Civil War Submarine

H. L. Hunley, sometimes referred to as the Hunley, CSS H. L. Hunley, or CSS Hunley, was a Confederate States of America submarine that took part in the American Civil War to a minor extent. Hunley gave an example of the benefits and risks of underwater combat. Although Hunley was partially submerged and lost along with her crew after her attack, she was the first combat submarine to sink a warship (USS Housatonic) before returning to base. In the three sinkings of Hunley during her brief career, twenty-one crew members perished. Shortly after being drafted into government service and placed under the command of the Confederate States Army in Charleston, South Carolina, she was given the name Horace Lawson Hunley in honor of her inventor.

Built-in Mobile, Alabama, Hunley was nearly forty feet long when launched in July 1863. She then traveled by rail to Charleston on August 12, 1863. Five crew members perished when Hunley (also known as the “fish boat,” “fish torpedo boat,” or “porpoise”) sank on August 29, 1863, while conducting a test run. On October 15, 1863, she sank once more, killing all eight members of her second crew, including the ship’s own Horace Lawson Hunley, who was on board even though he was not a soldier in the Confederate army. Hunley was raised both times and went back to work.

On February 17, 1864, Hunley attacked and sank the 1,240-ton US Navy screw sloop-of-war Housatonic, which was on Union blockade duty in Charleston’s outer harbor. Hunley was lost after sinking, taking all eight of her third crew members with her. She did not survive the attack.

Hunley was raised in 2000 and was eventually found in 1995. He is currently on display at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center on the Cooper River in North Charleston, South Carolina. Analysis of Hunley artifacts recovered in 2012 revealed that the submarine’s deployed torpedo exploded 20 feet from her target, Housatonic, causing the submarine to sink.