William T. Glassell

When Hartford reached Philadelphia, Glassell declined to swear an additional oath of allegiance prescribed for Southerners, and was consequently imprisoned at Fort Warren and dropped from the U.S. service (December 6, 1861).

Intrigued by the army's experiments with torpedoes and mines, he requested and received assignment to a special command training to attack the blockading fleet's monitors.

[1] On the night of October 5, 1863, Glassell and a crew of three in the diminutive torpedo boat CSS David attacked the most powerful ship in the United States Navy, New Ironsides.

The pilot stayed on board and the fireman soon reboarded the drifting boat, relit the fire, and reached the safety of Charleston Harbor.

Captain Glassell's health had been broken as a result of his experiences while in the Confederate Army, both by his hazardous undertaking, and subsequent capture and eighteen months in a northern military prison.

The city of Orange was founded by attorneys Andrew Glassell and Alfred Chapman, who had participated in the partition of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana and were active in similar land lawsuits.