Twenty-five years ago, August 8, 2000, the H.L. Hunley, a Civil War submarine, was raised from the ocean floor off the coast of Charleston where it had been lost shortly after a history-making feat.
The 40-foot Confederate submarine was the world’s first sub to sink an enemy ship. It struck the Union ship, USS Housatonic, on February 17, 1864. The ship was part of a Union blockade in outer Charleston Harbor.
Shortly after striking the ship, the Hunley and her eight-man crew vanished. They were thought to be lost in the Atlantic Ocean. No trace.
Fast forward 131 years to 1995. The Hunley was found during an expedition using a magnetometer. An expert and well-resourced crew located a metal object about four miles off the coast of South Carolina’s Sullivan’s Island. A 30-foot dive then removed three feet of sediment, revealing one of Hunley’s two small conning towers.
It was indeed the Hunley. A delicate and scientific expedition was planned and executed to raise the Hunley and transport to Charleston.
The Hunley had been built in Mobile, which was already a large and active port and ship-building center. It was constructed in 1863 by Park and Lyons, a Mobile machine shop. The Lyons family was an Old Mobile name even then and remains so today.
The Hunley was based on designs by Horace Lawson Hunley, James R. McClintock, and Baxter Watson. After construction, the Hunley underwent testing in Mobile Bay, demonstrating its capabilities and passing rudimentary tests for seaworthiness. It was then transported by land to Charleston, South Carolina, in August 1863, to aid in the defense of the besieged port.
A replica of the Hunley is on display at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile.
Remains of the eight-man crew were also found inside the vessel. They were carefully removed and given a proper burial at Charleston’s Magnolia Cemetery following a memorial service on April 17, 2004.
The memorial service and burial were attended by tens of thousands of people who came to honor the Hunley’s crew and witness the historic moment.
The Hunley’s crew included Lt. George E. Dixon, Arnold Becker, C. Lumpkin, Frank Collins, J.F. Carlsen, James A. Wicks, Joseph Ridgeway and a man only known as Miller.
"A perfect vessel for Americans to interpret and create meaning from the war," __American Civil War Museum
Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler’s beat is the colorful and positive about Alabama -- her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].
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