lobipromo.blogg.se - Civil war submarine

Civil war submarine series#

Merrimack was the first of six screw frigates (steam frigates powered by screw propellers) begun in 1854. The CSS Virginia then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads (also known as "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack") in the first engagement between ironclad warships. USS Merrimack, also improperly Merrimac, was a steam frigate, best known as the hull upon which the ironclad warship CSS Virginia was constructed during the American Civil War.

Raised and converted into ironclad CSS Virginia.

Also, because the Hunley had no ports facing aft, the crew might not have even known a ship was bearing down on the submarine.USS Merrimack Engraving by L.H. If the submarine was “just ahead” of the Canandaigua, which was sailing to rescue Union sailors, it could have created a wake that toppled the submarine or hit it directly. Was Flemming the last man to see the Hunley for more than a century? If he was, his account could suggest a tragic end for the Hunley. In 1866, Jacob Cardoza recounted, “The officer (Dixon) in command told Lieutenant-Colonel Dantzler… if he came off safe he would show two blue lights. Dantzler at Battery Marshall reported on February 19 th 1864, ”The signals agreed upon to be given in case the boat wished a light to be exposed at this post as a guide for its return were observed and answered.” In addition to Flemming’s testimony, we have two others: “When the Canandaigua got astern, and laying athwart of the Housatonic, about four ships lengths off, while I was in the fore-rigging, I saw a blue light on the water just ahead of the Canandaigua, and on the starboard quarters of the Housatonic.” – Robert Flemmingįlemming’s report of a blue light could be consistent the testimony of Confederates at Battery Marshall, who said Dixon said he would show “two blue lights” when he wanted a signal fire lit on the beach of Sullivan’s Island. About 45 minutes after the attack, Flemming – who survived and retreated to the Housatonic’s rigging to await rescue – said he spotted a blue light on the water, just ahead of the USS Canandaigua, the first Navy ship to arrive on the scene. Robert Flemming, a sailor on the USS Housatonic, was standing bow lookout watch the night the Hunley attacked. Records indicate the Hunley crew was to signal to shore if they were successful in sinking the Union warship.

Historical Records: Some historical evidence suggests the Hunley did not sink immediately after the attack and light, perhaps in the forms of signals, was seen by both Union and Confederate sources. These small glass ports were equipped with iron covers that could make the ports watertight and also block any light from escaping the sub, and possibly alerting ships to their presence.

Civil war submarine series#

The submarine had a series of 10 topside ports that provided the crew a small measure of ambient light when the Hunley cruised on the surface. This discovery suggests the crew may not have drowned, but died of some other cause.īlackout Mode: The Hunley was in Blackout Mode when she was lost. Those settings could reveal what steps – if any – the crew may have taken to try and save their lives.Ī preliminary study of pump system shows that it was not set to pump water out of the crew compartment. The pumps are still in the same position they were on the night the submarine was lost. If the crew had been desperately trying to escape, it is reasonable to assume both hatches would have been unlatched.īallast Pump Settings: When the Hunley mysteriously vanished, most students of history assumed the eight-man crew drowned. This could be significant, but the hatch was heavy enough that it would stay sealed while the submarine was underwater and upright. Scientists found one hatch was locked and the other was not. The forward conning tower was found unlatched. Hatches: The hatches that sat on top of the forward and aft conning towers served as the only access points into and out of the submarine.