Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1898-09-24


- = - IF they have,
then goodby to
one or more Of our noble battleships,
perhaps the Indiana or Massachusetts,,
in case of hostilities. - The "cigar
boat" which had its career here in this
harbor was the pioneer torpedo diver,
the one that suggested the Nordenfeldt,
the Holland boat and all that. She was
a primitive affair, like much else in the
Confederate naval armament, but all
the same got in one piece Of fine work.
"When the cigar boat made its APP
pearance in our beleaguered harbor, the
waters were jammed with Federal
blockaders and every foot of vantage
ground on shore was occupied or threat
ened By Federal troops. The port was
closed as effectually as Havana would
be today with the whole Atlantic squad
ron in the offing. Many daring attempts
were made by our people to put the
hated Yankee ships out Of the way, and
they did not hesitate at internal devices.
Twice the New Ironsides, the pride of
the heet--fnr she was named in honor of
the good ship Constitution-was attack
ed, and the second time she received Sc
rious damage. A companion vessel Of
the New Ironsides was the Housatonic,
noble new ship, lying in the North
channel and completely blockading the
favorite passage for incoming blockade
runners.
BLOCKADE running was life to the
people of Charleston, and to the whole
Confederacy for the matter of that at
that date, 1864. With the Housatonic
removed scores of swift blockade run
ners could pass the channel in single
night.
"Several experiments in destroying
vessels by torpedoes had been made in
the harbor. Beauregard, the Confeder-
ate commander, was an enthusiastic adj
vooate of this method of warfare. He
had recommended it as a protection for
New Orleans i'll 1862, but his advice
had been ignored and New Orleans had
fallen. At Charleston his plans were
not so much interfered with, but his
fixed submarine torpedoes practically
Ironsides, which was so seriously dam
aged afterward by torpedo boat, once
stood for an hour over fixed torpedo
containing 1900 pounds of explosives
connected with land by electric wires
under the waters of the bay. Beaure-
gard electrician stood with his hand
ON the key ready to blow the ship into
the air at the proper moment, but the
wires would not work and carry the IA
tai spark.
Beauregard was an engineer and a
man of science. Seeing the uncertainty
of submarine devices, he hit upon the
torpedo RAM another form from that
now in use of floating torpedo ma
chine. His government would not adopt
the ram, so he made the best shift no
could with simpler devices. The New
honsides on the second attempt was Sc
riously damaged by a torpedo thrust in
to her sides from a torpedo boat man
aged by Lieutenant Glassel of the navy.
The explosive was fixed to the end of a
spar extending from the bow like the
beak Cf ram.
"SOOn after this attack on the New
Ironsides a little boat was brought by
rail from Mobile and Beauregard at
once accepted it for immediate use in
spite Of the fact that on an experimental
trip at Mobile the craft had sunk and
carried down crew of eight men. This
boat, called on account of her shape the
"cigar boat, " had been designed as a
diver. The torpedo was to be dragged
by line underneath an obnoxious ship
and let loose to rise and explode by con-
tract with the ships keel or ribs. The
boat was 80 feet long, feet broad and
had a vertical depth of 6 feet. Two
manholds having hinged caps fitted with
bullseyes for steering purposes furnish
ed means of getting in and out. The
crew propelled the boat by muscular
power applied by turning crank and
shaft On the exterior two wings or
vanes were attached to regulate the
movement Of the boat through the wa
ter up or down.
"a crew volunteered to risk their
lives in the unlucky boat, and Lieuten-
amt Payne Of the navy took charge of
her. When starting ON her first expedi-
ton, the swell of a passing steamer
swamped her, and all but Lieutenant
Payne went down. Payne raised the
boat, cleared out the bodies and put in
fresh crew. The very same cause
swamped her again, Payne and two men
escaping These two disasters took place
in Charleston harbor and the boat was
sent into Stone river TO be manned for
further experiments by men from in
coming ships or the distant armies. At
the first trial in the Stone the boat dove
and stuck in the mud. all hands sutfo-
eating before she could be raised. Taken
back to the harbor, she diyed under a
ship and fouled with the anchor cable,
and all the crew persisted. That was
the fifth fatal attempt to use the boat
as a diver.
HAFrer the fifth f9iIr,ra there Nvera