The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-04-01

! ed the Housatonic have been able to
| obtain but a limited description. 1t
was built of boiler iron. was about
thirty-tive feet long. and was manned
! by a crew of nine men. eight OF
whom worked the propeller by hand.
while the remaining man steered the
boat and regulated its movements
| beneath the surface.
She could be submerged at pleas
ure to any desired depth. or could
be propelled on the surface. and in
smooth water she could be exactly
+ controlled; the speed being about
| four knots, while the length Of time
under water without inconvenience
: to the crew was half an hour.
1T was intended that she could
, approach any vessel lying at anchor.
pass under the keel and drag float
! ing torpedo after her, which would
explode on striking the bottom Of the
! ship attacked. This, however, was
not the manner in which she attack
ed the Housatonic. The torpedo was
then attached to the bow of the boat.
and from the shock of the explosion
she probably filled, as she was found
| by the diver after the close OF the
war lying on the sand with her bow
pointing III the direction Of the hole
in the ships side which the torpedo
had made.
1t is probable. too. from the fact
of her being in sight from the deck
of the Housatonic for some two min
utes before the explosion, that on
this occasion she was merely used as
an ordinary cigar boat, and no at
temrt was made to submerSe her
at all.
That has been the generally &C.
certed, though erroneous. account OF
the action of this boat. but before
proceeding to show how she was ac-
tually operated brief description OF
her previous trials, given by an Eng
lish writer. Alan H. Burgoyne, F. R..
G.. s.. may be noted:
1T was first manned by Lieut..
Pains &C. S. NJ and eight volun-
teers. but whilst cruising in front OF
Charleston the wash Of a passing
steamer upset the equilibrium and
all except Paine perished, and he on
" escaped because at the moment
he happened to be looking out OF
one of the manholes. The vessel
was raised and repaired. and again
Lieut.. Paine took command, but
while lying off Fort Sumter 1t sank
for the second time. Lieut.. Paine and
two men managing to escape.
Paine had had enough after this
second adventure, but Aunley,
tHundley,) one of the constructors
of the boat, willingly took command,
and with eight volunteers started on
a trip up Cooper river. They had
not proceeded very far when, for
some unknown reason, it sank IN
very deep water. all nine OF her crew
being drowned.
Yet again it was raised, this time
to be taken against the Housatonlc
by Lieut.. Dixon, of the Twenty-first
Regiment. The persistence with
which this vessel was repeatedly
raised and utilized, and the stolid
Indifference to the retrospect of dis
aster, speaks volumes for the indom-
table pluck and heroism of the Con-
federate sailors. and the splendid
vigor they displayed in fighting for
their cause, and for regime that
was fated to perish.
After the war a contractor named
Maillefert, who had done some gov
ernment work in He'll Gate. and who
called himself professor" was en-
ploved to raise the wrecks at the en-
trance to Charleston harbor. The
raising of the Housatonic occurred
in June or July, 1872. The Housa-
tonic was sunk on the night of Feb
ruary II. 1864, and though the sub
marine was seen from her decks a
few minutes before the explosion,
she was not seen afterward, so the
! fate of the latter remained a mystery
until the wreck was raised. Then she
was found hanging to the rudder
chains of the ship.
1t was apparent, therefore. that
the boat actually used as a subma-
rine. had passed under the bottom OF
the ship towing the torpedo, and,
/ seeing escape aft, ran afoul OF the
rudder chains to be carried down by
the hulk.
While this and others of that pc
riod were propelled by hand power
it is worthy of note that a man NAM
ed Alstilt is said to have built a sub
marine at Mobile in 1862. to be pro-