Brutus de Villeroi’s first submarine boat seized by the government at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1861.
Quite an excitement was created in Philadelphia on Friday morning by the seizure of a submarine boat, the invention of De Villeroi, a Frenchman. It was going down the river and struck on an island. Four men were found on board. Villeroi says he was about taking it to the Navy Yard to test ; but the others of the yard disclaim any knowledge of him. The boat was constructed some time since for raising wrecks and other submarine work, but was never put in active use. It is segar-shaped and made of iron, thirty feet long. It supplies its own air, and will be useful in running under a fleet.
The Daily Exchange, Baltimore, MD
Brutus de Villeroi
Brutus de Villeroi was a French engineer. He first built a submarine in 1832, offering it to the French Navy, but was turned down. By 1861 he was living in Philadelphia, PA and had built the submarine mentioned in the article as a salvage vessel. He later offered his services to the government, and built the first submarine for the United States Navy, the Alligator. The Alligator sank in bad weather off Cape Hatteras while being towed to South Carolina on April 2, 1863.