The Hunley, a Confederate submarine with a place in history

The Confederate battle flag, called the “Southern Cross,” or the cross of St. Andrew, has been described as a proud emblem of Southern heritage and a shameful reminder of slavery and segregation. This editor’s view has always been that the flag represents the rebellious and independent spirit that is a hallmark of the American culture, then and now. That aside, the facts are that many brave, courageous and heroic Americans served under the "Southern Cross." We have one story of their courage here, the story of a submarine named the Hunley. The Hunley was a “people powered” Confederate submarine carrying a 90 pound bag of explosives strapped to a 22-foot spar tied to her bow. History has recorded she was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship in combat. Her crew and the ship itself were recently recovered. Their story of service and sacrifice still has many chapters to be told as science reconstructs her and her crew stem to stern, head to foot. The legacy of her crew is already a story of courage, heroism, a stubborn determination to find work-arounds to an almost impervious blockade, and good old American ingenuity

March 21, 2004

Richmond, Virginia, graves of Confederate soldiers in Hollywood Cemetery., April-June 1865 (Library of Congress), courtesy of Photographs of American Civil War Part I

By anyone’s definition, the American Civil War was tragic and costly in terms of human loss. Most estimates of the death toll are in the region of 620,000, with some saying it might have been as high as 700,000. Disease took the greatest toll, about 414,000, with battle deaths in the area of 204,000. And, it is arguable whether the slave issue was the dominant causal factor. Questions surrounding states rights versus the power of the central federal government and the very strong economy of the North intimidating the very weak economy of the South were also dominant issues.

It is with that in mind that this editor finds the Confederate flag to be more a symbol of rebellion and opposition to powerful centralized government than a symbol of racism. A rebellious and independent streak is at the heart of the American culture and a great contributor to the vitality of our democracy. The flag shown here is actually the best known of a series of flags developed for the Confederacy, several of which looked so much like the Union flag that troops on the battlefield were confused by who was who. This flag is known as the "Battle Flag" and clearly distinguished one side from the other.

Well, the purpose here is not to fight the Civil War all over again, or debate its causes. The purpose instead is to introduce you to the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley and its crew. This is a story so typical of Americans, one of heroism, courage, bravery and ingenuity.

As a first order of business, let’s set the stage.

Fort Sumter, in the middle of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina

In 1861, South Carolina seceded from the Union as a protest to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. Fort Sumter was and remains located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. On April 10, 1861, General Beauregard, in command of provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison there, commanded by Major Robert Anderson. Anderson refused. On April 12, Confederate batteries opened fire on the fort. The garrison there was not equipped to respond in kind. On April 13, Major Anderson surrendered and Union forces evacuated the fort.

Six days later, on April 19, President Lincoln issued a proclamation to blockade the southern states from South Carolina to Texas. On April 27 the blockade was extended to include Virginia and North Carolina.

USS Atlanta on the James River, Virginia, circa 1864-65. She was the former Confederate ironclad CSS Atlanta, captured in June 1863. The Union retained the name Atlanta, so in this photo she is the USS Atlanta. Presented by CSS Atlanta - USS Atlanta.

Right off the bat the president’s proclamation created all manner of controversy. Such a blockade was considered by tradition to be an act of war, yet all that had happened was an attack on one fort by the forces associated with one city in a southern state that said it had seceded. Many in the Union and the South did not want to go to war just over that. Many did not yet even consider that a major rebellion was underway. The Secretary of the Navy referred to it as a “home question,” for example, not a war or a rebellion. The blockade also posed foreign policy problems, since it would impose on the rights of trade. Foreign vessels would be seized on the high seas if thought on a course to a southern port. Foreign governments could consider such seizures an act of war. This was especially complicated given the fact that many ships were underway to and from southern ports before the blockade was declared, and did not know of it.

Nonetheless, by the summer of 1861 the blockade was in full force, and Union vessels were appropriately stationed. There were not standards of conduct or implementation, however. Different skippers enforced the embargo in different ways. The Union employed a blockade practice generally thought by most sailing men to be very unsafe. Rather than patrolling up and down the coast, they anchored many ships close in, enduring enormous risks associated with changing currents and foul weather.

Look carefully here, but there are two ships each headed in opposite directions. The Emily St. Pierre, passing to the right, is British registered blockade runner, and you can see the British flag aft. Heading to the left is the Union's Star of the West. The St. Pierre was working to evade the Star of the West. Courtesy of Civil War at Charleston

Blockade running, of course, was rampant. After all, the American South was rich in cotton, and the world coveted its cotton, most especially the British, while Americans coveted the luxury goods that came in exchange. That was especially true in the romantic city of Charleston, which, historians write, was determined not to let the Civil War get in the way of its social life. However, the people of Charleston had to face the realities of the war in 1863 when Union forces captured Morris Island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Blockade-runners now had a very complicated life. Prior to this, during the period July 1, 1861 through March 30, 1863, some 130 blockade-runners successfully steamed out carrying over 32,000 bales of cotton. But after that, the going got very rough indeed for the blockade runners.

American ingenuity being what it was, always has been, and always will be, a way had to be found to oppose this blockade. A New Orleans lawyer by the name of Horace Lawson Hunley knew of the possibilities already demonstrated by submarine technologies, and funded their construction as his contribution to opposing these blockades which by 1863 had become most effective. The first two Confederate submarines, the Pioneer and the American Diver, sank before they could attack Union vessels. The Hunley was the third Confederate effort.

Cutaway drawings of the H. L. Hunley, 1863, sketch by Confederate officer W. A. Alexander, courtesy of the Naval Historical Society

The Hunley had a crew of eight. It ran on “people power.” That is, eight of the crew turned the propeller with a hand crank. Maximum speed was 4 knots.

3-D reconstruction of the H.L. Hunley based on published descriptions, photos, snap shots from the Friends of the Hunley web cams, and other sources, presented by Michael and Karen Crisafulli

Two four-foot pipes provided air. The hull contained enough air to operate for about an hour in submerged operations.

She passed successful trials in Mobile harbor, and was moved to Charleston, which was a port suffering greatly from the blockade. On its first operational mission, she dove with hatches still open. The wake of a passing ship flooded the open hatches. Four crewmembers escaped, but five drowned.

The five who died were recovered and quietly buried at a mariner’s graveyard off the bank of the Ashley River, a place that had become a Confederate mariner’s graveyard during the war. This site was mistakenly covered over when Johnson Hagood football stadium was built on it in 1948. The graves of the five Hunley crewmen and 22 other Confederate sailors and marines and one child were covered. Historians discovered the remains of this first Hunley crew in June 1999 during an archaeological dig beneath the Citadel’s football stadium. In this photo, presented by the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, you see Elizabeth Lambert, a student, discovering the first bone, a skull, on June 25, 1999. She reported this:

"June 25th was indeed a magical day, because around seven that evening, we found the first bone, a skull. It was a humbling experience, as everyone gathered in a circle, linked hands, prayed, and sang 'Dixie' ... It was a pivotal event in my life because I was able to put a face on history, for not only was I helping these brave men, who fought for what they believed in, to finally rest in peace … This experience was eye-opening, for I now viewed the Civil War as more than an event, and I could picture the lives of individual soldiers. These men had been friends, sons, brothers, fathers, and human beings, men who had loved, lost, wept, and smiled, and in three short weeks, I changed my view of life. No longer do I view life as a trial, I now see it as a wonderful journey, in which we must strive to be the best that we can, while at the same time, recognizing the fragility of life, and the need for compassion."

On March 25, 2000, more than 2,500 people came to Magnolia Cemetery, to observe the crew being buried there with full military honors.

Returning to the Hunley in its Civil war days, the sub was salvaged following this first sinking. This time, Hunley himself skippered her on the second set of operations. The Hunley sank on October 15, 1863 on a routine diving exercise. The skipper and his crew were all killed. On November 8, 1863, Hunley and his crew of seven were buried at Magnolia Cemetery, all with full military honors.

Tombstone for the second Hunley crew lost in the second sailing, Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina. Photo credit: Ira Block, courtesy of National Geographic Magazine, July 2002 edition, "The H.L. Hunley, Secret Weapon of the Confederacy, by Glenn Oeland

This cemetery was established in 1850. It is worth noting here that in the year 2000, when the crew from the first sinking was brought to Magnolia, they were buried next to the second crew. It is also worth noting that a monument to South Carolina’s Civil War dead stands in the Confederate section of the cemetery, as shown in the photo below.

Confederate Cemetery within the Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina, is the final resting place for the men of South Carolina and her sister states who gave their lives defending Charleston South Carolina in the Civil War, courtesy of Findagrave.com

Again returning to the Hunley and the Civil War, not to be deterred, the Confederates again raised the vessel and refurbished her.

"The Final Mission," by Mort Künstler, a world reknowned historical artist who combined conceptualized the faces of the crewmen using the latest forensic research conducted in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and Friends of the Hunley. After careful study of the many artifacts found onboard the Hunley during its excavation in 2000 - 2003, Künstler includes in his portrayal of that night many of the crew's personal possessions. Presented by the Friends of the Hunley.

On the evening of February 17, 1864, the Hunley engaged a Union ship, the USS Housatonic. Writing "The H.L. Hunley, Secret Weapon of the Confederacy" for the July 2002 edition of National Geographic, Glenn Oeland wrote this:

"Shortly after sunset on the night of February 17, at a dock on nearby Sullivans Island, eight audacious Confederates squeezed inside the claustrophobic iron vessel and set out on a quixotic mission. Affixed to the boat’s bow was a spar tipped with a deadly charge of black powder. At the helm was Lt. George Dixon, a bold-hearted, battle-scarred army officer. Behind him, wedged shoulder to shoulder on a wooden bench, sat seven crewmen whose muscles powered the sub’s hand-cranked propeller."

In this artist's concept drawing presented by the Friends of Hunley, you can nicely envision the Hunley underwater approaching her target. You see the 22-foot spar attached to her bow with the 90 pounds of explosives attached to the end. Her mission was to essentially ram her target, stick the explosive to the target's hull, then withdraw and detonate the explosives using a chord. Again, Oeland said this:

"As the crew began turning the heavy iron crankshaft, Dixon consulted a compass and set course for a daunting target—the steam sloop U.S.S. Housatonic, stationed four miles (six kilometers) offshore. The Rebels’ plan was to run about six feet (two meters) below the surface until they neared the blockader. But in order for Dixon to take final aim, he would have to resurface just enough to peer through the sub’s tiny forward viewport."

Artist's concept of Hunley's attack on the USS Housatonic, provided by the July 2002 edition of National Geographic.

"At 8:45 p.m. John Crosby, acting master aboard the Housatonic, spotted something off the starboard beam that looked at first like a 'porpoise, coming to the surface to blow.' There had been warnings of a possible attack by a Confederate 'infernal machine,' and Crosby was swift to sound the alarm. Sailors rushed to quarters and let loose a barrage of small arms fire at the alien object barely breaking the surface, but the attacker was unstoppable. Two minutes later the Hunley rammed her spar into the Housatonic’s starboard side, well below the waterline. As the sub backed away, a trigger cord detonated the torpedo, blowing off the entire aft quarter of the ship. It was an epic moment.

For reasons that are not known to this day, the Hunley never returned to port. Dixon radioed in after his attack, but was never heard from again. The Hunley too sank in Charleston harbor, just outside Sullivan’s Island.

Map of Charleston Harbor and the location of the Hunley's "kill," provided by the July 2002 edition of National Geographic,

Nonetheless, the Hunley goes down in history as the first submarine to destroy an enemy ship in combat. The expense, of course, was great. She sank three times, and 22 Confederate sailors died as a result. She sank only one Union ship killing five Union sailors.

USS Housatonic, artistry by R.G. Skerrett, presented by the Naval Historical Center

That said, the sinking of the USS Housatonic cannot be shrugged off as trivial. She was a 1,930-ton Ossipee class steam screw sloop of war, built at Boston Navy Yard and commissioned in August 1862. She arrived off Charleston in September 1862 and was very active in capturing or helping to capture several blockade runners and supporting attacks on fortifications ashore. The Hunley, on the other hand, was far smaller, far more fragile, powered by eight guys cranking the propeller, with only one weapon hanging off a 22-foot spar attached to the bow.

The Civil War has fascinated historians, political scientists, archeologists, and scientists since its beginning. A host of vessels sank in Charleston harbor. As one would expect, scientists were especially interested in the Hunley because of its history making attack. There is an enormous amount of information available on the efforts to locate and raise the Hunley. It was no light-weight effort. Suffice to say here that this mission was accomplished on August 8, 2000 when the ship and her crew of eight were raised successfully. The ship and crew have been undergoing a host of highly scientific tests employing the most sophisticated technologies since.

Some photos follow.

Hunley submarine immersed in refrigerated storage tank at the Warren Lasch Conservation Lab (WLCC), Charleston, SC, upon recovery. Note the cathodic connection to the sub at the spar attachment and the titanium anodes in the white pipes along the submarine. Photo courtesy of Friends of Hunley.

View of the port bow. Notice the surprising concave shape and sharp edge of the bow. On the right hand side, can be seen the port dive plane (one of two) that was used to control the submarine's inclination. On the left hand side and below the submarine, can be seen the cushioning bags that were inflated to conform to the shape of the hull. Photo courtesy of Friends of Hunley.

It’s worth noting that the USS Hunley (AS-31), a 19,000-ton Hunley class submarine tender configured to service ballistic missile submarines, was built at Newport News, Virginia and commissioned in 1962.

The USS Hunley (AS-31) in port, photo courtesy of Globalsecurity.org http://navysite.de/ships/as31.htm

She was based at Holy Loch, Scotland and Charleston during 1963-1967. During the next 12 years, she was the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine (SSBN) tender at Guam and Charleston. She was later stationed back at Holy Loch, and then completed her service by serving as a tender to attack submarines at US East Coast ports. She was decommissioned and removed from the Naval Vessel Register in September 1994.

We would like to conclude by telling you this. Since being raised in August 2000, considerable scientific and forensic work has been accomplished on the remains of the Hunley’s crew, the crew that sank the Housatonic. Efforts are being made to do facial reconstructions of each crewmember so people might know what these courageous men looked like. Once completed, this crew will also be buried at Magnolia Cemetery, alongside the previous two Hunley crews. The plan is to afford this crew full military honors, and attach faces to the names, heroes whose stories will be fully told for generations to come. It is expected that this burial will occur this year, though a date has not yet been announced.

The Hunley crew laid to rest

Spectators gather around the grave containing the eight caskets of the crew of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley Saturday, April 17, 2004, in Charleston, S.C. Thousands of men in Confederate gray and Union blue and women in black hoop skirts and veils escorted the crew of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship, to their final resting place. Photo credit: Alan Hawes, AP.