A note about the notes: References are cited in short form here and should be cross-referenced with the full publication details provided in the bibliography.
Chapter 1: What About the Hunley
“Being a scientist is like being an explorer”: Quoted in May, TED2015 Conference, 2015.
“the first successful submarine”: Ragan, “Submarine Pioneer,” 2001, 3.
The US Navy would own her: SCHC, Hunley Programmatic Agreement, 1996.
Based on the pattern of the layering in the sediment: Sharrer et al., “Marine Macrofaunal Analysis,” 2001.
found resting at their battle stations: Quinn, “Time,” 2008.
None showed any signs of skeletal trauma: FOTH, “Eight Crew Members,” 2001; FOTH, “The Evidence,” 2016; Martin and Case, “Secret Weapon,” 2011.
unlock the firmly secured hatch: FOTH, “Dangers of Light,” 2006.
bilge pumps were not set to pump out water: FOTH, “New Light,” 2008.
no efforts to turn the bolts inside the hull: Neyland et al., “Hunley Recovery,” 2016, 208.
a large gas bubble remained: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 400.
spar was 16 feet long: FOTH, “Evidence of Explosion,” 2013.
blasts transmitting to the inside of the protective “bomb suits”: Bass et al., “Assessing Blast Protection,” 2005.
“I am a blast researcher”: Lance, “Hunley Drawings,” 2014.
“I am extremely interested”: Lance, “Re: Hunley Drawings,” 2014.
“As you can imagine”: Scafuri, “Re: Technical Drawings,” 2014.
“Wonder if there are existing pubs”: Bass, “Re: Hunley Drawings,” 2014.
“from the National Archives”: FOTH, “Tale of the Torpedo,” 2014.
ergometers that measure the work done by cranking hand pedals: Åstrand and Rodahl, Work Physiology, 1977, 279–82.
Chapter 2: Suffocation
“The question of air supply”: Lake, The Submarine, 1918, 49.
After an avalanche, a buried skier: Boyd et al., “Patterns of Death,” 2009; Holhrieder et al., “Avalanche Victims,” 2007.
hull was ⅜ inches thick: FOTH, “FAQ,” 2001.
publicly available assessment of the submarine’s site: Murphy et al., “Hunley Site Assessment,” 1998.
2 inches shy of 18 feet: FOTH, “Crew Bench,” 2005.
conning towers, oval-shaped protrusions: Murphy et al., “Hunley Site Assessment,” 1998.
positioned beneath the fore conning tower: FOTH, “Profile: Dixon,” 2004.
could all be covered tightly: FOTH, “Blackout Mode,” 2006.
historical reports that describe it: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
laser scan of the recovered Hunley: Jacobsen, Blouin, and Shirley, “Erosion Corrosion,” 2012.
“Are you willing”: Lance, “Keel Ballast,” 2015.
“I apologize for being”: Scafuri, “Re: Keel Ballast,” 2015.
“Unfortunately that’s not really an option”: Lance, “Re: Keel Ballast,” 2015.
value of 7.61 cubic meters: Lance et al., “Suffocate,” 2016.
which rates of oxygen consumption were most reasonable: USN, Diving Gas Manual, 1971, 12–13; Åstrand and Rodahl, Work Physiology, 1977, 282–87.
above oxygen levels of 0.10 atm . . . about two minutes at 0.063 atm: Mackenzie et al., “Consciousness,” 1945; Hall, “Useful Consciousness,” 1949; Wolf, “Physiological Consequences,” 2014.
June 1939, the newly constructed Thetis: Booth, Thetis Down, 2008.
physician scientists Haldane, Alexander, Duff, Ives, and Renton: Alexander et al., “After-Effects,” 1939.
until the CO2 levels reached a disconcerting 5 percent: Haldane and Smith, “Air Vitiated by Respiration,” 1892.
since 1905 at the age of twelve: Foster, “Inquiry into Thetis,” 1939, 27.
steel hyperbaric chamber one-third this volume: Ibid., 4.
final partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the chamber . . . above 0.17 atm the whole time: Alexander et al., “After-Effects,” 1939.
progression of physical symptoms: Ibid.; Haldane and Smith, “Air Vitiated by Respiration,” 1892.
“make it impossible to continue the experiment”: Haldane and Smith, “Air Vitiated by Respiration,” 1892.
trapped in a bank vault: Gill, Ely, and Hua, “Gas Displacement,” 2002.
inhaling CO2 levels potentially upward of 30 to 60 percent: Kettner et al., “Fatal Case of CO2,” 2013.
brain increases the breathing rate: Widmaier, Raff, and Strang, Human Physiology, 2004, 496–500.
“distracting discomfort,” . . . “air hunger.” . . . “distracting discomfort”: USN, Diving Gas Manual, 1971, 8–9.
after seven minutes of breathing 7 percent CO2: Richardson, Wasserman, and Patterson, “Circulatory Responses,” 1960.
“His breath got shallower”: Helm, “Most Hated-On Ice Cream,” 2018.
ventilation rate for an enclosed gas space: USN, Diving Gas Manual, 1971, 9.
a standard modern fire hose: Strickland et al., Fire Fighting, 2008, 727.
the morbid lines of their autopsies: Rainsford, “Condition of Bodies,” 1939.
markers of carbon-dioxide asphyxiation: Saukko and Knight, Forensic Pathology, 2015.
Blood stained the normally translucent fluid: Rainsford, “Condition of Bodies,” 1939.
also a common sign of asphyxia in avalanche victims: Boyd et al., “Patterns of Death,” 2009.
Haldane’s self-experimentations: Alexander et al., “After-Effects,” 1939.
eyes bulging and red: Rainsford, “Condition of Bodies,” 1939.
Chapter 3: Fish Boats
“You have to admit”: Quoted in Carewe, “Jules Verne,” 1902.
Aristotle wrote that his student Alexander the Great: Rossi and Russo, Ancient Engineers, 2016, 197.
Chinese sources from 200 BCE: Joseph, High Technology, 2008, 3.
Cornelis Drebbel stood: Swinfield, Sea Devils, 2014, 23–24; Hutchinson, Jane’s Submarines, 2001, 8.
drawings of inventor William Bourne: Bourne, Inventions and Devices, 1578.
three hours at a depth of 15 feet: Swinfield, Sea Devils, 2014, 25.
Mark Edwards constructed a successful small replica: Peck, First Submarine, 2002.
“Cornelius Debrell [sic]”: Lake, The Submarine, 1918, 77.
Wilhelm Bauer looked at his two panting countrymen: Shelford, Subsunk, 1960, 18–19.
Bauer had expected a graceful and smooth disappearance: Unknown, “Bauer,” 1875, 1.
Brandtaucher (“Fire diver”): Unknown, “Bauer,” 1875, 1.
into a hole 17 meters deep: Hutchinson, Jane’s Submarines, 2001, 10
For at least five hours: Unknown, “Bauer,” 1875, 1.
Bauer was growing concerned about the air . . . also a man who understood physics: Shelford, Subsunk, 1960, 20.
“corks of champagne bottles”: Quoted in Unknown, “Bauer,” 1875, 2.
dubbed “infernal machines”: Unknown, “Infernal Machine,” 1849; Unknown, “Torpedo Inventor,” 1863.
fighting population of only 1.3 million: USCB, 1860 Census Tables, 1864.
female soldiers fighting undercover: Blanton and Cook, Fought Like Demons, 2002.
fleet of ninety fighting ships: Long, Civil War Day by Day, 1971, 719.
“nonexistent”: Boatner, Civil War Dictionary, 1988, 583.
“Southern Slaveholding States”: Virginia, “Ordinance of Secession,” 1861.
“cardinal principle” of “prohibition of slavery”: Georgia, “Ordinance of Secession,” 1861.
“none but the black race”: Mississippi, “Declaration of Secession,” 1861.
Confederate government decided it was time: Walker, Telegraph to Beauregard, 1865.
Many in the South were confident there would be no war: McPherson, Battle Cry, 1988, 238.
“entered upon unexpectedly”: Rains, Memorandum, ca. 1880.
offering to drink all the blood: McPherson, Battle Cry, 1988, 238.
“inviting all those who may desire”: Davis, “Proclamation,” 2012, 43.
value of the ship in addition to $20 per man: Abbott, Civil War, 1863, 298.
Horace Hunley was born . . . eighty-acre sugar plantation: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 15–24.
invented a machine to mass-produce bullets: Unknown, “Native Enterprise,” 1861, 1.
“ATTENTION, ENGINEERS!”: Marsh, “Attention, Engineers,” 1861, 3.
by the following fall: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 9.
McClintock would later claim: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
first confirmed, known boat was the CSS Pioneer: Kloeppel, Danger, 1987, 6–8.
a “CSS” designation: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 75.
sharpened to conical points: Shock, Letter to Fox, 1864, technical drawing.
irredeemably unstable: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
McClintock provides one account of the crew: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
thirdhand, courtesy of a photographer friend: Lake, The Submarine, 1918, 39–40.
supplied Lake with a photograph: In Lake’s book is a photograph of a submarine now referred to as the Bayou St. John submarine for the loss of its proper name. This submarine was supposedly dredged up from the southern border of Lake Pontchartrain, the known stomping grounds of the Pioneer, and so she was long thought to be the Pioneer herself. Lake too thought the photograph was a picture of the CSS Pioneer. The two boats have been repeatedly confused throughout history. For example, old newspaper articles show clear illustrations of the Bayou St. John submarine, yet describe the Pioneer’s story of being scuttled in 1862 to prevent her from falling into Union hands (e.g., Unknown, “Sold for Junk,” 1901a). It is almost impossible to disentangle the lore of the Pioneer from the lore of the Bayou St. John submarine, but the additional sources for this story support the idea that it is about the CSS Pioneer. An additional source from the Barrow Family Papers (Robert Ruffin Barrow was married to Horace Hunley’s sister) asserts that there was an early sinking of the Pioneer, but does not describe crew deaths in detail. (Quoted in Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 271n).
“was the conception of a wealthy planter” . . . “but they warn’t wuth a damned cent”: Lake, The Submarine, 1918, 39–40.
sitting on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
“two contrabands [slaves] . . . were smothered to death”: Shock, Letter to Fox, 1864. The insistence of the Confederate States upon treating people as property resulted in Union troops employing the logic that they could therefore legally free the slaves as they swept through the South because it was considered acceptable to take possession of the goods and property of regions defeated in combat. The word “contraband” is originally from the expression “contraband of war,” meaning captured goods. The origins and use of the word “contraband” by Union troops to mean “slave” or “former slave” are documented in Siddali, Property to Person, 2005, 52–53.
location that is known to have been used by Hunley: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
plantation owner with slaves: USCB, Census Slave Schedule, 1850.
“sub marine boat for blowing up ships”: Roy, Diary, 1862, entry dated December 3, 1861.
frequented the same foundry: Roy, Diary, 1862. Roy describes numerous trips to Leeds Foundry during the years 1860–1862. McClintock was known to be working there at that time: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 62. Roy’s diary entry from May 10, 1862, also describes finding the misuse-damaged remains of the steam boat he previously loaned to a “McClintic.” The name is slightly different, but the entry is around the time that McClintock would have been scuttling the Pioneer prior to his departure from New Orleans, and no McClintic could be found in the region in any census lists. Misspellings were also frequent in Roy’s diary (e.g., “Munday,” entry dated May 19, 1862).
“under the auspices of the Friends of the Hunley”: Neyland et al., “Hunley Recovery,” 2016, 3.
“Hunley project historian”: Ragan, The Hunley, 1999, About the Author section.
“historical significance”; “worth reprinting in its entirety”: Ragan, Submarine Warfare, 1999, 51.
Ragan was serving on the board of directors: Lasch, Letter to Harper, 2000. Members of the Board of Directors are listed on the stationery.
Ragan altered the word in his transcription to read “men”: Ragan, Submarine Warfare, 1999, 52.
repeated the change in both of his books: The other book with the change is Ragan, The Hunley, 1999, 23.
Union troops arrested Charles Leeds: Roy, Diary, 1862, entry dated May 13, 1862.
an onsite compilation: Neyland et al., “Hunley Recovery,” 2016, xxii.
“local rumor”: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 426.
sunk their boat before heading: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902; Alexander, “Torpedo Boat Hunley,” 1902.
“impracticable”: Buchanan, Letter to Mallory, 1863.
“The boats used by the Navy”: Quoted in Gruse-Harris, Great Lakes’ Submarine, 1982, 24, with original letter cited as Graham, Letter to Phillips, 1852.
hammered out of multiple wrought-iron plates: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
had no knowledge of the submersible boats: Baird, “Submarine Torpedo Boats,” 1902.
originally designed to tow a torpedo: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
spar attached to her bow: Beauregard, “Torpedo Service,” 1878.
like Robert Fulton’s submarine Nautilus: Swinfield, Sea Devils, 2014, 33.
submarine finally managed to impress: Buchanan, Letter to Tucker, 1863.
never carried the label “CSS”: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 75.
approached her operations in Charleston: Clingman, Letter to Nance, 1863.
Confederate Army lost patience: Kloeppel, Danger, 1987, 38.
public demonstrations: Stanton, “Submarines,” 1914.
Lt. John Payne stood . . . Hasker escaped for the surface: Stanton, “Submarines,” 1914; Fort, “First Submarine,” 1918.
“so swollen and so offensive”: Ruffin, Ruffin diary microfilm, 1865, entry dated October 7, 1863.
justifying the expense of extra-large sizes: Payne, Requisition, 1863.
exhumed in 1999 . . . took months to find the grave: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 300.
free, black nineteen-year-old grandson: USCB, Census entry “Absolum Williams,” 1850; Williams, Find a Grave, 1863.
custom-dimensioned coffins . . . hands of several crewmen: Stevens and Leader, “Skeletal Remains,” 2006.
Horace Hunley audaciously suggested: Hunley, Letter to Beauregard, 1863.
Hunley decided it was his turn . . . bash his way through the hatch door: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902; Stanton, “Submarines,” 1914; Alexander, “Torpedo Boat Hunley,” 1902.
many seem to be exaggerations and variations: Stanton, “Submarines,” 1914.
“the peripatetic coffin”: Kloeppel, Danger, 1987, 43.
“ahead of her time”: Hicks, “One-Way Mission,” 2014; FOTH, “Pump System,” 2008.
Chapter 4: The Fury Beneath the Waves
“One should not let”: von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 20.
our system of equations . . . not enough time for her to reach her final resting place: Lance, Warder, and Bass, “Lucky Shot,” 2017.
group including the Friends of the Hunley stated: NHHC, “Science Meets History,” 2017.
invented by alchemists in China: Akhavan, Chemistry of Explosives, 2011, 1.
brimstone: Holy Bible, King James Version, Isaiah 34:9.
“Carbon is at the center of it all”: Medak, Breaking Bad S02E06, 2009.
wood must be carbonized: von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 38.
“all methods of initiation”: Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996, 299.
“only takes one little spark”: von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 15.
water-filled containers: Drewes, “Last of the Breed,” 2003.
test for the quality of black powder: von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 162.
gas pressure builds: Black powder produces enough gas to fill 193 times the volume of the original solid granules. von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 144 (citing data by Bunsen and Schischkoff).
the casing containing the powder reaches its failure point: Confinement is a repeated emphasis in most publications that seek to analyze the performance of black powder. The most notable work measuring and modeling black powder in a diversity of charge configurations was performed in Ermolaev et al., “Nonideal Regimes,” 2010, where the authors managed to utilize the confinement provided by a thick-walled metal casing to coax the black powder beyond deflagration and into a proper detonation. Additional references regarding the importance of confinement include DuPont, Blasters’ Handbook, 1969; DeYong and Campanella, “Blast Characteristics,” 1989; and McIntyre and Rindner, “Pyrotechnic Test Data,” 1980. Reference NHHC, “Science Meets History,” 2017, updated on August 2, 2017, also states that “black powder’s explosive reaction is highly sensitive to confinement and grain size.”
behavior often varies substantially: Sassé, Black Powder Combustion, 1981.
a 90-plus-mile hike: Benjamin(?), “Walking Excursion,” 1844. Note: The name of the author of this handwritten document is uncertain, and based on process of elimination from discussion of other members of the walking party.
Born in 1817 in New Bern, North Carolina: UNC, Summary Sheet, 1993.
“a primitive wilderness”: Unknown, “Rains No. 1113,” 1898.
promotion after promotion . . . the land mine: Waters, “Deception,” 1989, 32.
“the quiet and monotony of the Engineer Corps”: Unknown, “Rains No. 1113,” 1898.
became known for writing letters: Rains, “Artillery Circular,” 1843.
a placid appointment back at West Point: Unknown, “Rains No. 1113,” 1898.
he immediately clamored: Unknown, “Rains No. 1113,” 1898; Rains, Letter to Blifs, 1846.
“Give my love”: Rains, Letter to Gabriel Rains, 1847.
stockpiled at most a few months’ supply: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 1.
1.2 million kegs . . . 13 lived in the South: du Pont, Census, 1860.
not one former powder-making employee: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 5.
“appalling”: Ibid., 1.
Rains brothers had already left: Unknown, “Rains No. 1113,” 1898; Waters, “Deception,” 1989, 32.
“the Bomb Brothers”: Robbins, “Bomb Brothers,” 2002.
never made black powder before . . . “carte blanche”: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 2.
before he received his official commission . . . save time while on his quest: Rains, “Rains’s Appeal,” n.d.
publication by the Waltham Abbey Gunpowder Works: Baddeley, Manufacture of Gunpowder, 1857.
former employee of Waltham Abbey named Frederick Wright: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 5.
a strategic, militarily defensible spot . . . with all the powder it could ever need: Bragg et al., Want of Powder, 2007, 45, 235; Rains, “Rains’s Appeal,” n.d.
Rains designed his factory to explode: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 17–18.
“so that but slight resistance”: Ibid., 17.
his mills only ever saw 3: Ibid., 18.
“vibrated the air” . . . “the sentinel was killed by the shock”: Ibid., 20.
cottonwood and willow trees: Gorgas, Letter to Rains, 1861.
texts on black powder manufacture: Wilson, “Differing Charcoal Types,” 1995; von Maltitz, Black Powder Manufacturing, 2003, 42.
cottonwood worked just as well: Rains, Memorandum, ca. 1880.
the modern data support his statements: Wilson, “Differing Charcoal Types,” 1995.
potassium nitrate was a constant concern: Pratt, Letter to Rains, 1861–1864.
a normal by-product of decomposition: Cressy, Saltpeter, 2013, 16.
“the individual who makes a pound”: Rains, Making Saltpeter, 1861, 1.
long-term plan for potassium nitrate: Bragg et al., Want of Powder, 2007, 9.
performance should have been unparalleled in its time: Some historians have pointed out that Confederate soldiers often complained about the quality of their powder by stating that their bullets did not fly far enough (O’Flynn, Confederate Gunpowder, 1996). However, an equal number of Union soldiers made similar complaints. (See the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, available and searchable online through multiple repositories.) It seems that the most likely explanation might be that soldiers in combat, on both sides, frequently yearn for more effective firepower.
35 cents per pound: Rains, Making Saltpeter, 1861, 1.
almost 22,000 pounds of powder: Milgram and Gentieu, Rains, 1961.
“as abundant as blueberries”: Waters, “Deception,” 1989.
Chapter 5: Anatomy of an Explosion
“Every day we walked into the city”: Hayman et al., “Kurt Vonnegut,” 1977.
“reduced mainly to small fragments” . . . “His body was not otherwise disturbed”: Rains, “Powder Works Address,” 1882, 20.
injuries from an explosion are neatly categorized: Zuckerman, “Blast Injuries,” 1941.
to understand how a shock wave is born: Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996, 167–72.
sound moves at roughly 1,540 meters per second: Segal, Likoff, and Kingsley, “Echocardiography,” 1966.
a measly 30 meters per second: Goncharoff, Jacobs, and Cugell, “Wideband Transmission,” 1989.
“the hot chocolate effect”: Crawford, “Hot Chocolate,” 1982.
This process is called spalling: This is a simplified explanation of how spalling occurs. For a more thorough explanation, please see Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996, 242.
intestines have a higher threshold for injury: Cripps and Cooper, “Distribution of Gut Injury,” 1996; Lance et al., “Injury Criteria,” 2015.
fragile archways around the sinus cavities: Petri et al., “Fatalities,” 2001; Dussault, Smith, and Osselton, “Blast and Human Skeleton,” 2014.
traumatic brain injuries: For more on this subject, please see Kleiven, “Most Traumatic Brain Injuries,” 2013; Gennarelli et al., “Directional Dependence,” 1987; and Rafaels et al., “Brain Injury Risk,” 2012.
Fatalities from primary blast occur at lower pressures: Panzer et al., “Primary Blast Survival,” 2012.
common for blast victims to be found dead: Friedrich, Brandstätten, 2003, 130. Note: The author cited, Jörg Friedrich, is considered controversial. He lived through many of the bombings as a child in Germany, and he has engendered controversy by comparing the atrocities he experienced under the shells of the Allies to the atrocities perpetrated by the German military during the Holocaust. The citations provided to his research are in no way meant to endorse or support this stance. Friedrich did an exceptional job collecting and publishing other primary-source accounts of the blasts besides his own, and for this reason alone his work is used as a reference herein.
100 percent fatality rate: Panzer et al., “Primary Blast Survival,” 2012.
1 square meter of surface area: Haycock, Schwartz, and Wisotsky, “Body Surface Area,” 1978.
person a maximum of 0.2 meters: This calculation was performed using basic kinematic equations and integrating force over time by assuming an ideal Friedlander wave. The Friedlander equation describes the shape of the pressure curve as a function of time. Please see Dewey, “Shape of Blast Wave,” 2010.
no skeletal damage from the primary trauma . . . on the surfaces of their brains: Panzer et al., “Primary Blast Survival,” 2012; Dussault, Hanson, and Smith, “Blast Injury Prevalence,” 2017.
Operation Plumbbob: Taborelli, Bowen, and Fletcher, “Operation Plumbbob,” 1959.
“signature wound”: Snell and Halter, “Signature Wound,” 2010.
Graham Cooper and Susana Mellor, began to track the patterns of the cases: Mellor and Cooper, “Analysis of Servicemen,” 1989.
Cooper was able to set up an experiment: Cooper et al., “Role of Stress Waves,” 1991.
eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in 1883: Winchester, Krakatoa, 2003, 247, 260, 267.
soldiers wearing body armor were at higher risk: Cooper et al., “Role of Stress Waves,” 1991.
Kevlar protects the lungs: Wood et al., “Attenuation,” 2013.
invented by chemist Stephanie Kwolek: Rothman, “Kwolek,” 2014.
maximum in less than 2 milliseconds: Richmond et al., “Response of Mammals,” 1968; Richmond and White, Biological Effects, 1966.
a controlled detonation: Johnson et al., “Blast Overpressure Studies,” 1993.
just outside a train station bunker: Friedrich, The Fire, 2008, 447.
the same pattern was revealed: Leibovici et al., “Blast Injuries: Bus,” 1996; Singleton et al., “Primary Blast Lung Injury,” 2013.
this scenario also warranted scientific testing: Champion, Holcomb, and Young, “Injuries from Explosions,” 2009.
roughly a thousand times higher pressures: Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996.
more than double the limit . . . 4 percent chance of serious blast lung injury: Panzer et al., “Primary Blast Survival,” 2012.
the physics to describe black powder: Examples of people trying to model blackpowder behavior include Ermolaev et al., “Nonideal Regimes,” 2010; Kosanke and Kosanke, “Pyrotechnic Burn Rate,” 2003; Napadensky and Swatosh, “TNT Equivalency,” 1972; O’Flynn, Confederate Gunpowder, 1996; Sassé, Black Powder Combustion, 1981; and Wilson, “Differing Charcoal Types,” 1995.
“water rocket” . . . Bayou St. John: Roy, Diary, 1862, entry dated January 16, 1862.
“part of his head”: Unknown, “The City,” 1862.
Mrs. E. H. Baker: Pinkerton wrote about Mrs. E. H. Baker and the details of her espionage in his 1883 memoir of the Civil War, called Spy of the Rebellion. The information she provided about the submarine, he claimed, was used to foil other attacks. It is difficult to validate this claim against any specific historical records, possibly because unsuccessful attacks were not as well recorded. Some of his information seems reliable; the design of the torpedo is generally consistent with the construction of the Hunley’s charge. The torpedo in the story was triggered using a long, coiled wire, and such a wire was found inside the Hunley’s recovered hull. While the recovered wire does not seem to have been used to trigger the torpedo used in the attack on the Housatonic, the Friends of the Hunley have stated that the wire was possibly used to trigger earlier torpedo designs (FOTH, “Electrically Detonated,” 2005). The prototype submarine observed by Mrs. Baker carried two or three men, and the test took place in November 1861, around the same time McClintock, Watson, and Hunley separately began their testing of the two-man vessels they were building in New Orleans.
not in any of Allan Pinkerton’s corporate records . . . None of his known female spies used the alias Baker: Pinkerton, Agency Records, 1853–1999.
Pinkerton writes affectionately about Atwater: Pinkerton, Spy, 1883, 396–97.
“The names of any employees”: Pinkerton, Letter to Watson, 1862.
detailed billing documents: Pinkerton, Billing ledgers, 1862, all ledgers searched dated 1862 (earliest available) to 1865.
two Atwaters seem to have reached the rank of captain: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004.
near Richmond at the time: Croom, Company “C,” 1879, 12.
but his wife died just before: Atwater, Souvenir History, 1919, 232–33.
“a man of strong convictions” . . . “hated all manner of shams”: Atwater, Ibid.
experimental boats and spar torpedoes were taken . . . made it safely back to shore: USG, War of the Rebellion, 1890.
“final disposition”: Unknown, “Torpedo Inventor,” 1863.
Placing the torpedo beneath: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 20.
David had a spar: USG, War of the Rebellion, 1890, 734.
bomb underwater causes a bubble of gas to form: Cole, Underwater Explosions, 1948.
experimenters of the Confederacy learned the technique: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 20.
high density of the water . . . had occurred in air: Arons, “Shock Wave Parameters,” 1954; Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996, 409.
Objects near the surface are less vulnerable: In summary, the interface between the air and the water reflects a wave of negative pressure back down into the water. This wave of negative pressure helps alleviate the positive pressure of the blast. For a comprehensive explanation, please see Cole, Underwater Explosions, 1948.
400 yards away: Buchanan, Letter to Tucker, 1863.
Hunley carried a much larger charge: FOTH, “Tale of the Torpedo,” 2014.
Chapter 6: Preparations
“I know damn well”: Jahren, Lab Girl, 2016, 20.
G. I. Taylor performed one of the most famous examples of blast scaling: Deakin, “Trinity Test,” 2011. Note: To understand the math behind proper scaling of experiments, start first with Buckingham’s Pi theorem and dimensional analysis. A thorough review of these topics should be available in most fluid-mechanics textbooks. Useful references specifically relevant to explosions are Chen et al., “Response of Scaled Model,” 2009; Collette and Sielski, “Fluid Structure Interaction,” 2017; Grujicic, Snipes, and Chandrasekharan, “Blast-Mitigation Effects,” 2013; Kambouchev, Noels, and Radovitzky, “Nonlinear Compressibility,” 2006; Kambouchev, Noels, and Radovitzky, “Numerical Simulation,” 2007; Kambouchev, Radovitzky, and Noels, “Fluid-Structure Interaction,” 2007; NCRE, Scaling Laws, 1948; Neuberger, Peles, and Rittel, “Scaling Response,” 2007; Ramu, Raja, and Rhyla, “Similitude,” 2013; Taylor, “Pressure and Impulse,” 1963. For the scaling analysis specifically related to the Hunley project tests, please see the academic publication of the results, Lance et al., “Air Blast Injuries,” 2017.
“ghastly,” . . . “the blackened faces” . . . “contorted into all kinds”: Beauregard, “Torpedo Service,” 1878.
fish are surprisingly robust: Yelverton and Richmond, “Explosion Risk for Fish,” 1981.
safely lodged on Sullivan’s Island: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 170.
strong, outgoing flow: Parks, “Another Death,” 2009.
“Breach is notorious for drownings”: Petersen, “Treacherous Tides,” 2014.
Edmund Ruffin frequently traveled: Ruffin, Ruffin diary microfilm, 1865, entries dated October 12, 1863; November 13, 1863; December 3, 1863; December 6, 1863.
dropped nets and spars in the water to block: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902; Rowan, Instructions from Rowan, 1890; Scharf, History of the CSN, 1887, 760.
on the unguarded vessel: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902; Beauregard, “Torpedo Service,” 1878, 154.
similar to wrought iron in the material properties: The material parameters determined to be the most critical (percent differences in the values between mild steel and wrought iron in parenthesis) were density (2.0%), speed of sound (-0.1%), impedance (2.1%), modulus of elasticity (7.1%), and bulk modulus (-0.6%). For parameter values and citations see Lance et al., “Air Blast Injuries,” 2017.
describes how cylinders respond: Hoo Fatt, “Rigid-Plastic Deformations,” 1997; Hoo Fatt et al., “Rigid-Plastic Approximations,” 1996.
at least two hours a day: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
trigger used in the Singer’s design: Bell, Heavy Explosive Ordnance, 2003, 487, 490; Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 25–26, 44–45.
the technical diagram in the National Archives: Gillmore, Letters and Drawings, 1865–1867.
“the boat was brought to the wharf”: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 15.
“making & managing”: Ibid., 15, 25–26.
technical drawing of the pressure trigger designed by Gray: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 25–26.
Chapter 7: Apple Pie Without Apples
“The great obstacle everywhere”: Lee, Letter to Longstreet, 1864.
Archaeologist Maria Jacobsen crouched awkwardly: Martin and Case, “Secret Weapon,” 2011.
the same month as Dixon’s wound: Vander Hook, Louis Pasteur, 2011.
over 620,000 soldiers died: ABT, battlefields.org, 2018; Faust, Republic of Suffering, 2009, xi.
two-thirds of the fatalities: Faust, Republic of Suffering, 2009, 4.
amputations performed within twenty-four hours . . . two minutes per amputation: Reilly, “Civil War Surgical Care,” 2016.
femur of the skeleton: FOTH, “Dixon,” 2004.
historians have begun to question: Chaffin, H. L. Hunley, 2008, 235–37.
different plants perform this act differently . . . warmer climates like the American South: Bartelink et al., “Stable Isotope Forensics,” 2014.
results of the carbon analysis: FOTH, “Profile: Becker,” 2004; FOTH, “Profile: Dixon,” 2004; FOTH, “Becker,” 2004; FOTH, “Dixon,” 2004; FOTH, “Lumpkin,” 2004; FOTH, “Ridgaway,” 2004; FOTH, “Collins,” 2004; FOTH, “Miller,” 2004; FOTH, “Carlsen,” 2004; FOTH, “Wicks,” 2004; Walker, Secrets, 2005, 89.
in the mud by the fourth crank handle: FOTH, “Collins,” 2004; FOTH, “Carlsen,” 2004.
tailor’s notch: Ubelaker and Bubniak-Jones, “Human Remains,” 2003.
historical documents listing the Hunley’s crew: M. M. Gray, Letter to Maury, 1865.
process of elimination identified him as J. F. Carlsen: Walker, Secrets, 2005, 94, 100.
“Hi, I work as an archivist”: Kronegh, Untitled email, 2018.
Johan Frederick Carlsen: DSA, Lægdsrulle, 1850–1870.
listed as a seaman in the 1860 census: DSA, Folketælling, 1860.
Seaman Carlsen had served aboard . . . by its English translation: Kronegh, “Den ukendte Dansker,” 2015; DSA, Lægdsrulle, 1850–1870.
took a spot on the privateer Jefferson Davis: FOTH, “Carlsen,” 2004.
a black-hulled ship that until recently: McPherson, War on the Waters, 2012, 21.
possible that the new market for privateers: Ibid.; Scharf, History of the CSN, 1887, 79–80.
the Jefferson Davis eked past: Tucker, Blue & Gray Navies, 2013, ch. 3.
Carlsen followed his captain back to Charleston: FOTH, “Carlsen,” 2004.
the records of the foundered Jefferson Davis: Kronegh, “Den ukendte Dansker,” 2015.
high-ranking officers and officials even packed lunches . . . Confederate victory had reassured the South: Davis, Bull Run, 2012.
asking for a voluntary one-year commitment: Moore, Conscription and Conflict, 1924, 1.
Conscription Act, the first compulsory draft: Ibid., 12–13.
“secure the proper police of the country”: CSA, Public Laws, 1862–1864, 79.
“horrible insurrection”: Pvt. Charles Terrill, 2nd Georgia, quoted in Noe, Reluctant Rebels, 2010, 47.
estimates of 50,000 to 150,000 substitutes serving: Mehrländer, Germans of Charleston, 2011, 154.
led many to speculate: Sacher, “Disagreeable Business,” 2007.
substitution was also allowed beginning October 1861: Moore, Conscription and Conflict, 1924, 27.
German immigrant Frederick Scheuber: Sacher, “Disagreeable Business,” 2007.
Johan Carlsen also signed up as a substitute: Mehrländer, Germans of Charleston, 2011, 343.
draftee would have had to accompany . . . accepted the swap: Ibid., 153.
the rank of corporal: Ibid., 343.
stationed at Fort Moultrie: Coker, Port Royal, 2009.
were unable to continue: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
Carlsen was assigned the seat: FOTH, “Carlsen,” 2004.
a known volunteer from the crew: FOTH, “Becker,” 2004.
in the pay logbooks: CSN, “Special Expedition Pay,” 1863.
“harsh physical activity”: FOTH, “Miller,” 2004.
multiple healed fractures: Walker, Secrets, 2005, 100.
off the decks of the CSS Indian Chief: Alexander, “Torpedo Boat Hunley,” 1902; Jacobsen, “H.L. Hunley Project,” 2005.
all except Becker are listed in the official pay records: CSN, “Special Expedition Pay,” 1863; CSN, “CSS Chicora Pay,” 1863. Note: Dixon’s salary is not listed in these logbooks. However, the salaries of officers Charles H. Hasker and John A. Payne, both of whom survived the first sinking of the Hunley, are listed at their new duty stations on the CSS Chicora. Both men earned $1,500 per year, a number that was common for low-to-middle-ranking officers in this type of duty (CSN, “CSS Chicora Pay,” 1863).
James A. Wicks: FOTH, “Wicks,” 2004.
repeated mentions of the relentless ice and sleet: e.g., Wescoat, Diary, 1863–1864, multiple entries dated December 1863–January 1864.
requested that they send him his heavy winter coat: Bates, Correspondence, 1862–1865, letters dated July 30, August 15, and October 14, 1864.
average of 50 degrees Fahrenheit: NOAA, Temperature Table, 2018.
death from hypothermia in less than two hours: Giesbrecht and Wilkerson, Cold Injuries, 2006, 62.
about 460 watts per person: Åstrand and Rodahl, Work Physiology, 1977, 403.
h is about equal to 10: Laguerre et al., “Numerical Simulation,” 2007.
up to the range of 100,000: Kakaç and Yener, Heat Transfer, 1994, 18.
59 W/m*K for wrought iron: Theodore, Heat Transfer, 2011, 68.
When James Wicks climbed: FOTH, “Wicks,” 2004.
city of Charleston and its harbor therefore: Wise, Gate of Hell, 1994, 23, 25.
geography made it resistant to an assault by land: Gillmore, Letters and Drawings, 1865–1867.
“battered and crumbled almost to shapelessness”: Spicer, Flag on Sumter, 1885, 23.
“Swamp Angel”: Wise, Gate of Hell, 1994, 148–50.
Evacuate Fort Sumter: Ibid., 169–70.
third of the downtown had been destroyed by a fire: Spicer, “Diary,” 1865.
estimated 13,000 shells rained down: Spicer, Flag on Sumter, 1885.
the bells and sirens of Charleston’s fire department: Wise, Gate of Hell, 1994, 170.
Those who could evacuate did: Jaques, Letter to Jute, 1863–1865; Unknown, “Non-Combatants,” 1863.
“They like the rest of us are refugees”: Wescoat, Diary, 1863–1864, entry dated August 10, 1864.
“Early this morning the whole village”: Ibid., entry dated July 10, 1863.
“We can hear the roar of the artillery”: Ibid., entry dated July 11, 1863.
“The enemies gun”: Greenhow, Letter to Boteler, 1864.
“The rapidity of the cannonade while I write”: Emery, Letter, 1862.
Dixon himself stated that by February: Dixon, Letter to Cothran, 1864.
even the supplies of paper: Emery, Letter, 1862.
“Sundays are as plenty as there are days”: Ibid.
rebuilding favorite recipes: Richmond, West, and Johnston, Confederate Receipt Book, 1863.
often tasking slaves by the thousand: Greenhow, Letter to Davis, 1863; Wise, Gate of Hell, 1994, 58, 129–31.
“The two gun boats now building here”: Lemmons, Letter to Gaffney, 1862.
“splendid crew of men”: Dixon, Letter to Willey, 1864.
silver suspender clasps: Quinn, “Saving History,” 2008.
slowly emaciating on meager rations: FOTH, “Dixon,” 2004; Dixon, Letter to Willey, 1864.
“But there is one thing very evident”: Dixon, Letter to Willey, 1864.
Chapter 8: Pressure Trace
“My adviser had a saying”: Chen, “Six Years in Science,” 2018.
the cable equation: Hayes, “Transatlantic Cables,” 2008; Thomson, “Electric Telegraph,” 1855.
critical to the neuroscience research: Armstrong, “History of Ion Channels,” 1999.
roughly thirty-five torpedo-makers: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 6.
became masters of repurposing: Ibid., 6, 24, 26, 48, 104.
to maximize destruction: Ibid, 20.
“had passed through the gutta percha”: Ibid., 51.
charges with casings of iron: Michie, Rebel Torpedoes, 1865, 114.
churning out by the thousands: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 27–28.
“When powder was burned in a space”: Michie, Rebel Torpedoes, 1865, 109.
careful attention was paid . . . “the thicker the tin the better”: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 44–45.
used copper for torpedoes: Ibid., 48.
He famously refused to be involved: Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
“thousand and one”: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 15.
“abortions of inventive genius”: Ibid., 19.
“much danger from their proximity”: Ibid.
“safely is by detached torpedoes”: Ibid., 20.
“the secret of my great success”: Ibid.
minimum of 40 or 50 feet long: Ibid., 73.
123 infernal torpedoes: Ibid., 26.
fitted with a 16-foot spar: FOTH, “Evidence of Explosion,” 2013.
“There was no sharp report,” “I heard a report”: USN, USS Housatonic Inquiry, 1864.
waves can travel for miles underwater: Wright, “Subjective Effects,” 1947.
researchers have independently concluded: Neyland et al., “Hunley Recovery,” 2016.
8 feet below the surface of the water: Gillmore, Letters and Drawings, 1865–1867; Tomb, Notes from Papers, 1865.
Chapter 9: From the Housatonic
“This getting blown up by torpedoes”: Bates, Correspondence, 1862–1865, letter dated March 2, 1865.
“I doubt any city was ever more terribly punished”: Sherman, Official Account, 1865, 130.
2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry: Robinson, “Raid,” 1863; Grigg, Combahee River Raid, 2014.
headed straight for Charleston: Wise, Gate of Hell, 1994, 51.
estate of the deceased physician Philip Tidyman: Drake, Bill for Account, 1853.
for the slaves’ own “safe keeping”: Leiding, Historic Houses, 1921, 111.
four of Tidyman’s former slaves: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004, listed under the names William, John, Jack, and Charles Tiddeman (see note below for explanation of spelling).
Jack the correct age to be Judy’s son: Drake, Bill for Account, 1853.
he was firing at a Confederate vessel . . . happened during actual combat: Teddeman, Disapproved Pension, 1884. Note: In the pension file, William’s last name is spelled Teddeman, which is different from Philip Tidyman’s spelling. However, it can be linked to the same person because in the disapproved pension file it is specified that William was enslaved on a plantation near Charleston that had been owned by a doctor who died a few years before the war. It was common for this German last name to have many variations based on phonetic pronunciation, including Tiedeman, Teddemann, etc. The relevant dates listed in William Teddeman’s pension file align with his listing in the NPS Soldiers and Sailors database, although that database spells the last name as “Tiddeman.” The four Tiddemans in the NPS database are likely linked to one another based on commonalities between dates of enlistment, service, and location of service. I chose to use the spelling “Teddeman” because it is how the name was spelled by William’s son, who filled out the forms on behalf of his father. Therefore, it is the only version that provides any of the men or their descendants with a degree of agency in choosing a spelling.
at least forty-nine other African American men: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004.
not as prisoners of war: CSA, “Resolution 1863,” 1995.
Robert Francis Flemming had joined the Union: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004.
Housatonic had lookouts spaced evenly: Unless otherwise cited, all the details of the sinking of the USS Housatonic from the perspective of her crew are taken from their own testimonies during the exhaustive US Naval Court of Inquiry that was conducted into the event. The Court of Inquiry started a few days after the sinking, on Friday, February 26, 1864, so the memories of the crew were fresh. The handwritten transcript is preserved on microfilm at the US National Archives (Ref USN, USS Housatonic Inquiry, 1864). However, given the importance of the document, I transcribed the text and Michael Crisafulli of the Vernian Era website has been kind enough to publish it on his site so that everyone can access the full, unedited text of the document and read the verbatim testimonies of the crewmen: www.vernianera.com/Hunley/Housatonic-Inquiry.html.
Flemming was the first to notice her: Flemming is generally considered the first to spot the oncoming Hunley, but Acting Master John Crosby also spotted the submarine at a similar time.
“cold shock” response: Mekjavic, Tipton, and Eiken, Medicine of Diving, 2003, 139–41; Golden, “Immersion Hypothermia,” 1973; Tipton, “Responses to Cold-Water,” 1989.
based on the secondary blast injuries: Gough, Disapproved Pension File, 1874.
less than two hours: Suominen et al., “Near-Drowning,” 2002.
the pernicious effects of heat loss: Golden, “Immersion Hypothermia,” 1973.
until about forty-five minutes after the blast . . . safety of the larger ship: Green, Report to Rowan, 1865.
“frantic signaling”: McLaurin, “Confederate Twins,” 1925.
founded the Ordnance Department: Peterson and Dahlgren, Admiral Dahlgren, 1945.
blue light was the signal that George Dixon planned to send: Cardozo, Reminiscences, 1866, 124.
people felt they knew: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 401.
Green settled a massive hullabaloo: Green, Varied Letters, 1863–1864, letters dated March 15, 1863, through March 17, 1863.
Union protocol upon seeing a craft without the proper signals . . . “Flash a white light”: Green, Memorandum, 1863.
disability pension: Gough, Disapproved Pension File, 1874.
Secondary trauma is the most common injury type: Dussault, Smith, and Osselton, “Blast and Human Skeleton,” 2014.
treated by a physician once safely on board the Canandaigua . . . “claimant is not incapacitated”: Gough, Disapproved Pension File, 1874.
to continue his service on the USS Wabash: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004.
headstone now rests there: Flemming, Find a Grave, 1919.
Teddeman served on the USS Canandaigua . . . slightly older than Charles: NPS, Soldiers and Sailors, 2004, last names spelled “Tiddeman” (see note above for explanation of spellings).
assigned a new command on the USS Vanderbilt: Hamersly, Records of Officers, 1870; USCB, Census entry “Charles Pickering,” 1860, 83.
returned home to New Hampshire: Pickering, Pension Application, 1888; USCB, Census entry “Charles Pickering,” 1860.
insider information on the happenings: Bates, Correspondence, 1862–1865, letter dated May 15 (no year).
wrote to his father all he knew about the attack: Ibid., letter dated July 9, 1864.
careful, specific insight: Ibid., letter dated May 15 (no year).
faithfully reported all he knew about the attack: Ibid., (letter not dated). Note: Adna Bates also misreports the speed of the Hunley, citing a dramatic 8 knots that would have had her traveling from the first sighting to the explosion in less than seventeen seconds.
“blown to atoms”: Ibid., letter dated March 2, 1865.
Chapter 10: The Blast
“One submariner compared the shock wave”: Sturma, The USS Flier, 2009, 50–51.
“The signals agreed upon to be given”: Dantzler, Report to Wilson, 1864.
a small light near the wreck site: Lance, Warder, and Bass, “Lucky Shot,” 2017.
the moon, for example, takes up 0.52 degrees: Wolfe et al., Sensation & Perception, 2018.
only a sliver of the vessel: USN, USS Housatonic Inquiry, 1864; Alexander, “True Stories,” 1902.
Original recipes contained zinc: Gray, Operative Chemist, 1828, 499.
white balls of saltpeter and sulfur: USA, Ordnance Manual, 1862, 307–8.
at most about 3 meters wide: Modern Civil War enthusiasts have reconstructed the chemical mixture and used it in demonstrations, allowing measurement of the luminous power of the signal (Rucker, “Making Blue Light,” 2011). Conservatively, the bright part of the signal is usually about 1.5 meters in diameter, with at most about 3 meters between the very outside edges of the dimmest parts of the beam of light. Three meters is still only one-quarter the length of the Hunley, therefore one-twentieth the width of the moon.
“The officer in command told Lt. Col. Dantzler”: Cardozo, Reminiscences, 1866, 124–25.
25 pounds will blow the roof off a house: Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 34.
Water gets in: If a ship is directly over the charge when it explodes, it can also be destroyed by the gas bubble produced by the bomb, which travels upward while pulsating. The destructive power of this gas bubble is extreme. Underwater surfaces can also be damaged by something called a water jet when the explosion occurs nearby. For further information, please see Cole, Underwater Explosions, 1948, and Kedrinskii, Hydrodynamics of Explosion, 2005.
he suspended steel plates of varying thicknesses: Taylor, “Pressure and Impulse,” 1963.
digital slabs of material: Grujicic, Snipes, and Chandrasekharan, “Blast-Mitigation Effects,” 2013.
wave propagating inside the body of an armored vehicle: Champion, Holcomb, and Young, “Injuries from Explosions,” 2009.
24,200 pounds per square inch: du Pont, Papers, 1885.
“US Navy testing of a full-sized black powder charge”: Lance et al., “Air Blast Injuries,” 2017; Harris et al., “Output of Black Powder,” 2016.
affected by the angle of the blast: Reid, “Response of Surface Ships,” 1996.
more than 12,000 data points: Panzer et al., “Primary Blast Survival,” 2012.
inner hull of a typical World War II submarine: Friedman, Submarines Through 1945, 1995, 208.
inside a range of about 100 feet: Rowland and Boyd, Bureau of Ordnance, 1953.
transmission of a measly 0.180 percent: The calculated βs value is 1,589, for those who have read the academic publication about this study. ρP=174, ti=0.004 s, ρs=1000 kg/m3, Us=1540 m/s.
“deafening,” “abominable,” “ear-shattering”: Werner, Iron Coffins, 2002, 32, 33, 45, respectively.
“someone hitting the hull with a million sledgehammers”: Kershaw, Escape from the Deep, 2010, 4.
onboard lightbulbs and other glass items: Ibid., 4; Werner, Iron Coffins, 2002, 45.
papers and records of Union officer Quincy Adams Gillmore: Gillmore, Letters and Drawings, 1865–1867.
“Singer’s torpedo”: Bell, Heavy Explosive Ordnance, 2003, 487, 490; Rains, Torpedo Book, ca. 1870, 44–45; Sleeman, Torpedoes, 1880, 19–20.
Union-compiled book now resting in the National Archives: USN, Torpedoes, 1860–1865.
“submerged and slumbering thunderbolt”: Unknown, “Letter from Charleston,” 1863.
ink he made himself: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 3, 1977, entry dated July 15, 1863.
After all, he had helped start it: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 1, 1977.
increasingly toothless face: repeated entries in Ruffin, Diary, vol. 2, 1977, and Ruffin, Diary, vol. 3, 1977, e.g. entry dated July 20, 1861.
“highly appreciated compliment”: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 1, 1977, entry dated April 12, 1861.
He was given a uniform and permitted to stand: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 1, 1977, entries October 1859.
proven to be largely correct: For assessment of accuracy, please see the footnotes in the transcribed volumes, Ruffin, Diary, vol. 2, 1977; Ruffin, Diary, vol. 1, 1977; Ruffin, Diary, vol. 3, 1977.
provided him with a personal letter: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 3, 1977, entry dated September 24, 1863.
observe and document were the submarine HL Hunley: Ruffin, Ruffin diary microfilm, 1865: entry dated October 12, 1863.
“The torpedoes will also strike lower”: Ibid., entry dated December 3, 1863.
would yield 8,816 kilopascals: To show the details of some of the math here . . . The weight of the black powder charge used by the US Navy was not cleared for public release. However, a graph published by the Naval History and Heritage Command on their website shows the pressure trace from one experiment along with the time scale of that experiment. Using the information from the time scale along with a little bit of knowledge about blast physics makes it possible to back-calculate the charge weight at about 144 pounds, slightly larger than the charge from the Gillmore drawing. Using this charge weight, 0.114 was the TNT RE for the peak pressure that was at the location most relevant to the Hunley. Applying that RE of 0.114 to a 200-pound charge results in 8,601 kPa in the water at the same location outside the hull, and 138 kPa inside the vessel (chances are 98 percent for injury, 37 percent for fatality), a negligible difference from the pressures calculated by directly using the similitude equations. For information on similitude, see Cole, Underwater Explosions, 1948; Arons, “Shock Wave Parameters,” 1954.
oppressive “Yankee rule”: Ruffin, Diary, vol. 3, 1977, entry dated June 18, 1865.
an unrefined and imperfect yardstick for many reasons: RE values often vary a lot, including based on the exact test methods used to measure them. In addition, an explosive will usually have different RE values depending on exactly what parameter you want to measure. For example, many explosives have a different RE value if you are measuring the peak pressures of the shock wave than if you are measuring the total energy released by the explosion.
cluster just above 0.40: Cooper, Explosives Engineering, 1996; Napadensky and Swatosh, “TNT Equivalency,” 1972; Crocker, Acoustics, 1998.
a 46 percent chance of death: Rafaels et al., “Brain Injury Risk,” 2012.
leaves the skull and the structure of the brain intact: Cernak and Noble-Haeusslein, “Traumatic Brain Injury,” 2009.
the brains had patterns of diffuse staining: Martin and Case, “Secret Weapon,” 2011.
Chapter 11: February 17, 1864
Note: Citations are not provided again for the facts in the narrative of this chapter if they have been provided earlier in the book.
“Think of the destruction”: Unnamed reporter, quoted in Beauregard, “Torpedo Service,” 1878.
“the most bombarded mainland city”: Wilkinson, “Siege of Charleston,” 2011.
six-foot-one Virginian Frank Collins: FOTH, “Collins,” 2004.
arthritic Lumpkin at the second handle: FOTH, “Lumpkin,” 2004.
a hard life of physical activity: FOTH, “Becker,” 2004.
Joseph Ridgaway at crank location seven: FOTH, “Ridgaway,” 2004.
tucked their canteens of water under the bench: FOTH, “Excavation Continues,” 2001.
was in his mid-twenties: FOTH, “Dixon,” 2004.
crew knew all about the previous sinkings: Beauregard, “Torpedo Service,” 1878.
had timed their departure with the outgoing tide: Lance, Warder, and Bass, “Lucky Shot,” 2017.
locking the hands forever at 8:23: The hands of Dixon’s watch stopped at 8:23 p.m. (FOTH, “Pocket Watch,” 2007). However, because the Union and Confederacy kept time differently, this was equal to 8:53 p.m. according to the Union method. The Housatonic crew reported the attack occurred between 8:45 and 9:00 p.m. (USN, USS Housatonic Inquiry, 1864).
entered a state of shock: Frykberg and Tepas III, “Terrorist Bombings,” 1988.
Epilogue
“Undoubtedly the concussion produced”: Unknown, “Torpedo Device,” 1877.
a prowling German U-boat: Wynn, Gravesend, 2016, 27
began one by one to pledge their loyalty: Unknown, “Beauregard,” 1876.
replete with the ravaged, sunken hulks: Willenbucher and Krebs, Map of Harbor, 1865.
By 1870 hard-hat divers touched . . . could be sold at auction: Unknown, “Down in the Depths,” 1870.
corked bottle of wine: Unknown, “Relics,” 1870.
“in grim dead lock”: Unknown, “Submarine Boat,” 1886.
got the distance between the wrecks wrong: e.g., Unknown, “Housatonic,” 1871; Unknown, “Torpedo Device,” 1877.
visibility was only a few feet: Unknown, “Housatonic,” 1871.
littered with unlabeled marker buoys: Ibid.
one near the final location of the submarine: Unknown, Housatonic, states, “The government has a buoy planted about three hundred yards east south-east of the [Housatonic],” which is an accurate description of the location of the Hunley.
“now uppermost”: Unknown, “Housatonic,” 1871.
bow was pointing back toward the wreck: Unknown, “Braved the Deep,” 1890.
“all of her men were at their stations”: Unknown, “Sold for Junk,” 1901a.
mouth of Charleston Harbor was opened and deepened: Lance, Warder, and Bass, “Lucky Shot,” 2017.
the rapid change in topography: Credit for this theory goes to Mark Hansen of the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
archaeologist and diver E. Lee Spence: Faust, “Hunley Remains Found,” 1975.
over 3 nautical miles from land: Lance, Warder, and Bass, “Lucky Shot,” 2017.
“part of our national heritage”: Spence, Letter to Gladding, 1974.
Thurmond was heavily involved: Board, Museum Proposal, 1971.
Spence thought this museum would be a suitable location: Kossler, Letter to Spence, 1974.
He began to write letters: Spence, Letter to Gladding, 1974, Thurmond copied.
received enthusiastic permissions: Kossler, Letter to Spence, 1974; Gaillard, Letter to Spence, 1974; Nelson, Letter to Spence, 1974.
a map depicting the broad area: Spence, Letter to Nelson, 1974.
location that would eventually be verified: 32 degrees, 43 minutes, 15.01 seconds latitude; 79 degrees, 46 minutes, 28.81 second longitude; from Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 227.
wrote back vaguely . . . “internal requirements”: Gladding, Letter to Spence, 1974.
“holding in abeyance the issuance”: Herman and Valentic, Letter to Spence, 1974.
He began writing to the GSA in January: Spence, Letter to Gladding, 1974.
by September they had changed their minds: Herman and Valentic, Letter to Spence, 1974.
the famous ironclad USS Monitor: Unknown, “Monitor Found,” 1974.
Clive Cussler’s announcement to the media: Reuters, “Rebels’ Sub,” 1995.
GSA . . . quickly passed control: Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995, 5.
designated himself the submarine’s fiercest advocate: McConnell, Letter to Clanton, 1995; McConnell, Letter to Thurmond, May 24, 1995.
assembled the Hunley Commission: McConnell et al., Bill S. 844, 1995; Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995.
“be as aggressive as possible”: Ernest L. Passailaigue Jr., quoted in ibid., 6.
“control of this piece of southern history”: Richard M. Quinn Jr., quoted in ibid.
quashing language in a federal bill: Thurmond, “Strike Language,” 1995.
With them in the meeting: McConnell, Letter to Dudley, 1995; Richardson, Schedule, October 24, 1995.
polite but noncommittal language: Attorney John Hazzard was “asked to create a list of memoranda which evidence an attempt by the Department of the Navy to circumvent the Hunley Commission” and responded with an itemized list of these actions in Hazzard, Second Letter to Short, 1995.
all parties agreed unanimously: Hunley Commission, Minutes, December 12, 1995; Honigman, Letter to McConnell, 1995.
an hour and a half budgeted: Richardson, Schedule, October 24, 1995.
provided the Dalai Lama with only minutes: Richardson, Week at a Glance, 1995.
at least one aide in the meeting taking notes: Hunley Commission, Minutes, December 12, 1995, 2: “Representative [Harry M.] Hallman continued that he thought the two groups had an agreeable meeting in Washington. It is his belief that ‘everyone has someone he answers to’ and with that he made the motion that Chairman McConnell contact Senator Thurmond, Senator Hollings, and Congressman Spence, and have the three of them review the notes which were taken by Senator Thurmond’s people during the meeting in Washington.”
“blackmail”: Hicks, Sea of Darkness, 2015, 225.
procurement budget for the Department of Defense: Thurmond, “Opposition to Divert Funding,” 1995.
Thurmond had taken to the Senate floor: E.g., Thurmond, Bumpers Amendment, 1995; Thurmond, Kohl Amendment, 1995; Thurmond, S 1026, 1995.
Hunley Commission had hatched a plan . . . Spence signed over all of his rights: Hunley Commission, Minutes, September 14, 1995; Hunley Commission, Minutes, October 11, 1995.
he should be excluded: “Mr. Hazzard and I have no problem with Mr. Lindehan’s request that Dr. Spence and Mr. Newel have no role other than to visit.” McConnell, Letter to Dudley, 1996.
still resides with the US Navy: Dudley et al., “Management Agreement,” 1996.
control over the display: McConnell, Letter to Shelby, 1995.
“proper exhibition”: Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995, 8.
“and interpretation”: Dudley, Memo to Horne, October 27, 1995. Memo reads: “McConnell’s principal concerns were that: . . . the state be able to interpret the submarine, when displayed, as the commission feels is appropriate.”
legal ownership a secondary issue: McConnell, Letter to Shelby, 1995; Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995, 2.
changing currents of American political correctness: Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995; McConnell, Letter to Shelby, 1995.
people were already protesting the Confederate battle flag: Tanner, “Leaders Protest,” 1995.
“expressed his concern that 10 or 15 years”: Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995, 7.
“the War Between the States”: E.g., Hunley Commission, Minutes, August 2, 1995, 2; Hunley Commission, Minutes, October 11, 1995, 6, 14; Hunley Commission, Transcript, August 6, 1996.
proverbially buried by controversy: Unknown, “Enola Gay,” 2016.
“expressed his strong feelings”: Hunley Commission, Minutes, October 11, 1995, 3.
Smithsonian was a leading candidate: Pugliese, Letter to Thurmond, 1995.
“minority employee”: A full citation for this article unfortunately could not be located. However, the title was “Battle Flag Flap Forces Apology from Navy,” by the Associated Press. It would have been published shortly before the writing of the below-cited letter in 1995.
“control over the presentation of the Hunley”: Hazzard, Letter to Short, 1995.
commission resisted these arrangements vehemently: McConnell, Letter to Honigman, 1996; final agreement, Dudley et al., “Management Agreement,” 1996 compared with previous revisions.
final contract provides for . . . when making their final decision: Dudley et al., “Management Agreement,” 1996, 8: “If the objection cannot be resolved through consultation, the Hunley Commission will take the views of the other parties into account in rendering a final decision on the issue.”
July 2000, South Carolina lowered: Baca, “Vanishing Symbols,” 2000.
a facility owned by Clemson: clemson.edu/centers-institutes/conservation/, last accessed April 26, 2019.
based out of the same building: Address at 1250 North Supply Street, North Charleston, hunley.org/about-us/, last accessed April 26, 2019.
a feasible safety device that could save the lives: Lance et al., “Dewey Monitor,” 2017.