tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382000901773344023.post1760363033078298237..comments2024-03-14T14:50:43.790-04:00Comments on The Civil War Picket: The little sub that could: H.L. Hunley made warfare history; anniv. events plannedPhil Gasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01388284468989278770noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382000901773344023.post-53611712282601199652014-02-06T18:26:56.991-05:002014-02-06T18:26:56.991-05:00Thanks for your comments and attention to detail. ...Thanks for your comments and attention to detail. I will review those sections and make adjustments as necessary.Phil Gasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01388284468989278770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5382000901773344023.post-15198460957160481312014-02-06T18:20:50.949-05:002014-02-06T18:20:50.949-05:00Several points must be clarified. First, the Housa...Several points must be clarified. First, the Housatonic did not attempt to "deploy a protective chain." Federal vessels closer to Fort Sumter used protective chains; the ships outside of the bar, such as the Housatonic, were believed far enough away from possible submarine attack that chains were not necessary. "Slipping the chain" refers to quickly unfastening the anchor chain, so that the Housatonic could try to back away from the approaching Hunley.<br /><br />The second inaccuracy is the treatment of the Hunley's purported signal to Battery Marshall. Official confederate correspondence from the commanding officer at Battery Marshall stated that the "signals agreed upon" between the sub and the shore were observed and answered. There is no reason to believe that this report "is a myth." Colonel Dantzler, CSA, simply reported what was seen. This is an historical fact, not a myth. The only myth is that of a blue lantern, which is unfortunately prominently displayed in the photo of the crew's facial reconstructions. The "blue signal light" mentioned here is misleading: the historical accounts were of "blue lights," not "blue signal lights." In 1864, "blue light" was defined as a hand-held, pyrotechnic flare, widely used in both the military and civilian worlds for signaling and general illumination. It was white, not blue; it retained the old name of a technology which had been in use since Napoleonic times. Both Federal and Confederate forces used a recipe for the pyrotechnic which burned with an intense white flame. This was the source of the "blue light" which was observed by crewman Flemming from the sunken Housatonic, in the area where he believed the Hunley to be after the attack. A postwar author stated that the "signals agreed upon" cited by Colonel Dantzler were "two blue lights."<br /><br />Modern authors invented the myth of the blue lantern when they failed to appreciate the 1864 meaning of "blue light," and imagined an oil burning lantern with a blue glass lens, instead of the actual pyrotechnic signal. Modern depictions of the blue lantern perpetuate this myth, and seriously impeded the search for the Hunley's wreck, as well as the explanation of the events immediately after the Housatonic's sinking. Blue Light Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06626508120706281818noreply@blogger.com