The submarine that accomplished this was one of the most remarkable boats ever constructed. It was cigar shaped, about sixty feet long, and carried a crew of nine men. It was submerged partly by means of ballast tanks and partly by lateral fins. As a weapon it carried a spar torpedo fastened to its blunt nose. It was propelled by hand-power, eight of the nine members of the crew working on a crank which actuated the propeller. The ninth man, crouching in the bow, steered the boat. No reserve air was carried, and consequently the length of time the boat could remain submerged was limited to a very few minutes. On account of this, and because of its unfortunate career, it was aptly called the "peripatetic coffin"; and it justified this name by sinking five different times, drowning thirty-five out of forty of the members of its different crews. Nevertheless it succeeded in destroying an American war vessel, thus demonstrating that this feat is possible under condition of actual warfare. The submarines of the Civil War came to be known by the general name of "Davids," and several of them of different types were built. The only successful attack of any of these Davids, however, was the one which destroyed the _Housatonic_. In his book, _The Naval History of the Civil War_, Admiral Porter described this attack upon the _Housatonic_ as follows:-- "At about 8.45 P.M. the officer of the deck on board the unfortunate vessel discovered something about one hundred yards away, moving along the water. It came directly toward the ship, and within two minutes of the time it was first sighted was alongside. The cable was slipped, the engines backed, and all hands called to quarters. But it was too late--the torpedo struck the _Housatonic_ just forward of the mainmast, on the starboard side, in a line with the magazine. The man who steered her knew where the vulnerable spots of the steamer were, and he did his work well. When the explosion took place the ship trembled all over as if by the shock of an earthquake, and seemed to be lifted out of the water, and then sunk foremost, heeling to port as she went down. "Her captain, Pickering, was stunned and somewhat bruised by the concussion, and the order of the day was 'Sauve qui peut.' A boat was despatched to the _Canandaigua_, not far off, and that vessel at once responded to the request for help, and succeeded in rescuing the greater part of the crew.