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

Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine: Iron, Guns, and Pearls (Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series)

In 2001, while vacationing on Panamaâ€™s Pacific coast, maritime archaeologist James P. Delgado came upon the hulk of a mysterious iron vessel, revealed by the ebbing tides in a small cove at Isla San Telmo. Local inquiries proved inconclusive: the wreck was described as everything from a sunken Japanese "suicide" submarine from World War II to a poison-laden "craft of death" that was responsible for the ruin of the pearl beds, decades before.
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His professional interest fully aroused, Delgado would go on to learn that the wreck was the remains of one of the first successful deep-diving submersibles, built in 1864 by Julius H. Kroehl, an innovator and entrepreneur who initially sought to develop his invention for military use during the Civil War. The craftâ€™s completion coming too late for that conflict, Kroehl subsequently convinced investors that it could be used to harvest pearls from the Pacific beds off Panama, in waters too deep for native pearl divers to reach.
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In Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine, Delgado chronicles the confluence of technological advancement, entrepreneurial aspiration, American capitalist ambition, and ignorance of the physiological effects of deep diving. As he details the layers of knowledge uncovered by his work both in archival sources and in the field excavation of Kroehlâ€™s ill-fated vessel, Delgado weaves the tangled threads of history into a compelling narrative. This finely crafted saga will fascinate and inform professional archaeologists and researchers, naval historians, students and aficionados of maritime exploration, and interested general readers.
Country USA
Brand Texas A&M University Press
Manufacturer Texas A&M University Press
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber Illustrated
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9781603444729
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Texas A&M University Press
Manufacturer	Texas A&M University Press
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	Illustrated
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9781603444729
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine: Iron, Guns, and Pearls (Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series)

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