During the Civil War, men needed the ideas to become new weapons of mass destruction. From submarines to expanding bullets, many technological developments brought about new ways that future wars would be fought. The Civil War advancements paved the way for future battles and set the stage for the true extents of technology. The Union and Confederate armies developed many different types of weapons. The opposing side made adjustments to the weapons and their use in the War, and modified them until they were way more effective and dangerous than the original idea had thought possible. Specifically, the submarine had a massive impact on the way that wars were fought from then and on.
Never made into a reality, the submarine was – in essence – a submersible vehicle and this age old idea of a submersible vehicle is exemplified when Hicks says, “The idea of a submersible vehicle is not new” (5). Many people have had the idea to make a submersible vehicle; just none had made the idea into a reality until a Yale graduate named David Bushnell had drawn up a formula as to make the idea work. He developed “The Turtle” in 1776 which was used in the Revolutionary War which was happening at that time. It made one rather unsuccessful trip. The Turtle had attempted to sink a British ship by stabbing it was a “screw like spar” trying to make a hole. The pilot got extremely frustrated at his inane attempt and stopped trying when he was unable to get through the copper walls of the ship. (Hicks)
Around 100 years later, during the civil war, the idea was pondered over by a southerner named James McClintock came up with a more effective way for submarine warfare to be used. The erection of Iron Clad Ships helped steer the path for the progression of submarine warfare. The David was then created; it was not what you would call a submarine but it was close enough to the surface of the water that it was difficult to detect and even harder to hit with gunfire once it was detected.
The Confederacy made The Pioneer, which unfortunately still had no ballast tanks attached. It was barely maneuverable, unstable, and extremely slow. The advantage was that it traveled undetected under the surface of the water and was a large submarine that could transfer soldiers and supplies. Eventually the Union army captured it and attempted to duplicate it, thus evening the battlefield.
Shortly after, The Hunley came into existence with the help of the creators of The Pioneer. It was an upgrade in all aspects of the submarine. The Hunley was successful when it attacked a ship that was not expecting a submarine. The Hunley was spotted just before it rammed the USS Housatonic, but it was too late. The Hunley had a pike shooting from the front of the sub, which penetrated the USS Housatonic, with a long lanyard string unwinding as it went farther away. As soon as the distance was large enough, The Hunley released a charge down the line that detonated and exploded inside the USS Housatonic. By Sea and By River ”The Naval History of the Civil War claims that the Hunley was towed to sea by a David (172). It is unclear whether The Hunley was able to propel itself or if it needed the help of a David. Surprisingly, even after seeing the success of submarines in war, submarines were not used in wars until 1914. WWI marks the time where submarines had started making their way into war.
“By the time of the Second World War, the United States had nearly 250 submarines. They had become one of the most effective tools in the Navy’s arsenal. And still, the boats followed the basic formula designed by James McClintock in a little southern machine shop.” (Hicks 132)
Works Cited
- Anderson, Bern. By sea and by river: the naval history of the Civil War. New York, N.Y: Da Capo Press, 1989. Print.
- Hicks, Brian, and Schuyler Kropf. Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002. Print.