American Submarine Company stock certificate c1864 (New York) - Civil War submersible

Late Civil War submarine collectible!  Great center vignette of the coat of arms for the state of New York with maritime scenes in the background. Nice additional vignette to the left of a sailing ship with steam paddlewheel underway. Unissued and not cancelled. Dated 18__ but circa 1864 from incorporation. Measures approximately 11.5 x 7 inches.

In 1863, a group of Northern speculators formed the American Submarine Company to take advantage of a vote in the U.S. Congress to approve the use of privateers. However, when President Abraham Lincoln declined to accept the authority, construction of this consortium's submarine, the Intelligent Whale, languished. The boat was not completed until 1866, long after the war ended.

Incorporated in 1864 in New York. The company started construction on a Civil War submersible Intelligent Whale in 1863. The company tried to sell the concept to the government, and the U.S. Navy finally held formal acceptance trials in 1872. The U. S. Navy did formal testing in 1872 and declared it "utterly useless as an instrument of warfare". This failed submarine is currently displayed at the National Guard Militia Museum in Sea Girt, NJ.

Intelligent Whale was built on the design of Scovel Sturgis Merriam in 1863 by Augustus Price and Cornelius Scranton Bushnell. In 1864 the American Submarine Company was formed, taking over the interests of Bushnell and Price. Intelligent Whale was completed and launched in 1866. Once title was established by a court, and, following an inspection, the submarine was sold on 29 October 1869 by owner Oliver Halstead and Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson to the United States Navy. In September 1872 the first trial was unsuccessful and the Navy refused further payments and abandoned the project.

Intelligent Whale submerged by filling water compartments, and expelled the water by pumps and compressed air. It was estimated that it could stay submerged for about ten hours. Thirteen crewmen could be accommodated, but only six were needed to run it.

The only known trial, reported by submarine pioneer John Philip Holland, was made by a certain General Sweeney and two others. They submerged the boat in 16 feet of water and Sweeney, clad in a diver's suit, emerged through a hole in the bottom, placed a charge under a scow, and reentered the submarine. The charge was exploded by a lanyard and a friction primer attached to the charge, sinking the scow.

The U.S. Navy did not accept a submarine for service until the USS Holland was commissioned in 1900.

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