A private collector donated this letter and 27 other documents to the Relic Room. They are part of the Letters to and from William L. Churchill, A. W. Johnson and John A. Dahlgren dated from the early days of the war to 1869.
By 1869, Churchill had his own submarine company.
In the first letter there is notification to Churchill of his appointment as Master's mate on the USS Susquehanna. Churchill witnessed the pivotal naval battle between the Monitor and Virginia. Later, he was transferred to the USS Nipsic, blockading Charleston Harbor.
He declared the wreck of the USS Housatonic as being worthless" owing to the large amount of damage done by the Hunley's 90-pound charge.
He then searched for the Hunley. He didn't find it, however and Robert Neyland, head of the Naval Historical Center's Underwater Archaeology Branch says that was fortunate. Had he discovered it, there would be nothing left of the submarine today.
When the Hunley was raised in 2000, grappling hooks were found on it. Perhaps they were Churchill's?
These letters are expected to be on a web site as some date soon.
An Interesting "New View" of the Navy in the Civil War. --Old B-Runner
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