CSS Marion Sunk By a Torpedo in Charleston Harbor-- Part 1: Blown Up By Torpedo It Had Placed in Harbor

On May 1, I wrote about Major John Johnson's corrections from his book on "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands."

One of the corrections dealt with the sinking of the Confederate transport Marion where he said "The Confederate transport Marion was sunk by a torpedo while placing them in the Ashley River (Charleston Harbor) on April 6, 1863."

From "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks" by W. Craig Gaines.

CSS MARION

Confederate.  Sidewheel transport steamer, 258 tons.  Length 132 feet, beam 30 feet, depth 7 feet 2 inches.

Built in 1850 in Charleston, S.C.

Drifted onto a torpedo it had earlier positioned, and the bottom of its hull blew out.

Oops.  Kind of Embarrassing To Get Blown Up By Your Own Torpedo.   --Old B-Runner