Listen up, volunteers, here’s your new job. 7 of you are going to sit on a cold, hard metal bench in a tiny metal tube for several hours, under water, hunched over, cranking away on a handle to move us through the water. It will be hot and humid inside, you’re going to be uncomfortable and sweat a lot but you’ll have to keep cranking. Every now and then we’ll surface to get some air. Our job is to attach a torpedo to the bottom of a ship, set it off and skedaddle away back to shore - before the torpedoes goes off. Got that? Oh, by the way, 13 people have already died on this ship. Let’s go!!!
Sound like a lot of fun? Want to volunteer for this job? Probably not but this was the job of the men in the Hunley. Hunley? What’s that you ask - just like Warren Lasch, the man who was asked to head the foundation to recover and restore the Hunley, the Civil War submarine with a crew of 8 which sank a Union ship and then disappeared in Charleston harbor. But he soon learned about the Hunley and developed a marvelous museum and presentation of its place in history.
Today, we’re heading on over to the Lasch Conservation Center to see the Hunley which was recovered in 1995 and is now undergoing a long process in a huge tub before it can be displayed. Submarines had been attempted as far back as the Revolutionary War but with no success. The Hunley was the first submarine to actually sink another ship. Nearly 40 feet long, it was built at Mobile, Alabama, and launched in July 1863. She was then shipped by rail on August 12, 1863, to Charleston, South Carolina. The Hunley sank on August 29, 1863, during a test run, killing five members of her crew. She sank again on October 15, 1863, killing all eight of her second crew, including Horace Hunley himself, who was aboard at the time, even though he was not a member of the Confederate militia. Both times the Hunley was raised and returned to service.
Volunteer to go on this mission in this boat? You’re out of your mind. But, think again, Lieutenant Dixon convinced the powers to be that he and a crew of 7 volunteers would take it out again to try to sink a Union gunboat.
Here I am in a mock-up of the Hunley, the submarine. Hard metal bench, hunched over, grueling work turning that crank. But I’m much more comfortable than the 8 guys who really were in the Hunley.
It was a chilly February evening when the Hunley with her crew of 8 set off on her last voyage. 4 miles away out in the harbor sat the blockade ship Housatonic. The Hunley churned towards their target at an estimated speed of 2 - 4 knots, pretty slowly since their speed depended upon the men cranking away on the gears.
The Hunley chugged silently towards its target. On board, the lookout, knowing that the Confederacy had a secret weapon, spotted a huge log moving in towards the ship. Maybe a large porpoise. The guard alerted others. The strange shape was moving closer to the ship, too close to use their 12 guns to shoot her down. The gathered their rifles and small guns and fired at the approaching menace.
The Hunley moved closer, the torpedo was stuck to the side of the Housatonic, the crew member assigned to the torpedo pulled the wire and it went off. The Housatonic sank within minutes. The Hunley was not seen again until 1995 when it was pulled from under tons of silt at the bottom of the bay.
Why did the Hunley sink? Was it a loose hatch cover? Were they knocked unconscious by the shock of the explosion? Did they run out of air before they could get back to the coast?
Where did it sink? Why was it found beyond the Housatonic and not closer to shore? Did it go the wrong direction?
Who were the crew members?
What were they like?
OK, that’s the history - and what a fascinating story. But the recovery of the Hunley and the reconstruction of the faces and bodies of the crew members is even more fascinating.
Conrad Wise Chapman made this contemporary painting of the H.L. Hunley
Here is a picture of what the Hunley must have looked like under water and another picture of how the Hunley must have gotten the torpedo attached to the Housatonic.
There have been many who have tried to find the Hunley. At one time P.T. Barnum even offered a reward of $100,000 to encourage others to try to find it. Most searches have concentrated around the area where the Housatonic sank but to no avail. Finally, action author Clive Clussler established the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) and spent 15 years searching for the Hunley. It was finally discovered May 3, 1995, approx. 4 miles from where most thought it had sunk. Now what? Well, we’ve got to get it up, protect it from treasure hunters, properly bury the brave men who manned it and then ready it for display for all to see as a piece of American history. Lots to do.
They dug around it, built a huge metal cradle, tied straps under it and pulled it up - slowly. Like the picture below shows.
It looked like this when it was removed. It had been almost immediately covered in silt which protected it from erosion. Which means that it was almost intact when it was found and raised. However, it was covered in a gunky coating of sand, rust and sediment, called concretion, which has to be removed which is not easy since this crust can be as hard as the original metals.
And, that’s why it is sitting in a huge vat now. Difficult to see but, when it’s removed, it will be put on display and then we can all see it plainly.
Inside the Hunley were found 8 complete skeletons and skulls. Using imaging, they have developed what the crew members of the Hunley must have looked like.
Fascinating archeology, fascinating facial reconstruction and it’s all in the Hunley ‘museum.’ Actually, this is really a laboratory for the Hunley. Hours for touring are limited to Sat and Sun when the laboratory personnel are not working.
On the far left is the Lieutenant who led the mission. Interesting story about him. According to legend, he knew a young lady named Queenie Bennett while he was living in Mobile, AL. As a token of her affection she gave him a $20 gold coin when he left for war in 1861. During the battle of Shiloh, he was shot - the bullet struck the coin in his trouser pocket and spared his life. When they were digging up the Hunley, they found this coin with ‘Shiloh - April 6, 1862 - My Life Preserver - G.E.D. When the archaeologists were studying the bones, they noted that the upper end of the leg bone had been injured. X-rays revealed that there were radio-active particles from a minie ball. If anyone had doubted the legend - here was the proof. Proof that the legend was true, proof that this was the Hunley with Dixon on board. The coin is displayed in the museum and it’s still dented and bent.
We have seen a lot of forts recently, a lot of museums, a lot of city scapes. But this is the first ship recovery that we’ve seen. Pretty cool.
And we followed the Hunley up with a walk over the Ravenal Bridge in Charleston. Beautiful bridge and what a nice walk. The pillars of this bridge stand out over the Charleston skyline and the struts in their fan shape mounting crown the bridge. No wonder people like to walk over it and we were not alone in our walk. In fact, I was quite surprised to see so many walking this bridge. I mean - who in their right mind walks across a bridge?
Afterwards, we walked through the city of Charleston and through the open air market which runs every day - right off the cruise ship pier. Lots of tourist shops selling Charleston things. Found a shop with plaques to put up in your house. My favorite:
I found some jam that I had to have - never have enough jam in our refrigerator. We also found some ice cream. The price was $3.99 for one dip and $4.99 for two. I asked for a single dip and they young woman behind the counter perkily asked why I didn’t get 2. ‘It’s only $1.00 more.’ Hmm, Hey, Big Gar, let’s share. OK and we got a $4.99 two-dipper and shared. Look at the size of this baby. Enough for both of us for sure. Oh, shucks, Gary, didn’t you get a spoon?
“A chocolate in the mouth is worth two in the plate” - Author unknown
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