About that OTHER lost Confederate submarine...

[Jolly Mon]

Almost everyone is familiar with the story of the Confederate submarine Hunley. She became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat on Feburary 17, 1864.

What is less well known is the mystery surrounding the loss of her immediate predecessor, a prototype submarine at first called Pioneer II and later renamed American Diver.

Both submarines were built by a group of investors led by Horace Lawson Hunley and engineer James McClintock. American Diver was built in late 1862 in Mobile, AL.

Raw materials were scarce in the South during the Civil War, so American Diver was built from an old boiler.

McClintock at first experimented with electric motors and even steam engines in an effort to find a suitable power plant for his submarine, but was forced to fall back on human power.

American Diver, like Hunley, was powered by a hand crank. This made her slow and greatly reduced her efficiency because turning the crank exhausted the crew in a short period of time. Here is one of McClintock's drawings (sorry about the poor quality):



The submarine project was carried out with the support of the Confederate States government, but was, obviously, top secret.

Very little information can be gleaned from the official records. Almost everything known about American Diver comes from a few private letters.

Correspondance from Mobile harbor pilots indicate that American Diver was kept at Navy Cove, just inside the harbor entrance. This very much stands to reason, since one of the great challenges to the successful use of the sub would have been getting her into position among the Federal Blockading Squadron patrolling outside of the range of the guns of Fort Morgan.

At some time in Feburary, 1863, American Diver was being towed from Navy Cove in an attempt to get her into position to assault the blockading ships. Her crew was aboard the towing vessel to conserve energy for the attack. However, a sudden squall upset the sub, and an unsecured hatch caused her to sink---acccording to McClintock, somewhere near the entrance to Mobile Bay. She has never been found.

I have attached some old charts showing Navy Cove in relation to Mobile Bay entrance. The submarine is probably buried under tons of sediment ---but not necessarily.

Mobile Bay, 1856


On a "long shot" possibiity, I am also attaching a portion of a chart from 1877 showing an "old boiler" near the main ship channel. This "old boiler" was uncharted in 1856. It makes it first appearance on a chart in 1877.

Mobile Bay, 1877

Remember, the American Diver project was top secret. It is almost inconceivable that the men conducting the survey of Mobile Bay in 1877 would have known about the submarine"s existence.

While there are many wrecks located in and around Mobile Bay, it is just possible that a survey team might mistake a submarine fashioned from an old boiler for---an "old boiler".

In any event, this "old boiler" apparently showed up, in situ, sometime between 1856 and 1877...




Talk about Steam Punk !!!

 

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[maipenrai]

In the event that it is buried under tons of sediment, then that is very good luck, since it would be better preserved, than if it was laying on the bottom, in sea water.

 

[ECS]

Could be the CSS CAPTAIN PIERCE.There were several subs and "David"s used by the Confederacy during the war.
1862submarines
Many did have that "steampunk" aura!

 

[Jolly Mon]

Could be the CSS CAPTAIN PIERCE.There were several subs and "David"s used by the Confederacy during the war.
1862submarines
Many did have that "steampunk" aura!

Thanks for that link ! I knew about the "Davids", as one severely damaged the New Ironsides during the war, but I had never heard of the Captain Pierce. Interesting stuff.

 

[Citiboy289]

Great informative post !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS

 

[MichaelB]

A couple of issues here is the dredging of the channel! the construction of the intercostal waterway and the hurricane of 1906. Navy Cove is dramatically different from what it was in 1906. I have found a little bit of everything in navy Cove but nothing I could tie back to the sub. That is not to say it is not there. The north side of fort Morgan is more sand than mud making it tougher to bury the sub. Out past Dixie bar the story changes. So much sand moves thru the mouth of Mobile Bay it is easy to see the sub buried. The USS Tecumseh is in great condition as it is covered and uncovered after each storm. It lies just of the beach at the point of Fort Morgan. A beautiful ships bell was found within the last couple of years in a spot where we all fish and shrimpers drag all the time so there are still things to be found there.

MichaelB

 

[Galleon Hunter]

Two earlier submarines were developed by Horace Hunley, James McClintock and Baxter Watson. The trio first built a submarine named Pioneer in New Orleans. The Pioneer was first tested in the Mississippi River in February 1862. The small craft was towed to Lake Pontchartrain for additional testing, but was scuttled the following month when Union forces advanced on New Orleans. Another Confederate submarine, the Bayou St. John is believed to have been constructed around the same time but that vessel was poorly documented. Following the fall of New Orleans, the three inventors moved to Mobile and collaborated with machinists Thomas Lyons and Thomas Park to develop another submarine, the American Diver, (also known as the Pioneer II.) Their efforts were supported by the Confederate States Army. The submarine was ready for testing by January 1863, but it proved to be too slow to be practical. The American Diver made one failed attempt to attack an enemy blockade vessel in February. Before the month was over, the submarine sank in Mobile Bay during a storm and was not recovered. The construction on the Hunley began soon after the loss of the American Diver. At this stage, the submarine was variously known as the “Fish Torpedo Boat,” the “Fish Boat” or the “Porpoise.”

Hope this helps

 

[Jolly Mon]

To interject a little more uncertainty into the discussion:

"During the Civil War, the Confederate Navy's Capt. Horace Hunley sought to develop the world's first submarine in Mobile.

Navy Cove resident George Cook offered to try out the second of the three experimental vessels with the help of helmsmen William Norville and Andrew Dorgan.

""The bar pilots in the Bay were deeply interested in and involved and associated with these experiments,"" according to the written history of the Mobile Bar Pilots Association.

The craft, though, had trouble and was towed to Pilot Town for adjustment. But when a gale blew in that night, it sank and was never raised, according to the bar pilot history". ----From the AI Press Register, 3/20/2000




Here is a quote from Lt. William Alexander, of the 21st Alabama, who was assigned by the Confederate army to oversee the project:

"Messrs. Hunley, McClintock and Watson were introduced to me by Parks & Lyons, who gave me orders to carry out their plans as far as possible.

We built an iron boat. The cross section was oblong, about 25 feet long, tapering at each end, 5 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. It was towed off fort Morgan, intending to man it there and attack the blockading fleet outside, but the weather was rough, and with a heavy sea the boat became unmanageable and finally sank, but no lives were lost."---Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XXX, Richmond, Va., 1902. Pages 164-174

 

[ECS]

The TREDEGAR IRON WORKS of Richmond supplied the Confederacy with munitions,boilers,and even the iron plates that covered the CSS Virginia.Tredegar's owner,Joseph Reid Anderson,had over 700 workers and several designers,including,William Cheney,who had designed a submarine.
Word had reached Lincoln about this sub,so he had Pinkerton's Spy network send in their Southern lady spy,Elizabeth Baker,to discover if Cheney's sub worked.Baker managed to observe a test run,and sent word back to her Pinkerton boss.
After Richmond fell,April 2,1865,the Tredegar Iron Works was destroyed and burned by the Union Army.
It is unknown what became of Cheney's submarine.

 

[MichaelB]

As you can see the Pioneer II is listed.

 

[ECS]

Talk about Steam Punk!!!

In early 1864,CSA Sec of State,Judah P Benjamin,commissioned William Cheney of Richmond's Tredegar Iron Works to design and build a submarine that would be steam powered and have a bellows/snorkel air system for use while submerged.
Pinkerton Union Spy,Elizabeth Baker,observed this vessel during a test run in the James River,and reported back to her Pinkerton bosses.
During the last week in March,1865,Benjamin had a "secret" cargo loaded on this sub,and Varnina Davis,along with her nephew CSA Capt John Taylor Wood,and Mary Chestnutt christened the vessel as "Come Retribution".
April 2,1865,Richmond fell,and the Davis and CSA Cabinet,with the CSA Treasury began.
The last message that CSA President Jefferson Davis sent from Danville,Virginia was in the Vigenere code,and the key words needed to decipher that message were,"Come Retribution".

 

[Jolly Mon]

In early 1864,CSA Sec of State,Judah P Benjamin,commissioned William Cheney of Richmond's Tredegar Iron Works to design and build a submarine that would be steam powered and have a bellows/snorkel air system for use while submerged.
Pinkerton Union Spy,Elizabeth Baker,observed this vessel during a test run in the James River,and reported back to her Pinkerton bosses.
During the last week in March,1865,Benjamin had a "secret" cargo loaded on this sub,and Varnina Davis,along with her nephew CSA Capt John Taylor Wood,and Mary Chestnutt christened the vessel as "Come Retribution".
April 2,1865,Richmond fell,and the Davis and CSA Cabinet,with the CSA Treasury began.
The last message that CSA President Jefferson Davis sent from Danville,Virginia was in the Vigenere code,and the key words needed to decipher that message were,"Come Retribution".

Now that is crazy. Intriguing, but crazy.

It sounds like a mission for Jim West and Artemus Gordon...




Given the military situation at the time, the sub almost had to have been in the James River when Petersburg fell...

 

[ECS]

Now that is crazy. Intriguing, but crazy...






Given the military situation at the time, the sub almost had to have been in the James River when Petersburg fell...

Spanish inventor,Narcis Monturiol,had built a successful human powered sub,the ICTINEO in 1859.In 1863,he has designed a steam powered submarine,and tried to sell it to the CSA,but was turned down by CSA Sec of State Judah P Benjamin,who was committed to Cheney's design at Richmond's Tredegar Iron Works.
Monturiol launched his steam powered ICTINEO II,Oct 2,1864,and made over 50 successful dives.
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea(1870) NAUTILUS is based on both of the submarines,and in the novel,it it pursued by the USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN.Verne's THE Mysterious Island(1874)has Union prisoners escaping from Richmond's Libby Prison by way of a CSA hot air balloon,only to find Capt Nemo and the Nautilus on this island,paying homage to these submarines.