In memory of the supreme devotion of those heroic men of the Confederate Army and Navy, first in marine warfare to employ torpedo boats.
Moved by the lofty faith that with them died, crew after crew volunteered for enterprises of extremist peril in defence of Charleston harbor.
At the Meeting Street entrance to the Battery at Charleston, the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Memorial Association of Charleston have set up a granite block of stalwart proportions, on one of the bronze tablets of which the above appears. There are some other facts perpetuated upon the tablet.
Of more than thirty men drowned in this desperate service the names of but sixteen are known.
Horace L. Hunley George E Dixon
Inventor of Submarine boat Lieutenant 21st Alabama Volunteers.
Robert Brockbank. C.F. Carlsen 1
Joseph Patterson Corporal Wagener’s Artiller
Thomas W. Park Arnold Becker
Charles McHugh James A. Wicks
Henry Beard C. Simpkins
John Marshall F. Collins
Charles L. Sprague -------Ridgeway
-------Miller 2
One born since the great American Civil War may be disposed to cherish a certain degree of animosity toward South Carolina— remembering the prompt passage of the ordinance of secession
1 The spelling of the names of the men lost with Dixon is taken from a report made by Capt. M. M. Gray to Maj. Gen. Dabney H. Maury, appearing in Series I. Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
2 ----- Miller's name does not appear in the list sent Gen. Maury by Capt. Gray, referred to in footnote No I.
and the bombardment of Fort Sumter—for her conspicuous part in precipitating a national tragedy so awful as that war. But there is this to be remembered, too—the steadfast, the undaunted the unfaltering defence of historic old Charleston, a defence which was not abandoned till some six weeks prior to the fall of Richmond.
One of the interesting units in the defence of Charleston was the Hunley submarine—of especial interest these days, since upon a shot from a submarine torpedo-tube has lately hung the destiny of the nation.
In the official records of the Civil War the little diving boat called the H. L. Hunley, after its inventor. Confederate survivors of the defence of Charleston harbor term it the fish-boat." In the reports made during the war to the head of the United States Navy it is sometimes referred to as the "American diver." It was a submarine torpedo-boat in the meaning of the term accepted by the world at large at the present time. All it lacked was the torpedo-tube and self-propelling torpedo.
General G. T. Beauregard, who commanded the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and whose chief business was the defence of Charleston, has left a description of the H. L. Hunley: 3
It was shaped like a fish, made of galvanized iron, was 20 feet long, and at the middle 3½ feet wide and 5 feet deep. From its shape it came to be known as the '' fish torpedo-boat." Propelled by a screw worked from the inside by seven or eight men, it was so contrived that it could be submerged and worked under water for several hours, and to this end w35 provided with a fin on each side, worked also from the interior. By depressing the points of these fins the boat, when in motion, was made descend and by elevating them it was made to rise. Light was afforded through the means of bull's eyes placed in the manholes.
The mechanism was simple. The diving fins were well forward. The propeller, of course, was at the stern, the propeller-shaft running almost the entire length of the vessel. Just forward ( f the after manhole the propeller-shaft dropped into the form of
3Gen. Beauregard's description of the submarine is taken from Col. Alfred Roman's "The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War between the States. 1861 to 1865." Col. Roman credits it to Gen. Beauregard's article on "Torpedo Service in the Harbor and Water Defenses of Charleston." published in the Southern Historical Society Papers of April, 1878.
an open square, the bottom of the square being the hand-hold of the man working that section of the propeller-shaft. A little further on was an open square reaching upward, the second man taxing the first, and so on there being handles for eight men, the propeller-shaft in bare outline having something of this form:
The little craft was capable of making three knots an hour, though some accounts of her give her speed as five knots. 4 As originally designed, the torpedo was dragged astern upon the surface of the water; the boat, approaching the broadside of the vessel to be attacked, was expected to dive beneath the latter and, rising to the surface beyond, continue its course, thus bringing the floating torpedo against the vessel's side, when it would be discharged by the contact. 5
4--------Belton, a deserter from the Confederate Navy in January, 1864, in describing the Hunley to Admiral Dahlgren said she could be driven at a speed of five knots without exertion to the men working her. Belton told the admiral he had worked in the shop in Mobile in which the Hunley was built and sometimes nearby. According to his account, the boat was 35 feet in length, or 15 feet longer than Gen. Beauregard's estimate. "Manholes are about 16 inches high," his description goes, "and Just above water when trimmed." Belton further informed the admiral that the boat had drowned three crews, one at Mobile and two at Charleston. This information was given before the submarine was finally lost and with her still another crew. Belton's information regarding the Hunley is to be found in Series I, Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
5 In a letter dated at Mobile, August 24, 1863, Gen. Dabney H. Maury, cornmander of the Department of the Gulf, wrote to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston:
"The submarine boat sent to Charleston found that there was not enough water under the Ironsides for her to pass below her keel; therefore they have decided to affix a spike to the bow of the boat, to drive the spike into the Ironsides, then to back out, and by a string to explode the torpedo which was to be attached to the spike."—Series I, Volume 26, Part 2, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
The submarine was built at Mobile,6 the expense being borne by Horace L. Hunley, of that city, who demonstrated his faith in her by risking his life aboard her—and losing his life in her. 7
In April, 1863, Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont made an attack upon the defences of Charleston from the sea, which failed. In the summer there came an attack by land and by sea, the land forces being commanded by General Quincey A. Gillmore and a powerful fleet, including the New Ironsides and several monitors, being commanded by Admiral John A. Dahlgren. Their operations commenced with a descent upon and capture of the fortified position of the Confederates on the south end of Morris Island on July 10, 1863.
6 Off Mobile, on February 24, 1863, a deserter from the Confederate gunboat Selma made a statement to Commodore R. B. Hitchcock, U. S.N., regarding the defence of Mobile in which the following reference is made to a submarine there:
"On or about the 14th, an infernal machine, consisting of a submarine boat, propelled by a screw which is turned by hand, capable of holding five persons, and having a torpedo which was to be attached to the honor' of a vessel and exploded by means of clockwork, left Fort Morgan at 8 p. m. in charge of a Frenchman who invented it. The intention was to come up at Sand Island, get the bearing and distance of the nearest vessel dive under again and operate upon her; but on emerging they found themselves so far outside of the island and in so strong a current (setting out) that they were forced to cut the torpedo adrift and make the best of their way back. The attempt will be renewed as early as possible and three or four others are being constructed for the purpose." The submarine boat referred to may or may not have been the Huntley. The quotation is cited as a possible part of the record. The statement made to Commodore Hitchcock appears in Series I, Volume 19, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
7Horace L. Hunley and a crew of seven men were lost when the boat sank in Charleston harbor on October 15, 1863. The names of the seven are given on the monument at Charleston. Hunley is usually referred to as a Mobile resident. In an article on "Mobile in the War between the States," in the Confederate Veteran of May, 1916, Benjamin B. Cox, of Mobile, describes Hunley as "a very well-to-do cotton merchant of New Orleans, who had promoted the building of a submarine at New Orleans which, for some reason or other, was not a success." Mr. Cox says that Hunley was prevailed upon to come to Mobile by parties there and arriving at once began the construction of the submarine which bore his name.
The following order is the first reference to the Hunley submarine in connection with Charleston appearing in the official records of the war: 8
CHARLESTON, S. C., August 7, 1863.
Quartermasters and Railroad Agents on Lines from Charleston, S. C., to Mobile, Ala.: Please expedite transportation of Whitney's submarine boat from Mobile here. It is much needed.
G. T. BEALUREGARD.
The submarine was needed at Charleston, and the need was generally recognized. On August 15, in a communication addressed to “B. A. Whitney, Esq., in charge of the submarine torpedo-boat at Charleston,” General Beauregard's chief-of-staff announced:
I am authorized to say that John Fraser & Co. will pay over to any Parties who shall destroy the United States steam ironclad Ironsides the sum of $100,000, a similar sum for the destruction of the wooden frigate Wabash, and the sum of $50,000 for every monitor sunk.
I have reason to believe that other men of wealth will unite and give with equal munificence toward the same end.
At the same time, steps are being taken to secure a large sum to be settled for the support of the families of parties, who, making any attempt against the fleet now attacking our outworks. shall fail in the enterprise and fall or be captured in the attempt. 9
The offer thus announced had been made to General Beauregard On August 13 by Theodore D. Wagner, a member of the firm of John Fraser & Co. In the meantime, the little submarine had arrived, or was just about to arrive. She was brought to Charles- On two platform cars, 10 and a week after the offer of big rewards for the destruction of the United States vessels of war
8 Gen. Beauregard's order regarding the transportation of the boat appears in Series I, Volume 28, Part 2, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
9 The communication to Whitney announcing the reward appears in Series I, Volume 28, Part 2, War of the Rebellion Official Records. Tile firm of Fraser & Co. had houses in Liverpool and Charleston. The firm is frequently mentioned in the official records of the war.
10 The manner of the movement of the submarine from Mobile to Charleston was told to Admiral Dahlgren by Belton, Series I, Volume Official Records of Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
was nosing about Charleston harbor. 11 On August 23 she went out from Sullivan's Island at sunset, but was forced to return because of an accident. In another week the craft met with her first disaster at Charleston. 12 Lieutenant John A. Payne, of the C. S. S. Chicora, had in the meantime been put in command of the submarine and was standing on the boat's top when she went under at the dock at Fort Johnson, James Island. Under date of August 30, 1863, Colonel Charles H. Olmstead, First Volunteers, Georgia Infantry, commanding at Fort Johnson, reported to Confederate headquarters.
….An unfortunate accident occurred at the wharf yesterday, by which five seamen of the Chicora were drowned. The submarine torpedo boat became entangled in some way with ropes, was drawn on its side filled and went down. The bodies have not yet been recovered. 12
One man in Charleston harbor that ill-fated August 29 had (rood cause for remembering the tragic occurrence. It was Payne's shipmate, Lieutenant C. L. Stanton, C. S. N., of the Chicora. That morning the submarine had paid a visit to the Chicora and Stanton had arranged to go down under the water with his friend in the diver. Before he was released from duty, however, the Hunley had to leave, and Lieutenant Charles H. Hooker, of the Chicora, took Stanton's place. The submarine cast off, dived
11 The earliest reference to the movements of the submarine in Charleston harbor that the writer has found appears in Series I, Volume 28, Part 1, War of the Rebellion Official Records. This reference follows:
HEADQUARTERS SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, August 23, 1863
CAPTAIN—The torpedo-boat has not gone out. I do not think it will render any service under its present management.
T. L. CLINGMAN, Brigadier-General
Capt. W. F. Nance, Assistant Adjutant General
On the same page appears the following:
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, August 23, 1863
CAPTAIN—The torpedo-boat started out at sunset, but returned, as the!' state, because of an accident. Whitney says that though McClintock is timid, yet it shall go out to-night unless the weather is bad
T. L. CLINGMAN, Brigadier-General
Capt. W. F. Nance, Assistant Adjutant General.
12 Before arriving at Charleston, the boat had already drowned a crew at Mobile.
13 Col. Olmstead's report is to be found in Series I. Volume 28, Part 1, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
about the harbor for an hour or two, and then moved over to Fort Johnson, where she made fast to the little steamer Etiwan. It was when the latter vessel moved off from the wharf that the disaster occurred. Payne, standing on the top of the submarine, escaped a ducking by jumping to the Etiwan. Hooker was climbing through the forward manhole. As the Hunley sank the manhead closed, catching his foot, dragging him down into the sea. To free himself he was forced to stoop and raise the manhead. One of the Chicora's boats picked him up a moment later in an exhausted condition. The submarine with her crew went to the bottom in five fathoms of water. 14
In a short time the craft was raised and more volunteers from the Confederate ships in Charleston harbor were sent aboard her. Hunley, inventor of the boat, and Lieutenant George E. Dixon, of Mobile, a Confederate officer who had had some experience in operating her, came to Charleston to take charge of the diver.
The next disaster to the submarine occurred while her inventor was demonstrating her diving powers in Charleston harbor. Lieutenant Dixon, Assistant Engineer J. H. Toombs, C. S. N., 15 and James A. Eason were standing on the Charleston wharf and watched the submarine start out.
Oct. 15, 1863, the record reads: Raining again this morning and too hazy to get report of the fleet…An unfortunate accident occurred this morning with the submarine boat, by which Capt. F. L. [H. L.] Hunley and seven men lost their lives, in an attempt to run under the navy receiving ship. The boat left the wharf at 9.25 a. m. and disappeared at 9.35. As soon as she sunk, air bubbles were seen to rise to the surface if the water, and from this fact it is supposed the hole in the top of the boat by which the men entered was not properly closed. It was impossible at the time to make any effort to rescue the unfortunate men, as the Water was some nine fathoms deep. 16
14 Lieut. Stanton wrote an account of the submarine in the Confederate Veteran of September, 1914. In his account, his own narrow escape is chronicled.
15 The name of Engineer Toombs is printed “Tomb" in the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. The writer is not aware which spelling is correct.
16 The record of the boat's sinking is an excerpt from a journal kept at the headquarters of the department at Charleston which is printed in Series I, Volume 28. Part 1 War of the Rebellion Official Records. The names of the men lost on that occasion are inscribed under that of the inventor on the Charleston monument.
Three days later a diver found the sunken submarine on bottom of the harbor. When she was raised it was found that the crew had perished of asphyxiation; their bodies "were contort into all kinds of horrible attitudes, some clutching candles, evidently endeavoring to force open the manholes; others lying the bottom tightly grappled together, and the blackened faces all presented the expression of their despair and agony." 17
After this tragedy, General Beauregard refused to allow boat to be used again. However, her retirement was only temporary, as events proved. Special Orders No. 271, issued December 14, 1863, reads: 18
First Lieut. George E. Dixon, Twenty-first Alabama Volunteers, will take command and direction of the submarine torpedo-boat H. L. Hunley, and proceed to-night to the mouth of the harbor, or as far as the capacity of the vessel will allow, and will sink and destroy any vessel of the enemy with which he can come in conflict.
All officers of the Confederate Army in this department are commanded and all naval officers are requested to give such assistance to Lieutenant Dixon in the discharge of his duties as may be practicable, should he apply therefor.
If the Confederate submarine went out that night, the official records of the war, either army or navy, make no record of the fact. In the meantime the United States fleet had been ordered by Rear Admiral Dahlgren to take especial precautions against torpedo-boat attacks. By order of December 3, 1863, two monitors were to do picket duty each night, assisted by two tugs and as many armed boats as could be conveniently furnished by the wooden vessels present.
On the succeeding January 7, deserters from the Confederate, ranks brought explicit information to the admiral regarding t torpedo-boats in Charleston harbor, leading him to issue t following order: 19
FLAG-STEAMER "PHILADELPHIA"
OFF MORRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, January 7, 1864 I have reliable information that the rebels have two torpedo-boats read) for service, which may be expected on the first night when the water is
17"The quotation is from Gen. Beauregard's account of the submarine.
18 The order appointing Dixon commander is printed in Series I, Volume 28, Part 2, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
19 Admiral Dahlgren's order is printed in Series I, Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
suitable for their movement. One of these is the David, which attacked the Ironsides in October; the other is similar to it.
There is also one of another kind, which is nearly " submerged and can he entirely so. It is intended to go under the bottoms of vessels and there operate.
This is believed by my informant to be sure of well working, though from bad management it has hitherto met with accidents, and was lying off Mount Pleasant two nights since.
There being every reason to expect a visit from some or all of these torpedoes, the greatest vigilance will be needed to guard against them.
The ironclads must have their fenders rigged out and their own boats in motion about them.
A netting must also be dropped overboard from the ends of the fenders, kept down with shot, and extending along the whole length of the sides; howitzers loaded with canister on the decks and a calcium for each monitor. The tugs and picket boats must be incessantly upon the lookout, when the water is not rough, whether the weather be clear or rainy.
I observe the ironclads are not anchored so as to be entirely clear of each other's fire if opened suddenly in the dark. This must be corrected, and Captain Rowan will assign the monitors suitable positions for this Purpose, particularly with reference to his own vessel.
It is also advisable not to anchor in the deepest part of the channel, for by not leaving much space between the bottom of the vessel and the bottom of the channel it will be impossible for the diving torpedo to operate except on the sides, and there will be less difficulty in raising a vessel if sunk.
JOHN A. DAHLGREN,
Rear Admiral, Comdg. South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
The David, referred to in the admiral's order, was a Confederate torpedo-boat of another pattern, a cigar-shaped, steam-propelled boat which sat so low in the water that the ironclad parts exposed Offered a scanty target. Its torpedo, unlike that of the Hunley's, was mounted on a spar extending out from the bow of the boat. On October 5, 1863, it exploded a 60-pound charge of rifle powder under the starboard quarter of the New Ironsides, the monster of the United States fleet, jarring her, but failing to do her serious damage. At various times in the Hunley's career, the David was used to tow the submarine out to its field of operations. The last night the David towed her out the torpedo dragged behind the Hunley came very near blowing up both boats before Lieutenant Dixon and First Assistant Engineer J. H. Toombs, of the David, got the package of explosive clear of the bottom where it had drifted. Toombs, after passing Fort Sumter, let Dixon and his
20 The second paragraph of the order refers to the Hunley.
submarine go, and on his reporting the incident. Flag Office John R. Tucker of the Confederate Navy refused to allow the David to tow her any more. 21
The real place of the submarine in history rests upon the h that she was the first diving boat to sink a vessel of an enemy actual warfare. The Hunley's victim was the United States screw sloop Housatonic, 13 guns and a crew of I60 men, which had taken up a nightly position opposite Battery Marshall, a Confederate work at the eastern end of Sullivan's Island, her presence the greatly interfering with the operations of the blockade runners.
Operating as a David, that is, on the surface of the water al not as a diver—this being by order of General Beauregard—t little vessel cast off her moorings at Battery Marshall early in t evening of February 17, 1864. Her torpedo was carried on spar projecting forward.
Guarding Breach Inlet, the sloop at anchor swung lazily with the tide. No movements shoreward gave the watchful officer Of the deck a hint that danger threatened. The sea was smooth, the moon shining. About 8.45 o'clock, what appeared to be a plank or a log floating in the water was sighted by the officer of the deck. Acting Master J. K. Crosby and the lookout simultaneously. When first observed it was about a hundred yards distant and approaching. Inoffensive as the object looked, an alarm was promptly given and Captain Charles W. Pickering and his executive officer, Lieutenant Francis J. Higginson, rushed upon deck. As they gave their orders they emptied their pistols at the object. The hurried efforts to save the Housatonic were futile. Two minutes after she was first sighted the submarine was alongside. An instant later her torpedo had caught the sloop between t the main and mizzen masts giving her a death wound. She sank almost immediately. There was time to lower only two boats portion of the crew escaped in these; many more were forced to scramble into the rigging, which was not submerged.
One of the boats pulled for the U. S. S. Canandaigua, carrying the first news of the submarine's work. The boats of the Canandaigua succeeded in rescuing from the wreck 21 officers and 129
21 Taken from notes made by Engineer Toombs and printed in Series I Volume 15. Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
men. Among the injured was Captain Pickering. The following were "missing": Ensign Edward C. Hazeltine, Captain's Clerk Charles C. Muzzey, Quartermaster John Williams, second-class Fireman John Walsh and Landsman Theodore Parker. 22 They were the first victims of submarine warfare as it is understood to-day.
The submarine went to a watery grave along with the Housatonic; years after she was found beside her victim. Her commander and her crew perished with her, and the names of the crew appear under that of Dixon's on the Charleston monument: in fact, one name more than appears in the official records of the navy; the name is that of -- Miller.
The loss of the submarine with her victim was not made known at the Confederate headquarters in Charleston until two days after her achievement. On February 19 Lieut. Colonel 0. M. Dantzler, 21st South Carolina Infantry, sent in the following report from Battery Marshall: 23
LIEUTENANT—I have the honor to report that the torpedo-boat stationed at this post went out on the night of the 17th instant (Wednesday) and has not returned. 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. An earlier report would have been made of this matter, but the officer of the day for yesterday was under the impression that the boat had returned, and so informed me. As soon as I became apprised of the fact I sent a telegram to Capt. Nance, Assistant Adjutant General, notifying him of it.
Very respectfully,
M. DANTZLER,
Lieut. Colonel
Lieut. John A. Wilson,
Acting Assistant Adjutant General
(Indorsement)
February 20, 1863
As soon as its fate shall have been ascertained pay a proper tribute to the gallantry and patriotism of its crew and officers.
G. T. BEALTREGARD,
General Commanding
22 The list of the Union men “missing" is printed in Series I, Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
23 Col. Dantzler's dispatch is to be found in Series I, Volume 35, Part I, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
Reporting to Adjutant General S. Cooper at Richmond in a dispatch of February 27, General Beauregard said: 24
Prisoners report that it was the United States ship of war Housatonic, 12 guns, which was sunk on the night 17th instant, by the submarine torpedo-boat, Lieutenant Dixon, of Alabama, commanding. There is little hope of safety of that brave man and his associates however, as they were not captured.
A court of inquiry convening on the U. S. S. Wabash on February 26, 1864, with Captain J. F. Green of the Canandaigua as president, investigated the destruction of the Housatonic by the submarine, reporting on March 7. The report of the court, being the result of a formal investigation, constitutes a thoroughly authenticated page of history. The findings follow: 25
First. That the U. S. S. Housatonic was blown up and sunk by a rebel torpedo craft on the night of February 17 last about 9 o'clock p. m. while lying at an anchor in 27 feet of water off Charleston, S. C., bearing ESE., and distant from Fort Sumter about 5½miles. The weather at the time of the occurrence was clear, the night bright and moonlight, wind moderate from the northward and westward, sea smooth and tide half ebb, the ship's head about WNW.
Second. That between 845 and 9 o'clock p. m. on said night an object in the water was discovered almost simultaneously by the officer of the deck and the lookout stationed at the starboard cathead, on the starboard bow of the ship, about 75 or too yards distant, having the appearance of a log. That on further and closer observation it presented a suspicious appearance, moved apparently with a speed of 3 or 4 knots in the direction of the starboard quarter of the ship, exhibiting two protuberances above and making a slight ripple in the water.
Third. That the strange object approached the ship with a rapidity precluding a gun of the battery being brought to bear upon it and finally came in contact with the ship on her starboard quarter.
Fourth. That about one and a half minutes after the first discovery of the strange object the crew were called to quarters, the cable slipped and the engine backed.
Fifth. That an explosion occurred about three minutes after the first discovery of the object, which blew up the after part of the ship, causing her to sink immediately after to the bottom, with her spar deck submerged.
Sixth. That several shots from small arms were fired at the object while it was alongside or near the ship before the explosion occurred.
24 Found in Series I, Volume 35, Part I, War of the Rebellion Official Records.
25 The report of the court of inquiry is to be found in Series I, Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.
Seventh. That the watch on deck, ship, and ship's battery were in all respects prepared for a sudden offensive or defensive movement; that lookouts were properly stationed and vigilance observed, and that officers and crew promptly assembled at their quarters.
Eighth. That order was preserved on board, and orders promptly obeyed by officers and crew up to the time of the sinking of the ship.
In view of the above facts the court have to express the opinion that no further military proceedings are necessary.
Rear Admiral Dahlgren was impressed by the achievement of the submarine. " I desire to suggest to the department," wrote that officer to Gideon Wells, Secretary of the Navy, "the policy of offering a large reward of prize money for the capture or destruction of a ' David ' ; I should say not less than $20,000 or $30,000 for each. They are worth more than that to us."
The destruction of the Housatonic by a torpedo-boat filled Charleston with a new hope. Said the Charleston Daily Courier on February 29, 1864: "This glorious success of our little torpedo-boat, under the command of Lieutenant Dixon, of Mobile, has raised the hopes of our people, and the most sanguine expectations are now entertained of our being able to raise the siege in a way little dreamed of by the enemy."
Some notes made during the war bearing upon the submarine and her commander by Engineer Toombs, who, as already indicated, had some experience with the craft, deserve perpetuation as a part of the story of her career. 26
Lieutenant Dixon, he wrote, was a very brave and cool-headed man, and had every confidence in his boat, but had great trouble when under the water from lack of air and light… She was very slow in turning, but would sink at a moment's notice and at times without it. The understanding was that from the time of her construction at Mobile up to the time when she struck the Housatonic not less than 33 men had lost their lives in her. She was a veritable coffin to this brave officer and his men.
26 Engineer Toombs' notes are found in Series I, Volume 15, Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion.