Early Rockets, NASA history collection

The British fired Congreve rockets against the United States in the War of 1812. As a result Francis Scott Key coined the phrase the "rocket's red glare." Congreve had used a 16-foot guide stick to help stabilize his rocket. William Hale, another British inventor, invented the stickless rocket in 1846. The U.S. Army used the Hale rocket more than 100 years ago in the war with Mexico. Rockets were also used to a limited extent by both sides in the American Civil War.