The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1919-02-07

There have been many person.
who have thought that submarines
which were used with such deadly
effect by the Germans during the
world war which has just been brou
ght to a close by the complete defeat
of Germany and her allies, were ar
invention of Germany, but such is fal
from the case. The submarine is :
purely American invention, and while
improved upon by the German Navy
in no sense owes it's origin to thai
nation. The following article taken
from the January issue of the Con,
federate Veteran, shows that during
our Civil War the Confederate Navy
had torpedo boats, and submarine
with which it attempted to break the
blockade of the Federal ships, which
was cutting off the Confederacy from
the outside world The article fol-
lows:
During the great war which ragged
in Europe feats of heroism were per-
formed at which the world marveled,
and no sacrifices were more spectacu-
lar than those of the men i,nprisoned
within the tanks who perished within
their own weapons of warfare. How
many know the story of the young
Southerners who, crew after crew.
volunteered and gave their lives in
defense of their country, not on the
battle field where their heroic deeds
could have witness, but closely sealed
within a craft which became for them
a sephulcher in the sea?
A blockading fleet of Federal ships
cut off the Confederacy from the OUT
side world and became the ultimate
means of her defeat, since the cotton
of the Southern States could not be
shipped out, and thus they were de-
MED the necessities of life. Many eff
forts were made to destroy this bloch
ade. and these efforts eliminated in
the invention of the submarine. Sew
eral of the torpedo craft, including
the small boat called THE David Z
operated successfully against the
enemy; but the history of one calleq
The Hundley," a fishboat is espe-
cially interesting.
The boat, named for her designer
Horace L. Hundley, was built in MOI
bile, Ala, in 1863. She was made OF
galvanized iron, was twenty feet long
three and one-half feet wide, and
five feet deep, and could carry a crew
of nine men, one to manage and ths
others to propel. She was planned
to remain below the water thirty
minutes and come to the surface 81
yalsss,.zsa------lInr-:: -:::.Gsa9- "'
in tow and was supposed TO strlKe
after the submarine ran under the
vessel. From the beginning the
Hundley seemed fated for misfor-
tune. On her trial practice in Mo-
bile Bay she sank, and nine mel
we're lost with her. She was after
wards sent by rail to Charleston, )
c.. and Lieut.. Payne put in charge o.
her. She was taken across to For
Johnson for trial trip and was
living in the dock with the manhole
not vet closed, when the swell caus
ed by a passing steamer engulfed hel
and she sank at once, and all hel
crew except Lieut. Payne were lost.
1t would seem almost imposslbE
for such an accident to occur again
but the same thing happened a Zen
nights afterwards off Fort Sumter
and sixteen men were drowned. Al
she seemed so unmanageable, the IN
yentor himself was sent for, AM
Hundley came from Mobile to tan
charge of her. One day he took he
with a full crew up the Stono rivel
on a practice trip, where, making
dive in shallow water, she stuck he
| nose in a mud bank and could not D
dislodged; and as the manhole coul
not be opened, she became a tom
for Hundley and her crew OF eigf
men.
After such i'll fate it would seel
impossible to get any one to man he
but she only lay on the bottom OF TT
river a few weeks when she VIZ
raised; and Lieut.. George Z. DlXol
of the 21st Alabama Volunteers, an
eight men came forward to tai
charge of her. On another trl
practice, when Lieut.. Dixon was n
with her. she dived under the Co
lfederate steamer Etowah, sank, al
thus lost her fifth crew. Gener
Beauregard now forbade her uses
ing that she was a death trap. b
in the face of all this, nine men,Wl
knew that they were facing deaf
volunteered to try her again. &c
eral Beauregard consented, proVld
the Hundley be used as q torpe
ram and not as a submarine.
The blockade steam sloop Hous
tonic, carrying eleven guns, was NJ
living at anchor off Charleston II;
Dor. On the night of February
1864. the brave little fishboat,
command of Lieut.. Dixon, pass
through Breach Inlet and steer
straight for the big vessel, hef u
pedo striking the Housaton1c am
ships. The big sloop of war sank
most Immediately, but, being In co
n paratively shallow water, most OF
o crew saved themselves.
n But a sadder fate befell the HUI
. lev. for. fastened within this craft
despair, her brave crew, Unable
open the manhole, went down to
o bottom of the sea with the enc
" they attacked, their requiem
y sounding waves of the sea. But Il
: had done business in great wate
/ had seen the works of the LORD
his wonders in the deep"