Ten Books that Mention CSS David and its Role in the American Civil War

CSS David was a torpedo-vessel that was built, at the behest of Lieutenant William Thornton Glassell, for the Confederate States Navy by Theodore Stoney and Saint Julien Ravenel. Gun batteries, torpedo batteries and submarine obstructions were employed in the defense of Charleston Harbor by the government of the Confederate States of America. Charleston, which is situated in the State of South Carolina, was blockaded by the United States Navy and the harbour defences prevented the armed forces of the United States of America from attacking the city from the direction of the sea. Torpedo-vessels, such as CSS David, provided the Confederate States Navy with a means of conducting offensive actions against the Federal armada. USS New Ironsides, which was one of the few ironclads in the United States Navy that carried its armament in a broadside arrangement, was one of the most powerful vessels to be engaged in the blockade of Charleston. It has been asserted that CSS David was constructed in Wilmington, which is located in the State of North Carolina, while other sources maintain that the torpedo-ram was built in the city that it was entrusted to defend. USS New Ironsides, after the United States Army had captured Morris Island, had crossed the Charleston Bar and was able to bombard the seacoast batteries in Charleston Harbor with impunity. Glassell assembled a volunteer crew, which numbered between three and five mariners, for the purpose of destroying the ironclad with a spar-mounted torpedo. CSS David, between the 5th and the 7th of October, attacked USS New Ironsides with its infernal machine. USS New Ironsides, it the torpedo attack by CSS David had been more successful, would have become the second ironclad to be wrecked in the vicinity of Morris Island. On the 8th of April, 1863, USS Keokuk foundered off the coast of Morris Island and its wreck would have remained in the water at the time in which CSS David engaged USS New Ironsides at Charleston.

1) Belford's Magazine, Volume VI by Various Authors.

Dabney H. Maury, whose article about the evolution of naval technology during the American Civil War appears in the sixth volume of Belford's Magazine, credits the Confederate States Navy with the invention of the torpedo-ram. Defensive torpedoes, on page 369, are reported to have been used during the Franco-Prussian War while offensive torpedoes are claimed to have been employed in the Russo-Turkish War as well as the Sino-French War. The Confederate States Navy, however, is credited with the invention of the torpedo-boat. Examples of defensive torpedoes that were used by the Southern Confederacy, which inspired the offensive use of torpedoes, include demijohns as well as beer-kegs that were filled with gunpowder and detonated by primers. It is claimed that the United States Navy lost sixty-eight vessels, of which USS Tecumseh is reported to have been the most prominent, to defensive and offensive torpedoes. USS Ironsides, on page 370,  is claimed to have been among the victims of offensive torpedo warfare. Lieutenant Glassell, whose ship is identified as the torpedo David, is reported to have conducted a successful attack on USS Ironsides while the iron-cased frigate was participating in the blockade of Charleston. CSS David, which is claimed to have been constructed from boiler-iron, is reported to have been a cigar-shaped vessel that was powered by noiseless engines which burned smokeless fuel. Glassell, an engineer and a pilot are claimed to have formed the crew of the fighting vessel while a torpedo is reported to have been mounted at the bow. A torpedo is claimed to have struck USS Ironsides, which is described as the greatest ironclad then in existence, in a section of the ship that was positioned towards the stern and behind the wheel. Glassell, whose torpedo-boat is reported to have been engulfed by the plume of water that resulted from the submarine explosion, is claimed to have been captured by the United States Navy and placed in irons.

2) Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading. (New Series.) Vol. I. January to June, 1872 by Anonymous.

It is reported, on page 508 of the first volume of Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading, that Captain Maury had served as the head of the Torpedo Bureau of the Confederate States of America during the War of the Rebellion. USS New Ironsides, on page 510, is identified as the target of the first attack by an outrigger torpedo. It is reported that the iron-cased frigate, in the October of 1863, was attacked by a torpedo-boat while it was blockading Charleston. A small object is reported to have been seen approaching the ironclad at nine 'clock in the evening, at which point darkness would have fallen, and a challenge is claimed to have been directed at the mysterious vessel. No search lights are reported to have been present on the 3,486-ton warship and it must have been difficult to have seen the diminutive fighting vessel under the cover of darkness. A rifle-shot is reported to have killed the officer of the watch, who is claimed to have hailed the approaching torpedo-ram, while he stood on the deck of the ironclad. No information is given, however, about the identity of the rifleman who shot and killed the sentry. It is claimed that a tremendous explosion, which shook the hull of the iron-cased frigate, occurred moments after the death of the watchman. A rising body of water, which washed the deck of the ironclad, is reported to have accompanied the explosion while the torpedo-ram is claimed to have drifted out of sight of the mariners who were onboard the iron-cased frigate. It is reported that the torpedo-boat, whose crew of four are claimed to have jumped into the water after the explosive device had been detonated, was sixty-feet in length and six-feet in beam. Ten-feet of hull, with a freeboard of two-feet, is reported to have been visible above the waterline while the torpedo is claimed to have been mounted on the end of an iron bar that was ten-feet in length. It is claimed that the fighting vessel, which is reported to been given the name of CSS David, submerged its torpedo at a depth of six-feet.

3) History of Submarine Mining and Torpedoes by Captain-Lieutenant F. Von Ehrenkrook.

Captain-Lieutenant F. Von Ehrenkrook, on page 27 of History of Submarine Mining and Torpedoes, implies that the armed forces of the Southern Confederacy resorted to asymmetric warfare to tackle the numerical superiority of the United States Navy. Sergeant-major Frederick Martin, who is reported to have served as an engineer in the United States Army, is revealed to have translated the historical work from German into English. It is reported that the United States Navy had embarked upon a project of constructing and purchasing gunboats while it is suggested that the Confederate States Navy, with its limited shipbuilding capacity, was unable build or procure ships to the same extent as its adversaries. Torpedoes, to paraphrase Ehrenkrook, were the antidote to the greater number of ships that were present in the Federal armada. It is explained, on page 42, that torpedoes were also known as infernal machines. USS New Ironsides, on page 52, is reported to have been the victim of the first attack by a torpedo that was mounted on an outrigger and conveyed to its target via a dedicated vessel. On the 5th of October, 1863, the iron-cased frigate is claimed to have been attacked by a torpedo-vessel while it was anchored in the vicinity of Morris Island. Lieutenant Glassell and another survivor, who are reported to have abandoned the torpedo-vessel, are claimed to have been rescued from the water. The engineer, however, is reported to have found the torpedo-ram afloat and re-ignited the furnace of its engine. It is claimed, on page 53, that the cigar-shaped fighting vessel was constructed out of sheet-iron while its speed is reported to have been 7-knots. David is claimed to have been a humorous name that was given to the torpedo-ram by the United States Navy, rather than by the Confederate States Navy, and it is reported that all torpedo-vessels of this type were referred to by this name. It is reported that USS New Ironsides, while damaged by the submarine explosion, remained afloat after the torpedo attack.

4) History of the Civil War in America, Volume IV by Louis-Philippe-Albert d'Orléans.

Louis-Philippe-Albert d'Orléans, on pages 385 and 386 of the fourth volume of History of the Civil War in America, describes the process by which the Confederate States Navy adopted the use of the spar-mounted torpedo during the American Civil War. CSS Atlanta, which is reported to have been among the first fighting vessels to have been armed with a spar-mounted torpedo, is claimed to have been too slow to employ its infernal machine against the Passaic-class monitors that were blockading Wassaw Sound. Captain Lee is credited with creating a fleet of smaller, lighter and faster vessels that were able to carry spar-mounted torpedoes which projected from their bows. A Biblical comparison, which is reported to have concurred with the worldview of the inhabitants of North America, is made between the diminutive torpedo-rams that were employed by the Confederate States Navy and the gargantuan warships that served in the United States Navy. David is reported to have been represented by the torpedo-boats of the insurgent fleet while Goliath, who is remembered as the giant of the Old Testament, is claimed to have been represented by the warships of the Federal armada. It is reported that Mr. Stoney, who is claimed to have been a friend of Lieutenant Glassell, constructed a cigar-shaped steamboat that was intended to be equipped with a spar-mounted torpedo. Stoney, who is reported to have received no financial assistance from the government of the Southern Confederacy, is claimed to have built the torpedo-ram at his own expense. It is reported that the steamboat, which is claimed to have been painted blue and grey, was constructed at Wilmington. Stoney, on page 387, is reported to have sent his torpedo-vessel from Wilmington to Charleston via the railways. Glassell is claimed to have been in command of the steamboat, which is revealed to have been the first of the David-class of torpedo-rams, at the time in which it attacked USS New Ironsides on the night of the 5th of October.

5) Naval History of the United States by Israel Smith Clare.

Israel Smith Clare, who dedicates the fifth section of Naval History of the United States to the American Civil War, mentions the use of torpedo-vessels by the Confederate States Navy and the United States Navy. It is explained that the book, which forms the twelfth volume of Library of Universal History, covers the era of naval history that begins in the American Revolutionary War and ends in the Spanish-American War. Static torpedoes, on page 246, are claimed to have protected Charleston Harbor from the depredations of the United States Navy. USS New Ironsides, before the attack of the 5th of October, is reported to have survived an encounter with a static torpedo. It is claimed, on page 249, that the title of David was bestowed upon a class of cigar-shaped vessels that carried torpedoes at the end of spars. It is acknowledged that a torpedo-ram of the David-class, which is reported to have been armed with an infernal machine that contained 60-lbs of gunpowder, attacked USS New Ironsides while it was under the cover of darkness. David, rather than being the name of a specific vessel, could have been a general term for a certain type of torpedo-ram but it is also possible that CSS David lent its name to a class of cigar-shaped steamboats. USS New Ironsides, due to the premature explosion of the infernal machine, is reported to have survived the encounter with the torpedo-ram. It is implied that the infernal machine, rather than being detonated against the hull of the ironclad, exploded in close proximity to its target. A psychological toll, as a consequence of the torpedo attack upon the ironclad, is reported to have been levied upon the mariners who served in the United States Navy. It is explained, however, that measures were taken to counter the threat that was posed by torpedo-boats while the United States Navy is reported to have developed its own methods of offensive torpedo warfare. CSS David, therefore, served as an inspiration for all future spar-torpedo vessels.

6) The Annals of the War Written by Leading Participants North and South. Originally Published in the Philadelphia Weekly Times. by Various Authors.

General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, whose article about the Torpedo Service in Charleston Harbor was included in The Annals of the War Written by Leading Participants North and South, provides one of the most comprehensive accounts of the offensive use of infernal machines by the Confederate States Navy. It is revealed, on page 513, that Beauregard had been appointed to the command of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia during the ninth month of the second year of the War Between the States. Submarine obstructions and static torpedoes, on page 514, appear to have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Confederate States Army rather than the Confederate States Navy. Captain Francis D. Lee, who is described as an intelligent young engineering officer, is reported to have designed some of the static torpedoes that were integrated with the submarine obstructions in Charleston Harbor. Sulphuric acid, potassium chlorate, sugar and gunpowder are claimed to have been the chemical components of the infernal machines that Lee designed. Lee, on page 516, is identified as the inventor of the spar-torpedo. CSS David is mentioned on pages 517, 518 and 519 while Theodore Stoney as well as Doctor Ravenel are identified as the creators of the cigar-shaped boat. It is claimed that the torpedo-ram, at the order of Beauregard, was fitted with a Lee spar-torpedo. Lieutenant W. T. Glassell is reported to have been the commanding officer of the torpedo-boat while James Sullivan is identified as the fireman, J. H. Tomb is named as the engineer and J. W. Cannon is claimed to have been the pilot. USS New Ironsides, after CSS David had detonated its infernal machine at a depth of six-feet, is reported to have been saved from destruction by the fact that the submarine explosion injured one of its inner bulkheads. Cannon and Tomb, having used the flame from a bullseye lantern to reignite the fires that heated the furnace of the torpedo-vessel, are claimed to have returned to Atlantic Wharf.

7) The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Vol. LVI. New Series, Vol. XXXIV. May, 1898, to October, 1898. by Various Authors.

Horatio L. Wait, who composed an article about the blockade of the Confederate States of America that appears in the fifty-sixth volume of The Century Illustrated Magazine, describes the defensive and offensive use of torpedoes by the Southern Confederacy. It is reported, on page 924, that the Confederate States Navy employed torpedo-boats in the defense of Charleston. CSS David, on page 925, is described as a steam torpedo-boat while USS New Ironsides is identified as the ship that it attacked with its infernal machine. It is reported that CSS David, which is claimed to have been commanded by Lieutenant Glassell, detonated its torpedo at a depth of six-below the surface of the water. The force of the submarine explosion, which is reported to have been insufficient to perforate the hull of the ironclad, is claimed to have travelled upwards rather than outwards. It is reported that the plume of water, as it succumbed to the forces of gravity, cascaded down onto the torpedo-ram and extinguished the fire that provided heat to its boiler. Two of the five mariners that are claimed to have served onboard the torpedo-boat, which had been deprived of its means of its motive power, are reported to have been captured. It is claimed that the three remaining crew members were able to swim to the torpedo-ram, which is reported to have drifted with the current, and proceed towards the shore. Submarine divers, who are claimed to have arrived from Port Royal, are reported to have inspected USS New Ironsides below the waterline. It was deemed necessary, therefore, to determine the extent of damage that had been inflicted on the ironclad by the submarine explosion. Eight groups of illustrations of infernal machines, which appear on page 926, include three starboard views a torpedo-boat of the David-class. The illustrations of the torpedo-ram and its outrigger apparatus, which include a cutaway drawing as well as a waterline drawing, form the first of the eight groups of diagrams.

8) The Confederate Soldier in the Civil War, 1861-1865 by Ben La Bree.

The Confederate Soldier in the Civil War, 1861-1865 is a composition of articles that were written by politicians and military officers who served the Southern Confederacy during the War Between the States. Ben La Bree, who is reported to have composed several books about the War of the Rebellion, is identified as the editor of the historical work. A short article about the torpedoes which were employed by the Confederate Republic can be found on pages 438, 439 as well as 440 and includes information about torpedo-vessels. Written information about infernal machines, which includes the defensive and the offensive kind, is accompanied by illustrations of the different types of torpedo that are described in the article. Illustrations of a torpedo-vessel of the David-class include three longitudinal views, in which the bow is on the right-hand side and the rudder is on the left-hand side, and an diagram of the midship section. The torpedo-ram, when observing its profile, could be described as cigar-shaped or egg-shaped. CSS David, or the class of vessels that were named after it, is described as a double-ended steam torpedo craft that was constructed from iron and wood. Torpedo-rams of the David-class, which are claimed to have been seven-feet in beam, are reported to have ranged from twenty-feet to sixty-feet in length. The boiler is claimed to have been situated at the bow while the engine, which received its steam via a pipe, is reported to have been located towards the stern. A cuddy hole, which contained the crew, is claimed to have been situated between the boiler and the engine. It is reported that the spar, onto which the torpedo was mounted, could be raised or lowered from inside the cuddy hole. The torpedo, which is claimed to have contained between fifty and seventy pounds of gunpowder that was detonated by a mechanical fuse, is reported to have been made of copper. A twin-bladed screw, which was driven by the engine, is claimed to have provided the means of propulsion.

9) Union and Confederate Annals, Vol. I by Various Authors.

George W. Carleton, from page 13 until page 19 of the first issue of the first volume of Union and Confederate Annals, describes the torpedo attack on USS New Ironsides that occurred on the 5th of October. Morris Island is claimed to have fallen to the United States of America on the 6th of September, 1863, and USS New Ironsides is reported to have moved inside of Charleston Bar. It is claimed that the ironclad, when it was not bombarding the defensive works in Charleston Harbor, would take shelter under the guns of Fort Wagner. A series of cigar-shaped vessels, which are reported to have been thirty-feet in length and five-feet in beam, are claimed to have built for the Confederate States Navy. It is reported that the torpedo-rams, which are claimed to have been built for the purpose of attacking USS New Ironsides, were propelled by screws that were powered by steam-engines. An infernal machine is reported to have been projected from the bow of the cigar-shaped vessels via a hinged staff, which is also known as spar or outrigger, that was fifteen-feet in length. Lieutenant William T. Glassell and First Assistant Engineer William H. Tombs, who are revealed to have served onboard CSS Chicora, are claimed to have served onboard one of the torpedo-rams. James Sullivan, who is reported to have served as the fireman onboard CSS Palmetto State, and J. W. Cannon are claimed to have joined the crew of the cigar-shaped vessel. It is reported that Little David, as the torpedo-ram was known, attacked USS New Ironsides on the 5th of October. USS New Ironsides, which is described as a metal-clad giant, is compared to Goliath while it is suggested that the torpedo-ram was analogous to David. CSS David, in the mind of Carleton, represented the Hebrews while USS New Ironsides was compared to the champion of the Philistines. It is claimed that the ironclad, after the infernal machine had exploded at a distance of fifteen-feet from its rudder, was obliged to abandon Charleston Harbor.

10) Year Book-1883. City of Charleston, So. Ca. by Anonymous.

Submarine torpedoes, on page 549 of Year Book-1883, are identified as one of the five components of the defense of Charleston during the War Between the States. Ironclads, rifled ordnance and blockade-running are claimed to have protected Charleston from the depredations of the armed forces of the United States of America. Submarine torpedoes, which are discussed from page 554 until page 557, are reported to have been used for defensive and offensive purposes during the American Civil War. Saint Julien Ravenel, who is claimed to have been a Medical Doctor, and Theodore D. Stoney are reported to have initiated the use of infernal machines by the Confederate States of America. CSS David, which is described as a torpedo-steamer, is claimed to have been the second vessel to attempt to destroy USS New Ironsides with an infernal machine. It is reported that the torpedo-ram was built in Charleston while Lieutenant W. T. Glassell, J. H. Toombs, James Sullivan and J. W. Cannon are identified as the crew members of the experimental vessel. On the 7th of October, 1863, it is claimed that the torpedo-boat left South Atlantic Wharf in dark and hazy weather. It is reported that the torpedo-ram, which was tasked with destroying USS New Ironsides, embarked upon its mission between six and seven 'o clock in the evening. CSS David, which is claimed to have approached USS New Ironsides on the starboard side, is reported to have detonated its infernal machine at a distance of fifteen-feet from the keel. A column of water, having risen under the force of the submarine explosion, is claimed to have descended upon the torpedo-ram. It is reported that water, via the smokestack, entered the furnace and extinguished the fires. Glassell and Toombs, having jumped overboard to avoid a hail of projectiles, are claimed to have been captured while they clung to the chains of the ironclad. Cannon and Sullivan, however, are reported to have escaped in the torpedo-boat.