In 1878, an abandoned submarine prototype was found in Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans. For many years, researchers thought it was the historic submarine "Pioneer," the one that was designed and built by St. Tammany resident Horace Lawson Hunley for service during the Civil War.
It turned out, however, that the submarine found was not the Pioneer. Long known as the world's first submarine, the Pioneer was rumored to have been scuttled in the Tchefuncte River north of Madisonville. For more information on that story, CLICK HERE.
The 1878 submersible wound up in the possession of the Louisiana Museum, and its story is quite interesting. Here is the information about it as found on the state museum's website:
The Mystery Submarine
"However, a drawing of the Pioneer recently discovered in the National Archives by naval historian Mark Ragan illustrates that the State Museum's submarine and the Pioneer are not the same vessel.
"The history of the Pioneer, however, may shed some light on the identity of the State Museum's submarine. At the beginning of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered a blockade of all Southern ports.
"To augment his own Navy, Confederate President Jefferson Davis issued a
proclamation inviting applications for letters of marque to encourage
reprisal against Federal ships and property. Respondents were drawn to
the Algiers dockyards and to vessels suitable for refitting as
privateers.
"Across the river at Leeds foundry, steam gauge
manufacturers James McClintock and Baxter Watson constructed a submarine
to use against Union gunboats patrolling Lake Pontchartrain. They would
eventually partner with Horace L. Hunley, a wealthy lawyer and customs
agent, to build a submarine with a menacing, streamlined appearance.
After the war, McClintock described the vessel he and his partners
christened the Pioneer.
- "…she was made of iron ¼ inch thick. The boat was of a cigar shape 30 feet long and 4 feet in diameter. This boat demonstrated to us that we could construct a boat that would move at will in any direction desired, and at any distance from the surface. As we were unable to see objects passing under the water, the boat was steered by compass…"
"The ship was quickly discovered in its watery grave and brought to shore. A Federal team of experts was dispatched to examine the "infernal machine" and later submitted their measured drawings to Fleet Engineer William Shock, who completed and forwarded them to Washington, D.C. for further study.
"The detailed rendering shows how the craft actually appeared (Shock's drawing was a mechanical one). Distinguishing characteristics depicted by Stauffer - iron plating, rivets, conning tower portholes - provide clear evidence of what the Pioneer looked like, and it is not the same vessel owned by the State Museum.
- “Some
few weeks since I had some duty calling me to a place down at the ‘New
Basin’ where I discovered a Submarine Machine. I embraced the first
favorable opportunity and examined it, got is history and had a drawing
made of it, a tracing of which I send you as a curiosity.
The history of the machine seems is simply this, in the early part of Admiral Farragut’s operations here the gunboat New London was a perfect terror to the Rebels in the lake, so it occurred to them if they could get a Machine that would move underwater, they could succeed in securing a Torpedo to the bottom of the ship, move off, touch the wires, and thus terminate their existence. They finally got the thing done, made a good job of it, got it over board and put two men in it; they were smothered to death.”
Since contemporary accounts of the
Pioneer never mention such an incident, it is likely the fatalities
Shock heard about occurred in a different experimental craft.
Perhaps the most telling document, however, is another letter, also
uncovered by Mark Ragan. In June 1861, months before work began on the
Pioneer, a New Yorker named E. P. Doer traveled to New Orleans. During
his visit, Doer learned from a woman schoolteacher that a submersible to
be used against the Mississippi Squadron blockading the river was being
constructed. He reported his findings to the Navy in Washington:
- She tells me that the rebels in New Orleans are constructing an infernal vessel to destroy the Brooklyn, or any vessel blockading the mouth of the Mississippi; from her description, she is to be used as a projectile with a sharp iron or steel pointed prow to perforate the bottom of the vessel and then explode. Says that it is being constructed by competent engineers. I put implicit reliance in the correctness of this information.
If this letter refers to the Museum’s submarine, it would make it the earliest known Civil War-era submersible.
Efforts To Conserve What Is Left
"At some point, probably in the 1930s, previous custodians of the submarine poured concrete into the hull in a misguided attempt to retain the vessel's overall structure. However, it caused the hull to corrode. Extracting the concrete has been one of the more difficult aspects of the conservation project, but as it was poured over successive, separating layers of sheet metal and wire mesh, the layering effect somewhat facilitated its removal.
"To date, all of the concrete has been
removed from the lower hull. Mechanisms used to control the aft and
forward rudders that were formerly hidden have been exposed. Also
uncovered were three gear-like objects, each approximately one foot
long, embedded in portions of the keel. The remains of a wooden beam
running the length of the keel were also found following removal of the
concrete. Samples of the wood were sent to the US Forest Products
Laboratory for analysis. Unfortunately, the condition of the wood
prevented researchers from identifying the species.
"The
corrosive effects of the concrete are dramatically visible. Large areas
of the rudder shafts have expanded from the high moisture content of the
cement. They are encrusted with rust to almost twice their original
size. Portions of the keel and hull exhibit similar effects, with the
lower hull missing most of its original plating. Stabilization of these
areas is now being addressed including reinforcement of fragile areas,
and a protective coating applied to all of the artifact's parts.
"Following completion of the conservation process, the State Museum will
construct a display mount in which the submarine will be supported for
exhibition. Housed in a controlled environment, the submarine will form
an integral part of the State Museum's new Baton Rouge branch's exhibits
on major events in Louisiana history. Interpretive text and displays
will illustrate the vessel's place in the State's maritime and Civil War
history.
"The Azby Fund and the Institute for Museum and Library
Services awarded grants totaling $84,400 to the Louisiana State Museum
for the submarine conservation project."
Source: The State Museum's Civil War Era Submarine
