March 22, 2004
Hunley excavation update
Joseph A. Ridgaway grew up on Maryland's Eastern Shore and was an experienced seaman by the time he turned 16. He joined the Confederate Navy in 1863 . When he died aboard the H.L. Hunley, near the end of the Civil War, he was in his late twenties.Read the rest in Sunday's Washington Post.He had no children. He may have had red hair.
No photos of Ridgaway have been found. But details of his life have been pieced together slowly but steadily by researchers since 2000, when archaeological crews in South Carolina pulled the Hunley -- an iron submarine that carried a 17-foot explosive harpoon -- from the bottom of Charleston Harbor.
Posted by David on March 22, 2004 2:22 PM
The CSS H.L. Hunley was Horace Hunley's third submarine. He and a crew of seven perished in the Hunley's second fatal sinking:
On 15 October 1863, during a routine diving exercise, the the Hunley failed to resurface. All eight crewmen, including Hunley, were lost. Divers recovered the vessel a few weeks later. Sources familiar with the operation of the submarine reported that Hunley had failed to ignite the candle that provided the single source of light for viewing the vessel's dive planes, compass, and depth gauge. Hunley had apparently failed to close a valve that allowed water into the forward ballast tank. Additionally, the 35-degree angle of the dive was too steep and the sub plowed into the muddy bottom. The crew attempted to release the iron keel ballast but did not turn the release mechanism far enough before water filled the vessel. The bodies of Hunley and second officer Parks were found in their respective conning towers, each with his right arm upraised against the hatches. Hunley still grasped the unlit candle in his left hand.
His first two submarines were:
1861Early in the Civil War, the Confederate Government authorized citizens to operate armed warships as "privateers." A New Orleans consortium headed by cotton broker Horace L. Hunley was approved for the operation of "Pioneer," a 20-foot long three-man submarine (one to steer, two to crank the propeller) designed and built by James McClintock.
In a March 1862 demonstration on Lake Pontchartrain, a submerged "Pioneer" sank a barge with a towed floating torpedo. In April, 1862, the U. S. Navy captured New Orleans, and "Pioneer" was scuttled by its builders. Soon discovered, the boat eventually was sold for scrap in 1868.
1863
Hunley's New Orleans consortium shifted operations to Mobile, Alabama, and built a second, slightly-improved submarine which may have been called "American Diver." McClintock spent some time and money trying to replace hand-cranking with some sort of electrical motor, but without success. This submarine sank in rough weather in Mobile Bay; the crew was rescued.
More at the World Submarine History Timeline 1580-2000.
Posted by: Peter Shriner on March 23, 2004 12:54 AM
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