A coal torpedo. This example was prepared as a model, with a partial coal dust coating and the plug left out. It was found in Jefferson Davis' office by Union General Edward Ripley when Union forces captured Richmond in April 1865.

The coal torpedo was a hollow iron casting filled with explosives and covered in coal dust, deployed by the Confederate Secret Service during the American Civil War, and intended for doing harm to Union steam transportation. When shoveled into the firebox amongst the coal, the resulting explosion would at the very least damage the boiler and render the engines inoperable. In the worst case scenario (or best case, depending on which side you were on) the damaged boiler, under high steam pressure, would explode, injuring the crew and scattering burning coals over the deck to start a fire that would sink the vessel. Image File history File linksMetadata CoalTorpedo. ... Image File history File linksMetadata CoalTorpedo. ... Jefferson Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American statesman who was President of the Confederate States of America, for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. ... Nickname: The River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Area    - City 62. ... Confederate Secret Service is an umbrella term for a number of official and semi-official operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... In this map:  Union states prohibiting slavery  Union territories  Border states on the Union side which allowed slavery  Kansas, which entered and fought with the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories During the American Civil War, the Union... Section of typical British boiler and firebox. ... A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure. ...

Development

Thomas Courtenay in the uniform of a Confederate Army Captain.

The coal torpedo was invented by Capt. Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay of the Confederate Secret Service.^[1][2] During the Civil War, the term torpedo was used to indicate a wide range of explosive devices including what are now called land mines, naval mines, and booby traps. Northern newspapers referred to Courtenay's coal bombs as torpedoes, or sometimes "infernal machines;" Courtenay himself called it his "coal shell."^[3] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (646x911, 149 KB) Thomas Courtenay in the uniform of a Confederate Army Captain. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (646x911, 149 KB) Thomas Courtenay in the uniform of a Confederate Army Captain. ... Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay (1822-1875) was a member of the Confederate Secret Service and inventor of the coal torpedo, a bomb disguised as a lump of coal that was used to attack Union steam-powered warships and transports. ... Confederate Secret Service is an umbrella term for a number of official and semi-official operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... Minefield redirects here. ... Polish wz. ... This article is about an antipersonnel trap designed for use against humans. ...

The torpedoes were manufactured at the 7th Avenue Artillery shop (across the street from Tredegar Iron Works) in Richmond, Virginia, in January 1864. ^[4] The manufacturing process was similar to that used for artillery shells, except that actual pieces of coal were used as patterns for iron castings. The walls of the coal shell were about 3/8 inch thick, creating a hollow space inside sufficient to hold 3–4 ounces of gunpowder. After filling, the shell was closed with a threaded plug, then dipped in melted beeswax and rolled in coal dust, creating the appearance of a lump of coal.^[5] Finished coal torpedoes were about 4 inches (10 cm) on a side and weighed 3-4 lb (1.5-2 kg). The size and powder charge of the coal torpedo was similar to a 6 pound Shrapnel shell (a hollow, 4 inch cannonball containing gunpowder and 24 musket balls as shrapnel) or the equivalent of 3 Civil War-era hand grenades. Even so, the explosion of a coal torpedo under a ship's boiler would not by itself be sufficient to sink the vessel. The purpose of the coal torpedo was to burst the pressurized steam boiler, which had the potential to cause a tremendous secondary explosion. If the explosion didn't sink the ship, the resulting fire probably would. Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond, Virginia, USA, photograph by Alexander Gardener Tredegar Iron Works is a historic iron foundry in Richmond, Virginia, United States of America. ... Nickname: The River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra (Thus do we reach the stars) Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates: Country United States State Virginia County Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Area    - City 62. ... A shell is a projectile, which, as opposed to a bullet, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot (AP, APCR, APCNR, APDS, APFSDS and Proof shot). ... A sectioned Shrapnel shell displayed at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa For other uses, see Shrapnel (disambiguation). ... A sectioned Shrapnel shell displayed at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa For other uses, see Shrapnel (disambiguation). ... A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure. ...

Deployment

The sidewheeler Greyhound.

Courtenay was authorized to form a company of men to infiltrate enemy lines and place coal torpedoes in the coal piles used to fuel Union steam ships.^[6] It was especially intended to be used against ships of the Union blockade, although Courtenay was authorized to act against any Union military or commercial shipping in Confederate waters.^[7][8] Although the Union blockade and other forms of military shipping were Courtenay's primary targets, he also had plans to use the coal torpedo to attack steam locomotives, although no confirmed attacks are known. Image File history File linksMetadata Greyhound_steamer. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Greyhound_steamer. ... 1861 Cartoon map of the blockade // The Union Blockade refers to the naval actions between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, in which the Union Navy maintained a massive effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of... Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (traditional) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Government Republic President... 1861 Cartoon map of the blockade // The Union Blockade refers to the naval actions between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, in which the Union Navy maintained a massive effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of... A locomotive (from Latin loco motivus) is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train, and has no payload capacity of its own; its sole purpose is to move the train along the tracks. ...

On March 19, 1864, a Union gunboat captured a rebel courier crossing the Mississippi, including a letter from Courtenay describing the coal torpedo. The correspondence was forwarded to Admiral David Porter, who immediately issued his General Order 184, which began Portrait of David Dixon Porter during the Civil War David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States admiral who became one of the most noted naval heroes of the Civil War. ...

The enemy have adopted new inventions to destroy human life and vessels in the shape of torpedoes, and an article resembling coal, which is to be placed in our coal piles for the purpose of blowing the vessels up, or injuring them. Officers will have to be careful in overlooking coal barges. Guards will be placed over them at all times, and anyone found attempting to place any of these things amongst the coal will be shot on the spot.^[3]

Because the activities of Courtenay's Secret Service Corps were secret and few Confederate documents remain it is impossible to determine with any certainty how many ships were destroyed by this method. Union Admiral Porter credited the coal torpedo with sinking the Greyhound, a private steamboat that had been commandeered by General Benjamin F. Butler for use as a floating headquarters on the James River.^[1][9] Courtenay also took credit for the destruction of the gunboat USS Chenango.^[1][10] In the Spring of 1865, Canadian customs raided a house in Toronto that had been rented by Jacob Thompson, one of the commissioners of the Confederate Secret Service stationed in Canada. They found coal torpedoes and other incendiary devices hidden under the floorboards.^[11] A former Confederate agent named Robert Louden claimed on his deathbed that he had used a coal torpedo to sink the Sultana, a steamboat carrying over 2000 recently freed Union prisoners of war, on April 27, 1865, although this claim is controversial.^[6][12] Portrait of David Dixon Porter during the Civil War David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States admiral who became one of the most noted naval heroes of the Civil War. ... Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as its governor. ... The James River at Cartersville The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is 547. ... Jacob Thompson (May 15, 1810–March 24, 1885) was a U.S. politician. ... Confederate Secret Service is an umbrella term for a number of official and semi-official operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ... The steamboat Sultana was a Mississippi River paddlewheeler which was destroyed in an explosion on 27 April 1865, the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. ...

After the Civil War

Courtenay had traveled to England in 1864 and remained there until 1867, trying to sell the "secret" of the coal torpedo to foreign governments. He approached the British War Office, but they turned him down after he wouldn't agree to allow them to examine his invention before purchasing it.^[10] When Courtenay returned to the United States, one or more business partners to whom he had entrusted the secret remained in England. The Times in 1873 reported rumors that disreputable ship owners were purchasing coal torpedoes to put in their own ships as a form of insurance fraud, so that over-insured ships and cargo would sink while far out at sea, leaving no evidence.^[13][14] Other reports scoffed at the rumors, suggesting they were false stories planted by supporters of Samuel Plimsoll, a member of Parliament who was trying to pass a bill reforming the shipping industry.^[15] Nothing was ever proven, but the reports stirred up popular interest in various supposed methods of sabotaging ships, and the coal torpedo even made an appearance in the short story, "That Little Square Box," by Arthur Conan Doyle, published in a story collection entitled The Captain of the Polestar, and other tales. Old War Office Building, Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ... Memorial to Samuel Plimsoll on Victoria Embankment London Samuel Plimsoll (February 10, 1824 - June 3, 1898) was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ... Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and the adventures of Professor Challenger. ...

Various forms of exploding coal, whether directly descended from Courtenay's original idea or independently developed, have surfaced multiple times throughout history.

The Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish nationalist organization operating in the United States in the late 1860s-1870s, reportedly considered placing coal torpedoes in the furnaces of New York City hotels as well as English transatlantic steamships.^[16] The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish nationalist organization based in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham, NYC Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ...

Both the American OSS and the British SOE used forms of exploding coal in World War II.^[17] The German commandos who came ashore on Long Island in 1943 as part of Operation Pastorius carried plastic explosives disguised as coal for use against coal-fired electric generating plants.^[18] The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency and was a lineage precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, as well as for the Special Forces and Navy Seals, who have traced their lineage back to... The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33... Operation Pastorius was a failed Nazi attack on the United States staged in June 1942. ...

Stanley Karnow hints in his book Vietnam: A History that the CIA prepared explosive coal for use against North Vietnamese railways during the Vietnam War.^[19] Stanley Karnow is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who covered Asia from 1959 as chief correspondent for Time and Life. ... The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Government. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

Notes

October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

References

External links

• General Order 184
• The Coal Torpedo