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Edward Ostermeyer
Posts
Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War – Part Five – The “Spitting Devil”
While technical “wizards” like Dr. St. Julien Ravenel and Theodore Stoney were creating the CSS “David” torpedo boat as the Confederacy’s response to the US...
Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War – Part Four – the “Squib” class Torpedo Boats at Trent’s Reach, January 1865
News of the CSS “Squib” torpedo boat’s semi-success in its attack on the Union Navy’s Squadron anchored at Hampton Roads, Virginia met with enthusiastic response...
Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War – Part Three – the CSS ”Squib” and its Attack on the USS “Minnesota”
The years 1863 and 1864 were a busy time for Southern inventors interested in creating a weapon that would give the Confederacy parity of a...
Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War – Part Two – David vs. Goliath: the CSS ”David” and its Attack on the USS “New Ironsides.”
While shipbuilding concerns and machine works like the Park & Lyons Machine Shop in Mobile, Alabama were busy creating an underwater terror known colloquially as...
Infernal Machine: The Torpedo Boat during the Civil War Part One – Genesis at the Gate of Hell
At the start of the American Civil War, the Confederacy was faced with an almost insurmountable problem. Using its navy, the United States was able...
William G. Cheeney – A Spark, Burning Bright
In my ongoing research for “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare,” I have made the acquaintance of a number of very interesting people, not only...
The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s USS “Alligator” Part 5 — And So Into History: July 1862 – April 1863
In July, 1862, Union General George McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign came to its ignominious end on the banks of the James River, as his Army of...
The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s USS “Alligator” (formerly the “Submarine Propeller”) Part 4 – The Raid and its Aftermath: June 1862 – July 1862.
During his preparations for the Appomattox River Raid, the commander of the US Navy raiding force, Commodore John Rodgers had become concerned about the river...
The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s “Submarine Propeller” Part 3 – The Appomattox River Raid: June 26-28, 1862
Strangling the Rebel Capital Ever since the Union navy had retaken Norfolk, Virginia, Union gunboats had been prowling the James River to within seven miles...
The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s “Submarine Propeller” Part 2 – The James River and Richmond: 1861-1862
The James River in Northern Virginia As the longest river system in the Virginia Commonwealth, the James River has its origins out west in the...
