James McClintock and Pioneer   Early in the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Confederate government authorized citizens to operate armed warships as `privateers.` A New Orleans consortium headed by cotton broker H.L. Hunley gained approval for the operation of Pioneer, a 34-foot-long submarine designed and built by James McClintock. The boat held three persons, one to steer and two to crank the propeller. In a March 1862 demonstration on Louisiana`s Lake Pontchartrain, a submerged Pioneer sank a barge with a towed floating torpedo. In April 1862, the US Navy captured New Orleans, and its builders scuttled Pioneer. Soon discovered, the boat was sold for scrap in 1868. Back to History Index