View source for H. L. Hunley

{{short description|Submarine of the Confederate States of America}}
{{about|the submarine|its designer and namesake|Horace Lawson Hunley}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
|display title=ital}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image          = Conrad Wise Chapman - Submarine Torpedo Boat H.L. Hunley, Dec. 6, 1863.jpg
|Ship caption        = 1864 painting of ''H. L. Hunley'' by [[Conrad Wise Chapman]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country        = [[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]]
|Ship flag           = {{shipboxflag|Confederate States of America|naval}}
|Ship name           = ''H. L. Hunley''
|Ship namesake= [[Horace Lawson Hunley]]
|Ship builder        = James McClintock
|Ship laid down      = Early 1863
|Ship launched       = July 1863
|Ship acquired       = August 1863
|Ship in service     = 17 February 1864
|Ship out of service = 17 February 1864
|Ship sunk           = 17 February 1864
|Ship status         = Raised in 2000 and preserved in H. L. Hunley Museum
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship displacement   = {{cvt|7.5|ST|lk=on}}
|Ship length         = {{cvt|39.5|ft}} (unconfirmed)
|Ship beam           = {{cvt|3.83|ft}}
|Ship propulsion     = Hand-cranked ducted propeller
|Ship speed          = {{cvt|4|kn}} (surface)
|Ship complement     = 2 officer, 6 enlisted
|Ship armament       = 1 [[spar torpedo]]
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
  |embed=yes
  | name = ''H. L. HUNLEY'' (submarine)
  | nrhp_type =
  | image =
  | caption =
  | nearest_city= [[North Charleston, South Carolina]]
  | coordinates = {{coord|32|44|0|N|79|46|0|W|display=inline}}
| locmapin = South Carolina#USA
  | built = 1864
  | architect = Park & Lyons; Hunley, McClintock & Watson
  | architecture =
  | added = December 29, 1978
  | refnum = 78003412<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
  | website = {{URL|www.hunley.org}}
}}
|}

'''''H. L. Hunley''''', also known as the '''''Hunley''''', '''CSS ''H. L. Hunley''''', or '''CSS ''Hunley''''', was a [[submarine]] of the [[Confederate States of America]] that fought in the [[American Civil War]]. ''Hunley'' demonstrated the advantages and dangers of undersea warfare. She was the first combat submarine to sink a warship ({{USS|Housatonic|1861|6}}), although ''Hunley'' was not completely submerged and, following her attack, was lost along with her crew before she could return to base. Twenty-one crewmen died in the three sinkings of ''Hunley'' during her short career. She was named for her inventor, [[Horace Lawson Hunley]], shortly after she was taken into government service under the control of the [[Confederate States Army]] at [[Charleston, South Carolina]].

''Hunley'', nearly {{cvt|40|ft}} long, was built at [[Mobile, Alabama]], and launched in July 1863. She was then shipped by rail on 12 August 1863 to Charleston. ''Hunley'' (then referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise") sank on 29 August 1863 during a test run, killing five members of her crew. She sank again on 15 October 1863, killing all eight of her second crew, [[List of inventors killed by their own invention|including Horace Lawson Hunley himself]], who was aboard at the time, even though he was not a member of the Confederate military. Both times ''Hunley'' was raised and returned to service.

On 17 February 1864, ''Hunley'' attacked and sank the 1,240-[[displacement ton|ton]] [[United States Navy]]<ref name="autogenerated1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20041030065502/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/h8/housatonic-i.htm Housatonic<!-- Bot generated title -->] [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20131205175241/http%3A//www%2Ehistory%2Enavy%2Emil/danfs/h8/housatonic%2Di%2Ehtm Archived copy] at the [[Library of Congress]] (December 5, 2013).</ref> [[Screw sloop|screw]] [[sloop-of-war]] ''Housatonic'', which had been on [[Union blockade]]-duty in Charleston's outer harbor. ''Hunley'' did not survive the attack and sank, taking all eight members of her third crew with her, and was lost.

Finally located in 1995, ''Hunley'' was raised in 2000 and is on display in [[North Charleston, South Carolina]], at the [[Warren Lasch Conservation Center]] on the [[Cooper River (South Carolina)|Cooper River]]. Examination in 2012 of recovered ''Hunley'' artifacts suggested that the submarine was as close as {{cvt|20|ft}} to her target, ''Housatonic'', when her deployed torpedo exploded, which caused the submarine's sinking.<ref name="Smith">{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Bruce|title=Experts find new evidence in submarine mystery|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.yahoo.com/experts-evidence-submarine-mystery-203606783.html|date=January 28, 2013|access-date=January 29, 2013}}</ref>

== Historical context ==
The [[American Civil War|Civil War]], April 12, 1861 – April 9, 1865, was a domestic American war where the [[Union Army|Union]] (also called the North) was locked in combat with the [[Confederate States Army|Confederates]] (also called the South).

In the beginning of the war, combat was fought with bayonets, horses, wooden ships, and imprecise artillery. During the course of the conflict the weaponry changed and mines, accurate guns, more deadly bullets, torpedoes, and "[[Ironclad warship|ironclad]]" ships became a new standard. Though most of the fighting occurred on land, a critical element of the war was at sea. Whichever side controlled the coastline also controlled shipping imports from Europe and Coastal America, which contained critical resources such as clothes, food, artillery, medicine, and, at times, reinforcements. The Hunley was created to destroy the [[Union blockade]] and help gain this all-important coastline advantage.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=PBS |date=2014 |title=Civil War Innovations |url=https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/civil-war-innovations/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=[[History Detectives]] Special Investigations}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marvel |first=William |title=A Concise History of The Civil War: Machines of War |url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/civil_war_series/1/sec5.htm#:~:text=The%20Civil%20War%20saw%20the,the%20face%20of%20warfare%20forever. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302142302/http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/civil_war_series/1/sec5.htm#:~:text=The%20Civil%20War%20saw%20the,the%20face%20of%20warfare%20forever. |archive-date=March 2, 2015 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=A Civil War Series by The National Park Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hassler |first1=Warren |last2=Weber |first2=Jennifer |date=October 7, 2023 |title=American Civil War |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War |access-date=October 18, 2023 |website=Britannica.com}}</ref>

== Predecessors ==
Horace Lawson Hunley provided financing for [[James McClintock (shipbuilder)|James McClintock]] to design three submarines: {{ship||Pioneer|submarine|2}} in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], {{ship||American Diver||2}} built in Mobile, and ''Hunley''.<ref name="Walker">{{cite book
| last=Walker | first=Sally M. | author-link=Sally M. Walker
| title=Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley
| publisher=[[Lerner Publishing Group|Carolrhoda Books]] | date=2005 | location=Minneapolis | pages = 10, 11
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txP7dIf1fEkC&pg=PA10
| isbn=978-1-57505-830-6
}}
</ref>

While the United States Navy was constructing its first submarine {{USS|Alligator|1862|6}}, in late 1861, the Confederacy was developing their own. Likely having within them an incessant loyalty to the Confederate states as well as understanding the financial gains that would come from sinking enemy ships,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Wills |first=Rich |date=28 July 2017 |title=H. L. Hunley in Historical Context |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/the-h-l-hunley-in-historical-context.html#anchor368048 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622070421/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/the-h-l-hunley-in-historical-context.html |archive-date=22 June 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> Hunley, McClintock, and Baxter Watson first built ''Pioneer.'' She was tested in February 1862 in the [[Mississippi River]] and was later towed to [[Lake Pontchartrain]] for additional trials. The [[Battle of New Orleans (American Civil War)|Union advance towards New Orleans]] caused the men to abandon development, however, and ''Pioneer'' was scuttled the following month.<ref name = Walker/>
McClintock noted the significance that a boat capable of moving in any direction at any depth could be made, but ultimately decided that such a vessel could be improved.<ref name=":3" /> Hunley, Watson, and McClintock moved to Mobile to develop a second submarine, ''[[American Diver]].'' They collaborated with Park & Lyons machine shops owners, Thomas Park and Thomas Lyons, in the construction of the vessel.<ref name=":3" /><ref name = Walker/><ref name="Early">{{Cite book |last1=Early |first1=Curtis A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-X7iuwvSZn0C&pg=PA218 |title=Ohio Confederate Connection: Facts You May Not Know about the Civil War |last2=Early |first2=Gloria J. |publisher=iUniverse |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4502-7373-2 |place=Bloomington, IN |page=218}}</ref> Their efforts were supported by the [[Confederate States Army]]. [[Lieutenant]] [[William Alexander (military engineer)|William Alexander]] of the [[21st Alabama Infantry Regiment]] was assigned to oversee the project. The builders experimented with several methods of providing the new submarine with self-propulsion, including McClintock's electromagnetic drive, followed by a custom [[steam engine]], but eventually settled on a simple hand-cranked propulsion system as they felt that the time and money lost in implementing such an engine would not be worth the trouble.<ref name=":3" /> ''[[American Diver]]'' was ready for harbor trials by January 1863, but she proved too slow to be practical. Nonetheless, it was decided to tow the submarine down the bay to [[Fort Morgan (Alabama)|Fort Morgan]] and attempt an attack on the Union blockade. However, the submarine foundered in the rough waters caused by foul weather and the currents at the mouth of [[Mobile Bay]] and sank.<ref name="Sledge2015">{{cite book|author=John S. Sledge|title=The Mobile River|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqgGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT188|date=29 May 2015|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-61117-486-1|pages=188–189}}</ref> The crew escaped, but the boat was not recovered.<ref name="usnavy">{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_32/hunley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016165452/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_32/hunley.html | archive-date=October 16, 2012 |title=The Birth of Undersea Warfare – H.L. Hunley  |date=September 17, 2011 |work=Undersea Warfare: The Official Magazine of the U.S. Submarine Force |publisher=United States Navy }}</ref>

== Construction and testing ==
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2017}}<!--only one paragraph has a citation-->
[[File:Hunley-1.jpg|left|thumb|Inaccurate inboard profile and plan drawings, after rough sketches made by [[William Alexander (military engineer)|W.A. Alexander]] (1863)]]
[[File:Confederate ironclads Chicora and Palmetto State in Charleston harbor.png|right|thumb|CSS ''Chicora'' and CSS ''Palmetto State'']]
[[File:Horace L Hunley (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|[[Horace Lawson Hunley]], the submarine's namesake and inventor]]

[[File:PSM V58 D167 Confederate submarine which sank the housatonic.png|left|thumb| Drawings of ''H. L. Hunley'' from 1900.]]
Construction of ''Hunley'' began soon after the loss of ''[[American Diver]]''. At this stage, ''Hunley'' was variously referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise". Legend held that ''Hunley'' was made from a cast-off [[Boiler (steam generator)|steam boiler]]—perhaps because a cutaway drawing by William Alexander, who had seen her, showed a short and stubby machine. In fact, ''Hunley'' was designed and built for her role, and the sleek, modern-looking craft shown in R.G. Skerrett's 1902 drawing is an accurate representation. Each end was equipped with [[ballast tank]]s that could be flooded by valves or pumped dry by [[Pump|hand pumps]]. Extra ballast was added using iron weights bolted to the underside of the hull. If the submarine needed additional buoyancy to rise in an emergency, the iron weight could be removed by unscrewing the heads of the bolts from inside the vessel.

The hull of the ship is estimated to originally have been 4 feet 3 inches (1.30) in diameter. The two hatches, accessible by means of [[conning tower]], located in the forward and [[aft]] of the vessel, are estimated to have originally measured at 16.5 inches (42&nbsp;cm) in width and 21 inches (53&nbsp;cm) in length. The small sizing of the hatches and the cramped quarters made entering, exiting, and maneuvering about the ship remarkably difficult. Hunley was designed for a crew of eight, seven to turn the hand-cranked ducted propeller at about 3.5 [[horsepower]] (2.6&nbsp;kW), and one to steer and direct the boat. At the height of her speed, ''Hunley'' could reach 4 [[Knot (unit)|knots]] [Wills, 2017].

By July 1863, ''Hunley'' was ready for a demonstration. Supervised by Confederate [[Admiral]] [[Franklin Buchanan]], ''Hunley'' successfully attacked a coal flatboat in Mobile Bay. Following this, the submarine was shipped by rail to Charleston, South Carolina, on 12 August 1863. However, the Confederate military seized the submarine from her private builders and owners shortly after arriving, turning her over to the Confederate Army. ''Hunley'' would operate as a Confederate Army vessel from then on, although Horace Hunley and his partners would remain involved in her further testing and operation. While sometimes called CSS ''Hunley'', she was never officially commissioned into service.

Confederate Navy Lieutenant [[John A. Payne]] of [[CSS Chicora|CSS ''Chicora'']] volunteered to be ''Hunley''{{'}}s captain, and seven men from ''Chicora'' and [[CSS Palmetto State|CSS ''Palmetto State'']] volunteered to operate her. On 29 August 1863, ''Hunley''{{'}}s new crew was preparing to make a test dive when Lieutenant Payne accidentally stepped on the lever controlling the sub's diving planes as she was running on the surface. This caused ''Hunley'' to dive with one of her hatches still open. Payne and two others escaped, but the other five crewmen drowned.<br />
''H. L. Hunley'' crew lost 29 August 1863:
* Michael Cane
* Nicholas Davis
* Frank Doyle
* John Kelly
* Absolum Williams

The Confederate Army took control of ''Hunley'', with all orders coming directly from General [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], with Lt. [[George E. Dixon]] placed in charge. On 15 October 1863, ''Hunley'' failed to surface after a mock attack, killing all eight crewmen. Among these was Hunley himself, who had joined the crew for the exercise and possibly had taken over command from Dixon for the attack maneuver. The Confederate Navy once more salvaged the submarine and returned her to service.<br />
''H. L. Hunley'' Crew lost 15 October 1863:<ref>[https://civilwartalk.com/threads/hunley-crew-wasnt-using-air-circulation-system-the-night-sub-sank-ship-then-vanished.164802/ Civil War Forum]</ref>
* Horace Hunley
* Thomas S. Parks
* Henry Beard.
* R. Brookbanks
* John Marshall
* Charles McHugh
* Joseph Patterson
* Charles L. Sprague

== Armament ==
[[File:CSS David drawing.jpg|thumb|left|Plans of [[CSS David|CSS ''David'']]]]
''Hunley'' was initially intended to attack by using a floating [[Explosive material|explosive charge]] with a [[contact fuse]] (a [[torpedo]] in 19th-century terminology). The Hunley's methodology of deploying the explosive charge consisted of them diving beneath the ship and catching the charge on the side/hull of the vessel and re-emerging outside of the blast range of the explosive. This plan was discredited and not used as the possibility of ''Hunley'' becoming entangled in the rope, the rope drifting away from the ship, or the charge exploding on the submarine was too great.

Instead, a [[spar torpedo]]—a copper cylinder containing {{convert|135|lb|kg|abbr=off}} of [[Gunpowder|black powder]]—was attached to a {{convert|22|ft|adj=on}}-long wooden spar, as seen in illustrations made at this time. Mounted on ''Hunley''{{'}}s bow, the spar was to be used when the submarine was {{cvt|6|ft}} or more below the surface. Previous spar torpedoes had been designed with a barbed point: the spar torpedo would be jammed in the target's side by ramming and then detonated by a mechanical trigger attached to the submarine by a line so that as she backed away from her target, the torpedo would set off. However, archaeologists working on ''Hunley'' discovered evidence, including a spool of copper wire and components of a battery, that it may have been electrically detonated. In the configuration used in the attack on ''Housatonic'', it appears ''Hunley''{{'}}s torpedo had no barbs and was designed to explode on contact as it was pushed against an enemy vessel at close range.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Post and Courier| author=Brian Hicks|title=Rewriting history: Discovery alters legend of doomed sub...|date=27 January 2013|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/archives/rewriting-history-discovery-alters-legend-of-doomed-subhunley-submarine-lifted/article_ebecd2a4-9288-51c7-b6e2-5f26ade4090b.html}}</ref> After Horace Hunley's death, General Beauregard ordered that the submarine should no longer be used to attack underwater. An iron pipe was then attached to her bow, angled downwards so the explosive charge would be delivered sufficiently underwater to make it effective. This was the same method developed for the earlier "[[CSS David|David]]" surface attack craft used successfully against the [[USS New Ironsides (1862)|USS ''New Ironsides'']]. ''The Confederate Veteran'' of 1902 printed a reminiscence authored by an engineer stationed at Battery Marshall who, with another engineer, made adjustments to the iron pipe mechanism before ''Hunley'' left on her last fatal mission on 17 February 1864. A drawing of the iron pipe spar, confirming her "David" type configuration, was published in early histories of submarine warfare.

== Attack on ''Housatonic'' ==
[[File:USSHousatonic.jpg|thumb|''USS Housatonic'']]
[[File:Destruction of Housatonic by a rebel torpedo. Feb. of 17 1864. Charleston LCCN2004660354.tif|right|thumb|Destruction of the USS Housatonic; sketch by war artist [[William Waud]]]]
{{main|Sinking of USS Housatonic}}
''Hunley'' made her only attack against an enemy target on the night of 17 February 1864. The target was United States Navy ship, [[USS Housatonic (1861)|USS ''Housatonic'']], a {{convert|1240|LT|MT|adj=on}}<ref name="autogenerated1" /> wooden-hulled steam-powered screw sloop-of-war with 12 large [[cannons]], which was stationed at the entrance to Charleston, about {{convert|5|mi|km|abbr=off}} offshore. ''Hunley'' happened to be on patrol around that area at the time.<ref name=":3" /> Helmed by Lieutenant George E. Dixon with a crew of seven and desperate to break the [[Blockade|naval blockade]] of the city, H. L. Hunley successfully attacked ''Housatonic'', ramming ''Hunley's'' only spar torpedo against the enemy's [[Hull (watercraft)|hull.]]<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Lance |first1=Rachel M. |author-link=Rachel Lance |last2=Stalcup |first2=Lucas |last3=Wojtylak |first3=Brad |last4=Bass |first4=Cameron R. |year=2017 |title=Air blast injuries killed the crew of the submarine H.L. Hunley |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=12 |issue=8 |article-number=e0182244 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1282244L |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0182244 |pmc=5568114 |pmid=28832592 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The torpedo was detonated, sending ''Housatonic'' to the bottom in three minutes,<ref name=":3" /> along with five of her crewmen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bl1AAQAAMAAJ&dq=USS+Housatonic+lost+1864&pg=PA327 The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion Series I – Vol. 15, p. 328]</ref> ''Hunley'' and her crew went missing after the attack. They would not be found for over 100 years.

== Disappearance ==

After the attack, ''H.L. Hunley'' failed to return to her base. At one point, there appeared to be evidence that ''Hunley'' survived as long as one hour following the attack, which occurred at about 20:45. The day after the attack, the commander of "Battery Marshall" reported that he had received "the signals" from the submarine indicating she was returning to her base.<ref>''The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion''; Series I – Vol. 15, p. 335.</ref> The report did not say what the signals were. A postwar correspondent wrote that "two blue lights" were the prearranged signals,<ref>{{cite book |first=Jacob N. |last=Cardozo |title=Reminiscences of Charleston |location=Charleston |year=1866 |page=124}}</ref> and a lookout on ''Housatonic'' reported he saw a "blue light" on the water after his ship sank.<ref>''Proceedings of the Naval Court of Inquiry on the Sinking of the Housatonic '' NARA Microfilm Publication M 273, reel 169, Records of the Judge Advocate General (Navy) Record Group 125</ref> "Blue light" in 1864 referred to a [[Blue light (pyrotechnic signal)|pyrotechnic signal]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Noah |last=Webster |author-link=Noah Webster |title=International Dictionary of the English Language Comprising the issues of 1864, 1879 and 1884 |editor-first=Noah |editor-last=Porter |editor-link=Noah Porter |page=137}}</ref> in long use by the U.S. Navy.<ref>{{cite book |first=George |last=Marshall |title=Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery: Containing a View of the Magnitude, Weight, Description and Use of Every Article Used in the Sea Gunner's Department in the Navy of the United States |location=Norfolk |year=1822 |pages=22, 24}}</ref> It has been falsely represented in published works as a blue lantern; the lantern eventually found on the recovered ''H. L. Hunley'' had a clear, not a blue, lens.<ref name="Chaffin2010">{{cite book |first=Tom |last=Chaffin |title=The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQcjlDMjXFoC |date=16 February 2010 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=978-1-4299-9035-6 |pages=225–242}}</ref> Pyrotechnic "blue light" could be seen easily over the {{convert|4|mi|adj=on|spell=in|sigfig=1}} distance between Battery Marshall and the site of ''Hunley''{{'}}s attack on ''Housatonic''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Benton |first1=Captain James Gilchrist |title=A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery Compiled for the Use of the Cadets of the United States Military Academy |date=1862 |page=[https://archive.org/details/courseofinstruct00bentrich/page/369 369] |publisher=New York, Van Nostrand |edition=Second |url=https://archive.org/details/courseofinstruct00bentrich}}</ref>

After signaling, Dixon's plan could have been to take his submarine underwater to make a return to Sullivan's Island, although he left no confirmed documentation of this plan. At one point, the finders of ''Hunley'' suggested she was unintentionally rammed by USS ''Canandaigua'' when that [[warship]] was going to rescue the crew of ''Housatonic'', but no such damage was found when she was raised from the bottom of the harbor. Instead, all evidence and analysis eventually pointed to the instantaneous death of ''Hunley''{{'}}s entire crew at the moment of the spar torpedo's contact with the hull of ''Housatonic''. Upon removal of the silt inside the hull, the skeletons of the crewmembers were found seated at their stations with no signs of skeletal trauma.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Lance |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Lance |title=In the waves: my quest to solve the mystery of a Civil War submarine |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5247-4415-1 |location=[[New York, New York]] |oclc=1103534885}}</ref> In October 2008, scientists reported they had found that the crew of ''Hunley'' had not set her pump to remove water from the crew's compartment, and this might indicate she was not flooded until after they died. In January 2013, it was announced that conservator Paul Mardikian had found evidence of a copper sleeve at the end of ''Hunley''{{'}}s spar. This finding indicated the torpedo had been attached directly to the [[Spar (sailing)|spar]], meaning the submarine may have been less than {{convert|16|ft|m|sigfig=1|abbr=}} from ''Housatonic'' when the torpedo exploded.<ref name="Smith"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Lance |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Lance |title=The New Explosive Theory About What Doomed the Crew of the 'Hunley' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/new-explosive-theory-what-doomed-crew-hunley-180974159/ |access-date=2020-10-12 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> In 2018, researchers reported that the [[keel block]]s, which the crew could release from inside the vessel to allow the sub to surface quickly in an emergency, had never been released.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 18, 2018 |title=Clues to Confederate Mystery: Sub's Crew Never Dumped Weight |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/18/us/ap-us-confederate-submarine.html}}</ref>

The short distance between the torpedo and the vessel, in addition to the signs that the crew died instantaneously and without a struggle to survive, led a team of blast trauma specialists from Duke University to theorize that the ''Hunley''{{'}}s crew was killed by the [[blast injury|blast itself]],<ref name=":0" /> which could have transmitted pressure waves inside the vessel without damaging its hull. Their research, which included scaled experiments with live black powder bombs, provided data indicating the crew was likely killed by the explosion of their own torpedo, which could have caused immediate pulmonary blast trauma. The Duke team's experiments and results were published August 2017 in the peer-reviewed journal ''PLoS One''<ref name=":0" /> and eventually became the subject of the book ''In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine''.<ref name=":1" /> Although their conclusions have been disputed by archaeologists with the [[Naval History and Heritage Command|Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC)]], the NHCC website<ref name=":2">{{cite web |date=28 August 2017 |title=Black Powder Blast Effects on the Confederate Submarine Hunley |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/black-powder-blast-effects-hunley.html |access-date=2018-03-14 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> disputing the results of the scientific experiments contains several inconsistencies. For example, the website implies that the experiments are not valid because "a 1/8th inch plate at 1/6th scale is only 0.02 inches thick," but neither of these dimensions is relevant to either the original ''Hunley'' or the scale model used by Duke.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Daley |first=Jason |date=July 23, 2018 |title=New Clues About Why the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley Sank |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-clues-about-why-confederate-submarine-hl-hunley-sank-180969724/ |access-date=October 16, 2023 |website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref>

Years after ''Hunley'' went missing, when the area around the wreck of ''Housatonic'' was surveyed, the sunken ''Hunley'' was found on the seaward side of the sloop, where no one had considered looking before. This later indicated that the ocean current was going out following the attack on ''Housatonic'', taking ''Hunley'' with her to where she was eventually found and later recovered.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

== Recovery of wreckage ==
{{Main|Conservation-restoration of the H.L. Hunley}}
''Hunley''{{'}}s discovery was described by William Dudley, Director of Naval History at the [[Naval Historical Center]] as "probably the most important find of the century."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehunley.com/factsheet.htm |title=H.L. Hunley Fact Sheet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174301/http://www.thehunley.com/factsheet.htm |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=usurped|website=The Hunley}}</ref>

[[File:CSSHLHunleyrecovery.jpg|thumb|''H. L. Hunley'', suspended from a crane during her recovery from off of Charleston Harbor, August 8, 2000]]
[[File:Hunley 001.jpg|thumb|Removing the first section of the crew's bench at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, January 28, 2005]]
[[File:H. L. Hunley in sodium hydroxide bath (2025).jpg|thumb|''H.L. Hunley'' in sodium hydroxide bath, August 2025]]
The discovery of ''Hunley'' has been claimed by two different individuals. Underwater archaeologist [[E. Lee Spence]], president, [[Sea Research Society]], reportedly discovered ''Hunley'' in 1970,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070624/2hunley_2.htm |title=A Civil War Time Capsule From the Sea: Artifacts from the South's submarine are turning fable into fact |first=Andrew |last=Curry |date=June 24, 2007 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Ghosts from the Coast |chapter=The Man Who Found the Hunley: Charleston, South Carolina |first=Nancy |last=Roberts |publisher=UNC Press |date=2001 |isbn=978-0-8078-2665-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ghostsfromcoast00nanc/page/89 89–94] |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ghostsfromcoast00nanc/page/89 }}</ref> and has a collection of evidence<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shipwrecks.com/attachments.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228024921/http://www.shipwrecks.com/attachments.html |archive-date=2008-02-28 |title=Letters, Charts, Maps, Documents, etc. attached to Dr. E. Lee Spence's Sworn Affidavit regarding Spence's 1970 discovery of the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley |website=Shipwrecks.com }}</ref> claiming to validate this, including a 1980 Civil Admiralty Case.<ref>United States District Court, District of Charleston, Case #80-1303-8, Filed July 8, 1980</ref> The court took the position that the wreck was outside the jurisdiction of the [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Office]], and no determination of ownership was made.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Witte|first1=Sully|title=A look back at Hurricane Hugo, five years after the storm|url=https://www.moultrienews.com/archives/a-look-back-at-hurricane-hugo-five-years-after-the/article_824c6f05-6be3-56eb-b442-87eaa6ee6467.html|access-date=13 December 2017|work=Moultrie News|publisher=Evening Post Industries|date=Sep 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707222238/https://www.moultrienews.com/archives/a-look-back-at-hurricane-hugo-five-years-after-the/article_824c6f05-6be3-56eb-b442-87eaa6ee6467.html|archive-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

On 13 September 1976, the National Park Service submitted the Sea Research Society's (Spence's) location for ''H. L. Hunley'' for inclusion on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. Spence's location for ''Hunley'' became a matter of public record when ''H.L. Hunley''{{'}}s placement on that list was officially approved on 29 December 1978.<ref name=inventory>{{cite web |last=Yasko |first=Karel |title=H. L. Hunley (Submarine) |work=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form – Inventory |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |date=February 1976 |url=http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/charleston/S10817710107/S10817710107.pdf |access-date=28 April 2012}}</ref> Spence's book ''Treasures of the Confederate Coast'', which had a chapter on his discovery of ''Hunley'' and included a map complete with an "X" showing the wreck's location, was published in January 1995.<ref>''Treasures of the Confederate Coast: The "Real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations'' by Dr. E. Lee Spence, Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995, p. 54</ref>

Diver Ralph Wilbanks located the wreck in April 1995 while leading a [[National Underwater and Marine Agency|NUMA]] dive team originally organized by archaeologist Mark Newell and funded by novelist [[Clive Cussler]],<ref>''Raising the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the Lost Confederate Submarine'' by B. Hicks and S. Kropf, Ballantine Publishing, N.Y., 2002, p. 131</ref> who announced the find as a new discovery<ref>NUMA News release, Austin, Texas, May 11, 1995</ref> and first claimed that the location was in about {{cvt|18|ft}} of water over {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} inshore of ''Housatonic'', but later admitted to a reporter that that was false.<ref>"Salvaging Hunley clues: Cussler fibs about sub's depth" by Schuyler Kropf, ''The Post and Courier'', Charleston, S.C., May 11, 1996</ref> The wreck was actually {{cvt|100|yd}} away from and on the ''seaward'' side of ''Housatonic'' in {{convert|27|ft|m}} of water. The submarine was buried under several feet of silt, which had concealed and protected the vessel for over a hundred years. The divers exposed the forward hatch and the ventilator box (the air box for the attachment of her twin snorkels) to identify her. The submarine was resting on her starboard side, at about a 45-degree angle, and was covered in a {{convert|1/4|to|3/4|in|cm}} thick encrustation of [[ferrous oxide|rust]] bonded with sand and seashell particles. Archaeologists exposed part of the ship's port side and uncovered the bow dive plane. More probing revealed an approximate length of {{convert|37|ft|m}}, with the entire vessel preserved under the sediment.<ref>''H.L. Hunley Site Assessment'', NPS, NHC and SCIAA, edited by Larry Murphy (SCRU), 1998, pp. 6–13, 63–66</ref>

On 14 September 1995, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell, Chairman, South Carolina ''Hunley'' Commission,<ref>Minutes of the Hunley Commission Meeting of September 14, 1995</ref> E. Lee Spence, with South Carolina Attorney General Charles M. Condon signing, donated ''Hunley'' to the State of South Carolina.<ref>{{cite web |title=Spence's Hunley papers – Assignment of Interest Sept 14 1995 |url=https://shipwrecks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spences-Hunley-papers-Assignment-of-Interest-Sept-14-1995-150-dpi.jpg |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129043604/https://shipwrecks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spences-Hunley-papers-Assignment-of-Interest-Sept-14-1995-150-dpi.jpg |archive-date=29 January 2022}} "Assignment of Interest," September 14, 1995, signed by E. Lee Spence and Charles Molony Condon, Attorney General State of South Carolina</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Spence's Hunley papers – Attorney General Condon thank you Sept 20 1995 |url=https://shipwrecks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spences-Hunley-papers-Attorney-General-Condon-thank-you-Sept-20-1995.jpg |access-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129043449/https://shipwrecks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Spences-Hunley-papers-Attorney-General-Condon-thank-you-Sept-20-1995.jpg |archive-date=29 January 2022 |date=20 September 1995}}</ref><ref>"Hunley claimant signs over rights to state" by Sid Gaulden, ''The Post and Courier'', Charleston, S.C., September 15, 1995</ref> Shortly thereafter, NUMA disclosed to government officials Wilbank's location for the wreck which, when finally made public in October 2000, matched Spence's 1970s plot of the wreck's location well within standard mapping tolerances.<ref>'Whose X marks the spot?' by W. Thomas Smith Jr., ''Charleston City Paper'', Charleston, S.C., October 4, 2000, p. 16</ref> Spence avows that he discovered ''Hunley'' in 1970, revisiting and mapping the site in 1971 and again in 1979, and that after he published the location in his 1995 book he expected NUMA to independently verify the wreck as ''Hunley'', not to claim that NUMA had discovered her. NUMA was actually part of a [[SCIAA]] expedition directed by Dr. [[Mark M. Newell]] and not Cussler.<ref>"News," official press release by NUMA, listing Clive Cussler as a contact, Austin, Texas, May 11, 1995</ref><ref>''The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice & Success in the Civil War'' by Mark Ragan, Narwhal Press Inc., {{ISBN|1-886391-04-1}}, p. 186</ref> Dr. Newell swore under oath that he used Spence's maps to direct the joint SCIAA/NUMA expedition and credited Spence with the original discovery. Dr. Newell credits his expedition only with the official verification of ''Hunley''.<ref>''The Andy Thomas Show'', live radio interview by Andy Thomas with Dr. Newell, Dr. Spence and Claude Petrone, Columbia, S.C., August 2001</ref>

The ''in situ'' underwater archaeological investigation and excavation culminated with the raising of ''Hunley'' on 8 August 2000.<ref name=Neyland2005>{{cite journal |author=Neyland, Robert S |title=Underwater Archaeology and the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley |journal=In: Godfrey, JM; Shumway, SE. Diving for Science 2005. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences Symposium on March 10–12, 2005 at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, Groton, Connecticut. |publisher=[[American Academy of Underwater Sciences]] |year=2005 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/9012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130113043821/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/9012 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 13, 2013 |access-date=2011-01-09}}</ref> A large team of professionals from the Naval Historical Center's [[Underwater Archaeology Branch, Naval History & Heritage Command|Underwater Archaeology Branch]], [[National Park Service]], the [[South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology]], and various other individuals investigated the vessel, measuring and documenting her before removal. Once the on-site investigation was complete, harnesses were slipped underneath the sub and attached to a truss designed by [[Oceaneering International]]. After the last harness had been secured, the crane from the recovery barge ''Karlissa B'' hoisted the submarine from the sea floor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prolamsausa.com/pdf/casestudies/HunleyCS.pdf|title=Tubería y Perfiles |website=Prolamsa.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715121343/http://www.prolamsausa.com/pdf/casestudies/HunleyCS.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Teaster|first=Gerald|title=Karlissa B Crane|url=https://myhighinfo.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-karlissa-b-600-ton-capacity-crane.html|website=My High Info}}</ref> She was raised from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, just over {{convert|3.5|nmi|km}} from Sullivan's Island outside the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Despite having used a sextant and hand-held compass thirty years earlier to plot the wreck's location, Dr. Spence's {{cvt|52|m}} accuracy turned out to be well within the length of the recovery barge, which was {{cvt|64|m}} long.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.titansalvage.com/jackupbarges/jackupspecs.pdf |title=Crowley Maritime Corporation |website=www.titansalvage.com |access-date=11 January 2022 }}{{dead link|date=October 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shipwrecks.com/mapHunleySitefield1979.htm|title=Annotated section of November 24, 1979, edition of NOAA chart 11523 with Spence's 1980 claim area and showing sites marked "it" which is the wreck of the Civil War submarine H.L. Hunley and "W.O," which is the old Housatonic wreck buoy.|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704114344/http://www.shipwrecks.com/mapHunleySitefield1979.htm|archive-date=July 4, 2008}}</ref> On 8 August 2000, at 08:37, the sub broke the surface for the first time in more than 136 years, greeted by a cheering crowd on shore and in surrounding watercraft, including author Clive Cussler. Once safely on her transporting barge, ''Hunley'' was shipped back to Charleston. The removal operation concluded when the submarine was secured inside the [[Warren Lasch Conservation Center]], at the former [[Charleston Navy Yard]] in North Charleston, in a specially designed tank of fresh water to await conservation until she could eventually be exposed to air.

The exploits of ''Hunley'' and her final recovery were the subject of an episode of the television series ''[[The Sea Hunters: True Adventures With Famous Shipwrecks|The Sea Hunters]]'', called ''Hunley: First Kill''. This program was based on a section ("Part 6") in Clive Cussler's 1996 non-fiction book of the same name (which was accepted by the Board of Governors of the Maritime College of the State University of New York in lieu of his Ph.D. thesis).<ref>''The Arizona Republic'', May 18, 1997; page unknown, dated cut-out article</ref>

In 2001, Clive Cussler filed a lawsuit against E. Lee Spence for unfair competition, injurious falsehood, civil conspiracy, and defamation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1980&dat=20011011&id=k3UiAAAAIBAJ&pg=3450,1370913|work=The Item |title=H.L. Hunley Discovery Case Heads to Court|agency=Associated Press|author=Bruce Smith|date=October 11, 2001}}</ref> Spence filed a countersuit against Cussler, in 2002, seeking damages, claiming that Cussler was engaging in unfair competition, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy by claiming Cussler had discovered the location of the wreck of ''Hunley'' in 1995 when she had already been discovered by Spence in 1970, and that such claims by Cussler were damaging to Spence's career, and had caused him damages over $100,000.<ref>Civil Action Number 2:01-cv-04006-SB, Date Filed 05/31/2002, entry number 35, pp. 32–40</ref> Spence's lawsuit was dismissed through summary judgment in 2007, on the legal theory that, under the Lanham Act, regardless of whether Cussler's claims were factual or not, Cussler had been making them for over three years before Spence brought his suit against Cussler; thus the suit was not filed within the statute of limitations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Judge dismisses counterclaim in Hunley lawsuit |url=http://www.historynet.com/judge-dismisses-counterclaim-in-hunley-lawsuit.htm |website=HistoryNet.com |publisher=The Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105072135/http://www.historynet.com/judge-dismisses-counterclaim-in-hunley-lawsuit.htm |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |date=May 18, 2007}}</ref> Cussler dropped his suit a year later,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20080823/PC1602/308239956|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902133900/http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20080823/PC1602/308239956|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 2, 2012|title=Cussler ends lawsuit over finding Hunley|first=Schuyler|last=Kropf}}</ref> after the judge agreed that Spence could introduce evidence in support of his discovery claims as a truth defense against Cussler's claims against him.<ref>Civil Action Number 2:01-cv-04006-SB, Date Filed 06/06/08, Entry Number 209, p. 8 of 30</ref>

''Hunley'' may be viewed during tours at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston. A replica is on display at the [[USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park]], Mobile, Alabama, alongside the {{USS|Alabama|BB-60}} and the {{USS|Drum|SS-228}}.

== Crew ==
[[File:16 20 146 hunley.jpg|thumb|H.L. Hunley Memorial Marker at [[Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)|Magnolia Cemetery]]]]
The crew was composed of 
* Lieutenant George E. Dixon (Commander) (of Alabama or Ohio)
* Frank Collins (of Virginia)
* Joseph F. Ridgaway (of Maryland)
* James A. Wicks (North Carolina native living in Florida)
* Arnold Becker (of Germany)
* Corporal Johan Frederik Carlsen (of Denmark)
* C. Lumpkin (probably of the British Isles)
* Augustus Miller (probably a former member of the [[German Americans in the American Civil War|German Artillery]]).<ref>{{cite web|author1=Willie Drye|title=Hunley Findings Put Faces on Civil War Submarine|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0409_040411_hunleycrew_2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050712075250/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0409_040411_hunleycrew_2.html|archive-date=July 12, 2005|website=National Geographic News|access-date=9 August 2017|page=2|date=April 12, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|title=Crew of Hunley studied|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/10/18/met_100932.shtml|website=The Augusta Chronicle|access-date=24 August 2017|date=24 August 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005913/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2006/10/18/met_100932.shtml}}</ref>

Apart from the submarine commander, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the identities of the volunteer crewmen of ''Hunley'' had long remained a mystery. [[Douglas Owsley]], a [[Physical anthropology|physical anthropologist]] working for the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s [[National Museum of Natural History]], examined the remains and determined that four of the men were American born, while the four others were of European birth, based on the chemical signatures left on the men's teeth and bones by the predominant components of their diet. Four men had eaten plenty of corn, an American diet, while the remainder ate mostly wheat and rye, a mainly European diet. By examining Civil War records and conducting [[DNA]] testing with possible relatives, forensic genealogist Linda Abrams identified the remains of Dixon and the three other Americans: Frank G. Collins of Fredericksburg, Va., Joseph Ridgaway, and James A. Wicks.<ref name="Chaffin2010"/> Identifying the European crewmen has been more problematic, but was apparently solved in late 2004. The position of the remains indicated that the men died at their stations and were not trying to escape from the sinking submarine.<ref name="PLOSONE">{{cite journal |last1=Lance |first1=Rachel M. |author-link=Rachel Lance |last2=Stalcup |first2=Lucas |last3=Wojtylak |first3=Brad |last4=Bass |first4=Cameron R. |date=2017-08-23 |title=Air blast injuries killed the crew of the submarine ''H.L. Hunley'' |journal=[[PLoS ONE]] |volume=12 |issue=8 |article-number=e0182244 |bibcode=2017PLoSO..1282244L |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0182244 |pmc=5568114 |pmid=28832592 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

On 17 April 2004, the remains of the crew were laid to rest at [[Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina)|Magnolia Cemetery]], in Charleston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=press&ID=100|title=Friends of the Hunley<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=hunley.org|access-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030727190020/http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=press&ID=100|archive-date=27 July 2003}}</ref> Tens of thousands of people attended including some 6,000 reenactors and 4,000 civilians wearing period clothing. Color guards from all five branches of the U.S. armed forces—wearing modern uniforms—were also in the procession.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040419112545/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0416_040416_hunleyfuneral.html "Last Funeral of the Civil War" to Put ''Hunley'' Crew to Rest<!-- Bot generated title -->] (dead link 25 February 2020)</ref> Even though only two of the crew were from the Confederate States, all were buried with full Confederate honors, including being buried with the 2nd Confederate national flag,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060316235951/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0416_040416_hunleyfuneral_2.html "Last Funeral of the Civil War" to Put ''Hunley'' Crew to Rest<!-- Bot generated title -->] (dead link 25 February 2020)</ref> known as the [[Stainless Banner]].

Another surprise occurred in 2002, when lead researcher Maria Jacobsen,<!--not the missionary--><ref name=tayl>Tayler, Jeffrey. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080327050623/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0207/feature5/fulltext.html Secret Weapon of the Confederacy]" ''[[National Geographic (magazine)]]'', July 2002. Accessed: December 22, 2014.</ref><ref name=imdb>"[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2023678/ Secret Weapon of the Confederacy]" ''[[IMDb]]'', September 15, 2011. Accessed: December 22, 2014.</ref> examining the area close to Lieutenant Dixon, found a misshapen $20 gold piece, minted in 1860, with the inscription ''"Shiloh April 6, 1862, My life Preserver G. E. D."'' on a sanded-smooth area of the coin's reverse side, and a [[Forensic anthropology|forensic anthropologist]] found a healed injury to Lt. Dixon's [[human pelvis|hip bone]]. The findings matched a family legend that Dixon's sweetheart, Queenie Bennett, had given him the coin to protect him. However, the supposed relationship between Bennett and Dixon has not been supported by archaeological investigations of the legend. Dixon had the coin with him at the [[Battle of Shiloh]], where he was wounded in the thigh on 6 April 1862. The bullet struck the coin in his pocket, saving his leg and possibly his life. He had the gold coin engraved and carried it as a lucky charm.<ref>{{cite news|title= Civil War legends surface with sub Fort Collins expert studies exhumed sailors|author=Ron Franscell|newspaper=The Denver Post|date=November 18, 2002|page=A1|author-link=Ron Franscell}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=GOLDCOIN|title=The Legend of the gold coin|website=hunley.org|access-date=26 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020811025755/http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=GOLDCOIN|archive-date=11 August 2002}}</ref>

Adam Jon Kronegh of the Danish National Archive identified the J.F. Carlsen of ''Hunley''. Johan Frederik Carlsen was born in [[Ærøskøbing]] 9 April 1841. The last year he was registered in the census of Ærøskøbing was 1860, when he was registered as a "sailor". His father was registered as a cobbler, and the teeth of Carlsen's remains in ''Hunley'' still bear significant marks of a so-called "tailor's notch", probably from helping his father with needle and thread from childhood.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-23 |title=J. F. Carlsen from the Hunley identified |url=https://www.sa.dk/en/home/hunley |access-date=2023-08-08 |archive-date=April 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423040724/https://www.sa.dk/en/home/hunley |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> In 1861, J.F. Carlsen entered the freight ship ''Grethe'' of [[Dragør]]. The ship landed in Charleston in February 1861, where records in the Danish military archives show that Carlsen deserted the ship. In June 1861, he entered ''Jefferson Davis'' (the Confederate privateer brig originally named ''Putnam'') as a mate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sa.dk/en/home/hunley|title=Press release: J. F. Carlsen from the Hunley identified|date=28 September 2015|publisher=[[Danish National Archive]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b.dk/viden/mysteriet-om-den-8.-mand|title=Mysteriet om den 8. mand|trans-title=The Mystery of the 8th Man|date=27 September 2015|newspaper=[[Berlingske]]|language=da}}</ref>

== Tours ==
The ''Hunley'' is on display at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. The center includes artifacts recovered from inside ''Hunley'' and exhibits about the submarine.

== In popular culture ==
* [[The Hunley]] - Inspiration for the 1999 American historical drama television film ''The Hunley''
* ''Hunley''{{'}}s story was the subject of the first episode (entitled "The Hunley") of the TV series ''[[The Great Adventure (U.S. TV series)|The Great Adventure]]''. It aired on 27 September 1963 on [[CBS]]. The role of Lt. Dixon (misspelled in the credits as "Lt. Dickson") was played by [[Jackie Cooper]].
* The original [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT Network]] made-for-cable movie ''[[The Hunley]]'' (1999) tells the story of ''H. L. Hunley''{{'}}s final mission while on station in Charleston. It stars [[Armand Assante]], as Lt. Dixon, and [[Donald Sutherland]], as [[P. G. T. Beauregard|General Beauregard]], Dixon's direct superior on the ''Hunley'' project.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162897/|title=The Hunley|date=11 July 1999|access-date=26 September 2017|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>
* ''Hunley'' is the inspiration of the [[Sons of Confederate Veterans]], H. L. Hunley JROTC Award, presented to cadets based on strong corps values, honor, courage, and commitment to their unit during the school year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scscv.com/publications/JROTCHunleyAward.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716022959/http://www.scscv.com/publications/JROTCHunleyAward.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref>
* In the novel ''[[The Stingray Shuffle]]'' by [[Tim Dorsey]], a minor [[drug cartel]] decides to emulate the larger cartels' [[narco-submarine]] [[cocaine]] trafficking by building a replica of ''Hunley'' using blueprints downloaded off the Internet.
* The story of the Duke University experiments that concluded the ''Hunley'' crew died of pulmonary blast trauma became the subject of the non-fiction book ''In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine'' by [[Rachel Lance]] (2020).<ref name=":1" />

== See also ==
{{Commons category}}
* ''[[The Hunley]]'' - The 1999 American historical drama television film ''The Hunley''
* {{USS|Alligator|1862}} – U. S. Navy submarine launched a year before ''Hunley''
* [[Turtle (submersible)|The ''American Turtle'']] – built in 1775, the world's first submersible with a documented record of use in combat
* [[French submarine Plongeur|French submarine ''Plongeur'']] – launched a few months before ''Hunley''
* [[Peral Submarine|''Peral'' Submarine]] – 1888 submarine from Spain, the first to be powered by electric batteries

== References ==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* ''The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy'' by Tom Chaffin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008), {{ISBN|0-8090-9512-2}}
* ''The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice & Success in the Civil War'' by Mark Ragan (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995), {{ISBN|1-886391-43-2}}
* ''Ghosts from the Coast'', "The Man Who Found the Hunley" by Nancy Roberts, UNC Press, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-8078-2665-2}}
* ''Treasures of the Confederate Coast: the "real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations'' by [[Dr. E. Lee Spence]], (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995), {{ISBN|1-886391-00-9}}
* ''Civil War Sub'' {{ISBN|0-448-42597-1}}
* ''The Voyage of the Hunley'', {{ISBN|1-58080-094-7}}
* ''Raising the Hunley'', {{ISBN|0-345-44772-7}}
* ''The CSS H. L. Hunley'', {{ISBN|1-57249-175-2}}
* ''The CSS Hunley'', {{ISBN|0-87833-219-7}}
* ''Shipwreck Encyclopedia of the Civil War: South Carolina & Georgia, 1861–1865'' by Edward Lee Spence (Sullivan's Island, S. C., Shipwreck Press, 1991) [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/24420089&referer=brief_results OCLC: 24420089] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929145641/http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/24420089%26referer%3Dbrief_results |date=September 29, 2007 }}
* ''Shipwrecks of South Carolina and Georgia: (includes Spence's List, 1520–1865)'' Sullivan's Island, S. C. (Sullivan's Island 29482, Sea Research Society, 1984){{OCLC|10593079}}
* ''Shipwrecks of the Civil War : Charleston, South Carolina, 1861–1865'' map by E. Lee Spence (Sullivan's Island, S. C., 1984) {{OCLC|11214217}}
* {{cite book | author =Robert F. Burgess| title = Ships Beneath the Sea: A History of Subs and Submersibles | url =https://archive.org/details/shipsbeneathseaa00burg| url-access =registration| year =1975 | page = [https://archive.org/details/shipsbeneathseaa00burg/page/238 238]| publisher =McGraw Hill | location =New York| isbn = 978-0-07-008958-7 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Thomas A. |title=Why Did H. L. Hunley Sink? |journal=Warship International |date=June 2018 |volume=LV |issue=2 |pages=165–166 |issn=0043-0374}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031225182147/http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=5916 |title=US Navy |date=2003-12-25}}
* [https://www.hunley.org/ Friends of the ''Hunley''] – includes visiting information
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613002334/http://www.shipwrecks.com/ |title=Sea Research Society links to ''Hunley'' |date=2006-06-13}}
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100407205221/http%3A//history%2Enavy%2Emil/branches/org12%2D3%2Ehtm |title="''H. L. Hunley'', Confederate Submarine" at the U.S. Naval Historical Center |date=2010-04-07}}
* [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Submarine.htm Pre-Hunley – Confederate Submarines]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162897/ The Hunley (TV movie)]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~txcalhou/hunley.html Rootsweb]
* [https://www.vernianera.com/Hunley/ ''Hunley'' – Archaeological Interpretation and 3D Reconstruction]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030204150346/http://www.hunleyarchives.org/listofdocuments.htm |title=Hunley Related Items |date=2003-02-04}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014043545/http://hnsa.org/ships/hunley.htm |title=HNSA Web Page: H.L. Hunley |date=2007-10-14}}
* [http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1376 H.L. Hunley article, Encyclopedia of Alabama] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616083132/http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1376 |date=2010-06-16 }}
* [https://californiadiver.com/an-exclusive-interview-with-dr-lee-spence-discoverer-of-the-confederate-submarine-hl-hunley/ An Interview with Lee Spence – Discoverer of the Confederate Submarine HL Hunley]

{{1863 shipwrecks}}
{{1864 shipwrecks}}
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunley}}
[[Category:Submarines of the Confederate States Navy]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in February 1864]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Ships built in Mobile, Alabama]]
[[Category:North Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:1863 ships]]
[[Category:American Civil War museums in South Carolina]]
[[Category:Museum ships in South Carolina]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in North Charleston, South Carolina]]
[[Category:Warships lost in combat with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Hand-cranked submarines]]
[[Category:Submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1863]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1863]]