Confederate inventors were the first on the board when William Cheeney developed a small three man submersible in the James River of Virginia in 1861 shortly after the outbreak of hostilities. A second, larger craft was developed by the same team and was similarly experimental. Cheeney’s craft were unsuccessful and were poorly documented although their existence was reported by Union spies. They were the first of a long line of curious craft.
The Submarines of the Gulf of Mexico
The northern Gulf Coast was the Confederate Navy's "Area 51" of submarine development. No less than four small submarines operated with the Singer’s Secret Service Corps on the Red River in Louisiana. The CSS HL Hunley, which sank the USS Housatonic in 1864, was constructed in Mobile Alabama. An earlier craft by the same inventor, the 30-foot long Pioneer, was constructed in New Orleans and scuttled in 1862 to prevent falling into Yankee hands. A third submarine, dubbed the Pioneer II was 36-foot long and its five man crew lost her in 1863 just off of Fort Morgan. In late 1864 a steam powered submarine built by an Irish Confederate named John Halligan from Selma was tested in Mobile Bay. Dubbed the CSS Saint Patrick the submersible attacked the 10-gun paddleboat USS Octoria unsuccessfully and was later scuttled in 1865.
There was other Confederate submarines of which little were known of. In 1878 a small 21-foot, hand cranked propeller driven craft was pulled from Bayou St John near New Orleans Louisiana. The "Bayou St. John Confederate Submarine" has never been positively identified who built the ship or even when it was sank. It had a 3-man crew and is on display at the Louisiana State Museum. It has been theorized by many that a heretofore undocumented Confederate submarine under the command of Captain Albert Pierce sank the USS Tecumseh in the Battle of Mobile Bay.
The David Torpedo Boats of South Carolina
Throughout the last part of the war a debatable number of semi-submersible spar-torpedo steamers dubbed David’s were active in Charleston Harbor. Launched in 1863 the CSS David was a 50-foot long steam driven torpedo boat. Her cigar-shaped hull has been mimicked to this day in submersibles to give a small above water signature. She carried an extended contact mine at the end a spar on her bow. . Since a large part of her deck was awash at any given time she needed frequent bailing and her boiler often became swamped. Several unsuccessful attacks against the USS New Ironsides, USS Memphis and USS Wabash among others led to her design being reproduced in numbers.
The CSS Midge, CSS Torch and several other similar torpedo craft were commissioned. By the time Charleston fell, a large 160-foot semi-submersible blockade runner was almost complete. This was a foreshadowing of the Nazi blockade running U-boats of World War Two. The “Large David” would be the greatest submersible attempted in the 19th century.
Sources
Bale Joanna American Civil War submarine found A unique boat from 1864 may have inspired Jules Verne to create Captain Nemo's vessel Nautilus, The Times London June 6, 2005
CartmellDonald The Civil War up close: thousands of curious, obscure, and fascinating facts about the war America could never win. Career Press, 2005
Chaffin, Tom The H.L.Hunley McMillian 2008
DANFS- Dictionary of Naval Fighting Ships Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center, Washington Naval Yard.
Delgado James and Cussler Cliver Adventures of a Sea Hunter: In Search of Famous Shipwrecks Douglas & McIntyre, 2004
Department of Maritime Archaeology Western Australian Museum, Report on the wreck of the Sub Marine Explorer (1865) at Isla SanTelmo, Archipielago de las Perlas, Panama, and the 2006 fieldwork season. Report—No. 221. 2007
Owen David Anti-submarine warfare: an illustrated history Naval Institute Press, 2007
Ragan Mark K Submarine warfare in the Civil War. Da Capo Press, 2003
VeitChuck Submarines in the Civil War
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