The Hunley Confederate Submarine

If there is a quiz at the end a visit to Charleston, one of the questions would be “what is the Hunley.” If you already live in the Low Country and can’t answer a few questions about the confederate submarine, shame on you.

So what is the big deal? During the Civil War the Charleston icon was the first submarine to engage and sink a warship. The vessel was by privateers Horace Lawson Hunley, James McClintock, and Baxter Watson in Mobile, Alabama. 

There is a mockup of the Hunley in front of the Charleston Museum and the Hunley museum has a model that visitors can climb in, sit on a bench and imagine what it would be like turn the crank to power its propeller. Even above water with one end cut off for easy access, it feels cramped with only a couple of my family members. I can’t imagine getting in the thing with seven or eight men with the intention of going underwater. Then I found out what happened to the Hunley’s first two crews.

The First Crew: While preparing to test the vessel, the skipper stepped on a lever causing it to skink. The skipper and two crew members escaped but five men were trapped and drowned. 

The Second Crew: Hunley and seven other crewmen drowned when the submarine failed to surface during a mock attack.

I cannot, I absolutely cannot fathom how anyone could climb into the little craft knowing two crews had already drowned in it.  Even with the Hunley’s tragic track record, eight more men volunteered and climbed through the hatch. 

The Third Crew:  The Union had setup up a naval blockade in Charleston’s harbor.  With the mission to break the blockcade, the Hunley was launched into Charleston harbor with a crew of seven and Lieutenant George Dixion on the night of On February 17, 1864. After successfully completing its mission by sinking the USS Housatonic, the vessel surfaced and a signal was sited. After the blue light, the crew and the Hunley disappeared. What happed to the Hunley was a complete mystery until it was located in 1995, and raised in 2000. 

Today, all three crews of the Hunley rest together in Magnolia Cemetery.  A very interesting place in its own right. 

The Hunley is a unique piece of history and the story of its recovery and preservation is interesting. You can visit the Hunley on Saturdays and Sundays at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center on 1250 Supply Street (on the old Charleston Navy Base) North Charleston, South Carolina 29405. See the Friends of the Hunley website for further information.