Science, Science FIction and American History

This course is designed to integrate history, invention, and fiction with the location of where my students reside in the city of Philadelphia. This unit will explore the first known “secret weapon” submarine used during the Civil War. History textbooks mention the first ironclad ships the Monitor and Merrimac (aka Virginia), but little is mentioned about the first submarine built in Philadelphia and designed by a French native who taught Jules Verne. The engineering and design of a submarine during the Civil War ushered in a new era in naval warfare.