Colonel+Thomas+J.+Rodman

Original Author: Will Nelson, ENG299 FL10 Revision Author:
 * Colonel Thomas J. Rodman**

Colonel Thomas J. Rodman was a well defined and well educated man. He was best known for his work in metallurgy and propellants. Eventually his master skills in these two fields would get him the earned rank of Brevet Brigadier General. (Leopore 29) General Rodman was not going to stop there he was a highly motivated man with the aim to do bigger and better things. When the U.S. Army Ordnance Department chose to turn the old Prison barrack into a manufacturing arsenal at Rock Island they had no doubt in their mind on whom they wanted to command the arsenal. They confidently chose General Rodman. He accepted the offer and this is where his legacy began.

Rodman graduated at the top of his class in 1841 from the prestigious U.S. military academy. This is where his work with metallurgy and propellants began. (Leopore 27) One of General Rodman’s biggest accomplishments was the development of the “Rodman Casting Process” which totally changed the way that cannons were made. By using his new found casting process he was able to change the way that cannons were made forever. With General Rodman’s new casting process the cannons were actually cooled from the inside rather than the exterior like other cannons. Therefore resulting in safer, stronger and way more efficient weapons then others of his time. Rodman’s casing process was so effective and efficient that the U.S. Army adopted his idea of water cooling cannons in the year 1859 this was almost 14 years after General Rodman’s original discovery of the process. (Leopore 28)

Rodman continued with his brilliant work. Rodman studied American ways of weapon making as well as foreign. By doing this he was able to master the art of designing weapons. He was also surrounded by other great innovations along the way which aided him in creating and designing. The same time he was discovering new ways to improve and make advanced weaponry the first steam engine was created. This gave Rodman a huge edge over other weapon makers of his era. He was able to take his ballistic knowledge and his new found knowledge of steam and pressure and was able to blow the competition out of the water. The biggest help was the steam engine. This gave him new methods of calculating pressure on where it should and where it should not be applied.

By using his new found knowledge in pressure he was able to determine the pressure curve for different weapons. By doing this he created what was called the “Rodman Gun.” (Leopore 27) The design of this gun was unlike any other. He casted the barrel at its greatest point of pressure then narrowed the barrel and the pressure decreased further down the barrel. In result this gave the barrel of his gun a “coke bottle” shape to it. But do not be fooled by its odd shape. This tremendously improved the efficiency of the rifle and made it far more effective and lethal. In fact his gun was the most technological advanced gun of his era. No other gun came close to comparing to his, which is what made his gun the gun to have. (Leopore 27)

With the design of his new gun many historians say that it was Rodman’s new gun design that prevented the European naval intervention in the American Civil War. They viewed his gun as a huge threat because it was far more superior in all categories when it came to their weapons. (Leopore 28) So with his gun design it stopped many European Nations from intervening or attacking any American continent. This was huge in Rodman’s era, for one man to invent a new way of weapon making, not only on one weapon but two completely different types of weapons. Both designs that he created revolutionized the weapon industry in his era. Rodman’s designs were so great they deterred another nation from interfering in the American Civil War and helped the U.S. dominate as well. It is men like Rodman who have paved the way for America to be great and prosper into what it is today.

Rodman continued to outdo himself by his continued efforts to help with American advancements in weaponry. A little while after mastering his skills in weapon making he decided to turn to working with fire power. After all what is a good weapon if it does not make a big bang right? He began to work with gun powder and experimented with numerous ways to try and make it more effective. Like all his other mind blowing advances in weaponry he finally did it. He came up with a new type of gun powder that was far more effective and later helped with the invention of the more modern pellet powder. (Leopore 28) By the 1860’s Rodman had invented a new type of gun powder. This powder was compressed into disks. It burned slower than the previous type of cannon powder used therefore resulting in a far more effective type of powder. By using this new powder it decreased the stress on the gun when fired resulting in a big increase in the guns firing distance. (Leopore 29)

General Rodman did not stop there though he continued to work with gun powder and developed another new type of powder known as “prismatic” powder. (Leopore 28)This differed than other powders by getting a stronger pressure in the chamber without increasing the strain on neither the gun nor the tube itself. This resulted in a greater velocity for the pellet fired and increased the surface area that was covered by the pellets. This made fire power way more lethal with more pellets being shot at the enemy more spread out and greater speeds. This alone greatly out does his previous advance in gun powder. With all these advances coming from one man it is hard to think what the U.S.A. could be of more Americans were like this gentleman.

Once the war finally came to an end, Rodman turned his focus away from weapons to the field of architecture. He began to design buildings for what is known today as the Rock Island Arsenal. Once Rodman finally arrived in Rock Island in August of 1865 Rodman was asked to inspect the island and let Washington know if it needed work and what all needed to be done. He immediately wrote Washington telling them that the entire island needed to be reserved for the arsenal project. Rodman stated that he wanted the arsenal to be a large scale operation which was originally supposed to be a rather small outfit. (Leopore 29) But after careful review he was granted his request because the arsenal was easily accessible by water and through bridge. Rodman was able to start with the building and remodeling of the arsenal. After getting approval Rodman returned to the arsenal from October 1865 to February 1866. (Leopore 31) In his design to build the arsenal he included a water plant, manufacturing complex, and an officer’s residential area. When Rodman started to build the arsenal he moved the construction to the high ground in the center of the island to leave it open for further expansions that were going to be done. His plan to build called for complete used of the entire island. Rodman’s grand plan called for ten huge stone shop buildings that were divided evenly on each side of the central rode going through the island. This rode was name after General Rodman and is still called Rodman Avenue to this date. These first buildings he built were known as the core of the arsenals manufacturing complex. In these huge buildings also included the post headquarters, fire station, barracks building, and storehouse, bordered the manufacturing shops. (Leopore 31) General Rodman’s designs also included the design of the arsenal dam and powerhouse now known as the Sylvan Slough.

Rodman was also able to a teledynamic system of cables and towers to get power form the river to the shops at the southern end of the island. He also placed a small foot bridge and artificial lake to serve as a buffer between residential and manufacturing and to give officers a more enjoyable view on their way to work. In the designing of the arsenal Rodman designed a manufacturing complex which held both an armory and arsenal inside of one building. There were five shops that were built along the north edge of Rodman Avenue, the buildings were numbered these five buildings were dubbed the name “Armory Row.” Construction on the arsenal buildings began in 1866 and continued until the final building was complete in 1893. (Leopore 31,32)

General Thomas J. Rodman died on 7 June 1871, and was buried next to the National Cemetery on Arsenal Island//.// Rodman is referred to as “Father of the Rock Island Arsenal “which he so greatly deserves. (Leopore 30) General Rodman was an extraordinary man that the world does not have enough of. It is crazy to sit down and think how one man did so much in one life time to help serve and better protect the country he cared for and loved. If only there were more people like him!

Leopore, Hernert. //An Illustrated History Of The Rock Island Arsenal and Arsenal Island// Rock Island, 1988.
 * Works Cited**

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