March 4, 1865: Loss of Army Transport Thorn to a Torpedo in the Cape Fear River

MARCH 4TH, 1865:  The U.S. transport Thorn struck a torpedo below Fort Anderson in the Cape Fear River.  Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains, Superintendent of the Confederate Torpedo Corps and a pioneer in the development of torpedoes, reported:  "The vessel sunk, as usual in such cases, in two minutes, but in this the crew escaped, but barely with their lives."

The loss of the 400 ton Army steamer within two weeks of the damage to the USS Osceola  and destruction of a launch from the USS Shawmut by torpedoes underscored the fact that although the Union controlled the waters below Wilmington it did not have complete freedom of movement.

The presence -- or even suspected presence -- of Confederate torpedoes forced the Navy to move more slowly than otherwise have been possible.

--Old B-Runner

Loss of U.S. Transport Thorn in the Cape Fear River

MARCH 4, 1865:  The U.S. transport Thorn struck a torpedo below Fort Anderson in the Cape Fear River.  Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains, Superintendent of the Confederate Torpedo Corps and a pioneer in the development of torpedoes, reported:  "The vessel sunk, as usual in such cases, in two minutes, but in this the crew escaped, but barely with their lives."

The loss of the 400 ton Army steamer within two weeks of the damage to the USS Osceola and destruction of the launch from the USS Shawmut by torpedoes (20-22 February, 1865) underscored the fact that although the Union controlled the waters below Wilmington it did not have complete freedom of movement.

The presence--or even the suspected presence--of Confederate torpedoes forced the Navy to move more slowly than would otherwise have been possible.

--Old B-R'er

Confederate Torpedo Corps Strike City Point

AUGUST 9TH, 1864:  Two resourceful members of the Confederate Torpedo Corps, John Maxwell and R.K. Dillard, planted a clockwork torpedo containing twelve pounds of powder on a Union transport at City Point, Virginia, causing a huge explosion which rocked the entire area.

Maxwell and Dillard succeeded in getting through Union lines to the wharf area, where Maxwell convinced the trusting wharf sentry that he had been ordered by the captain of the ammunition barge to deliver a box to the ship.

The box was accepted and the two Confederates hastily started back for Richmond.  When the torpedo exploded an hour later, it set in motion a devastating chain reaction which spread the holocaust from the barges to storage buildings on shore and even to General Grant's headquarters.

Grant hurried off a message to General Halleck in Washington: "Five minutes ago an ordnance boat exploded, carrying lumber, grape, canister and all kinds of shot over this point.  Every part of the yard used as my headquarters is filled with splinters and fragments of shell."

Sneaky Confederates.  --Old B-Runner