Literary notes about caisson (AI summary)
Literary references to the word "caisson" reveal its versatile role as both a technical and symbolic element. In technical discourse, the term is used to describe engineered structures—whether as a framework sunk into position to form reliable foundations for locks and quarries or designed to withstand external pressures through precise construction methods [1, 2]. Simultaneously, the word carries a military connotation, evoking images of artillery support and transport, from ammunition wagons and formations during battlefield maneuvers [3, 4, 5] to dignified military funerals where a caisson bears a coffin with ceremonial reverence [6]. In dramatic contexts, its explosive potential and forceful impact are also highlighted, underscoring how the caisson operates as a multifaceted symbol within the narrative landscape.
- After the soft materials were removed, and the caisson sunk by its own weight to the proper depth, it was filled with concrete.
— from The Progress of the Century - After the tunnel sections were completed, the caisson was sunk, by water ballast, to a bearing on the pile foundation.
— from The New York Subway, Its Construction and Equipment by Interborough Rapid Transit Company - Caisson An ammunition wagon for mobile artillery.
— from Aces Up by Covington Clarke - Gun and wheel and caisson were all plastered with mud, not an inch of bright metal showing.
— from Cease firing by Mary Johnston - The writer had now been appointed a Sergeant, and been given a pie bald pony to ride at the head of his 4th Detachment of gun caisson.
— from A History of Lumsden's Battery, C.S.A. by George Little - At noon, November 23, the coffin was carried from the hospital, placed upon a caisson, and draped with a large American flag.
— from Battery E in France: 149th Field Artillery, Rainbow (42nd) Division by Frederic Richard Kilner
