Bayou St. John submarine

[Bentonville]

I've been very interested in submersible craft my whole life. Seeing the Hunley was a moving moment. Got me thinking about the alligator & the Pioneer.

However I have always been puzzled by the Bayou St. John submarine. It seems an odd craft. More along the lines of the 1866 Sub Marine Explorer. Similar but not exactly the same.

I know the Explorer was built by German-American Julius Kroehl. I did a little background and found this on Wikipedia:

"Julius married Sophia Rosa Lueber on November 25, 1858, at Holy Trinity Church of Georgetown in Washington, DC. She was born on August 27. 1832, and was a native of Frederick, Maryland. Her father, Francis Lueber (1791–1852), emigrated from Austria, and was a well-to-do merchant; her mother, Hellen Maria Simpson (1809–1890) came from the District of Columbia and was descended from the original English settlers in Maryland. Julius and Sophia had no children. After Julius' death, his widow did not remarry, but continued to live in Georgetown with her widowed mother, sisters and brother until her death on 29 September 1916, and is buried in Holy Rood Cemetery in Washington. Sophia was the niece of the American portrait artist, James Alexander Simpson, and first cousin to another portrait artist, Charles S. Hein, and his brother, Lt. Col. Otto L. Hein. She was also a distant relative of Raphael Semmes and Mary Jenkins Surratt."

So there is a connection between Kroehl and the south. Slight as it is. I'm not saying there was some sort of conspiracy or anything. Maryland was a border state and D.C. was bustling with spies.

There were a lot of things going on in south I think might be discovered one day and much we'll never know.

Oh, one last thing. The guy who thinks he found a yard for submersibles in a bayou. Thoughts?

Thanks & keep a weather eye.

-Landlocked

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

I've been very interested in submersible craft my whole life. Seeing the Hunley was a moving moment. Got me thinking about the alligator & the Pioneer.

However I have always been puzzled by the Bayou St. John submarine. It seems an odd craft. More along the lines of the 1866 Sub Marine Explorer. Similar but not exactly the same.

I know the Explorer was built by German-American Julius Kroehl. I did a little background and found this on Wikipedia:

"Julius married Sophia Rosa Lueber on November 25, 1858, at Holy Trinity Church of Georgetown in Washington, DC. She was born on August 27. 1832, and was a native of Frederick, Maryland. Her father, Francis Lueber (1791–1852), emigrated from Austria, and was a well-to-do merchant; her mother, Hellen Maria Simpson (1809–1890) came from the District of Columbia and was descended from the original English settlers in Maryland. Julius and Sophia had no children. After Julius' death, his widow did not remarry, but continued to live in Georgetown with her widowed mother, sisters and brother until her death on 29 September 1916, and is buried in Holy Rood Cemetery in Washington. Sophia was the niece of the American portrait artist, James Alexander Simpson, and first cousin to another portrait artist, Charles S. Hein, and his brother, Lt. Col. Otto L. Hein. She was also a distant relative of Raphael Semmes and Mary Jenkins Surratt."

So there is a connection between Kroehl and the south. Slight as it is. I'm not saying there was some sort of conspiracy or anything. Maryland was a border state and D.C. was bustling with spies.

There were a lot of things going on in south I think might be discovered one day and much we'll never know.

Oh, one last thing. The guy who thinks he found a yard for submersibles in a bayou. Thoughts?

Thanks & keep a weather eye.

-Landlocked

Is there really a guy who claims to have found a yard for submarines in a bayou? . Is there a link to that story??? Thanks for sharing

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

This reminds me of the fabled Shreveport, Louisiana CSA submersible site (hundreds of miles inland).
A lot of controversy & mystery still surrounds this site. If true, it seems these craft were to operate in the Red River.

An old thread ya'll may enjoy:

Mystery of 4 Confederate Subs at Shreveport | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/civil-war-subs-lost/22232231/

civilwartalk.com

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

This reminds me of the fabled Shreveport, Louisiana CSA submersible site (hundreds of miles inland).
A lot of controversy & mystery still surrounds this site. If true, it seems these craft were to operate in the Red River.

An old thread ya'll may enjoy:

Mystery of 4 Confederate Subs at Shreveport | Naval War - At Sea & Along Inland Waterways

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/01/23/civil-war-subs-lost/22232231/

civilwartalk.com

Cool!!

 

[Bentonville]

Cool!!

Thanks much. I've read the article but love reading it again. Brings out the kid in me.

 

[maclilus]

I've been very interested in submersible craft my whole life. Seeing the Hunley was a moving moment. Got me thinking about the alligator & the Pioneer.

However I have always been puzzled by the Bayou St. John submarine. It seems an odd craft. More along the lines of the 1866 Sub Marine Explorer. Similar but not exactly the same.

I know the Explorer was built by German-American Julius Kroehl. I did a little background and found this on Wikipedia:

"Julius married Sophia Rosa Lueber on November 25, 1858, at Holy Trinity Church of Georgetown in Washington, DC. She was born on August 27. 1832, and was a native of Frederick, Maryland. Her father, Francis Lueber (1791–1852), emigrated from Austria, and was a well-to-do merchant; her mother, Hellen Maria Simpson (1809–1890) came from the District of Columbia and was descended from the original English settlers in Maryland. Julius and Sophia had no children. After Julius' death, his widow did not remarry, but continued to live in Georgetown with her widowed mother, sisters and brother until her death on 29 September 1916, and is buried in Holy Rood Cemetery in Washington. Sophia was the niece of the American portrait artist, James Alexander Simpson, and first cousin to another portrait artist, Charles S. Hein, and his brother, Lt. Col. Otto L. Hein. She was also a distant relative of Raphael Semmes and Mary Jenkins Surratt."

So there is a connection between Kroehl and the south. Slight as it is. I'm not saying there was some sort of conspiracy or anything. Maryland was a border state and D.C. was bustling with spies.

There were a lot of things going on in south I think might be discovered one day and much we'll never know.

Oh, one last thing. The guy who thinks he found a yard for submersibles in a bayou. Thoughts?

Thanks & keep a weather eye.

-Landlocked

As the author of the original Wiki text, I will need to reply (but not reprimand). Sophia was part of the Simpson clan out of Georgetown, DC, and having many girls, they were married off to many well-to-do people. Charles and Otto Hein were the sons of Charles Hein (pere), a senior administrator is the US Coast Survey, and a native of East Prussia, much like Kroehl himself. (Indeed, many Prussians and other Germans were employed in the Coast Survey.) During the latter half of the 1850s, Kroehl's company was contracted to remove a reef in New York Harbor (a navigation hazard to the deeper draft vessels coming into use), and as such, had to prove that the desired work was being accomplished. The US Coast Survey charts would show how much of the reef was being removed. It is perhaps through these contacts with the US Coast Survey that he was probably introduced to Hein's niece. As for Southern contacts, Sophia's surviving brother, Francis Alexander Lueber, who also worked for the Coast Survey, was identified as a Southern Sympathizer by a coworker. However, he later transferred to working in the War Department, so either his Unionist uncle vouched for him, or the complaint was proven false. But caution - family connections are very extensive - consider that Admiral S.P. Lee was a relative of the Blairs and the Lees of Arlington. And consider the people related by marriage to the Founder George Mason. One must wonder if they all got together whether it was a family reunion or some planning meeting.