Daniel Ruggles (1810-1897). Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In 1880 he obtained a federal patent to produce rain by explosions in the clouds. The experiment consisted in ascending dynamite, through a kite, to a cloud and exploding it to prompt rainfall. Wires were used from the ground to detonate the explosive. The attempts were generally unsuccessful. Mr. Ruggles' procedure for producing artificial rain. Engraving. La Ilustracion Española y Americana, 1881.