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Philadelphia
and the Civil War:
“The
Submarine Capital of the Union”
The City of
Philadelphia played a pivotal role during the War
Between the States – having the largest arsenal, ship
building center, Navy Yard and rail transportation hub
in the nation; and although no major battle ever took
place in or near its environs, it was home to a lengthy
list of military leaders from George McClellan to George
Gordon Meade to Galusha Pennypacker. By its free
enterprise, Philadelphia fueled the war effort through
major financial institutions and individual financiers
far in advance of the economies it produced before and
during the Revolution. But more importantly for the
common soldier, Philadelphia represented caring for the
sick and wounded coming from a hundred battlefields more
than anywhere else. In many ways, Philadelphia was the
center of gravity for a nation torn asunder.
As the 2nd
largest city in North America, Philadelphia was also a
cauldron of Union and Confederate loyalists (known as
“copperheads”) and not surprisingly, many a well-heeled
Federalist earned their fortunes by blockade running and
illegal cotton transfers in Great Britain and France.
Conversely, the “City of Brotherly Love” was also one of
the epicenters of the abolitionist movement and was
considered the most important stop in the Underground
Railroad to freedom – as the town boasted the largest
free black population in all the northern states.
Clearly, Philadelphia represented the best and worst of
the conflict that pitted brother against brother, father
against son and nation against nation. And yet, though
entering the war with bitterly divided loyalties, the
greater Philadelphia region ultimately emerged as the
pillar of the Union Victory. Its unique powerhouse of
industrial, medical and military might in just a few
short years was coalesced as the metropolis naturally
hosted the 1876 Centennial Exposition – an international
exhibition that brought the world to its door.
In many ways, the “Alligator”
was a presentiment of all that followed. Born of the
imagination of a man who described himself as a “natural
genius” -- this unique undersea invention was the
amalgamation of entrepreneurial perspicacity combined
with practicable engineering. It was an invention of the
global imagination, a signature of the depth and breadth
of one man that came to embody the spirit of the 19th
century - a microcosm of the industrial revolution in
every backyard workshop. This was the age of the
supremacy of scientific societies and centralized patent
offices – where every man was master of their
intellectual domain if they had a keen and inquiring
mind and knew how to write of it. Such was Brutus de
Villeroi – French émigré, fortune hunter and teacher
extraordinaire. This is his story, the tale of the
Alligator, and how the City of Philadelphia earned
the sobriquet of being the “Submarine Capital of the
Union”...
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Alligator Sites in
Philadelphia
A:
Neafie & Levy Shipyard on Beach Street. The Kensington district--where Sam
Eakins lived--is immediately inland.
B:
The
Navy Yard.
C: 1325 Pine Street, residence of
the Villerois during the war.
D:
921 Shippen
(later Bainbridge) Street, residence of the Villerois following the war; also
the address of the Institute for Colored Youth.
E:
Office
of William L. Hirst. F: 754 South 3rd Street
(residence of Samuel Eakins in May 1862.
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