skirts reaching below the knees", as well as having a neckline no more than two inches with the rest of the bodice fully covered. The Marylike Crusade promotes a vow for Catholics to take: "While I am determined always to dress with Marylike modesty, both at home and in public, I intend to be specially careful to do so when visiting any place dedicated to God." The Marylike Crusade received an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Pius XII on 14 July 1954 and on 11 May 1955, Pope Pius XII extended this "to the members, to their Directors and Moderators, to their families and loved ones, and to all who further their laudable movement for modesty in dress and behaviour." The standards of Mary-like Modesty established by the Purity Crusade of Mary Immaculate continue to be promoted by Traditionalist Catholics as normative.

In 2004 Cardinal Anthony Okogie sent letters to the priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos and asked them to prohibit "fashions promoting lust and immorality" within churches. Under this rubric, people wearing "clothes which reveal sensitive parts of the body such as the bust, chest, belly, or upper arms, transparent clothing or dresses with slits above the knees" are forbidden to attend Mass inside the church. The faithful Catholics in the Archdiocese have been wholly supportive of the dictum concerning modesty, with many women practicing Christian headcovering with the Virgin Mary as their model.

Some Catholics have attempted to form cohesive theories of modesty. Sometimes this is from a sociological perspective, while at other times it takes a more systematic, Thomistic approach, combined with the writings of the Church Fathers. Approaches arguing primarily from traditional practices and traditional authorities, such as the saints, can also be found. In various localities, from time to time the church hierarchy have given opinions on various matters regarding dressing and modesty of the faithful. While Nicholas the Great wrote to the first Christian ruler of Bulgaria, Boris I, in the 9th century, that it was acceptable for the Bulgarian women to continue to wear trousers, Giuseppe Cardinal Siri stated in 1960 that trousers were unacceptable dress for women. Many traditional Catholics have attempted to further expand on this latter standard. Around 1913, it became fashionable for dresses to be worn with a modest round or V-shaped neckline. In the German Empire, for example, all Roman Catholic bishops joined in issuing a pastoral letter attacking the new fashions.

Methodists

Methodists belonging to the conservative holiness movement, such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Evangelical Wesleyan Church, have guidelines on modest apparel in accordance with the Wesleyan-Arminian doctrine of outward holiness. The Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, which continues to observe the ordinance of women's headcovering, stipulates "renouncing all vain pomp and glory" and "adorning oneself with modest attire." Their interpretation of and  is seen as forbidding the exposure of the body from torso to thighs,  while  is interpreted as God mandating gender-distinct clothing. The 2015 Discipline of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church, for example, states: "We require our women to appear in public with dresses of modest length, sleeves of modest length, modest necklines and modest hose; the wearing of split skirts, slacks, jeans, artificial flowers or feathers is forbidden." It goes on:

"Moreover, we require our men to conform to the scriptural standards of decent and modest attire; we require that when they appear in public they wear shirts with sleeves of modest length. We require that all our people appear in public with sleeves below the elbows. Women's hemlines are to be modestly below the knees. Our people are forbidden to appear in public with transparent or immodest apparel, including shorts or bathing suits. Parents are required to dress their children modestly in conformity with our general principles of Christian attire. We further prohibit our people from participating in the practices of body-piercing, tattooing or body art."

Pentecostals
Holiness Pentecostalism, the original trunk of Pentecostal Christianity, historically affirms the doctrine of outward holiness, which is reflected in the wearing of modest clothing. Holiness Pentecostals have historically taught a distinction between the male sex and female sex with respect to gender distinct clothing; they do not wear adornment, such as jewelry and makeup. The Apostolic Faith Church and the Free Gospel Church, for example, subscribe to these Holiness Pentecostal standards; in addition to these, the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church adheres to the ordinance of women's headcovering (cf. ).

Oneness Pentecostalism, another branch of Pentecostal Christianity, teaches the wearing of modest clothing. Oneness Pentecostal denominations, such as the United Pentecostal Church International, maintain the teaching of gender distinctions, including a belief that men should have short hair and women should not cut their hair (cf. ). While at the beach, women wear swimming dresses rather than what adherents would consider revealing bathing suits. Oneness Pentecostals do not adorn themselves with cosmetics or jewelry. Additionally, certain Oneness Pentecostal denominations, such as the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, observe the wearing of headcoverings by Christian women (cf. ).

Quakers
Conservative Friends and Holiness-Orthodox Friends, two associations of Quaker Christians, wear plain dress as part of their testimony of simplicity.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has issued official statements on modest dress for its members. Clothing such as "short shorts and short skirts, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and clothing that does not cover the shoulders or is low-cut in the front or the back" are discouraged. Men and women are also encouraged to avoid extremes in clothing or hairstyles. Rules on modesty also include women being asked to wear no more than one pair of earrings. Women are generally expected to wear skirts or dresses for church services. Most LDS members do not wear sleeveless shirts or shorts that do not reach the knee.

The church-funded university, Brigham Young University (BYU), requires students and tenants of BYU housing to sign an agreement to live according to these standards of modesty.

Hinduism
The premise and concepts of modesty have evolved under Hinduism. During Vedic times, both women and men wore at least two pieces of draped dress that was largely undifferentiated, voluntary and flexible. Stitched clothes such as skirts and bodices were also common in the Vedic period. However, modesty was not determined by the precepts of religion, but by local traditions, social codes, profession, circumstances and occasion. The multiple pieces of draped dress for women evolved into a single length of draped cloth among Indian Hindus, now called a sari; but it remained two or more pieces for Southeast Asian Hindus. For men, the draped dress reduced to one piece, now called by various names such as dhoti, lungi, pancha, laacha and other names among Indian Hindus, and kamben among Balinese Hindu.

The Hindu belief, suggests Christopher Bayly, is that modesty through appropriate dress has the energy to transmit spirit and substance in a social discourse. Dress serves as a means of expression or celebration, with some dressing elements such as saffron threads or white dress worn by men as moral, transformative and a means to identify and communicate one's social role in a gathering, or one's state of life such as mourning in days or weeks after the passing away of a loved one.

The canons of modesty for Hindus in South Asia underwent significant changes with the arrival of Islam in the 12th century. The Islamic rulers imposed a dress code in public places for Hindu dhimmis, per their Islamic mores of modesty. The sari worn by Hindu women extended to provide a veil, as well as a complete cover of her navel and legs. In the early 18th century, Tryambakayajvan—a court official in south central India—issued an edict called Stridharmapaddhati. The ruling outlined a required dress code for orthodox Hindus in that region. Stridharmapaddhati laced social trends with Hindu religion to place new rules on modesty for women, but gave much freedom to men.

The concept of modesty evolved again during colonial times when the British administration required Indians to wear dresses to help identify and segregate the local native populations. Bernard Cohn and others remark that dress during the colonial era became part of a wider issue in India about respect, honor and modesty, with the dress code intentionally aimed by the administration to reflect the relationship between the British ruler and the Indian ruled. The British colonial empire encouraged and sometimes required Indians to dress in an 'oriental manner', to help define and enforce a sense of modesty and to identify roles and a person's relative social status. Among Indonesian Hindus, the accepted practice of toplessness among teenage Hindu girls changed during the Dutch colonial rule, with women now wearing a blouse or colorful cloth.

Temples
Inside most Hindu temples, there is an expectation of modesty rather than sexual allurement. Men and women typically wear traditional dress during religious ceremonies and rituals in a temple, with women wearing saris or regional Indian dress. In Indonesia and Cambodia, Hindu temple visitors are often requested to wrap their waist with a traditional single piece cloth called kamben, wastra or sarung, with or without saput.

Current trends
Hindus have diverse views on modesty, with significant regional and local variations. Among orthodox Hindu populations, sexually revealing dress or any sexual behaviour in public or before strangers is considered immodest, particularly in rural areas. In contrast, the dress of deities and other symbolism in Hindu temples, the discussion of dress and eroticism in ancient Hindu literature, and art works of Hinduism can be explicit, celebrating eroticism and human sexuality.

In general, a disregard of modesty can be confusing or distressing, in particular to traditional Hindu women. Even in a health care context, some Hindu women may express reluctance to undress for examination. If undressing is necessary, the patient may prefer to be treated by a doctor or nurse of the same sex.

Islam

Islam has strongly emphasized the concept of decency and modesty. In many authentic hadiths, it has been quoted that "modesty(Haya) is a part of faith". Modesty is verily required in the interaction between members of the opposite sex and in some case between the members of same sex also. Dress code is part of that overall teaching.

Women
"And tell the believing women to cast down their glances and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women." -Quran 24:31.

"O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers that: they should let down upon themselves their jalabib." -Quran 33:59. Jalabib is an Arabic word meaning "loose outer garment".

In some Muslim societies, women wear the niqab, a veil that covers the whole face except the eyes, or the full burqa, a full-body covering garment that occasionally does cover the eyes. Wearing these garments is common in some, but not all, countries with a predominately Muslim population.

Though by some scholars these expressions of modesty are interpreted as mandatory, most countries do not enforce modesty by law. However, a few countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran, enforce specified standards of dress for women.

Men
"Tell the believing men to cast down their glances and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is [well] acquainted with what they do." -Quran 24:30

Most scholars agree that men are required to cover everything from the navel to the knees; some men choose also to wear the traditional Islamic cap (taqiyah), similar to the Jewish yarmulke or kippah. The taqiyah may vary in shape, size, and color, with differences according to tradition, region, and personal taste.

Judaism
Modesty in Judaism, called Tzniut (צניעות), is important beyond aspects of clothing. It extends to behaviour in public and in private, and depends on the context.

Women
Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish women usually wear skirts that cover their knees, with blouses or shirts covering the collarbone and sleeves covering the elbows. See-through materials may not be used, and clothes are expected not to be tight-fitting or "provocative". Less strict Conservative Judaism recommends modest dress, but this is not broadly observed. Less restrictive branches of Judaism tend to adopt the fashions of the society in which they live.

It is the custom for a married Orthodox Jewish woman to cover her hair in public, and sometimes at home. The hair covering may be a scarf (tichel), snood, hat, or a wig called a Sheitel.

Men
Standards of modesty also apply to men. While some Orthodox men will wear short-sleeve shirts in public, ultra-Orthodox men will not. More modern Orthodox Jewish men will be more lax in their dress when surrounded by other men (if it is not in a religious environment). Modesty for men most often translates to covering the torso and legs with loose clothing. Different groups of Orthodox Jews have different dress norms. But all have men dress in a head covering (kippah).

In the arts

Expectation of modesty also applies in the arts, though standards of modesty have varied at different times and in different places. Nudity and various types of behaviour were sometimes depicted, sometime not. In many cases where society did not allow nudity or immodest dress, nudity was accepted in art. Where nudity in art was not acceptable, full nudity was not displayed; otherwise nude subjects had their intimate parts hidden by apparently accidental draped fabric, flowers, other people, a fig leaf, etc. In films, very brief nudity was accepted. Some nude artworks had fig leaves added when standards became less permissive.

In a given society, the criteria varied according to the circumstances; for example artworks on public display were more restrained than those for private display to adults.

Nudity in art was sometimes suggested without actual depiction by:

 * something seemingly by chance covering the parts of the body which should modestly be covered
 * in film:
 * showing a supposedly nude person from the waist or shoulders up
 * maneuvering (turning, having objects in front) and editing in such a way that no genitals are seen
 * showing nudity from a distance, or from the back only, although other characters are nearby and/or would also see frontal nudity
 * showing nudity very briefly

In cartoons, even in cases where the genital area is not covered with clothing, genitals are often simply not drawn, as is the case in Family Guy and other animated sitcoms. In the film Barnyard, showing anthropomorphized cattle of both sexes walking on two legs, instead of either showing genitals of male cattle or not showing them, the concept of a "male cow" was used, with an udder. In Underdog a partly animated anthropomorphized dog is shown with a penis when a real dog is filmed, and without one in the animated parts.

Paintings are sometimes changed because of changed modesty standards, and later sometimes changed back. During the Counter-Reformation there was a "fig-leaf campaign" aiming to cover all representations of human genitals in paintings and sculptures that started with Michelangelo's works. Works covered in this way include the marble statue of Cristo della Minerva (church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome) which was covered by added drapery, as it remains today, and the statue of the naked child Jesus in Madonna of Bruges (The Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium) remained covered for several decades. Also, the plaster copy of the David in the Cast Courts (Victoria and Albert Museum) in London has a fig leaf in a box at the back of the statue. It was there to be placed over the statue's genitals so that they would not upset visiting female royalty. The statue of Achilles at Hyde Park Corner now has an incongruous figleaf permanently attached, after it was stolen several times.

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Fort Augustus

Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism.

History
The Gaelic name for the modern village is Cille Chuimein and until the early 18th century the settlement was called Kiliwhimin. It was renamed Fort Augustus after the Jacobite rising of 1715. The accepted etymology is that the settlement was originally named after Saint Cummein of Iona who built a church there. Other suggestions are that it was originally called Ku Chuimein after one of two abbots of Iona of the Comyn clan, whose badge Lus mhic Chuimein refers to the cumin plant, or that it was called Cill a' Chuimein ("Comyn's Burialplace") after the last Comyn in Lochaber.

In the aftermath of the Jacobite rising in 1715, General Wade built a fort (taking from 1729 until 1742) which was named after Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Wade had planned to build a town around the new barracks and call it Wadesburgh. The settlement grew, and eventually took the name of this fort. The fort was captured by the Jacobites in March 1746, just before the Battle of Culloden.

In 1867, the fort was sold to the Lovat family, and in 1876 they passed the site and land to the Benedictine order. The monks established Fort Augustus Abbey and later a school. The school operated until 1993 when it closed owing to changing educational patterns in Scotland causing a decline in enrollment. The monks employed Tony Harmsworth to devise a rescue package which saw the site converted into the largest private heritage centre in Scotland which operated between 1994 and 1998; however, the heritage centre failed to generate sufficient profit to maintain the buildings. In 1998 the monks abandoned the site, and it reverted to the Lovat family which in turn sold it to Terry Nutkins. He also owned The Lovat Hotel that stands on the site of the old Kilwhimen Barracks, one of four built in 1718. This site houses the west curtain wall of the old Fort, intact with gun embrasures. The Lovat was originally built as the local Station Hotel.

Infrastructure
The village is served by the A82 road and lies approximately midway between Inverness (56 km) and Fort William (51 km).

The village was served by a rail line from Spean Bridge to a terminus on the banks of Loch Ness from 1903 until 1933, built by the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway in the hope of eventually completing a line to Inverness and latterly operated by the North British Railway and its successor, the London and North Eastern Railway, but initially operated by the Highland Railway. The Caledonian Canal connecting Fort William to Inverness passes through Fort Augustus in a dramatic series of locks stepping down to Loch Ness.

The village is served by the Cill Chuimein Medical Centre.

The village has both a primary school and a secondary school – Kilchuimen Primary School and Kilchuimen Academy – which share a campus.

Climate
As with most of the British Isles and Scotland, Fort Augustus has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) with cool summers and mild winters. Like a lot of the surrounding area, sunshine levels are low at around 1,000 hours per annum and temperatures are unpredictable – Fort Augustus holds the UK's joint lowest May temperature record of -9.4 C. This is the latest point in the run-up to summer that such a low temperature has been recorded, suggesting it can become a frost trap on calm clear nights due to its valley location. That same low-lying topography can also give rise to some high temperatures on occasion – Fort Augustus held the UK daily high temperature record for 16 December for almost 80 years.

Notable people

 * Guy Prendergast (1905–1986), explorer and soldier. Buried in Strathoich cemetery.

title: Fort Augustus


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Congreve rocket

The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, and Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars. Lieutenant general Thomas Desaguliers, colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery at Woolwich, was impressed by reports of their effectiveness, and undertook several unsuccessful experiments to produce his own rocket weapons. Several captured Mysorean rockets were sent to Great Britain following the annexation of the Mysorean kingdom into British India following the death of Tipu Sultan in the siege of Seringapatam.

The project was continued chiefly with William Congreve, who set up a research and development programme at the Woolwich Arsenal's laboratory. After development work was complete the rockets were manufactured in quantity further north, near Waltham Abbey, Essex. He was told that "the British at Seringapatam had suffered more from the rockets than from the shells or any other weapon used by the enemy." "In at least one instance", an eyewitness told Congreve, "a single rocket had killed three men and badly wounded others." The rockets were used by the British, the Russians and Paraguay during the nineteenth century.

Indian rockets
The king of Mysore, Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali developed the military tactic of using massed wave attacks supported by rocket artillery against enemy positions. In 1792, Tipu Sultan wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin, in which two hundred artillerymen specialising in rocket artillery were prescribed to each Mysorean brigade (known as cushoons). Mysore had between sixteen and twenty-four cushoons of infantry. The areas of towns where rockets and fireworks were manufactured were known as "taramandal pet" ("galaxy market").

The rocket men were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance of the target. In addition, wheeled rocket launchers were used in war that were capable of launching five to ten rockets almost simultaneously.

Rockets could be of various sizes, but usually consisted of a cylindrical housing of soft hammered iron about 8 inch long and 1.5 to 3 inch in diameter, closed at one end, which was strapped to a shaft of bamboo about 4 ft long. The iron tube acted as a combustion chamber and contained well-packed black powder to act as the propellant. A rocket carrying about one pound of powder could travel almost 1000 yard. In contrast, rockets in Europe were not iron cased and could not take large chamber pressures. As a consequence European rockets were not capable of reaching distances anywhere near as great.

Hyder Ali introduced the first iron-cased rockets in warfare.

Hyder Ali's father was the naik or chief constable at Budikote, and he commanded 50 rocketmen for the Nawab of Arcot. There was a regular rocket corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1,200 men in Hyder Ali's time.

Second Anglo-Mysore War
At the Battle of Pollilur (1780) during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Colonel William Baillie's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by a hit from one of Tipu Sultan's Mysorean rockets, which contributed to the British defeat.

Third Anglo-Mysore War
In the Third Anglo-Mysore War in 1792, there is mention of two rocket units fielded by Tipu Sultan, 120 men and 131 men respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Knox was attacked by rockets near Srirangapatna on the night of 6 February 1792, while advancing towards the Kaveri River from the north. The rocket corps ultimately reached a strength of about 5,000 in Tipu Sultan's army. Mysore rockets were also used for ceremonial purposes. The Jacobin Club of Mysore sent a delegation to Tipu Sultan, and 500 rockets were launched as part of the gun salute.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
During the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, rockets were again used on several occasions. One of these involved Colonel Arthur Wellesley, later famous as the First Duke of Wellington and the hero of the Battle of Waterloo. Quoting Forrest:"'At this point (near the village of Sultanpet, Figure 5) there was a large tope, or grove, which gave shelter to Tipu's rocketmen and had obviously to be cleaned out before the siege could be pressed closer to Srirangapattanam Island. The commander chosen for this operation was Col. Wellesley, but advancing towards the tope after dark on 5 April 1799, he was set upon with rockets and musket-fires, lost his way and, as Beatson politely puts it, had to 'postpone the attack' until a more favourable opportunity should offer. Wellesley's failure was glossed over by Beatson and other chroniclers, but the next morning he failed to report when a force was being paraded to renew the attack." "'On 22 April [1799], twelve days before the main battle, rocketeers worked their way around to the rear of the British encampment, then 'threw a great number of rockets at the same instant' to signal the beginning of an assault by 6,000 Indian infantry and a corps of Frenchmen, all directed by Mir Golam Hussain and Mohomed Hulleen Mir Mirans. The rockets had a range of about 1,000 yards. Some burst in the air like shells. Others, called ground rockets, on striking the ground, would rise again and bound along in a serpentine motion until their force was spent."According to one British observer, a young English officer named Bayly: "So pestered were we with the rocket boys that there was no moving without danger from the destructive missiles ...". He continued: "the rockets and musketry from 20,000 of the enemy were incessant. No hail could be thicker. Every illumination of blue lights was accompanied by a shower of rockets, some of which entered the head of the column, passing through to the rear, causing death, wounds, and dreadful lacerations from the long bamboos of twenty or thirty feet, which are invariably attached to them'." During the decisive British victory at Srirangapattanam on 2 May 1799, a British shot struck a magazine of rockets within Tipu Sultan's fort, causing it to explode and send a towering cloud of black smoke up from the battlements, with cascades of exploding white light. Baird led the final attack on the fort on the afternoon of 4 May, and he was again met by "furious musket and rocket fire" - but it did not help much. The fort was taken in about an hour's time; in another hour or so, Tipu had been shot (the precise time of his death is not known) and the war was effectively over.

After the fall of Srirangapatna, 600 launchers, 700 serviceable rockets, and 9,000 empty rockets were found. Some of the rockets had pierced cylinders to allow them to act like incendiaries, while some had iron points or steel blades bound to the bamboo. These blades caused the rockets to become very unstable towards the end of their flight, causing the blades to spin around like flying scythes, cutting down all in their path.

William Congreve
Congreve began in 1804 by buying the best rockets on the London market, but found that their greatest range was only 600 yards. After spending ‘several hundred pounds’ of his own money on experiments, he was able to make a rocket that would travel 1,500 yards. He then ‘applied to Lord Chatham (the responsible minister in charge of the Ordnance Department) for permission to have some large rockets made at Woolwich’. Permission was granted and ‘several six-pounder rockets’ made ‘on principles [he] had previously ascertained’ achieved a range of ‘full two thousand yards’. By the spring of 1806, he was producing 32-pounder rockets ranging 3,000 yards. Congreve enjoyed the friendship of the Prince Regent, who supported his rocket projects and in whose household he served as an equerry from 1811. The Prince Regent was also the Elector of Hanover, and he was awarded the honorary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Hanoverian army's artillery in 1811. In 1813, Congreve declined the offer to command the Rocket Corps with rank in the Regiment of Artillery. Congreve registered two patents and published three books on rocketry.

Design

The initial rocket cases were constructed of cardboard, but by 1806 they were made from sheet iron. The propulsion was of the same ingredients as gunpowder, the mixture of which varied with the different sizes of rocket. The warheads had side-mounted brackets which were used to attach wooden sticks of differing lengths, according to the sizes of rocket.

Rocket sizes were designated by the calibre of the tube, using the then-standard British method of using weight in pounds as a measure of cannon bore. Larger diameter rockets also had correspondingly longer tubes.

By 1813, the rockets were made available in three classes: The medium and light rockets could be case shot, shell, or explosive.
 * Heavy – carcass/explosive rockets, 100- and 300-pounders; between five and six feet in length, with a stick length of 25–27 feet. Considered too cumbersome to use effectively in the field.
 * Medium – 24- to 42-pounders; two to four feet in length, with a stick length of 15–20 feet
 * Light – 6- to 18-pounders; 16-25 inches in length, with a stick length of 8–14 feet

The 32-pounder was generally used for longer range bombardment, while a 12–pounder case shot was generally used for support of infantry and cavalry, with an extreme range of some 2,000 yards. The rockets could be fired from a wheeled bombarding frame, from a portable tripod, or even from a shallow trench or sloping bank. One in three horse artillerymen carried a launching trough for ground firing.

In December 1815, Congreve demonstrated a new design of rocket that had the rocket stick screwing centrally into the base of the case. This remained in service from 1817 until 1867, when it was replaced by the Hale rocket which required no stick and used clockwise rotation to impart stability in flight.

Contrary to popular belief, rockets could not out-range the equivalent smooth bore guns of the period. In real terms, the maximum effective range for the 12-pounder rockets and for the six-pounder gun was some 1,400 yards or about 1,280 meters. However, the rate of fire with rockets could be higher than the equivalent muzzle loading ordnance. The absence of weighty ordnance meant that fewer horses were required. Captain Richard Bogue needed just 105 horses for his troop, compared with the 220 of Captain Cavalié Mercer's troop.

Rockets could be easily carried and readily deployed, particularly over difficult terrain or in small boats. This was amply demonstrated by the Royal Marine Artillery. The 12-pounder deployed at very close range was a fearsome weapon, as was seen at the battles of Göhrde and Leipzig in 1813, as well as the crossing of the Adour and the Battle of Toulouse in 1814.

The lack of specific accuracy with the larger rockets at long range was not a problem if the purpose was to set fire to a town or a number of moored ships; this was shown with the attack on the French Fleet in Aix and Basque roads and at the bombardment of Copenhagen. As Congreve himself had warned, however, they were of little use against fortified places, such as against Fort McHenry, because of the lack of combustible structures.

Accuracy at medium range remained a problem. This is illustrated by Mercer's description of G Troop Royal Horse Artillery during the retreat from Quatre Bras on 17 June 1815:

"The rocketeers had placed a little iron triangle in the road with a rocket lying on it. The order to fire is given - port-fire applied - the fidgety missile begins to sputter out sparks and wriggle its tail for a second or so, and then darts forth straight up the chaussée. A gun stands right in its way, between the wheels of which the shell in the head of the rocket bursts, the gunners fall right and left… our rocketeers kept shooting off rockets, none of which ever followed the course of the first; most of them, on arriving about the middle of the ascent, took a vertical direction, whilst some actually turned back upon ourselves - and one of these, following me like a squib until its shell exploded, actually put me in more danger than all the fire of the enemy throughout the day."

Napoleonic Wars

The main user of Congreve rockets during the Napoleonic Wars was the Royal Navy, and men from the Royal Marine Artillery became experts in their use. The navy converted HMS Galgo and Erebus into rocket ships. The army became involved and was represented by various rocket detachments that changed into the two Rocket Troops, Royal Horse Artillery, on 1 January 1814.

In the autumn of 1805, the government decided upon an attack on Boulogne for the first test. William Sidney Smith was chosen to lead the expedition, accompanied by Congreve. Strong winds and rough seas hampered the operations on both the 20th and 21st, and the attack was not successful.

In April 1806, Rear Admiral Sidney Smith took rockets on a little-known mission to the Mediterranean to aid Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples in their struggle against the French. It was perhaps at Gaeta, near Naples, that Congreve's rockets had their first successful debut in battle. The second Boulogne rocket expedition, however, is more famous and is usually considered the first successful attempt.

On 8–9 October 1806, Commodore Edward Owen attacked the French flotilla at Boulogne. Captain William Jackson aboard HMS Musquito directed the boats firing 32 pound Congreve rockets. As night drew in on the channel, 24 cutters fitted with rocket frames formed a line and fired some 2,000 rockets at Boulogne. The barrage took only 30 minutes. Apparently the attack set a number of fires, but otherwise had limited effect. Still, it was enough to lead the British to employ rockets on a number of further occasions.

In 1807, Copenhagen was bombarded by more than 14,000 missiles in the form of metal balls, explosive and incendiary bombs from cannons and mortars, and about 300 Congreve rockets. The rockets contributed to the conflagration of the city.

The lighter, six-pounder battlefield rockets had been sent on the second Egyptian campaign in 1807, a further field trial which proved to be unsuccessful.

Congreve accompanied Lord Cochrane in the fire-ship, rocket, and shell attack on the French Fleet in Aix and Basque roads on 11 April 1809.

The Walcheren Campaign in 1809 saw the deployment of HMS Galgo (1801), a merchant sloop converted to a warship and then converted to fire Congreve rockets from 21 "rocket scuttles"' installed in her broadside. This rocket ship was deployed at the naval bombardment of Flushing, where they wrought such havoc that ‘General Monnet, the French commandant, made a formal protest to Lord Chatham’ against their use. Congreve was also present at this engagement and commanded five land frames.

In 1810, Wellington agreed to a field trial of Congreve's new 12-pounder rocket carrying case shot. It was not successful and was withdrawn.

In May 1813, a detachment which had been training with rockets at Woolwich under Second Captain Richard Bogue RHA was inspected by a committee of Royal Artillery officers who recommended that it be tried in combat. On 7 June 1813, Bogue's unit was designated the "Rocket Brigade". At the same time as being granted its new title, The Rocket Brigade was ordered to be augmented and to proceed on active service, with orders to join the Army of the North commanded by Bernadotte, the Crown Prince of Sweden. Using the modified 12-pounder at low trajectory from ground firing-troughs, the brigade saw action at the Battle of Gohrde and at the Battle of Leipzig on 18 October 1813, where it was successfully employed to attack the French stronghold of Paunsdorf, occupied by five French and Saxon battalions. Captain Bogue was however killed by a sharpshooter in the subsequent cavalry charge, and the village of Paunsdorf was eventually retaken by the French Imperial Guard. In the continuing campaign, the Rocket Brigade was also used in the sieges of Frederiksfort and Glückstadt, which surrendered on 13 December 1813 and 5 January 1814, respectively. On 1 January 1814, the unit assumed the title of the "2nd Rocket Troop RHA" and on 18 January it received orders to join the force under the orders of Sir Thomas Graham in Holland.

In September 1813, Wellington agreed, with much reservation, that rockets could be sent out to join the army in Spain. On 3 October 1813, another Royal Artillery detachment embarked from Woolwich, trained in firing rockets. This group was called the "Rocket Company" and consisted of almost sixty men under Captain Lane. On 1 January 1814, together with another detachment under Captain Eliot, it assumed the title of the "1st Rocket Troop RHA". Captain Lane's rockets were very successfully deployed at the crossing of the Adour on 23 February 1814 and in the final battle in the Peninsular War at the Battle of Toulouse on 10 April 1814. Later that year, they were sent to be part of the disastrous expedition against the American Army at New Orleans, in Louisiana.

By the time of the Waterloo campaign on 30 April 1815, the command of the 2nd Rocket Troop was formally taken over by Captain Whinyates. Wellington remained averse to rockets, so Whinyates took just 800 rockets into the field, as well as five 6-pounder guns; it would appear that the rockets replaced the usual howitzer in the structure of the troop.

War of 1812

The Royal Marine Artillery used Congreve rockets in several engagements during this conflict. Two battalions of Royal Marines were sent to North America in 1813. Attached to each battalion was a rocket detachment, each with an establishment of 25 men, commanded by lieutenants Balchild and John Harvey Stevens. Both rocket detachments were embarked aboard the transport vessel Mariner  Rockets were used in the engagements at Fort Oswego and Lundy's Lane.

The British used the Congreve rocket on U.S. soil for the first time in an attack on Lewes, Delaware, on 6 and 7 April 1813. The town was bombarded for 22 hours.

A third battalion of Royal Marines arrived in North America in 1814, with an attached rocket detachment commanded by Lieutenant John Lawrence, which subsequently participated in the Chesapeake campaign. During this campaign, the British used rockets at the Battle of Bladensburg to rout the American forces (which led to the capture and burning of Washington, D.C.), and at the Battle of North Point.

It was the use of ship-launched Congreve rockets by the British in the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the US in 1814 that inspired a phrase in the fifth line of the first verse of the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner": "the rockets’ red glare". HMS Erebus (1807) fired the rockets from a 32-pound rocket battery installed below the main deck, which fired through portholes or scuttles pierced in the ship's side.

In Canada, rockets were used by the British at the Second Battle of Lacolle Mills, 30 March 1814. Rockets fired by a detachment of the Royal Marine Artillery, though inaccurate, unnerved the attacking American forces, and contributed to the defense of the blockhouse and mill. Rockets were used again at the Battle of Cook's Mills, 19 October 1814. An American force, sent to destroy General Gordon Drummond's source of flour, was challenged by a contingent of infantry which was supported by a light field cannon and a frame of Congreve rockets. The rockets succeeded in discouraging the Americans from forming lines on the battlefield.

Captain Henry Lane's 1st Rocket Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery embarked at the end of 1814 in the transport vessel Mary with 40 artillerymen and 500 rockets and disembarked near New Orleans. Lieutenant Lawrence's rocket detachment took part in the final land engagement of the War of 1812 at Fort Bowyer in February 1815.

Bombardment of Algiers (1816)
Algiers had been the centre for pirates for some years, and her fleet had reached considerable proportions. Things reached a head after a particular atrocity; Britain decided to stamp out their activities, and the Netherlands agreed to assist. The combined fleet was composed of six British ships of the line and four frigates, plus five Dutch frigates; there were also 37 gun boats, 10 mortar boats, and eight rocket boats. Lieutenant JT Fuller and 19 other ranks from the Rocket Troop accompanied the expedition, together with 2,500 rockets, and were engaged alongside the Royal Marine Artillery.

In the bombardment of Algiers the rocket boats, gun boats, and mortar boats engaged the enemy's fleet moored inside the harbour. "It was by their fire that all the ships in the port, with the exception of the outer frigate, were in flames which extended rapidly over the whole arsenal, storehouses and gun boats, exhibiting a spectacle of awful grandeur".

The following day, the Dey capitulated and accepted all the surrender terms.

Whale hunting (1821)
On her voyage to the Greenland whale fishery in 1821 Fame carried Congreve rockets. Sir William Congreve equipped her with rockets at his own expense to test their utility in whaling hunting. The Master General of Ordnance and the First Lord of the Admiralty had Lieutenant Colquhoun and two Marine artillerymen accompany the rockets. Captain Scoresby wrote a letter from the Greenland fishery in June reporting that the rockets had been a great success. Subsequent reports made clear that the rockets were fired from about 40 yards and were highly effective in killing whales that had already been conventionally harpooned.

A separate trial took place on another whaler. A letter from Captain Kay, of the ship Margaret, of London, dated 7 September, addressed to Lieut. Colquhoun, R.A., says

"I have taken the liberty of inclosing you an account of a few trials I have made of Congreve's Rockets. Fearing the harpooners would not fire it correctly, I had determined to try its effect myself, and it was not until the 8th June that an opportunity presented. Early on that morning a whale, of the largest size, was discovered near the ship; I immediately pursued it, and when sufficiently near, fired a rocket into its side; the effect it had on the fish was tremendous—every joint in its body shook, and, after lying for a few seconds in this agitated way, it turned on its back and died. It appeared on flinching, that the rocket had penetrated through the blubber and exploded in the crann (sic) near the ribs; the stick and lower part of the rocket was taken out entire, the upper part was blown to pieces. My next attempt was on the 9th July, on a whale of the same size as the former, but owing to the rapid motion of the fish, and a heavy swell of the sea, which rendered the boat unsteady, the rocket entered below the middle part of the body, in consequence of which its effect was considerably lessened, its frame, however, was much shook by the explosion, and it immediately sunk, but rose again, blowing an immense quantity of blood: it was then struck with a harpoon, and killed with lances. On flinching, part of the stick of the rocket could only by found; it therefore appears probable that the rocket had burst in the inside of the fish."

In December Lieutenant Colquohon demonstrated the use of the rockets at Annapolis, Maryland. A newspaper story gave a detailed account of the experiments he performed.

First Anglo-Burmese War
A new shipment of Congreve rockets – which the Burmese had never seen – were used in the closing phase of the Battle of Yangon (May–December 1824) and in the subsequent battle of Danubyu (March–April 1825) where rocket fire stopped fighting elephants.

Congress Poland and November Uprising
Having witnessed the effects of incendiary rockets on grain warehouses of Danzig in 1813, artillery captain Józef Bem of the Kingdom of Poland started his own experiments with what was then called in Polish raca kongrewska. These culminated in his 1819 report Notes sur les fusées incendiaires (German edition: Erfahrungen über die Congrevischen Brand-Raketen bis zum Jahre 1819 in der Königlichen Polnischen Artillerie gesammelt, Weimar, 1820). The research took place in the Warsaw Arsenal, where captain Józef Kosiński also developed the multiple-rocket launchers adapted from horse artillery gun carriage.

The 1st Rocketeer Corps was formed in 1822 under the command of brigade general and received its launchers in 1823. The unit received its baptism of fire during the Polish–Russian War 1830–31. The rocket salvos fired by captain Karol Skalski's rocketeers during the twilight hours of the Battle of Olszynka Grochowska (25 February 1831) disrupted the Russian cavalry charges and forced them to retreat, which changed the tide of battle. The rockets were also used several times (over a thousand stockpiled) by Polish freedom fighters during the final Battle of Warsaw (September 1831) in defense of the city.

Portuguese Civil War
Congreve rockets were employed extensively by both Liberal and Miguelite forces

Opium Wars
Congreve rockets were used from the bombardment of the Canton ports, by Nemesis (1839) in January 1841, to their use at the Battle of Palikao, in September 1860.

New Zealand Wars
During the period of the New Zealand Wars, the British Army used Congreve rockets against Māori fortifications—along with cannon fire—but found that simply digging trenches were sufficient to ensure the rockets became militarily ineffective so much that, like cannon, they became virtually unused and pointless.

American Civil War
The Confederate forces reportedly experimented with Congreve rockets.

Triple Alliance War
During the war between Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina against Paraguay (1865–1870), the Paraguayans deployed Congreve rockets in several battles including: the Battle of the Riachuelo (11 June 1865) when land-based rockets were used against Brazilian naval forces without success; the Battle of Paso de las Cuevas (12 August 1865) when the Paraguayans used artillery and rockets against a passing fleet of 12 Brazilian ships and one Argentinian ship; the combat of Corrales (31 January 1866) when Paraguayan rockets were used against Allied infantry and cavalry; the Battle of Tuyutí (24 May 1866) when Paraguayan forces used them to attack advancing allied cavalry; the Battle of Yataytí Corá (10 July 1866) where Paraguay used two launchers of 68-pound rockets; and again in Yataytí Corá (20 January 1867) when Paraguayan rockets caused a fire in the Argentinian camp. The Brazilian Navy employed them during the Battle of Curupayti (22 September 1866), trying to destroy the reinforced Paraguayan trench field, but the rockets fell short.

Crimean War and Indian Rebellion of 1857
During the Crimean War (1853–1856) and the Indian Rebellion of 1857, marines and sailors from the Royal Navy used Congreve rockets. "Bluejackets" armed with rockets from HMS Shannon (1855) and HMS Pearl (1855), under the command of Captain William Peel, were among the Naval Brigade participating in the force led by Sir Colin Campbell at the Second Relief of Lucknow. There is an eye-witness narrative of the taking of the heavily-fortified Shah Najaf mosque written by William Forbes Mitchell: at a late stage Captain Peel had ... brought his infernal machine, known as a rocket battery, to the front, and sent a volley of rockets through the crowd on the ramparts.. After a second salvo from the rocket battery, many of the rebels fled and the mosque was finally taken by storm. When Forbes-Mitchell entered the enclosure he found only numerous dead defenders. According to a modern historian, "Peel's rockets had tipped the scale and the Shah Najaf fell to the British just as they had been about to fall back".

Surviving rockets
As a weapon, Congreve rockets remained in regular use until the 1850s, when they were superseded by the improved spinning design of William Hale. In the 1870s, Congreve rockets were used to carry rescue lines to vessels in distress, gradually superseding the mortar of Captain Manby that had been in operation from 1808 and rockets designed by John Dennett (1780-1852) that had been deployed in the late 1820s. These were first used to carry out a rescue in 1832 and used in the Irex rescue as late as 1890.

A wide variety of Congreve rockets were displayed at Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum in South-East London, ranging in size from 3 to 300 lb. The Science Museum has two eighteenth-century Indian war rockets in its collection. The Musée national de la Marine in Paris also features one rocket. The Stonington Historical Society in Stonington, Connecticut, has one rocket in their collection that was fired at the town by the British in August 1814 during the Battle of Stonington.

Other examples in the United States can be seen at The Smithsonian National Museum and the Fort McHenry Museum. The Wittenburg Museum in Germany has a later-era rocket, and there is a reproduction of it in the Leipzig Museum; there is also one in a private collection in Leipzig.

Published descriptions

 * In the 1790s the Fathul Mujahidin was published. It is a military manual that was written by Tipu Sultan, a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, who was considered to be the father of rocket artillery in battle for his use of iron-cased rocket artillery against the British Army in 1792, which is considered a technological evolution in military history. The siege of Seringapatam was the final battle of the Third Anglo-Mysore War.
 * In 1804, Congreve published: A concise account of the origin and progress of the rocket system.
 * A Concise Account of the Origin and Progress of the Rocket System, by William Congreve, son of the arsenal's commandant, was published in 1807.
 * In 1814, Congreve published: The details of the rocket system.
 * Congreve, William, Sir. (1827) A Treatise on the General Principles, Powers, and Facility of Application of the Congreve Rocket System. (London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green).
 * The First Golden Age of Rocketry: Congreve and Hale Rockets of the Nineteenth Century, Frank H. Winter, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990. ISBN 0-87474-987-5.
 * CE Franklin British Rockets of the Napoleonic and Colonial Wars 1805-1901. Spellmount Ltd. ISBN 978-1-86227-313-9
 * Werrett, Simon. ‘William Congreve's Rational Rockets.’ Notes & Records of the Royal Society 63 (2009): 35-56

In popular culture

 * The words "Rocket's red glare" in the US anthem "Star-Spangled Banner" refer to a Congreve rocket barrage.
 * In Age of Empires III, the British civilization has rockets as a unique unit based on the Congreve rocket.
 * In Mount and Blade: Napoleonic Wars, British rocket artillery are a playable class.
 * In Empire: Total War, Congreve rockets are a usable artillery unit.
 * In Bernard Cornwell's novel Sharpe's Enemy, and its television adaptation, Congreve rockets appear and are instrumental in the victory at the end. Cornwell also describes the historical firing of a rocket during the Waterloo campaign in his later novel Sharpe's Waterloo.
 * In George Macdonald Fraser's novel Flashman at the Charge, Harry Flashman uses Congreve rockets captured from the Russians to help repel a Russian assault in Central Asia.
 * In Timothy Mo's novel about the foundation of Hong Kong, An Insular Possession, Congreve rockets are used by Captain Elliot from the steamer Nemesis against Chinese forts on the Pearl River.
 * Death to the French, a novel by C. S. Forester. On pages 111 to 113, a graphic fictional description of the action on 13 November 1810 when they tried unsuccessfully to fire the French dockyard at Santarem with rockets.
 * In the TV series The Terror, Congreve rockets are carried by Franklin's lost expedition and used in a skirmish.
 * In Tessa Dare's Regency Romance, The Duchess Deal (2017), the hero protagonist, the Duke of Ashbury, has survived severe injury by a malfunctioning Congreve rocket at Waterloo (chapter 17).

title: Congreve rocket