George, the plan was sent in late 1862, but to whom and where, and where the construction was to take place seems to have been lost in the mist of time ( or that D***D arsonist) again.
Hi Rebel: The Letterbook of Lt. J.H. Carter, CSN at Shreveport has a series of entries that confuse the issue. In No 158 of March 9, 1864, Carter to Mallory, Carter states, "...Your letters of December 29th/63 and Jany 4th by the hands of Mr. Mead Naval Constructor, have been received. In a few days I will leave here with Mr. Mead for Texas for the purpose of making the necessary examinations for the construction of the iron clad Torpedo boat. From my knowledge of the conditions of this Department, and the scarcity of labor and material, such a vessel as the plan and specifications call for, cannot be built within fifteen months or two years, if at all, and at a cost of not less than one million of dollars. Confederate Money in Texas is at a discount of twenty for one..."
Ltr No. 161 of March 22, 1864 to Constructor Mead added, "...In addition to the duty on which you have visited Texas, I wish you to ascertain if it is practicable to build at or near Houston, one or more Small Torpedo Boats similar to those now being used in Charleston Harbor..."
This sounds as if Richmond wanted to know if a large armored TB could be built at Galveston. You wonder if the inquiry refers to a vessel of the same class as the 160-ft Singer designs for Wilmington and Selma. But the letter to Mead suggests a more practical proposal for a different class of TB. You wonder if Richmond suggested the smaller boats or if this was Carter's own initiative. I suspect that the smaller TBs were Carter's idea. He apparently didn't know that the Navy had bee using its own TB design (Graves).
In a letter of April 25th, 1864 (no 174) he writes Mallory "...I have had an interview with Maj.Gen. Magruder who is now in Shreveport on the subject of building an iron clad vessel in the water of Texas. In his opinion, no iron clad can be built in Texas. The mere building of the vessel he thinks might possibly be done, but the iron armor and machinery for driving cannot be had. He has had surveys made of the harbor of Galveston and Buffalo Bayou and no vessel drawing over five feet water built in Buffalo Bayou could get out..."
You wonder if the Navy's interest primed Magruder, who discussed the issue with Kirby-Smith at Shreveport. Then Singer and Dunn of the Torpedo Company organization make their pitch for a smaller class of TB's and convince the Army Brass that engines can be secured and the hull ironed in Texas. So the picture shifts from a still-born Navy initiative to the Confederate Army who already have a neutral to positive impression of Singer's organization based upon known results. So Singer gets the support of the senior service in the Confederacy by offering a strong threat to Union forces off Galveston, helping to keep the port open for runners. What's not to like?
It would be really interesting to know just what the Navy design and specifications entailed. Their previous proposal to the State of Texas was a centerline gun boat, not a torpedo boat. Who designed the Navy torpedo boat?
The timing is interesting as R.W. Dunn made his pitch to Kirby-Smith on April 21st of 1964. I wonder if Magruder was still in Shreveport as orders from that H.Q. and Houston began coming fast.