The Republican journal., 1877-07-05
Confederate Torpedo Boats.

Confederate Torpedo Boats
Aronespondent of the Richmond Viii,
gives rondenscd history OF the Conted
crate torpedo selA Ice, from which We tax,
! the following: "At the time or before til,
arrival OF the great ironrlad lronsideS. i,
| Charleston !larbor. Il cigar torpedo boa
had been constructed there for harboy
defence, and Lieutenant Slalrell of Mir
| @lnl volunteered, with two sailors of the
| confederate Navy. to take this little boat
and 60 against the Irons DIES and sink
her. lhey carried out their enterprise
struck the ship with the torpedo. Which
was fixed on the end of a spar running
ont from the bow Of the little boat, and
winch exploded with such effect Us to for
ever disable that great ship from further
service. The torpedo boat was tseli
wrecked, the two sa lorS were killed. and
| Slarrell, badly hurt, was picked uD by a
boat from the lronsides, floating on a
portion Of his own wreck.
"Not long after this event Il similar
cigar boat was built at Selma and
brought down by the contractors to Mo
hllc. Lieutenant Walker Of South Caro-
ma applied tor permission to take her
out, and attack the Metacomet gunboat,
the largest OF the feet bloclading the
city OF Mobile. He selected a dark.
rainy night for his expeditions The
Mctacomct lay about five miles from the
mouth of Appalachie River. About mid
night the officer on watch discovered a
rurlous-looking object approaching the
snip and hailed, Boat ahoy" Walker
repllcd with intentional indistinctucss.
What boat is that !? quickly again
hailed the officer The Confederate
States steamer Stintray" said Walker.
now close aboard. Tossing his arms de
spairingly in the air, the officer of the
deck cried out, Torpedo. by -" st
the same instant the torpedo struck the
Metacomet fairly abatt the wheelhousc.
ana unfortunately the cap alone eNplod-
Ell. In an instant all was confusion on
the biz ship-tlc drummcrs beat to GUAR
telS-thc officers and men sprang from
their berths, the guns were manned. and
throughout the ship prevailed the con-
fused rush which must ever attend such
Il surprise 10 a nlan-ut-War.
"To add to Walkers disappointment
and cllagrn at the Swapping of his tor
pedo, he found the jar Of the collision had
thrown some Of his own machinery out of
gear, and he could not back off. Seeing
nm lying thus helpless, two Young officers
SprAng over the ships sides and endeav-
only his head and shoulders above the
deck. while the two Fcdcrals were cut
ting 1T him With their swords he had
neither sword nor pistol, and could only
duck and dodge their cuts until to his
great relief the boat began to back off,
the falls Of side boat and haul them
selves aboard their ship again. Then
everything was turned loose upon Wal
ler and his craft Round shot and grape
and muskctry all accompanied him as he
sped on his way homeward.
'.But Of ;lll daring deeds that Of Lieu
tenant Dixon. Twenty first Alabama Vol
untrcls, IN the submarine torpedo boat in
Charleston liarbor, in 1864, stands UNI
parallcicd. This boat operated under
water She could take the bearing Of
her enemy more than a mile away, then
settle down under the surface of the Wa
ter, head for the hostile ship, and strike
her lit any depth below the water line.
Il captain, or pilot, and eight men to
propcl her. Beauregard called for vol
untccrs from the fleet to man her and use
her against The lronsides. Lieutenant
PAYNE, Confederate Navy Ga Nirginian)
and eight scamen volunteered to take
her out. She was made ready one even
inc, and lying alongside q steamer The
crew were I'LL at their posts inside the
boat. Payne was standing in the round
hatchWay just about to stoop down into
his place and iasten the hatch down,
when the wave OF Il passing steamboat
swept over and into her, sinking her in
stantly Payne caught by the guards Of
the steamer and sprang out; the other
eight men went down with the boat and
ptrished in a few days she was raised
and again made ready. Payne again
volunteered, and eight sailors with him.
This time they We're lying by the wharf
at Fort Sumter. Payne standing rs before
in the hatch to give his final orders, when
the boat careened, filled and sank. Payne
and two men sprang out, the other six
went down in her and perished In Il
few days she was again raised, and Hun
dlcv and crew took her into Stono Riv-
er, where she divcd and swarm on the
water and under it, showing all her pow
ers. until presently she dived and carried
her hapless owner and crew with her to
the bottom. When they We're found Il
week after, her nozzle was down deep
into the mud OF the bottom, and the boat
was inclined lorty-tive degrees to the sur
face. Her ballast had shifted and her
ia ~ Al
they all perished.
Again she was made ready for action,
and though they bad seen the fate OF
these three crews, a fourth, led by Lieu
tenant Dixon Of the Twenty first Alaba-
ma Infantry, volunteered to take her ont
and attack the Housatonlc, a new cor
vette which had just arrived on the sta
ton, and was lying outside, Il few miles
off Charleston Harbor Dixon stcered
his boat with the certainty Of fate
struck the Housatonic fairly, and blew
her whole stern off, The ship sank in
two minutes and half, and the torpedo
boat disappeared forever. Six years at-
terWard men in submarine armor Went
down to wreck the IlouSatonlc, and they
reported the torpedo lying on the bottom
100 feet from where her great victim lies
Undoubtedly the concussion produced by
the explosion of the torpedo destroyed in
| stantly the lives Of Dixon and his crew.
Young men have many, very many
battles to fight in this world; obstacle
after obstacle is thrown in their path
but there is time when life seems a bur
den to Il young man, and his heart is a.
crushed is pulvcrized sugar. That time
is when he engages to escort young lad.
home. They take the street cars, ant
when the conductor comes around th'
young man finds he has only eleven cent
to pay two fares
A prominent officer in the naval service
said he did not believe in ghosts at all il
the daytime, but when it came night h
| had his 1puhtS