|
The David Connection
 any
contemporary reports describe the Confederate submarine Hunley and
other submersibles of the era as cigar-shaped. In fact the only
warships of the time with true cigar-shaped hulls were the
semi-submersible Davids and there is a documented connection
between them and the Winans boats. An interesting chain of citations,
if accurate, homes in on the truth of the connection.
The first citation is in Hunters of the Night
- Confederate Torpedo Boats in the War between the States68
by R. T. Campbell. Captain Francis Lee, inventor of the spar torpedo
and advocate of torpedo boats, makes an connection in a July 1863 letter
to Captain Armand Beauregard (the general's brother):
"I
would further state that the small torpedo steamer (Winan's [sic] model)
now building on the Cooper River, is nearly complete..."
This appears
to indicate a very strong connection between Ross Winans, who got in trouble
as a Confederate sympathizer, and the Davids, but further tracing shows
the connection is indirect. The quote from the letter is cited to The
Siege of Charleston 1861-186568.
Here we find that Dr. St. Julian Ravenel designed the first David and used
"Winan's [sic]
model as his prototype". The citation here is to a
letter published in The South Carolina Historical Magazine70:
"Dr
R [Ravenel] said it had occurred to him that a boat built on the pattern
of the Winans Steamer in Baltimore would be peculiarly well-adapted for
the purpose of attacking the fleet with torpedoes... recalling
descriptions of the Winans boat which he had read, I believe, in the
'Scientific American'."
John Littlefield, who has researched the Davids
extensively, does not see a direct connection. The above connection
relies, at least in part, on Ravenel having designed the David, however
David Ebaugh, whom Ravenel contracted to build the David, claimed he built
a "Segar shaped boat" on his own plans. His letters,
written in 1892, make no reference to the Winans other than the generic
"Segar" description70a.
Personally, I think the connection is strong, whether
directly referenced or indirectly influenced by articles and illustrations
in the contemporary press, but when looking at this historical material,
we must keep in mind that folk may misremember facts or misstate things
to, for example, enhance their reputations.
|
