Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine: Iron, Guns, and Pearls

314 Pages·2012·7.29 MB·English

by  James P. Delgado PhD

Misadventures of a
Civil War Submarine
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ED RACHAL FOUNDATION NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SERIES

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Iron, Guns, and Pearls
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James P. Delgado
Texas A&M University Press
College Station
Copyright © 2012 by James P. Delgado
Manufactured in the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48 1992
(Permanence of Paper).
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Delgado, James P.
Misadventures of a Civil War submarine : iron, guns, and pearls /
James P. Delgado.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Ed Rachal Foundation nautical archaeology series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60344-472-9 (cloth : alk. paper)—
ISBN 1-60344-472-6 (cloth : alk. paper)—
ISBN 978-1-60344-381-4 (e-book)—
ISBN 1-60344-381-9 (e-book)
1. Kroehl, Julius, 1820–1867. 2. Sub Marine Explorer—History.
3. Pacific Pearl Company—History. 4. Engineers—United States—Biography.
5. German-Americans—United States—Biography. 6. Submersibles—History.
7. Shipwrecks—Panama—Pearl Islands—History—19th century. 8. Pearl industry
and trade—United States—History—19th century. 9. Pearl industry and trade—
Panama—Pearl Islands—History—19th century. 10. United States—History—
Civil War, 1861–1865—Naval operations—Submarine.
I. Title. II. Series: Ed Rachal Foundation nautical archaeology series.
VM140.K69D45 2012
623.82'05—dc23
2011049843
This explorer will be able to
traverse the bed of the ocean without difficulty,
and . . . the men working it . . . will be as free to labor there
as in the streets of the city.
—Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 12, 1865

To all who labor in the depths,
especially those who never return.
To John M. McKee, who has done more
than most to bring Julius Kroehl back to life, and
to John W. McKay, who has done more
than most to bring Sub Marine Explorer
back to life.

C
ontents
Acknowledgments xi
Preface: Captain Nemo’s Submarine on
Robinson Crusoe’s Island xix
1 Kleindeutschland 1
2 Americans Discover the World Below 14
3 Rivals beneath the River 30
4 A Submarine Engineer at War 45
5 The Pacific Pearl Company 64
6 Panama 83
7 Requiem 135
8 Archaeological Examination of Sub Marine Explorer 152
9 Sub Marine Explorer’s Context, Condition, and Options 167
Appendix 1: Anatomy of Sub Marine Explorer 187
Appendix 2: W. W. W. Wood’s Report on Sub Marine Explorer 214
Appendix 3: Inventory of the Personal Effects of Julius Kroehl, 1867 221
Notes 225
Bibliography 257
Index 271