By Maggie S. Hogan and Melissa Craig
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, South Carolina. 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 ongoing 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 US Navy’s Office of Naval Research. For more information go to www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov/alligator/ or www.navyandmarine.org/alligator/.
Perhaps you have heard of the USS Hunley? This Confederate sub was the first known sub to sink a ship in combat. It rammed the USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor February 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 telegraph—could sustain life underwater, using such features as airlocks, electric motors, air purification systems, and periscopes—features not seen again until the twentieth century. Later, the remains of the nine crewmen who died inside were given 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: “D*** 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
Why was there such a difference in the way the two sides chose to use submarines in their strategies?
What significance do you think subs had on the Civil War? What about on World War II? Modern-day warfare?
What transportation invention do you think had the most significant impact on the twentieth century? Why?
Submarine Timeline
Highlight Confederate sub activity in yellow.
Highlight Union sub activity in another color.
Find pictures online of the different subs and attach them to the timeline.
Choose a timeline entry for further research.
See these additional resources and activities:
www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=SIMULATOR
www.navyandmarine.org/coloringbook/index.htm
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine would like to thank Mr. Chuck Veit, President of the Navy and Marine Living History Association, for his generous assistance and graphics he shared with us on this project. Please visit their website at www.navyandmarine.org/alligator.
Timeline
| Year |
Event |
| 1776 |
American inventor David Bushnell builds the Turtle, a one-man submersible vehicle, for use in the 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. |
| 1850s |
Lodner Phillips successfully designs and employs 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 is never commissioned. |
| 1861 |
Unnamed two-man sub designed by William Cheeney for the South successfully passes sea trials in James River, Richmond, Virginia. |
| 1862 |
First official submersible warship of the US 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 launched in Mobile, Alabama. 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 foot long, steam-powered sub built by John P. Holland. USS Holland is launched October 12, 1900, and until recently was thought to have been the first commissioned US Navy sub. |
| 1995 |
CSS Hunley is discovered off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. |
| 2000 |
CSS Hunley, with its nine crew members, is recovered. The men are given proper burial April 17, 2004. |
| 2004-5 |
The search continues for the USS Alligator, now believed to have been the first commissioned US Navy submarine. |
The history of submarines is a fascinating study. For further research, learn more about the following men:
David Bushnell, an American inventor of the first sub known to have been used in war. It was a one-man, hand-cranked vehicle build about 1776.
Robert Fulton, considered the father of the steamboat. 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.)
Brutus de Villeroi, French inventor and American immigrant. He demonstrated his first sub in Nantes, France, in 1832. (Interesting side note: 6-year-old Jules Verne was living in Nantes at that time!) De Villeroi later sold another sub, nicknamed “Alligator,” to the Union navy.
Maggie S. Hogan is the author of Hands-On Geography, co-author of The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, and Gifted Children at Home. She and her husband, Bob, live in Delaware, where they began homeschooling their two sons, JB and Tyler, in 1991. Contact Maggie at www.brightideaspress.com for comments on this piece or to learn more about Maggie Hogan.
Melissa Craig worked in corporate America for eight years. Four years ago, she chose her family over her career and has been homeschooling ever since. No promotion can compare with the joy of watching her family grow together in the Lord. Melissa lives with her husband and three children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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