A modern torpedo is a cigar-shaped, self-propelled, underwater explosive device designed to destroy another ship or submarine. During the Civil War, what was then called a torpedo would be best described as a naval mine.Confederate president Davis was opposed to their use. He thought they were cowardly weapons and it was unethical to use them against anyone. Despite Davis' objections, the Congress of the Confederate States passed a law authorizing rewards for anyone inventing new ways to blow up enemy vessels using submersibles and mines.