Photograph as originally submitted to this page in the Historical Marker Database www.HMdb.org. Click on photo to resize in browser. Scroll down to see metadata.

Photographer: Stanley and Terrie Howard
Taken: June 20, 2012
Caption: Confederate Torpedo
Additional Description: These devices were constructed from available wooden barrels of various sizes. They were filled with gun powder and fitted with a contact detonator. Streamlined ends were added to lessen the effects of tide and currents. They were then anchored in locations such as the Charleston Harbor and the mouth of the Mississippit River to keep out Union ships. The Union lost more than 40 ships to these torpedoes. Union Admiral Farragut's famous quotation, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." referred to these devices hidden in the water.
Submitted: June 27, 2012, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina.
Database Locator Identification Number: p209582
File Size: 0.173 Megabytes

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