Because neither the James nor the Appomattox was deep enough to permit the vessel to submerge, it was feared that even a partially visible submarine would be vulnerable to seizure by the Confederates. When the Alligator arrived at the James River, with civilian Samuel Eakins in charge, a fierce battle was being waged in the area.
Her first missions: to destroy a strategically important bridge across the Appomattox River and to clear away obstructions in the James River. As a result of serious liaison problems with the Navy, the contractor and himself, he effectively exited from the process and was later officially dismissed.Ībout a month after its launch on May 1,1862, the oar-propelled submarine was towed to Hampton Roads, Virginia. As project supervisor, DeVilleroi delayed completion by making changes during the process of advancing the initial design to an operational Naval vessel. Although the Navy specified that the submarine's construction take no more than 40 days at a cost of $14,000, the project suffered long delays. īuilt in Philadelphia, the 47-foot long Alligator was primarily intended to counter the threat of the Confed erate ironclad, the Virginia. Alligator - a technological wonder akin to other great maritime advances of the Civil War era, including the well-known ironclad USS Monitor, and the recently-raised Confederate submarine, CSS Hunley. Hence begins the little-known story of United States Submarine Propeller U.S.S. Six months later, in November 1861, he was under contract to build the Union's first submarine. Whether a deliberate publicity stunt or not, DeVilleroi succeeded in convincing the Union Navy that he could produce a submersible warship from which a diver could place an explosive charge under an enemy ship. This "infernal machine," as the paper described it, was the creation of French inventor, Brutus De Villeroi. A front page story reveals a strange and alarming tale: Harbor police have captured a partially-submerged, 33-foot long, cigar-shaped contraption moving slowly down the Delaware River. I magine living in Philadelphia during the early days of the Civil War and reading the latest issue of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. The Alligator was lost off the North Carolina coast during a storm in 1863. But until recently, little was known about the green, 47-foot-long Union vessel. Launched in 1862 during the Civil War, Alligator was an engineering marvel that helped usher in a new era in undersea travel. Her current whereabouts are unknown, but an effort (launched in 2003) by the Office of Naval Research and NOAA could one day reveal the Secrets of the Alligator. While being towed south for the battle, the Alligator had to be cut loose during a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. In 1863, after the Alligator's oar system was replaced with a screw propellor, the submarine was sent to help capture Charleston, South Carolina. However, test runs in the Potomac River proved the Alligator was underpowered, unwieldy, and unsafe. Her next challenge soon came: destroy the new Confederate ironclad, the Virginia II. Unfortunately, neither river was deep enough to allow the Alligator to submerge and she was returned to the Washington Navy Yard. Her first mission was to destroy a bridge and clear obstructions on Virginia's Appomatox and James Rivers, respectively. On the 47-foot-long, oar-propelled Alligator became the first submersible warship of the U.S. In 1861, French inventor Brutus De Villeroi convinced the Union Navy that he could build a submersible warship. It was discovered in May 1995 off the coast of Charleston and was recovered in August 2000. Accounts differ as to the reason, but the Hunley sank soon after sinking the Housatonic. 16, 1864, under the cover of darkness, the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic off Charleston.
Civil war submarine hunley movie trial#
The Hunley sank and was recovered three times during trial runs before it was successful. The Civil War also saw the first submarine to successfully sink its target, the 40-foot-long Hunley, which was operated by eight men turning a hand crank attached to her propeller shaft. 5, 1863, one of these attacked the USS New Ironsides off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, disabling but not sinking the ship with a 65-pound spar torpedo. They built small, steam-powered submarines, called Davids, named for the Bible's legendary giant-slayer. The Confederate States of America used submarines in combat.
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