This day in Charleston
2 entries · 1863
At 7.12 in the evening: “Last night Lieutenant Glassell, C. S. Navy, gallantly attempted to blow up the Ironsides with the small cigar torpedo-boat David. Explosion occurred at proper time, but either charge was too small” or the ship too strong. The attack failed, and it changed naval warfare anyway.
Official Records, Series I, Vol. 28, Pt. 1
Major Elliott reported two “submarine affairs” near the New Ironsides, which appeared to have escaped injury from the previous night’s attempt. Confederate signalmen on Sullivan’s Island were reading the Federal flag traffic and copied one message beginning “Admiral D: Trouble among the navy vessels.”
Journal of Operations in Charleston Harbor, OR I, 28, Pt. 1
Entries are dated from the War of the Rebellion official records, the naval official records and contemporary Charleston sources. Browse the whole year.