USS Spuyten Duyvil is Mentioned in Ten Historical Publications
USS Spuyten Duyvil was an iron-cased, semi-submersible and torpedo-laying warship that was built for the United States Navy. William Willis Wiley Wood and John Louis Lay, while under the supervision of Francis Hoyt Gregory, are reported to have designed the torpedo-ram as well as its weapons system. Attaching torpedoes to spars, conveying them to their target onboard a dedicated fighting vessel and detonating them against the hull of a target ship was first attempted by the Confederate States Navy. Picket-launches, which were armed with spar-mounted torpedoes and powered by steam-engines, represented the initial response of the United States Navy to the David -class torpedo-vessels that had been constructed for the Confederate States Navy. USS Stromboli , as USS Spuyten Duyvil was known at the beginning of its career, contained elements of ironclads and torpedo-boats in its design. Service with the James River Squadron, which was involved in the push towards Richmond, ...