The Submarine: A Legend Before It's Time
By Melissa Craig and Maggie Hogan
April 2, 1863: it was a dark and stormy night. A green, cigar-shaped, 47-foot-long submersible warship was being towed behind the USS Sumpter on its way to help capture Charleston SC. The fierce winds and high seas, however, cut its mission short. In order to save the endangered Sumpter, the USS Alligator was cut loose. It sank off the North Carolina coast, in an area known as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic,” and was never seen again.
Alligator? 1863? Subs? Yes, one of the lesser known stories of the Civil War is that of the submarines, both Confederate and Union. Research in this field is on-going and fascinating. One of the great difficulties in finding information about Civil War era submarines is because at that time sub records were considered classified information. On the Southern side, many subs operated under the Secret Service, rather than the Navy. The use of submarines during the war was top secret and almost legendary. The South destroyed almost all records of the submarines, because those involved feared for their lives after the South surrendered. The North publicly denounced undersea warfare, but it secretly engaged in its own sub building programs. Therefore, they kept little in the way of official records.
In recent years, as historians have become more aware of the importance of submarines during the Civil War, they have discovered that more than twenty such boats were used at that time. And so in August of 2004, the “Hunt for the Alligator” began. This effort involves many different people, including historians, archeologists, meteorologists, oceanographers, naval experts, Civil War experts, and more. It’s a huge effort that is being led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and supported by the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research. For more information go to: http://www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov/alligator/
Perhaps you have heard of the CSS Hunley? This Confederate sub was the first known sub to sink a ship in combat. It rammed the USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor Feb. 16, 1864 with a spar torpedo that was packed with explosive powder and attached to a long pole on the sub’s bow. The Housatonic was destroyed but so was the Hunley.
Amazingly, this sub was recovered in August, 2000, and towed to shore. Our family was in Charleston the day it was brought in. Thousands of people lined the route, gazing in amazement that this 150+ year old sub - contemporary of horses and buggies, steamboats and the telegraph - could sustain life underwater, using such features as airlocks, electric motors, air purification systems, and periscopes—features not seen again until the 20th century. Later, the remains of the nine crewmen who had died inside were given a proper burial. Scientists and historians are learning much about submarine warfare during the Civil War era from this incredible find.
The North and the South used their submarines in two different ways. The North wanted subs to clear obstacles in the water in order to safeguard their fleet. The South used subs on the offensive against the much larger Union Navy. The South had many more subs, most of them privately built.
An interesting theory concerning the USS Tecumseh (Captain Farragut: “Damn the Torpedoes – Full Speed Ahead!”) has recently been proposed. Some now believe that rather than hitting a mine, the Tecumseh was sunk by a sub.
Evidently, after the Yankee ship, Tecumseh sank, three Confederate soldiers were pulled from the Bay. One of them, Captain Albert Pierce, claimed to have attached a mine to a Yankee ship. He then claimed that his sub, the CSS Captain Pierce, exploded, killing most of his crew. Did the Tecumseh succumb to a Confederate sub? Reportedly, a sunken vessel lies buried in the sand near the Tecumseh – perhaps with today’s improving technology, historians will someday be able to tell the whole story.
Questions to Consider
1. Why was there such a difference in the way the two sides chose to use submarines in their strategies?
2. What significance do you think subs had on the Civil War? What about on World War II? Modern day warfare?
3. What transportation invention do you think had the most significant impact on the 20th century? Why?
Submarine Timeline
1. Highlight Confederate sub activity in yellow.
2. Highlight Union sub activity in another color.
3. Find pictures on-line of the different subs and attach them to the timeline.
4. Choose one timeline entry for further research.
SIDEBAR
The history of submarines is a fascinating study. For further research, learn more about following men:
1. David Bushnell, an American inventor of the first sub known to be used in war. It was a one-man, hand-cranked vehicle built about 1776.
2. Robert Fulton, considered father of the steam boat. He built a sub in France in 1800 and named it the Nautilus. (Look for two other famous subs named the Nautilus, one fictional, one not.)
3. Brutus De Villeroi, French inventor and American immigrant. He demonstrated his first sub in Nantes, France in 1832. (Interesting sidenote: 6-year-old Jules Verne was living in Nantes at that time!) De Villeroi later sold another sub, nicknamed “Alligator,” to the Union Navy.
Timeline
| 1776 | American inventor David Bushnell builds the “Turtle,” a one-man submersible vehicle built for use in Revolutionary War. |
| 1800-01 | Nautilus: commissioned by Napoleon and designed by American inventor, Robert Fulton. Successful sea trials in France. |
| 1832 | Brutus De Villero: Demonstrates his submarine in Nantes, France. |
| 1850’s | Lodner Phillips successfully designed and employed subs to do salvage work on the Great Lakes. |
| 1860 | Twelve years of testing begins on the “Intelligent Whale” submarine. Due to repeated failures, it was never commissioned. |
| 1861 | Unnamed, two-man, sub designed by William Cheeney for the South successfully passes sea trials in James River, Richmond, VA |
| 1862 | * First official submersible warship of the U.S. Navy is
christened USS Alligator * Confederacy launches first of several “David” subs * Confederacy launches Pioneer I |
| 1863 | * Singer Submarine Corp founded in the South * Triton Company founded in the South * Confederacy launches Pioneer II * CSS Hunley launches in Mobile, AL * “David” attacks USS New Ironsides |
| 1864 | February 16: CSS Hunley sinks the USS Housatonic August: Sinking of the USS Tecumseh in the Mobile Bay. Could it have been sunk by the CSS Captain Pierce? |
| 1864-65 | Other new submarines built and launched: * Saint Patrick in the South * Explorer: turned down by Union Navy, goes to Panama and has successful career working the Pearl Beds |
| 1900 | US Navy purchases a 53.3 ft. long, steam-powered sub, built by John P. Holland. USS Holland was launched October 12, 1900 and until recently was thought to be the first commissioned U.S. Navy sub. |
| 1995 | CSS Hunley is discovered off the coast of Charleston, SC |
| 2000 | CSS Hunley, with its 9 crewmembers, is recovered. The men were given a proper burial. |
| 2004-05 | The search continues for the USS Alligator, now believed to be the first commissioned U.S. Navy submarine. |