All things dealing with the Civil War Navies and actions along the coasts and rivers and against forts. Emphasis will be placed on Fort Fisher and all operations around Wilmington, NC. And, of course, the Blockade and Running the Blockade.
Friday, February 1, 2019
The USS Weehawken's "Devil"-- Part 1: To Sweep Torpedoes (Mines)
Of interest, I found mention of this device that was attached at one time to the bow of the USS Weehawken.
From Historic Ships: Extant Monitors.
The Weehawken was fitted with a large raft that was intended to sweep mines (called torpedoes) in Charleston Harbor. The raft had a large notch that fit to the bow of the monitor, but it was very unwieldy. As such the raft was eventually cut loose and drifted to a backwater area of Morris Island.
Confederates found it and called it "The Devil."
This anti-torpedo raft, "The Devil" was reported by Clive Cussler as being in a marsh somewhere around or on Morris Island. The University of South Carolina also investigated the raft and Dr. Lee Newsom, of Penn State, reported taking wood samples for further analysis.
The results of the analysis are not known.
The Devil You Say. --Old B-Runner
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