I watched the PBS History Detectiveslast ight on the sinking of the ship Sultana at the end of the CivilWar. It was a steamship on the Mississippi bringing war vets home. It was seriously overloaded and sank with an apparent boiler explosion.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/jun/30/history-detectives-special-investigations-civil-wa/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sultana
On the possibility oF sabotage it cameout that Jefferson Davis authorized a group of saboteurs called 'boat burners', tasked to sink northern ships.
They fashioned hollow metal pieces filled with gunpowder that looked like lumps of coal tossed into coalpiles.
The coal torpedo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo
'...Courtenay was authorized to form a company of men to infiltrate enemy lines and place coal torpedoes inthe 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 orcommercial shipping in Confederate waters.[7][8] Although the Union blockade and other forms of military shipping were Courtenay'sprimary targets, he also had plans to use the coal torpedo to attack steam locomotives, although no confirmed attacks are known to have been made.
On 19 March 1864, a Union gunboat captured a rebel courier crossing the Mississippi, carrying 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
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. Officerswill have to be careful in overlooking coal barges. Guards will beplaced 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]
In April 1865, most of the officialpapers of the Confederate Secret Service were burned by Secretary ofState Judah P. Benjamin just before the government evacuated Richmond, making it impossible to determine with any certainty how many ships were destroyed by Courtenay's shell. ...'
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/jun/30/history-detectives-special-investigations-civil-wa/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sultana
On the possibility oF sabotage it cameout that Jefferson Davis authorized a group of saboteurs called 'boat burners', tasked to sink northern ships.
They fashioned hollow metal pieces filled with gunpowder that looked like lumps of coal tossed into coalpiles.
The coal torpedo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_torpedo
'...Courtenay was authorized to form a company of men to infiltrate enemy lines and place coal torpedoes inthe 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 orcommercial shipping in Confederate waters.[7][8] Although the Union blockade and other forms of military shipping were Courtenay'sprimary targets, he also had plans to use the coal torpedo to attack steam locomotives, although no confirmed attacks are known to have been made.
On 19 March 1864, a Union gunboat captured a rebel courier crossing the Mississippi, carrying 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
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. Officerswill have to be careful in overlooking coal barges. Guards will beplaced 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]
In April 1865, most of the officialpapers of the Confederate Secret Service were burned by Secretary ofState Judah P. Benjamin just before the government evacuated Richmond, making it impossible to determine with any certainty how many ships were destroyed by Courtenay's shell. ...'