Confederate Veteran

Confederate Submarines — Information Wanted

Volume 22, September 1914, page 427

A call for information on the Hunley and her crews, listing every name then known — the closest thing to a crew roster the magazine ever printed.

Unsigned; an appeal printed on behalf of the writer William Gilmore Beymer.

Cite as

“Confederate Submarines — Information Wanted,” Confederate Veteran 22, no. 9 (September 1914): 427.

Published
September 1914
Volume
22, no. 9
Pages
427
Author
unsigned

Ends at “The addresses of Benjamin Maillefert and Angus Smith or their families are desired,” with the editorial note that follows. “An Incident of Animal Devotion” is a separate item.

CONFEDERATE SUBMARINES—IN FORMATION WANTED.

Mr. William Gilmore Beymer, the noted writer of stories on the War between the States, has made inquiries concerning the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, which destroyed the Housatonic, sinking itself at the time. The known survivors of the Hunley's crew were Lieut. John A. Payne, C. S. N., later of the steamer Gaines, and W. A. Alexander, 21st Alabama Artillery. The known dead of those who were on the Hunley were Capt. Horace L. Hunley, the inventor; Thomas Parks, of Parks & Lyons, Mobile, Ala., at whose machine shop the Hunley was built; the volunteer crew from Mobile, Patterson, Brockbank, McHugh, Marshall, White, Beard, and one other; the crew which sank the Housatonic were Lieut. George E. Dixon, 21st Alabama Volunteers, in command; Capt. (or Corp.) I. F. Carlsen, of Captain Wagher's company; Arnold Becker, F. Collins, Ridgeway, C. Simpkins, James A. Wicks, and two others not known. Of the thirty-seven men who served at one time or another on the Hunley, thirty-two lost their lives. Those named are the only ones of whom any record can be found. Information is especially desired of the unknown twenty and of Lieutenant Payne and W. A. Alexander, the two survivors; also information of any photographs, daguerreotypes, paintings, etc., of the Hunley or its men, any documents, such as letters, diaries, dispatches, orders or specifications, or contemporary newspaper accounts. The addresses of Benjamin Maillefert and Angus Smith or their families are desired.

Was the Hunley ever raised after sinking the Housatonic? [This question is answered in the article by C. L. Stanton on "Confederate Submarines" that appears in this number of the Veteran. ]

AN INCIDENT OF ANIMAL DEVOTION. W. R. Griffin, of Jackson, Tenn., sends the following story of a faithful horse: "When General Forrest made the raid into North Alabama ' and Middle Tennessee, he forded the river below Florence at what is called Mussel Shoals. The bed of the river was 'rocky and rough and the water very swift. Sometimes a horse fell and threw his rider. We saw some men standing on rocks in shallow water who belonged to some other command that had crossed before us. The water was so switt that they could hardly stand up, and their horses were gone. "A young man of our company named Powell was thrown from his horse, and both rider and horse were in a perilous situation. The horse floated downstream and over the falls, and Powell floundered about tryirg to keep his head above Water. During all this the regiment had landed on an island | near the outer side of the river, and there could be no attempt t rescue. When the horse went over the falls he floated a ew feet below, then came back to the falls and there stood, | apparently with his breast against the rock, looking up the Tiver toward Powell. Seeing him in his forlorn condition, | the horse made an effort to get above the falls and succeeded doing so and started up the river. All thought that he vould come on across to the island, as he could see the horses there; but he appeared to notice only Powell and took a bee line for him, never faltering until he reached his master. He then laid his head on Powell's shoulder. Mounting him, Powell came on to the regiment. "Now, was this the affection of a horse, or was it directed Y a supernatural power?"

The scan

What the scanner made of this page, and what it is in the printed original.

  • “IN FORMATION WANTED” is “INFORMATION WANTED”; “Thomas Parks, of Parks & Lyons” is Thomas Park of Park & Lyons; “Captain Wagher's company” is Capt. Wagener's.

Editorial notes

Statements in this article that are wrong, doubtful, or worth setting beside another account. The article’s own text is left as printed.

  1. “Of the thirty-seven men who served at one time or another on the Hunley, thirty-two lost their lives”

    Too many, on both counts. Three crews were lost — five, eight and eight, twenty-one men — and a number of others handled her without dying in her.

  2. “the crew which sank the Housatonic were Lieut. George E. Dixon … Arnold Becker, F. Collins, Ridgeway, C. Simpkins, James A. Wicks, and two others not known”

    Remarkably close for 1914. When the Hunley was raised in 2000 the final crew was identified as Dixon, Becker, Carlsen, Collins, Lumpkin, Miller, Ridgaway and Wicks — six of the eight already named here.

  3. “Was the Hunley ever raised after sinking the Housatonic?”

    The question the Veteran could not answer. She was found in 1995 off Sullivan's Island and raised on 8 August 2000.