CSS Hunley: "The Destruction of the Housatonic off Charleston"
The following letter from the Boston Herald was reprinted in The Charleston Mercury chronicling the sinking of the USS Housatonic on February 17, 1864.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HOUSATONIC OFF CHARLESTON. – A letter in the Boston Herald, from off Charleston, the 18th ult., gives an account of the blowing up of the corvette Housatonic by a Confederate torpedo steamer. The event took place about 9 o’clock on one of the coldest nights of the winter. The letter says:
A long object, just on the edge of the water, was discovered astern of the ship. In an instant the cable was slipped, the alarm sounded and all hands [illegible] to quarters, but before the ship had made any headway the torpedo exploded under her starboard quarter, making a most frightful report. The propeller was broken off, the stern was torn to pieces, and the ship sunk rapidly in less than eight minutes from the time the torpedo machine was first seen. The vessel sunk in six fathoms of water. As she began to sink the most frightful scenes were witnessed. Men with nothing but their shirts on were seen struggling in the water, officers were trying to get the boats loose, while others were mounting the rigging. Three boats were finally unlashed, and these were sent to rescue those in the water. The gig at once started for the Canandaigua, carrying Capt. Pickering, who was badly injured, but is now doing well.
As soon as Captain Greene, of the Canandaigua, got the news, he at once hoisted signals of distress and came to our assistance, and in three hours after the attack on the Housatonic all hands that were saved were safely transferred to that ship, where they received every attention. Subsequently a portion of the survivors were transferred to the Wabash.
The Housatonic is a total loss.
Source:
Unknown. (1864, March 14). "The Destruction of the Housatonic Off Charleston." The Charleston Mercury, p. 2. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charleston-mercury-destruction-of-th/165612006/.
