Confederate Saboteurs: Building the Hunley and Other Secret Weapons of the Civil War (Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series) - Hardcover

Ragan, Mark K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1623492785 ISBN 13: 9781623492786

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Facing an insurmountable deficit in resources compared to the Union navy, the Confederacy resorted to unorthodox forms of warfare to combat enemy forces.

Perhaps the most energetic and effective torpedo corps and secret service company organized during the American Civil War, the Singer Secret Service Corps, led by Texan inventor and entrepreneur Edgar Collins Singer, developed and deployed submarines, underwater weaponry, and explosive devices.

The group’s main government-financed activity, which eventually led to other destructive inventions such as the Hunley submarine and behind-enemy-line railroad sabotage, was the manufacture and deployment of an underwater contact mine. During the two years the Singer group operated, several Union gunboats, troop transports, supply trains, and even the famous ironclad monitor Tecumseh fell prey to its inventions.

In Confederate Saboteurs: Building the Hunley and Other Secret Weapons of the Civil War, submarine expert and nautical historian  Mark K. Ragan presents the untold story of the Singer corps. Poring through previously unpublished archival documents, Ragan also examines the complex personalities and relationships behind the Confederacy’s use of torpedoes and submarines.

About this title

About the Author

MARK K. RAGAN  served as project historian during the recovery and excavation of the history-making Civil War submarine, the Hunley, as well as consultant for the 1999 Turner Network Television movie about the vessel. He lives in Edgewater, Maryland.

Review

"A compelling look and insightful history of the intrigue surrounding the Singer family and their secretive espionage operations for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Mark Ragan reveals a new level of submarine warfare to conspiracy buffs. Nonfiction at its best."—Clive Cussler, American adventure novelist and founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency (Clive Cussler 2015-05-12)

“The result is a comprehensive look at the Singer Corps and their activities. It provides a new context for the submarines and torpedoes, and it incorporates significant research in primary sources. Ragan adds a new perspective to Texas’ role in the Confederacy.”—James P. Delgado, author of Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine: Iron, Guns, and Pearls (James P. Delgado 2014-05-27)

 “A skillfully crafted in-depth study of a very difficult subject to research, Confederate Saboteurs is an important new addition to the naval and covert operations histories of the Civil War.”—Civil War Books and Authors (Civil War Books and Authors 2015-10-27)

“Confederate Saboteurs is a scholarly and fascinating look at a little known, but important subject. Any reader interested in naval history or the role of Texas in the Civil War will want to add this book to their bookshelf.” — Southwestern Historical Quarterly
  (Southwestern Historical Quarterly 2016-05-16)

“This is a great book about the Civil War and unconventional warfare. If you are a military or naval historian, you need to read this book”—The Journal of America’s Military Post
  (The Journal of America's Military Past 2017-01-25)

Edition details

• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1623492785
• ISBN 13: 9781623492786
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296