For the last crew of the now legendary Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the end of the American Civil War came on the night of February 17th, 1964 just outside Charleston Harbor. The violent percussion of 135-pounds of black powder stealthily delivered by the tiny, hand cranked iron sub reduced the U.S. Navy's 207-foot blockade vessel Housatonic to sunken wreckage, killing five of her crew and sending the rest into the rigging to escape the chilling waters washing over her decks.

Housatonic at left and an artist's drawings of the Hunley

The bold act carried out by the nine-man crew crammed inside the Hunley would immortalize the vessel as the first submarine in history to successfully destroy a warship. Moments following the blase a blue signal light was flashed from the Hunley just offshore of the southern end of Sullivan's Island, indicating to lookouts on land that the crew was bringing her home triumphantly on the incoming tide. Yet before the victorious craft could join the celebration ashore, something went disastrously wrong. For reasons yet to be revealed, the Hunley, which had carried two previous crews to their deaths in practice runs, disappeared beneath the moonlit surface of the Atlantic for the last dive of its melancholic career. In the muffled ink-blackness of that night five fathoms below the waves, the valiant crew confronted their fates together as the doomed submarine came to rest starboard side down on the sandy, current swept plateau. Then all was quiet. Slowly and silently, the Confederate's secret weapon and only hope to break the Union's blockade strangle hold on the Port of Charleston, was completely buried by sediment and time.

Years passed. The war between the states ended and the Port of Charleston resumed its function as a major artery for commerce and international trade in the battle ravaged South. In the midst of rebuilding the once prosperous seaport to its full strength, the world above the surface of the sea continued to ponder the mysterious disappearance of the Hunley and the men entombed inside her iron walls lying somewhere outside the harbor. The possibility of locating the infamous Civil War relic, bringing home the crew and solving the mystery of the pioneer of submarine warfare never died, in fact throughout the 20th century that curiosity became a quest for some in the business of wreck exploration. By the 1980's, historians, archaeologists and various teams of underwater researchers aided with advanced sonar technology began to close in on the exact location of the Hunley. Finally on May 3, 1995, over 131 years after it vanished without a trace, the Hunley's fully intact hull was discovered about four miles from the mouth of Charleston harbor just north of the approach channel, its bow still pointing in the direction of the harbor entrance. In near zero visibility under 30 feet of water, a dive team funded by novelist Clive Cussler's National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) dug away three feet of sediment to expose part of the incredibly advanced designed dive plane and hull of the sub which rested at a 45 degree angle. The identification of the famed Confederate submarine, which had taken 22 men to their deaths including its chief financial backer and namesake Horace L. Hunley, had been confirmed.

An artists rendering of the Hunley nearly covered in sand.

Over the proceeding five years, plans to raise and preserve the Hunley were rapidly developed through the cooperation of a number of archeological and historical conservation groups concerned with the delicate and expensive procedure. These organizations included the National Park Service, the state of South Carolina, the South Carolina Institute of Archeology and Anthropology, the Naval Historic Center, NUMA, and the National Geographic Society's Expeditions. The nonprofit funding group, Friends of The Hunley headed by businessman Warren Lasch, and the South Carolina Hunley Commission headed by State Senator Glenn McConnell brought together the final recovery operation. The recovery team worked furiously to retrieve the Hunley before the 2000 hurricane season kicked in, as the excitement and anticipation increased for what had begun to be referred to by some as the most important archeological project of the century.

On August 8, 2000 amidst a swarming flotilla of onlookers, television cameras and circling helicopters, the encrusted yet perfectly intact hull of the Hunley broke the surface of the sea just off Charleston Harbor for the first time in 136 years. For the organizers of the flawless recovery and the millions of others following the event on television, radio and the Internet, the moment was more than just a little emotional, it was an historical happening unrivaled. As the Hunley's sleek form swung above the waves cradled and suspended beneath a 300-ton crane like some beautifully strange creature rescued from the depths, the thunder of cannon fire erupted from Civil War reenactors on the beach of Sullivan's Island. From hundreds of boats horns blared, church bells in Charleston and on Sullivan's Island rang and crowds of people everywhere whooped and hollered, as if time had been switched back on for the submarine so long overdue from its fateful mission.

The Hunley is carefully raised from the barge to be
loaded into a special tank for preservation and study
After being skillfully lowered onto a barge rolling in the offshore swells, the Hunley was towed into Charleston Harbor surrounded by its sprawling entourage of boats. Everywhere along the shore, on roof tops and parking garages, even on top of a construction crane swinging above the city, thousands of spectators gathered under a blazing windless sky to witness the procession as it passed waterfront Park and headed up the Cooper River toward the Hunley's new home at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in the old Charleston Naval Shipyard.

Today the Hunley rests inside the 46,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility submerged in a specially designed water tank chilled to just above freezing. The laboratory will be the site where history will be revealed as the excavation of the Hunley continues and discoveries are shared with the world. Because the sub's interior filled relatively quickly with sand and sediment and the exterior was covered completely in a short period of time, there is a good chance that whatever remains of the crew, their personal items, tools, weapons, provisions and other relics will be rather well preserved.

The next step in the Hunley's excavation will be to explore the interior of the sub which will more than likely entail removing one of the small conning towers to gain entry. While probing the interior with tiny video cameras, tons of sediment will carefully be removed with the utmost care to avoid damaging any of the contents. The interior excavation of the Hunley promises to offer historians and archaeologists one of the rarest opportuniites ever presented in American history and an exciting opportunity to preserve a vintage specimen of underwater vessel design. The results of the excavation will help to demystify the cause of the Hunley's> final descent and perhaps give the world a never before seen glimpse into an American Civil War time capsule. Hunley project manager, Dr. Robert Neyland, said plans are to conduct studies using DNA analysis to identify the crew members' remains and determine exactly how they died. With due honor, respect and dignity, after the studies are completed a formal burial in the tradition and practice of the 1860's will be held and the bodies laid to rest alongside the second crew of the Hunley in Magnolia Cemetery.

The sub's iron structure has proven so far to be in very good condition after spending 136 years under salt water. Again, one of the reasons for its surprisingly sound preservation is the fact that the Hunley spent most of its submerged years under three feet of sediment, shut off from additional corrosive forces and safe from being repeatedly snagged and damaged by ships' anchors or the nets of trawlers. Prior to being raised from the ocean's floor, the Hunley's 22-foot iron torpedo spar used to attach the bomb to the Housatonic's hull had to be detached. A single bolt at the bottom of the sub's bow had to be removed to free the spar and after 136 years under the sea, when the nut was loosened, the bolt's threads survived as if it had been turned the day before. With the exception of some slight davage to its stern (possibly from a snagged anchor before it became fully silted over) and a small hole in the forward conning tower (perhaps from bullets fired from the deck of the Housatonic), the hull is completely sealed. Through the two rows of "deadlights", small glass ports located along the top of the sub to allow light in for the crew, sand is clearly visible indicating that the Hunley is indeed packed solid with sediment. Whatever lies within is certain to have survived with relatively minor deterioration.

The encrustation which envelops the sub will be removed either by electrochemically dissolving it with a basic PH solution or simply chiseling it off slowly and meticulously. Then to deter any further corrosion the Hunley will sit submerged in an electrolysis bath for five to ten years to remove all the salts and corrosives from its 19th century metal body. Following the lengthy electrolyte treatment the Hunley fwill be coated with a special anticorrosive substance to further protect it from deterioration before it goes on public display in Charleston.

The recovery of the Hunley is considered one of the most historically significant archeological operations in American maritime history. As the exploration unfolds its significance will increase and spread into new arenas as we learn more about its design, its secrets and the men who sacrificed themselves inside such a notoriously dangerous craft. The dangers the Hunley crews faced as they practiced diving to the bottom of Charleston Harbor knowing that they may not see the light of day again are the same ones which modern submariners all over the world must contend with, as exemplified by the most recent disaster involving a Russian nuclear sub.

The Hunley's story is one of ingenuity, bravery and sacrifice on the sea and beneath it. It's also a story which illustrates the vital importance of keeping shipping lanes open so that the Port of Charleston could function as a conduit for commerce and the successful carrying out of world trade just as it does today.

Text and images reprinted with the permission of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.

For more information on the Hunley, click on the links below

The site of "The Friends of the Hunley"

A good history of the development of the Hunley and other early submarines