CSS David CSS David was a Civil War - era torpedo boat . On October 5 , 1863 , she undertook a partially successful attack on the USS " New Ironsides " , then participating in the blockade of Charleston , South Carolina . Construction . Based upon a design by St . Julien Ravenel , the " David " was built as a private venture by T . Stoney at Charleston , South Carolina , in 1863 , and was put under the control of the Confederate States Navy . Eventually over twenty torpedo boats of the " David " type were built for and operated by the CSN . The cigar - shaped boat carried a 32 by 10 inch ( 81 × 25 cm ) explosive charge of 134 pounds ( about 60 kilograms ) gunpowder on the end of a spar projecting forward from her bow . CSS " David " operated as a semi - submersible : water was taken into ballast tanks so that only the length of the open - top conning tower and the stack for the boiler appeared above water . Designed to operate very low in the water , " David " resembled in general a submersible submarine ; she was , however , strictly a surface vessel . Operating on dark nights , and using anthracite coal ( which burns without smoke ) , " David " was nearly as hard to see as a true submarine . Attack on the " New Ironsides " . On the night of October 5 , 1863 , " David " , commanded by Lieutenant William T . Glassell , CSN , left Charleston Harbor to attack the casemated ironclad steamer USS " New Ironsides " . The torpedo boat approached undetected until she was within 50 yards of the blockader . Hailed by the watch on board " New Ironsides " , Glassell replied with a blast from a shotgun and " David " plunged ahead to strike . Her spar torpedo detonated under the starboard quarter of the ironclad , throwing high a column of water which rained back upon the Confederate vessel and put out her boiler fires . Her engine dead , " David " hung under the quarter of " New Ironsides " while small arms fire from the Federal ship spattered the water around the torpedo boat . Believing that their vessel was sinking , Glassell and two others abandoned her ; the pilot , Walker Cannon , who could not swim , remained on board . A short time later , Assistant Engineer J . H . Tomb swam back to the craft and climbed on board . Rekindling the fires , Tomb succeeded in getting " David " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s engine working again , and with Cannon at the wheel , the torpedo boat steamed up the channel to safety . Glassell and Seaman James Sullivan , " David " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s fireman , were captured . " New Ironsides " , though not sunk , was damaged by the explosion . US Navy casualties were Acting Ensign C . W . Howard ( died of gunshot wound ) , Seaman William L . Knox ( legs broken ) and Master at Arms Thomas Little ( contusions ) . The next 4 months of " David " ' s existence are obscure . She or other torpedo boats tried more attacks on Union blockaders ; reports from different ships claim three such attempts , all unsuccessful , during the remainder of October 1863 . On March 6 , 1864 , " David " attacked USS " Memphis " in the North Edisto River . The torpedo boat struck the blockader first on the port quarter , but the torpedo did not explode . " Memphis " slipped her chain , at the same time firing ineffectively at " David " with small arms . Putting about , the torpedo boat struck " Memphis " again , this time a glancing blow on the starboard quarter ; once more the torpedo misfired . Since " Memphis " had now opened up with her heavy guns , " David " , having lost part of her stack when rammed , retreated up the river out of range . " Memphis " , uninjured , resumed her blockading station . " David " ' s last confirmed action came on April 18 , 1864 when she tried to sink the screw frigate USS " Wabash " . Alert lookouts on board the blockader sighted " David " in time to permit the frigate to slip her chain , avoid the attack , and open fire on the torpedo boat . Neither side suffered any damage . The ultimate fate of " David " is uncertain . Several torpedo boats of this type fell into Union hands when Charleston was captured in February 1865 . " David " may well have been among them . Wrecks Discovered . January 20 , 1998 , underwater archaeologist Dr . E . Lee Spence led a Sea Research Society expedition , funded by philanthropist Stanley M . Fulton , to find the remains of the two Confederate torpedo boats shown in various photos taken shortly after the fall of Charleston . Spence ' s theory was that the two vessels , had been abandoned where they lay and were simply filled over as the city expanded . Spence used still existing houses in the pictures to triangulate where they might be . Using a ground penetrating radar , operated by Claude E . " Pete " Petrone of National Geographic Magazine , the expedition located two radar anomalies consistent with what would be expected of the two wrecks . The anomalies were under present - day Tradd Street , so no excavation was done . A post - war letter written by David C . Ebaugh , who supervised the construction of the " David " , described it as abandoned at what was then the foot of Tradd Street .