Fenian Ram: The Green Submarine

Any submariner worth his salt has heard of a good Irishman named John Phillip Holland and his submarine design changed the way wars would be fought at sea forever.

On April 11, 1900 the United States Navy purchased his boat and named it the USS Holland. (For submarine purists, please take note that the first submarine was named after a living person and not a fish).

There was a long path for Holland to get to the point where his boats would gain acceptance. His initial design in 1875 was turned down by the US Navy as unacceptable. The little Irishman was determined to succeed however and with the aid of some good friends, continued his designing refinement.

This is where it gets interesting.

The “friends” that funded him were from a group called the Fenian Brotherhood which was the American equivalent to the Irish Republican brotherhood. Their real goal…