While a Confederate privateer can use his Letter of Marque to, so to speak, “play pirate,” the United States Navy takes a dim view of civilians captaining an armed vessel during war time, or any time for that matter.
In the game “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare,” the “Navy Way” begins with the vessel’s captain being recognized as an individual with sufficient knowledge, training and honor.
The “Navy Way” is accomplished by “being Commissioned” into the United States Navy.
by Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2)
Oh, there you are, my young Inventor friend.
What brings you to this tavern, at this hour of the evening?
You are wondering if your fishboat idea will ultimately be successful.
You are also wondering if what you are building will perhaps “change the rules” of naval warfare, be the start of a new era in warship design and usher in a new era of “terrible-ness?”
You are also concerned about what the future will hold for you personally; correct?
Good questions.
by Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2)
Hello, my young friend, it is good to see you once again.
I note that you have a bandage on your left arm. Is something amiss at your machine shop?
I see, so your associate purchased a lower grade of bituminous coal for your forge.
And some of it, what is the word, “popped” onto you?
The bitumen in that kind of coal will do that if you are not careful.
Your associate was looking to cut costs, was he?
You’ve taken the necessary action?
Good. We’ll not talk of it further.
By Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2)
Again, I bid you a good day, my young prodigy.
Thank you for meeting me in this out-of-the-way location.
Our talk today requires restraint and privacy between colleagues.
We will speak of shifting loyalties.
As you may have gathered, the life of a Confederate Inventor and Entrepreneur is anything but a sedate one.
Not only are you in need of both funds and employees on what seems to be almost a seasonal basis, but there’s that pesky business of the Civil War taking place elsewhere in the country, causing your best-laid plans to vanish like a hatful of fog.
Such as:
One of the biggest roadblocks in your journey towards engineering success and financial security is the possibility that the Union Army will not only conquer the city where you work, but then use the occasion to come knocking on your machine shop door.
Young Inventor! It is good to see you once again.
Have you been applying what the two of us discussed in our last conversation?
Well done. I am pleased with your diligence, both in study and application of what you are learning.
Today, our topic involves one of the forces of nature: water’s current. Though direct control of it is beyond the scope of your, umm, project, you can learn to anticipate, prepare for and deal with its effects upon said project.
Ah, good day to you once more, young Inventor.
I am happy to see you once again.
And you have brought your copy of the Inventor’s Vade Mecum with you.
May I see it, please?
Hmmm, I notice it is now a very worn and much-thumbed work.
I am proud of your diligence.
What benefit is a book of knowledge if you don’t use it from time to time, eh?
However, there have been several updates since this copy was printed.
The section on Power has received significant editing.
Oh, good.
I see that there are still unused endpapers in your Vade Mecum that you can use for note-taking.
Let’s make an update to your edition on the subject of Power, shall we?
As “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare” moves toward publication, it has been my task to research the backgrounds of those who made up the crews of the “fishboats.”
I am fascinated by the amount of information that is still available on many of these individuals. Census records gathered before, during and after the American Civil War are very informative. When combined with newspaper reports, tax documentation, church attendance records, even civil and criminal arrest warrants, the gathered information will, as Shakespeare once said, “Hold the mirror up to nature.”
19 November 2022
Good afternoon, everyone.
Ed Ostermeyer here.
Several readers have requested information on the works I’ve used in the design of “Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare.
Herewith is my bibliography (current as of 19 November 2022) for the game, alphabetized and annotated for your use.
Comments and remarks are my own opinions on the indicated text’s usefulness, ease of same, and value as a source.
So, here you go:
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 Navy’s overwhelming superiority on the nation’s rivers and oceans, the Union wizards were not idle in that field, either.
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 from the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory.
