Cigar ship
The Winans-Hunley Ship, commonly called the cigar ship, was a submarine developed by slave traders in the Confederate States of America.
Background
[edit | edit source]Winans' cigar ship
[edit | edit source]The famed Baltimore inventor and businessman Ross Winans developed a prototype submarine in the late 1850s.
Hunley's Pioneer
[edit | edit source]Horace Lawson Hunley from New Orleans developed a submarine called the Pioneer.
Collaboration
[edit | edit source]In 1863, following the disastrous First Tamaulipas campaign, the Confederate Congress sought to reform the Army and Navy. The famed inventor Ross Winans personally traveled from his home in Baltimore to Richmond to pitch his steam gun and "cigar ship" as well as other less-developed prototypes; Congress was excited to hear about the steam gun, but not so much about the cigar ship, which they regarded as a "mere curiosity." When news of Winans' speech to Congress reached New Orleans, Horace Lawson Hunley began advertising his Pioneer as a competitor. However, he was disappointed to learn that Congress was uninterested in Winans' submarine.
However, it got the attention of C. F. Hatcher, one of New Orleans' most prominent slave traders. He wanted to expand his business to compete against his competitors like Thomas B. Poindexter, who was then the wealthiest slave trader in the city.