Torpedo Talks: The First Submarines In The U.S Navy (1861-1863)

Chuck Veit, President Emeritus of Navy & Marine LHA are coming to speak! Presenting via ZOOM. His group is working towards pinpointing the location of the very first submarine in the Civil War. (Yes, years before CSS Hunley.) Unlike more daunting expeditions to find boats sunk deep in the ocean, this one lies but some twenty feet down in the muddy riverbank of a tributary of the Delaware. Low-level scans of the rather treacherous area indicate an anomaly that bears all the indications of a sunken mass of the right size and shape to be the 1859 submarine we are seeking. This was the brainchild of an immigrant French inventor, Brutus de Villeroi; a second, smaller anomaly may well be his 1837 boat, which we know he brought with him to this country. He will be presenting on its history and the challenges of finding it now.

Museum Member Exclusive: email [email protected] for the Zoom link.

Coffee and snacks provided!