Autograph letter signed by John L. Lay, to Comm. William Radford. U.S. Torpedo Boat Spuyten Duyval, James River, Virginia, 11 February 1865. 2 pages, legal folio. 

Letter written by Commander John L. Lay, the Union naval engineer and commander of the innovative and effective torpedo boat the U.S.S. Sputen Duyvil. Writing from aboard the ship, Lay writes to William Radford, who commanded the Ironclad Division in the attacks on Fort Fisher.

Lay complains of atrocious conditions about the Spuyten Duyvil: "There is required as a tender for this vessel a schooner capable of accommodating six officers, and twenty men, also room to carry 30 or 40 tons of coal, and stow at least 75 torpedoes. As we are situated now, officers and men are obliged to sleep in the same apartment, which is filled with torpedoes and machinery, ill adopted for a sleeping place at any time, we also are obliged to mess on board the Onondaga, we can accommodate but two days coal while running."

The document is endorsed by Homer C. Blake (1822-1880) who "respectfully urge[s]" a swift response to the request. Blake had commanded the U.S.S. Hatteras before it was sunk by Semmes' C.S.S. Alabama.

Originally called the Stromboli, the Spuyten Duyvil's design was formulated after the Union Navy suffered heavy losses from Confederate torpedoes. This torpedo boat was designed by Captain William W. Wood, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Navy, who supervised her construction at New Haven by Samuel M. Pook. Constructed quickly, she successfully fired two torpedoes by 25 November 1864 and arrived at Norfolk on 5 December. 

She immediately moved up the James River in support of Grant's drive on Richmond. During the Battle of Trent's Reach (23 January 1865), she supported the Onondaga, the only monitor then on the river.

This letter, written shortly after these triumphs, reveals that while the Spuyten Duyvil was an innovative torpedo boat, she lacked even basic comforts for her crew. 

The Spuyten Duyvil's torpedo capabilities were employed once again in April 1865. After the Confederates abandoned Richmond, the Spuyten Duyvil cleared the James River to allow Lincoln to reach the Confederate capital aboard the Malvern. 

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