Though the “H.L. Hunley” was the first submarine to sink another vessel in combat, it was by no means the first submarine built by the American Confederacy in the 1860’s.

There were multiple underwater marvels in various stages of completeness at several different locations when war broke out between North and South in April, 1861.

We will concern ourselves with a specific vessel, not just because it was one of the first of a type called a “fishboat” by the popular press of the time, but also for the knowledge it imparted to a team of bright young engineers and mechanics who had a dream of building a craft that would allow them to travel and fight underwater.

Two of these bright young engineers, James McClintock and Baxter Watson lead the team first based at their machine shop on Front Levee Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Initial work on the submersible vessel in May of 1861 uncovered a need for additional workspace, prompting a move to the larger facility at Leeds Foundry, a site within walking distance of the Mississippi River.

At Leeds Foundry, McClintock and Watson ran a successful business manufacturing steam valves and other mechanisms in support of industry and shipping, McClintock & Watson also secured a very profitable contract for the Foundry to make bullets for the Confederate Army, designing and building the machines to make precision bullets quickly and efficiently.

While the combined income from the foundry was substantial, the two engineers needed to find an additional source to fund the construction of their new weapon of war.

This source proved to be the Assistant Customs Agent for New Orleans, lawyer Horace Lawson Hunley, with whose help McClintock and Watson were able to begin construction of the appropriately named “Pioneer.”

The “Pioneer” was a truly unique water craft.

According to McClintock in a postwar letter to ex-Confederate scientist Matthew Fontaine Maury, the vessel:

“… was constructed from iron ¼ inch thick, was of a cigar shape some 30 feet in length and 4 feet in diameter.”

Because of its limited visibility when underwater, the “Pioneer” was steered by compass, and used an aneroid barometer on board to indicate the vessel’s depth.

Both McClintock and Watson confirmed “Pioneer” was capable of moving in three dimensions, could submerge down to 4 fathoms (24 feet). The submersible would then surfaces using either its ballast pump or dive planes. A crew of three manned the craft: one as captain and helmsman, kneeling forward and peering out the three windows in the “Pioneer’s” square, stubby conning tower. The other two crewmen hand-cranked a step-up transmission gearbox to turn a propeller, bringing the boat up to its top speed of four knots.

The “Pioneer” was initially armed with a towed mine mounted on rails running the length of the vessel from the conning tower to the propeller. Once armed, stays held the mine in place. After taking an approach bearing on its target, the “Pioneer’ would begin its attack run: When launched, the mine and its tow rope were deployed to clear the “Pioneer’s” propeller and rudder. At the climax of the attack run, the “Pioneer” submerged beneath its target and dragging its captive mine to explode against the vessel’s hull.

Over the next six months, McClintock and Watson performed several test runs of their underwater wonder on the waters of nearby Lake Ponchartrain to see if all the mechanisms they had installed were working properly.

One such test involving the sinking of an old scow with the towed mine, caused to team to change their offensive weapon to a spar-mounted torpedo.

As the “Pioneer” had no snorkel, the amount of air on board was governed by the crew’s exertions. The team discovered they had enough air to remain submerged for two hours with no ill effects.

Once the testing and training runs were complete, McClintock, Watson and Hunley applied to the Confederate government for a Letter of Marque declaring the “Pioneer” to be a privateer in service to the Confederacy.

In the opening days of the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis offered Letters of Marque to help augment his country’s fledgling navy.

Not having a Letter of Marque branded the operators of an armed craft as pirates, and included not only captain, officers and crew, but also the craft’s financial backers.

Piracy was universally criminal in the 19^th Century, punishable by hanging.

McClintock, Watson and Hunley planned to use their “Pioneer” as a privateer to break the US Navy’s blockade of the Mississippi River below New Orleans, damaging or sinking the enemy’s warships, capturing what supply ships were within reach, and re-opening New Orleans’ access to the wider world of overseas commerce.

This last action would doubtless result in the “Pioneer’s” handlers being suitably rewarded financially by the merchants, who were the movers and shakers of New Orleans.

In due course McClintock & Co.’s request for a Letter of Marque was approved by the Confederate government. Upon receipt of a $5,000 bond that Horace Hunley presumably paid for, the fishboat known as the “Pioneer” became the “CSS Pioneer,” a warship of the Confederate Navy.

In April 1862, while the “CSS Pioneer” was being readied for her first offensive mission, The US Navy’s Gulf Blockade Squadron under Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut bombarded and defeated Forts Jackson and St. Philip and began advancing up the Mississippi River to capture New Orleans.

With the fall of the city being imminent, James McClintock, Baxter Watson and Horace Hunley made the decision to keep their underwater marvel a secret from the US Navy, and scuttled the “CSS Pioneer” in the New Basin Canal north of the Crescent City.

The three of them then gathered up their plans, drawings and blueprints along with whatever and whoever else they would need, and caught the next train out of New Orleans.

Their destination?

The machine shop of Messrs. Park & Lyons in Mobile, Alabama; soon the be the birthplace of not one, but two more underwater marvels: the “American Diver,” and the “H.L. Hunley.”

But that is a story for another day.        

Next time we rejoin the Young Inventor as he consults the Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) learning how to augment his team with some nautical muscle and skills.

(Note: All graphic images of Infernal Machine game materials used in this series of articles are subjective and may change and appear different in their final form.  All images show sourcing unless otherwise noted.)

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