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4)
PLANS FOR ANOTHER SECRET SUBMARINE INTERCEPTED BY THE YANKEES
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-----Original Message-----
From: Peter & Bev Robbins [mailto:peterobbins98@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2003 8:46 PM
To: george@thehunley.com
Subject: A quick question
Hi, An aunt gave me a
document that was dated January 18th, 1864. It was from the "War Department"
, Washington City and it shows a schematic of a proposed submarine design that
was taken from a captured rebel mail. I am desperately trying to figure out
if it authentic. I have not found anyone with either the expertise of
interest in the document. Is there a resource at the Hunley Project that may
be able to help me? I am quite willing to send the original document to you
for examination. I would hate to destroy it if it has historic value.
Thanks, Peter J. Robbins Medfield, MA 02052.
Hello there and
thanks for writing. You may want to write
admin@hunley.org That is the Friends of the Hunley, Inc. and they may put
you in the right direction. I wouldn’t mind posting your letter and a copy of
the document in my bi-monthly newsletter and see what other recommendations we
receive. Two other sources that come to mind would be Dr. Lee Spence
shipwrex@aol.com or
Mark
Ragan ,
markkragan@yahoo.com
[GWP]
You may have a nice little treasure there.
Hi George,
I did as you suggested but have not received any
emails back from the people you recommended I go to. Is you offer to post
it in you newsletter still valid? If so, I can either send you a copy or
create an image file (JPEG format) which you might be able to input directly
into your newsletter. Please let me know what I should do. Part of me
wants to give up but another part is really curious to see if this thing is
authentic or not. Peter.
Peter.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 4:41 PM
Subject: Re: A quick question
Well shoot don't give
up...send me the JPEG...I will put it and this correspondence out there
and see what happens, but send it soon I am working on the next newsletter
#41 and wouldn't mind getting it out quick. I hope to have the next issue
ready by Monday with some other interesting stories. Besides those guys
and other some great characters all subscribe. Thanks in advance and stay
in touch. George W. Penington ...Webmaster and Editor of The Hunley.Com
****************
Thanks George!
The document is almost 16 inches long and 10
inches wide. The first half contains the letter from the War Department and
the second half has a schematic of the proposed Rebel submarine. The
correspondence indicates that this document was found in some captured Rebel
mail. Since my scanner cannot handle such a large document I have scanned
half the document at a time. I also converted the color scan to black and
white since I didn't know how you if you use color in your newsletter.
Also, the yellow/beige color in the color image is just the aging of the
paper.
Lastly, I am sending the color and B/W images in
separate emails that will follow this one in case your email server has a
size limitation. Let me know if you get it Ok and thanks again!
Peter.
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PLANS FOR ANOTHER SECRET SUBMARINE INTERCEPTED BY THE YANKEES -
DESIGNED TO BE USED AGAINST THE TEXAS COAST AND RIVERS
Navy O.R.-- Series I--Volume 9 [S# 9]
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
From May 5, 1863, To May 5, 1864. pp. 402-456
Letter from the Secretary of War to the Secretary of the Navy,
transmitting information regarding the planting of torpedoes in Pamunkey
River.
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WAR DEPARTMENT
WASHINGTON CITY
January 18, 1864
The Secretary of Navy
Washington, D. C.
Sir:
The Secretary of War instructs me to submit to you
the accompanying letter of the November last, received at this
Department from Headquarters, Department of the Gulf, communicating
the contents of a letter, dated at the Richmond, Va. which was found
in a captured rebel mail, in which some particulars are given of the
locating of torpedoes in certain named rivers; and enclosing a
communication obtained from the same mail and a log dated in
Richmond giving a description and covering a diagram of a proposed
submarine torpedo vessel suggested to be used in the coast of Texas.
I have the honor to be,
Your obedient Servant.
Ed. R. S. Canby
BrigGenl. A. A. G.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
New Orleans, November 27, 1863.
GENERAL: A rebel mail was captured a few days
since while its bearers were attempting to cross the Mississippi
River near Tunics Bend. The capture was made by the lieutenant,
colonel of the Sixth Regiment Michigan Volunteers, who was there
with a foraging party.
The letters are mostly of an unimportant
character, but one, which seems to be from the principal contractor
for building torpedo vessels, gives instructions for the building of
some west of the Mississippi River and for Texas. This letter, a
copy of which is enclosed herewith, encloses the plan of
construction of these torpedo vessels, which is also enclosed.
I would most respectfully recommend that a careful
examination of this project be made by competent machinists, as it
appears to me to be a feasible and dangerous one. The letter throws
considerable light on the details of construction and use.
In the same mail I find a letter dated Richmond,
Va., October 13, 1863, written by James Jones, who seems to be a
practical machinist, and informs his correspondent that the week
previous he "set 10 torpedoes in the Pamunkey River, and has 14 more
ready, which will be set this week. I have 74 very nearly done, sir.
I have my orders for Wilmington, and start tonight at 4:30 o'clock.
This morning I had an experiment for the Department, with whom I am
under contract. I set a machine in the James River and let a
schooner float over it, and it was one of the prettiest sights I
ever saw. It was a perfect success. It raised the schooner about 10
feet in the air, and when she came down there was nothing left but
pieces. Colonels Stevens and Williams and some other smaller
officers were down, and they were all much pleased."
From this letter it would appear that Wilmington,
N. C., is to be furnished with Mr. Jones's machines.
Very respectfully, I am, general, your most
obedient servant,
CHS. P. STONE,
Brigadier-General, Chief of Staff,
During absence of the Major-General Commanding the
Department. |
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The original and clear copy of the document captured from
Confederate Mail |
 PERCUSSION
TYPE TORPEDOES ARE SHOWN MOUNTED or STORED INSIDE SUBMARINE |
 The
Turret arrangement is very similar to the Hunley. Details explain
a flat anchor arrangement to hold the submarine in place when lowered by
the windlass. There are forward exhaust and air intake pipes and
hoses. The plans show a center chamber for outside operations and
is noted that this area is not water tight. This area is entered
through two trap doors on the bow. The chamber area has pipes for
attaching a hose from a diving suit. It appears that this
submarine would be used to anchor somewhere in a river and then used as
a base of operations for setting torpedoes. It is not explained
what propels the sub. |
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5) FROM THE
GUEST BOOK
commentsGreat story, Great movie, Great history.
Great show about the recovery and the findings of the remains of the crew that will be buried properly in April. I plan to be there with all my fellow veterans to honor these "missing" sailors with a proper salute that is so long overdue. commentsJust enjoying your site. Enjoy learning what I can about Hunley and David. Will be back often. Fritz commentsI'am a 3rd great grand son of confederate vet.Francis B. Hagan, Fla 9th inf. C.S.A. and a member of sons of confederate vets. I'am glade to have our proud history on the web. commentsyou guys take great pride in remembering "real" heroes. never let the political correct brigade take your rebel flag from you. commentsHave been enjoying this story because of the
excellent and detailed coverage. I am looking
forward to visiting the sub in the near future. Keep up the good work. commentsFascinating.
I was recently in Charleston, S.C. and was disappointed to find that the Hunley can only be seen on weekends.
An incredible story about some extraordinarily brave men. commentsThis newsletter is interesting to me in a personal way. My great grandfather was John P. Halligan (built the St. Patrick submarine). commentsIAM FROM JUST OUTSIDE OF NEW ORLEANS WERE HUNLYS FROM AND WE HAVE A PROTOTYPE OF IT HERE AT THE CABILDO MUS. HAPPY YOU GUYES FOUND IT GOD BLESS THE CREW. commentsGentlemen:
In your research into the watch. Be careful not to draw conclusions based on simple observations alone. Foe example:
1. The watch could have been run down before anything happened.
2. The case may have so tight that it took time anr water pressure to fill the watch's inner cavity.
3. Just because there is only a few minutes or hours between the sinking of the Housatonic and the time on the watch does not mean that it was sequential
4. The watch could have run for a few days while isolated in a bubble of air space trapped within the sub after it sank.
5. The watch may have had time to run down and then be filled with water over the next extended time frame under water.
6. The water may not have gotten to the main-spring area for days or weeks or even months.
Just a few thoughts from a researcher for truth who has been at it for years.
If you have the time, read Francis Bacon's
"Novum Organum" regarding prejudices that can obstruct the establishment of real truth of a matter.
Norm Kinsey commentsIn the course of moving my daughter to Columbia, SC, we took a weekend excursion to Charleston and, much to my personal delight, saw the signs to the Hunley.
I was fascinated by the story of the Hunley when I first read about it in National Geographic several years ago. I've followed the progress via NatGeo and on the web so I was thrilled to have stumbled across it on this weekend jaunt.
The display was everything I hoped it would be. I applaud all the entrepreneurs, scientists, and volunteers who have worked to make this piece of history available to the world.
Thanks so very much.
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6)
E-MAIL >
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 11:24 PM
To: mistergwp@thehunley.com
.The
Flag
of the United States does not belong at this ceremony. So please whoever had
that idea get them to resend it.
*********
My response:
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IT IS MY OPINION THAT THESE FLAGS SHOULD BE FLOWN DURING THE REINTERMENT OF
THE HUNLEY CREW - THEY ARE THE FLAGS FLOWN DURING THE CIVIL WAR AND ARE NOT
OFFENSIVE. THE BURIAL AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE SHOULD HONOR ALL THE
BRAVE MEN WHO DIED THAT TRAGIC DAY - FEBRUARY 17, 1864 - NORTH AND SOUTH .
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The First Confederate 'Stars and Bars'
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The "Stars and Bars' of the Union
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**********
-----Original Message-----
From: Leland Cross [mailto:rebelcross@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Saturday, August 09, 2003 12:59 PM
To: Mistergwp@thehunley.com
Greetings,
My name is Lee W. Cross; I am the commander/ adjutant of "The Lt. Dixon -
CSS Hunley Camp," of the SCV here in Sparks, Nevada. We have 30 members and
we are growing. We are the only real camp in Nevada, though there is a
"Reno" camp on the
books, none of those men live in Nevada.
I publish our camp newsletter "The Hunley Torpedo." I use a variety of
sources to get material to make our newsletter interesting and appealing to
the men of our camp. Your website is an excellent source of material. But I
want to be on comfortable ground as I don't really understand the nature of
using other people's material; therefore, I request
permission to use your material. Our circulation is small, strictly
non-profit and we share the same values as you. As you can see by the name
of our camp, promoting information on the Hunley is of foremost importance
to us.
Thank you and best regards for now.
Lee
*************
Hello Lee and thanks for writing. You are free to use
anything you want...I
think we definitely share the same values. I do try to give credit where
credit is due. If I use other peoples stuff, I try to give them the credit.
So the permissions I get, I grant to you by this e-mail. I am flattered
that you have asked and would like to share information. Sign me up for
your newsletter and I will give it a plug in my next issue.
Stay in touch
George W. Penington Webmaster and editor of the Hunley.Com Newsletter
***************
Hello George,
I appreciate this! All of this is new to me, and I know I'm
going to make some mistakes
before I get it all right. How should I best acknowledge you folks?
Does a phrase inserted into our newsletter such as "some material
taken from "TheHunley.com" suffice? I have already acknowledged
your website on our own website which can be viewed at
www.crossmicro.com/csshunley or on the SCV Camp Locator.
Our website was built by my brother's company in Southern
California. I don't yet know how to send "The Hunley Torpedo" by
e-mail but if you would like our most current copy, send me your
mailing address and I will mail it to you.
Again, thank you for this kindness. Best regards.
Lee Cross
***************
Sure that works fine...and help yourself...you are
doing fine. If you want
to e-mail to your subscribers, it is not that difficult, send me a copy and
after I
get a look at it, I can tell you the best way to send via e-mail. You may
want to start gathering e-mail addresses from your members, etc. and keep
them aside for now. Since it is not a long list, now is a good time to set
it up. Will get back to you after I receive your hard copy and we can go
from there. Hang in.... George W. Penington
*****************
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 22, 2003 11:49 PM
Subject: Hello Again
Mr. Pennington, Hello again,
I don't know whether you remember me or not, the last time I e-mailed was during your fight with
www.hunley.org over your site
name and Logo. I told you of a scathing letter sent to the folks at
hunley.org that I had wrote. Anyway,
I was perusing the site again...and reading the Guest book and found
some of the responses rather...Offensive. Anyway,
on this last newsletter it was shown the crew list and I see Medal of
Honor next to the names of the last crew. I was wondering if this was
the US MOH or the CS MOH. [...]
*****************
Nikki gets all the credit
for his hard work here, send him a thanks if you get the time oh and
if I get time I will take some of the offensive responses out if they
are off topic otherwise I leave them...lol. We get more positives
than negatives.
And, Hey ....Never to
busy to hear from friends and supporters. George W. Penington
*****************
7)
HELP NEEDED ON BUILDING OF THE "PIONEER" REPLICA - Looking for
volunteer
. I have talked with the students at
SLU and they are putting the union officer sketch of the Pioneer on
Auto-Cad using the rough dimensions that I got from my visit to the
Charleston
Museum
.Looking
forward to keeping you updated as we make progress. George
NOTE:
pioneersub@la-junebug.com
is the EMAIL address to use for help with this project.
---- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 10:11 AM
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8)
INFORMATION ABOUT HERITAGE MOTORCYCLE RALLY April
2004
The Heritage Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 AM Sunday
April 18th, 2004 at Rally Central (Exchange Park Fairgrounds) After the
Memorial, the Heritage Motorcycle Rally will host a "Tribute, Memorial,
and Benefit Ride for all motorcyclist, to and through Magnolia Cemetery,
and return via the Canopied Highway 61. All proceed are going to
the "Friends of the Hunley"
Dave Harvey announced plans during the RALLY are for the
construction of 3/4 to 1/2 size USS Housatonic replica, a three masted
ship with about 7 men on board, also the construction of a workable
Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley. Dave commented that this workable
version will have design improvements including a pressure hull and air
bottles. The ballast tanks will definitely be sealed. The
plan is to demonstrate the attack of the Hunley on the Housatonic.
This years 2nd Annual Rally is centered around "paying their last
respects to the crew of the Hunley and to assist the Friends of the
Hunley. The rally hits the week of the Re-burial of the Hunley Crew and
includes re-enactments, setting up of two encampments - one for each
side - Union and Confederate.
****A FREE PLUG FOR A
WORTHWHILE CAUSE****
THE HERITAGE MOTORCYCLE
RALLY COMMITTEE has planned a Benefit Poker Run on Saturday,
September 20, 2003 to raise the funds to pay for the Hunley crew
families members' hotel and some expenses while they are in
Charleston.
For more information call
(843) 767-4258 or visit
www.heritagemotorcyclerally.com
IF YOU ARE A FAMILY MEMBER OF ANY OF THE CREWS, EVEN A LAST
COUSIN, TWICE REMOVED, LET DAVE KNOW, THIS GROUP WANTS TO HELP OUT.
E-MAIL HIM AT
KICKNHORSE@AOL.COM.
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9)
OUR PURPOSE AND GOALS
Is to provide specialized information to those who are interested in
the recovery efforts and history of the Confederate Submarine H L
Hunley. It is available free to anyone who might benefit from the
information it contains, for example, students and history buffs. Our
mailing list will always be kept private and will never be sold.
Feel free to forward this newsletter to any friends or associates
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(Click to go back to Page 1) Don't forget to check out our
other newsletters online.
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The Confederate States Submarine H L Hunley
