The Plunger, the Navy’s first purpose-built submarine (the Holland, its first sub, had been built on speculation by the designer, John Philip Holland), was commissioned in September 1903 at New Suffolk, Long Island, with Lieutenant Charles P. Nelson commanding. In nearly two years, she had amassed more than 300 submersions. But the technology was still raw. In August 1905, she was in the New York Navy Yard for overhaul, with critical attention paid to leaking air lines and a failing electrical system. On 9 August, Nelson received a very simple order from Secretary of the Navy Charles J. Bonaparte: “Proceed as soon as possible to Oyster Bay and report to the President.”
The press reported this missive widely, and speculation immediately erupted about Roosevelt’s intention. Would he submit to a dive in the boat and risk his life? This was not hyperbole. Three years earlier, Roosevelt’s cabinet had talked him out of diving with the Holland at Annapolis, Maryland. Submarines were an unknown entity for many; they had been in U.S. service for barely five years. Compounding this were recent headlines from the 8 June loss of the British sub A-8 with 14 dead and the 6 July sinking of the French boat Farfadet with 13 lost.
Reporters continued to follow the story with articles on 16 August of the Plunger’s preparation for the trip, which included thorough inspections and testing. They also noted the addition of a new safety measure—the installation of heavy eyebolts for lifting the boat if she sank—and that a diver would be standing by.
Speculation also revolved around the selection of the Plunger, as she was no more significant than any of the other seven boats in commission. Earlier that summer, Lieutenant Commander William S. Sims, who had been appointed inspector of naval gunnery by the President, visited Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill and extolled the virtues of 28-year-old Lieutenant Nelson and his work with the submarine. Interest piqued by the conversation, the President requested a visit with Nelson and the Plunger.
The submarine made a four-hour transit from Brooklyn to Oyster Bay late on the afternoon of 22 August. The next day, she made a number of test runs and dives observed by the first lady, Edith, and the Roosevelts’ three younger children from the presidential yacht Sylph’s motor launch. On the 24th, Nelson ate lunch with Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill. The 25th began with heavy rain, but the President was not deterred. He boarded the Plunger at 1530 and remained until 1810, during which time the sub spent nearly an hour submerged in the teeth of a “fierce gale.” Roosevelt took the wheel, started the motors, and reversed them, “operated the submerging apparatus,” and fired a “blank” torpedo.
The President later declared that never in his life had he experienced “such a diverting day . . . nor so much enjoyment in so few hours.” Nelson provided some insight into the visit: “I requested him not to talk with members of the crew” because their duties were crucial and time-sensitive, and “I feared they could not withstand the temptation of talking with the President.” In addressing the safety issue, he declared, “The President was every bit as safe” during the dive “as he would be riding in a trolley car.”
While the crew was ordered not to speak to anyone about the presidential visit, with all questions going to Nelson, one unidentified machinist could not be silenced: “I would not want a better shipman than the President. He is a democratic sort. One more trip and he would be ready to take any one of our places.”
Three days after the cruise, Roosevelt wrote Navy Secretary Bonaparte a brief but detailed letter about the situation of the submarine service, and, in particular, “the enlisted men, in whom I am even more interested.” He noted that the service of officers and men alike was in a “worse than absurd” situation being not considered as sea duty. They received landsman pay, and in terms of seniority and promotion, they were in line after sea-duty sailors. Officers had no quarters on board the submarine or ashore. “This is monstrous,” the President wrote, and he provided a bullet list of five points—all citing the enlisted sailor—that should be addressed. Within weeks, an executive order began to put things right for the Navy’s submariners.
Nelson went on to command five ships and died while still in service as a rear admiral at age 58. The Plunger was decommissioned in November 1905 but recommissioned in February 1907. Ensign Chester W. Nimitz commanded her from 3 May 1909 until 2 February 1910. The next year she was renamed A-1, and she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in 1913. What remained of the old Plunger was sold for scrap on 26 January 1922.