Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay

Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay (April 19, 1822
September 3, 1875) was a member of the Confederate
Secret Service and the inventor of the coal torpedo, a
bomb disguised as a lump of coal that was used to attack
Union steam-powered warships and transports.
1 Birth and early life
Olive streets in St. Louis.
In January, 1860, Courtenay was appointed sheri of St.
Louis county to ll out the term of Sheri Cere, who had
died in oce. The oce dealt mainly with civil matters
such as foreclosures and sheris sales. Courtenay did not
run for election to a full term as sheri and was out of of-
ce by the end of August. When he left oce, there was
a signicant shortfall in the books of the sheris oce.
Courtenay blamed the problem on his chief deputy, but
the matter was Courtenays responsibility, and the unre-
solved debt put a damper on his business eorts. When
the Civil War broke out, he moved his family to relatives
in Harford County, Maryland and established a new in-
surance oce in Baltimore.

2 The Civil War

Portrait of Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay about 1844 (age 22)

Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay was born in Belfast,

Northern Ireland, the youngest of 6 children. He was
distantly related to the Courtenay family who held the ti-
tle Earls of Devon and were seated at Powderham Cas-
tle in Exeter, and was a distant cousin to the novelist
Maria Edgeworth, but his own family was not well-to-
do. His oldest brother inherited the family property and
his other siblings had all come to America to seek a bet-
ter life. Courtenay came to the United States in 1842,
rst staying with his brother William in Vicksburg, Mis-
sissippi, before settling down in St. Louis, Missouri. He
and his brother were brokers, shipping supplies down the Thomas Courtenay in the uniform of a Confederate Army Cap-
Mississippi River to plantation owners, and buying their tain.
cotton for shipment to England. Thomas also established
himself as an insurance agent, selling re, marine, and In 1863 Courtenay returned to St. Louis to pursue a law-
life insurance from an oce at the corner of Main and suit against his former deputy for recovery of the funds

1
2 4 MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

missing from the sheris oce. It became clear that the ders of vessels not to be very particular about the treat-
suit was hopeless and that he would be held nancially ment of any of these deperadoes if caughtonly sum-
responsible. Moreover, the Union authorities were suspi- mary punishment will be eective. Captain Courtenay
cious that Courtenay was a rebel sympathizer, due to his obtained permission from President Davis to leave the
business dealings in the South. In fact, Courtenay was a country and go to England to raise money for the Con-
Confederate sympathizer, and had written to Confeder- federacy. Courtenay kept in contact with his corps, and
ate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker in May, 1861, directed their actions from abroad. The coal torpedo was
oering to act as a purchasing agent for Confederate sup-credited with sinking the Greyhound, a private steamboat
plies in the Trans-Mississippi Department. that had been commandeered by General Butler for use as
With no prospect of recovering his business in St. Louis a oating headquarters on the James River, on November
27, 1864. Courtenay also took credit for the destruction
and his family well cared for in Maryland, Courtenay
turned to the Confederacy. He obtained a volunteer ap- of the gunboat USS Chenango as she sailed from New
York Navy Yard on April 15, 1864.
pointment to General Sterling Price's sta, although ex-
actly what he was doing is unknown.
In August 1863, Courtenay approached Price with a plan
to attack Union shipping by means of an explosive de-
3 After the war
vice disguised as a lump of coal, the coal torpedo. The
coal bombs would be planted in the coal piles used to fuel While in England, Courtenay attempted to sell his coal
Union steamships and locomotives by a team of opera- torpedo to a number of foreign governments, including
tives working behind enemy lines. When a coal bomb England, France, Spain, and Turkey, all without success.
was shovelled into the rebox, it would explode, resulting He returned to the United States in 1868, but he was in
the explosion of the pressurized steam boiler and the de- poor health for the rest of his life, and died at the age of 53
struction of the vessel. Courtenay was sent to Richmond, at Jordans Sulphur Springs near Winchester, Virginia, on
Virginia carrying military dispatches, and he remained in September 3, 1875. He is buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery
Richmond to implement his plan. He rst wrote Jeerson in Baltimore, Maryland.
Davis on November 30, 1863, explaining his scheme.
Davis approved and forwarded Courtenays letter to Sec-
retary of War James A. Seddon, who arranged for the 4 Marriage and children
castings to be made by the army artillery shop in January,
1864.
Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay married Mildred Ann
Courtenay was motivated by a Confederate Bounty Law Clendenin on August 25, 1847 in Louisville, Kentucky.
that oered a reward of up to 50% of the value of Union Mildreds father, James Clendenin, was a merchant in
shipping destroyed by means of new inventions. How- Louisville, who had met Courtenay on a trip to St. Louis.
ever, the Confederacy had not established a legal frame- Mildreds mother was from the Peay family of Virginia.
work that would allow private citizens to conduct attacks Mildreds Uncle Austin Peay had married Peachy Speed,
that were essentially military in nature. A secret bill sister of Joshua Fry Speed and James Speed. Since Mil-
authorizing the formation of independent secret service dreds father had sold his home and was in the middle of
corps was passed by the Confederate Congress on Febru- moving to St. Louis, Thomas and Mildred were married
ary 15, 1864. Courtenay was given a captains commis- at Farmington, the Speed family plantation in Louisville,
sion in the Confederate Army and permission to form a Kentucky.
Secret Service Corps of up to 25 men. The Corps was au-
Thomas and Mildred had ve children:
thorized to attack any Union military vessel or transport
carrying military goods found in Confederate waters, but
was forbidden to attack civilian shipping or Union ship- Austin Matlack Courtenay (18501938)
ping in Northern waters. Courtenay would not draw a
regular Army salary, but would receive up to 50% of the James Clendenin Courtenay (18521853)
value of ships and cargo destroyed or captured, payable Charles Edgeworth Courtenay (18541854)
in Confederate war bonds.
Courtenay planned to purchase a coal barge and seed it Ellen Watters Courtenay (18561938)
with coal torpedoes, as a means of getting his bombs into
Mary Amelia Isabel Courtenay (18671943)
the ships of the Union blockading eet, but the plan ei-
ther failed, or was never carried out. Unfortunately for
Courtenay, Confederate correspondence giving details of Mildred, Austin and Ellen went to England with Thomas
the plan was captured and Courtenay and his associates in 1864 and returned in 1867. When Mary was born
became wanted men. Union Admiral of the Mississippi in 1867, Mildred was living with relatives in Maryland,
David D. Porter ordered, I have given orders to comman- while Thomas remained in England trying to sell his in-
vention.
 3

5 References
Perry, Milton F. Infernal Machines: The story
of Confederate submarine and mine warfare.
Louisiana State University Press, 1985.

Tidwell, William A. April '65. Kent State University

Press, 1995.

Thatcher, Joseph M. The Courtenay Coal Tor-

pedo, in Military Collector and Historian, Vol. XI,
Spring 1959.
4 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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