Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-06
CONFEDERATE TORPEDOEs.

The interesting article reproduced by
us yesterday from the Augusta (Ga)
| Chronicle, dealing with General Rains $
| experiments with torpedoes, refers,
among other things, to his work on
James river during the late war.
1t is a well-known fact that numerous
| torpedoes were planted Cor hoatedD in the
! James. and some of these "were heard
FROM" Though the name of General
! Rains was connected with this service,
we believe Captain Hunter Davidson
| Confederate States navy, was the officer
Immediately in charge thereof. We have
a copy of a letter Of his that was pub
! lished in 1874. i'm which he says 1.-THE first
idea OF using torpedoes on the Confede-
rate side originated, i believe, with the
Hon. 5. r. Mallory, Secretary of the
Navy, and he directed the distinguished
Captain NJ. f. Maury. LIZ D., to make
experiments with a view to their general
employment, if practicable" Captain
Davidson, it seems, was selected as
Maury's assistant. After few months
spent in experiments, Maury was or
dered TO Europe and Davidson took
charge of the office.
Davidson says the method adopted by
him differed in every essential particu-
lar" from those proposed by Maury. The
results, he says, 'were that the first
vessels ever injured or destroyed in war
by electrical torpedoes were by the tor
pedo department operating under my i'm
mediate command, and l may add the
only ones that am aware Of" Where
the Davidson torpedo was first success
fully used we do not know, but he says
in the letter from which we have quoted
that IAN efficient system of torpedo de-
fence was IN existence on James river |
during the war"
And so, considering practical sue
cess" as the test of invention, Davidson |
claimed to have as good right to the |
title OF inventor of the electrical tor |
pedo" as Morse had TO be called the in |
ventor Of the electrical telegraph or |
Howe to be called the inventor of the
sewing-machine. However, it is not
the Dispatches purpose to undertake to
settle the question of who invented the
electrical torpedo; our aim is TO recall
some of the work of destruction it was
made to do.
There was a torpedo station in a gulch
of Chains Bluff, and it was said that it
was equipped with electric wires to fire
the explosives which were contained in
iron or wooden receptacles in the stream.
At the time we refer TO Chaffin's Bluff
a mile below Drewry's Bluff-was man
ned by a regiment OF heavy artillery and
by Wise's Brigade Of infantry, in which
organizations many citizens of Richmond.
now living, served. The station in oues-
ton was but one of a number. There
were others at intervals between that
place and Deep Bottom.
Two steamers were destroyed on the
James by Confederate torpedoes: one OF
ieve it was on the stretch OF water
Known as Graveyard Reach that the Con-
ederate steamer Schultz was blown I'D
By u percussion torpedo That vessel was
ised by us in the exchange OF prisoners,
when such exchange was permitted by I
ll1 i tu'idiSt anu was returning from |
'oX's wharf when it struck a torpedo
md was sunk. We write from memory
My, and we think there was no loss Of
lfe.
At Deep Bottom our men blew up the
FEDERAL gunboat Commodore Jones'"
nd it went down with several dozens OF Il
Ulcers and men ON board. But those
no fred the explosive were pursued by
be Federals. who landed from the other
unboats. and three of our men were
Vertaken and instantly put to death.
When. in 1864, the Confederate fleet Of
'onciads moved down the river from Il
'fewry's Bluff to Dutch Gap to offer bat q
e TO the epemy. the torpedoes were 81
areiuily removed as precautionary \
leasure. Nothing. however. came Of that i
dvance. Old Ben Butler had then near
cut the Dutch Gap canal through Far
irs lsland-it only remained for him 10 =
'ow out the bulkhead Of the work and CT
he water would have rushed through :"
ut Just there he was stopped, %
According to his own account, when the =,
mai was ready for the Federal fleet 10 ~,