One would be hard pressed to find a more adventuresome POTUS than Theodore Roosevelt.

The Young Fella

TR was 42 when he became President.

Theodore Roosevelt became President suddenly. He had been a reluctant candidate for Vice President under William McKinley in 1900, but the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket won handily, and they were inaugurated on March 4, 1901. In September, McKinley was assassinated, and TR became President. He was only 42.

Having gone from a frail, asthmatic child who was not expected to live long, Theodore Roosevelt “built his body,” and became not only vigorous, but an ardent proponent of the strenuous life. Along with his new muscles and the quick and inquisitive mind he had from birth, a spirit of adventure and experience and damn-the-hardships attitude marked his entire life.

He carried those traits into the Presidency.

The Age of Transportation

Railroad travel had been around even before TR was born in 1858. It changed the 19th century. By the time of the Roosevelt Presidency, railroad tracks crisscrossed the country, and practically every town and village had railroad access within reasonable proximity. By 1900, trains could travel more than 60 miles per hour. One could easily go across the entire country in a week.

When TR became POTUS, the automobile had emerged as not only a viable mode of travel, but one that promised to be affordable to the common man. By the time TR retired from the Presidency in 1909, Henry Ford had fulfilled that promise, and inexpensive and reliable Model-T Fords were chugging down the growing number of paved highways. It would change the 20th century.

In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright pioneered the airplane, which would put the entire world at one’s fingertips within 50 years. Of course TR was the first POTUS to fly in an airplane, but that was shortly after he was President.

Submarines

Leonardo had a nifty idea!

A man made machine that could travel underwater was not a new concept in 1900. Four centuries earlier there were designs in Leonardo DaVinci’s notebooks for prototype styles. The vessel could work; the biggest problem was ventilation for the sailors.

When George Washington was fighting the British in Brooklyn, some enterprising Americans were touting a submersible vessel (nicknamed Turtle) in battle, specifically to attach explosive charges to an enemy ship. General Washington was another proponent of the “let’s try it” attitude, but this attempt was not successful.

During the Civil War, the Confederacy designed and built the Hunley, specifically to sidle up to a Union naval vessel, attach a mine of some kind, and leave undetected. The vessel demonstrated both the potential – and the danger – of undersea craft. It sank twice. Several lives were lost. But a raised Hunley still managed to sink a Union ship. It worked well enough to convince naval engineers to keep trying, and by 1895, prototypes had been built with bells and whistles that Leonardo hadn’t even considered!

By 1903, the Navy had not only built two US submarines, but had been able to resolve enough ventilation problems to allow submariners to submerge for perhaps a few hours. This, of course would change naval warfare forever.

The USS Plunger

Submarines Shark and Plunger

USS Plunger (SS2)

The original Plunger, a name connoting “derring-do diving,” or a risky gamble, was the second submersible vessel built by the US Navy. The Shark was the first. Neither were designed for any specific purpose other than for research and development.

Built in Elizabethport, NJ and commissioned in 1903 by the Holland Torpedo Boat Company, the Plunger (SS-2) was nearly 64 feet long and 21 feet wide. She could accommodate 1 officer and 6 crew. Nevertheless, The Navy did not believe submarine duty was any more hazardous than on traditional ships, and in fact, the submariners were classified as “on shore-duty.” Bottom line, they received around 25% less pay than regular sailors.

For nearly three years, the Navy experimented with torpedoes and related armaments and tactics. It also served as a training vessel for future submersible crews.

The President as Passenger

TR’s adventure made the papers!

It so happened, on August 22, 1905, the Plunger (SS-2) was undergoing some tests and trials on Long Island Sound, near Sagamore Hill, the summer home of President Theodore Roosevelt. He was invited to go for a “plunge.” The adventurous POTUS never had to be asked twice! He agreed, boarded and stayed for two hours while the sub made several dives. When they surfaced, TR spent another hour inspecting the vessel. He later wrote a friend that he had “never experienced such a diverting day…or so much enjoyment in so few hours.” Translation: A bully time!

There was a little more benefit to the President’s visit. He admitted that he went chiefly because he “did not like the officers and enlisted men to think I wanted them to try things I was reluctant to try myself.”

After the dives, TR firmly stated that he believed that submarine duty was difficult and hazardous, and that those engaged had to have iron nerves, and need to be trained at the highest level. Thus, “submarine pay.” Enlisted crew would be paid $10/month extra in addition to their pay rate – plus $1 per each day they were submerged.

The Fate of the Plunger

As one might expect, technology whizzed by, making the original USS Plunger (SS-2) obsolete by 1909. A young ensign, recently graduated from the Naval Academy, took command. He had little regard for submarines in general, considering it a cross between a Jules Verne fiction and a humpback whale. He would change his mind in the years ahead.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz became a champion of submarines.

By 1916, the poor old Plunger, now ignominiously renamed “A-1” was basically used for target practice. Bruised and battered, she was finally sold for scrap in 1922. But there would be other Plungers to do honor to their namesake “ancestor.”

Meanwhile, the young ensign of dubious submarine opinion did rather well for himself. He actually became a strong proponent/authority on submersible vessels, rose in rank, and by World War II, was an admiral. His name was Chester W. Nimitz.

Sources:

Morris, Edmund – Theodore Rex – 2002, Random House

http://www.leonardo-history.com/inventor.htm

https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/plunger-i.html