Both boats were deliberately scuttled by the designers along the Mississippi River when the Big Easy fell to the Yankees in the spring of 1862.
#Civil war submarine plantation la trial#
Built in New Orleans during the second year of the war, this early demonstrator was followed by a 20-foot-long, iron-hulled trial submarine known as Bayou St.
Early Demonstratorsīefore completing their more famous boat, inventor Horace Lawson Hunley (namesake of legendary reb sub) along with shipbuilders James McClintock and Baxter Watson devised a small experimental submersible vessel that they dubbed The Pioneer. Here are some others: A sketch of the first Southern submarine, Pioneer. Yet, the ill-fated Hunley, or “fish boat” as some called it, was just one of a number of submarines and semi-submersibles to see service in the war between North and South. But if there was any consolation for the rebellion, the innovative vessel had succeeded in destroying a 1,240-ton enemy warship before being lost for good.Īnd while the celebrated Rebel submarine was ultimately a washout, it stands as the most famous example of a Civil War-era submersible warship. In total, 21 sailors went down with the ill-fated ship in all three sinkings. In both instances, the ship was recovered, repaired and pressed back into service. The incident marked the third and final time Hunley had sunk – the other two mishaps had taken place during the vessel’s sea trials. It wasn’t the only submersible fighting vessel of the Civil War. Hunley launched the world’s first successful submarine attack in history. It was the world’s first successful attack by a submarine.ĭespite achieving this historic feat, the Hunley was lost with all hands before she could return to port Historians agree that the craft was fatally damaged by the blast from its own torpedo.
The charge detonated, blowing a hole in the starboard side of the Union vessel and sending the stricken ship to the bottom. Hunley quietly paddled along side the warship USS Housatonic as the Yankee vessel rode at anchor near the mouth of Charleston Harbor.ĭespite being spotted by sharp-eyed lookouts, the Hunley’s eight-man crew managed to ram a spar torpedo into the hull of the U.S. 17, 1864, the 40-foot-long, seven-ton, hand-cranked Confederate submersible H.L. “The ill-fated Hunley was just one of a number of submarines and semi-submersibles to see service in the war between North and South. At the outbreak of the Civil War, submarines captured the public’s imagination as this drawing from Harper’s Weekly shows.
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