The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-04-01
Idea an Old One.
tel'eSt d.

| L he submarine has Pld!eu coH-
| spicuous part for the first time in the
prevailing war, but it should not be
forgotten that the invention is CEN
. turies old and that its potentiality for
| destructive offence was practically
demonstrated more than fifty years
ago. While the submarine idea is
old the practical development of it
unquestionably belongs to America.
Nearly three hundred years ago a
workable submarine was built by
| Cornelius Van Drebel, Dutch ply
sician, friend of James l, of England.
! Van Drebel'S boat, launched in 1920,
like the submarine of today, was sub
merged by the admission of water
and raised by it's expulsion. 1t was
propelled both at the surface and be-
| meath by oars and could carry pas
sengers as we'll as twelve oarsmen.
According to contemporary records
it could Journey several hours.
| twelve to fifteen feet below the sur
| face" and on one occasion King
James made a trip in it with Van
Drebel. However. it does not ar-
pear to have been actually tried for
| the purposes Of war.
The first attempt TO blow up a
! ship OF war was made in New York
| harbor during the Revolution. David
Bushnell. Connecticut Yankee.
about 1913 built what he called q
turtle ship. because of its form. The
| body was somewhat turtle shaped.
weighted below TO keep it in an up
right position. with only coming
! tower above the surface. 1t could
carry only one man, and its motive
| power was a small screw operated
! by a crank
The method of use was to come
alongside the ship and fix a screw
into the hull, attach torpedo to the
screw and retire. The torpedo was
exploded by clock work. The at
tempt was made at night on the Brit
ish ship Eagle, sixty-four guns, lying
off Governors Island. The man in
the turtle was not Bushnell. but one
cf his workmen. The hull Of the
warship proved too hard for the
screw, and in trying to set it the
operator lost hold of the ship and
at the same time of his torpedo. In
the dark he could neither find his
way back to the ship nor recover the
torpedo. which about an hour later
exploded not far from the man-of-
| war. sending up huge column OF
water to the CONSERVATION of her
officers and crew.
In 1901 Robert Fulton built on
the Seine a submarine propelled by
steam. which he called Nautilus, and
which was popularly termed plung-
ing boat. In July of that year, with
! three men, he went down twenty-five
| feet in the harbor of Brest and re-
manned under water for one hour.
He afterwards blew up small YES
sci in BreSt harbor and attempted
to blow up an English man-of-war
in the offing, but when he was about
to attack the ship moved off and he
was unable to find her again. He
offered the submarine to Napoleon,
who. apparently not impressed with
her utility, declined her.
1t remained for the Southerners.
in the civil war, to make the first
successful use of the submarine.
Boats partly and wholly submersible
| were built during the war at Charles
ton. Mobile and elsewhere. They
were tried at Hampton Roads, but
with more notable effect atiand about
Charleston.
The New Ironsides. Of the block
aiding fleet, was twice torpedoed and
damaged, though not sunk. by partly
|
! submersible boats. The new ship
Housatonic was torpedoed and sunk
a few months later by submerslole
boat. The Minnesota, at Newport
| News. and the Memphis, in the North
Edisto Inlet. about fifty miles south
Of Charleston. were also damaged,
though not sunk, by partly submersl-
BILE boats. The Confederate ram AL
bemarle was torpedoed and sunk at
her moorings off Plymouth. \. C., by
Lieut.. afterwards Commander, Will
liam Baker Gushing. L. S. n, on the
night Of October 81, 1864. but 1t does
not appear that he used submarine
for the purpose.
The sinking of the Housatonlc was
the first effective use OF the SUBJ
marine in warfare. and is therefore
worthy of more than passing no.
tice. more especially as the subma-
rine herself was also a victim OF the
exploit. That boat, whose name. if