Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine S ED RACHAL FOUNDATION NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SERIES Misadventures of a ivil ar Submarine C W #ççççççççç& Iron, Guns, and Pearls [ 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