Civil War & Reconstruction
Civil War
Stafford's Confederate Year
First Use of Naval Mines Happened in Stafford
First Use of Naval Mines Happened in Stafford
A crude form of mine warfare first appeared early in the war in Stafford. On July 7, 1861, Captain Budd of the USS Resolute discovered this “infernal machine designed by the Confederates ” lying in wait for Pawnee and the Potomac Flotilla. The contraption combined watertight 80-gallon oil casks (as buoy) and 20 fathoms of 3.5 inch rope with cork buoys along every two feet of rope. These held explosive canisters six feet under water. Fuses in gutta-percha tubes completed the mine array.
