A Submarine of Unknown Origins
In 1878, a dredge crew working near the mouth of Bayou St. John in New Orleans uncovered a twenty-foot-long iron submarine. For years people thought the sub was the CSS Pioneer, the first of three submarines built by Horace Hunley, but in reality, the ship’s origin is still unknown to this day. Join us as we explore some of the theories and facts behind this Civil War mystery.
This minisode is a companion to The Mystery of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley.
ADDITIONAL LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE:
View images of the Bayou St. John Submarine on the Louisiana State Museum’s Online Exhibit: Civil War Era Submarine.
Check out the history behind the Old Spanish Fort in New Orleans in the video Lost Amusement Parks.
Sources:
Haines, Matt. “Today a picturesque waterway, Bayou St. John once harbored a Civil War Submarine.” The Advocate (New Orleans, La), May 14, 2019. https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/article_3f3c6e2b-e7d1-588c-bf35-237196179342.html.
Lambousy, Greg. Monster of the Deep: The Louisiana State Museum’s Civil War Era Submarine. Lafayette, LA: Center for Louisiana Studies, 2006.
“Civil War Era Submarine.” Copyright 2018. Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. https://www.crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-museum/online-exhibits/civil-war-era-submarine/.
