Blasting Through Hunley History

Horace Hunley and James McClintock began working on the H. L. Hunley in February of 1863

in Mobile, Alabama. Both men were doing business for the Confederates, so they decided to use

Horace Hunley’s money, and James McClintock's experience and engineering with submarines

decided to make a submarine which at the time not named but was later named the H.L. Hunley

after the submarine was recovered. On the first and final mission of the Hunley triumphing by

sinking an enemy ship called the Housatonic. Tragically the Hunley sank after sinking the

Housatonic. Scientists believe that the third and final crew died by a shock blast from the

torpedo. The inspiration of the Hunley, the creators, the first sinking, the second sinking, the

third sinking, and the recovery have given scientist theories, But are still to this day unsure of the

reason.

The mission was made possible due to the engineering and materials that were used to build

the Hunley. The creators of the Hunley was Horace Hunley and James McClintock. “Horace

Hunley had always dreamed of doing great things, and he had the money to make his dreams

come true” (Walker, 10). Horace Hunley was also inspired by “The union blockade around that

city prevented him from shipping and selling his sugar and cotton crops aboard”(Walker, 10). At

the time he was also a lawyer and a customs officer in New Orleans selling cash crops to earn

money but could not do this because of the Union Blockade on the Charleston Harbor. However,

profit alone was not an inspiration for Horace Hunley. He believed the Southern states made a

good choice to succeed from the United States. Also, he helped the Confederate war effort by

transporting solely needed guns and ammunition from Cuba and investing thousands of dollars to
submarine tech to the Confederate cause. James McClintock was “a skilled engineer, McClintock

was part owner of a machine shop in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he built gauges for steam

operated equipment” (Walker, 9). He also had the education of manufacturing that gave him the

technical experience to build a submarine. A Dutch scientist Cornelis Drebbel inspired the

Hunley. “Cornelis Drebbel had built a submarine that resembled a rowboat enclosed with a

leather cover. The crew rowed the vessel with oars. Awkward though it was, Drebbel’s

submarine could remain submerged for several hours” (Walker, 9). Instead of ores, McClintock

used cranks instead to turn a propeller and also rather than using leather, which was durable

against the water, James McClintock used Iron, a heavy and strong metal, and painted it black,

the color of stealth, to do night missions. Also, the Hunley was inspired by James McClintock's

first submarine he had built the Pioneer or The rebel as the union troops called the submarine.

“McClintock started with a frame that was 35 feet long and cigar-shaped. Some would call it a

cigar boat. The boat would be pointed at both ends and almost completely round-four feet wide

and four feet tall. They painted the hull black, the color of stealth. There was little room inside

the boat. The tapered ends, each ten feet long, served as ballast tanks to take and expel the water

needed to submerge and surface. McClintock would later say that he put no ports in the Pioneer,

as they came to call it” (Hicks, 63). The Hunley kept the idea of a long hull at almost 40 feet

long that was designed to deliver and explode a torpedo in which the pioneer was not able to be

designed to deliver torpedos. The Hunley also had lookout stations called conning towers, so the

captain was not driving blind giving the Hunley the nickname “fish-boat.”McClintock kept the

idea of making the interior small with a length of 4 feet and a width of 3.5 feet. In order for the

sub to sink or dive they had to think of the essential scientific principle of buoyancy in order to
sink or dive. This principle states that two things cannot be at the same place at the same time.

For example, when a boat slides into the water, it pushes aside or displaces, the water that is in

that specific spot. The ballast tanks allowed the Hunley to take on water into the tanks to

submerge or resurface as long as an object weighs more than water than it will sink. Also, it is

said that an object that floats is positively buoyant. An object is at neutral buoyancy when the

object weighs that same as the water it had displaced. Finally, in order for an object to be

negatively buoyant, it would have to weigh more than the water it is displacing.

Once the submarine had been created test runs were required to learn to operate the submarine

and ensure the crew's safety aboard the submarine, sank because of a crewmember becoming

entangled in the machinery of the Hunley. The first crew members were John Payne, William

Robinson, Michael Cane, Nicholas Davis, John Kelly, Frank Doyle, Absalom Williams, and

Charles Hasker. John Payne, William Robinson, and Charles Hasker were the only ones to

survive (Hicks 16). Each of the crew members was Navy men assigned from different ships.

According to friends of the Hunley, their website states “preparing to depart for its first attack on

the blockade when it suddenly sank at the dock. There are conflicting stories of what happened:

Some claimed the wake of a passing ship flooded into the Hunley’s open hatches, filling it with

enough water to sink it. Others claimed the mooring lines of another ship became tangled on the

sub, pulling it onto its side until its hatches were underwater.” Therefore no reason has been

declared as to how the Hunley sank, but rather scientist only knows that it sunk. After the sinking

occurred, Horace Hunley came to Charleston South Carolina and “demanded the submarine be

returned to him. General Beauregard granted the request” (Hunley.org). Because of this sinking,
the Submarine earned the name the iron coffin. Hunley was furious that time was wasted in the

two weeks it took to retrieve the submarine.

On another test run with Horace Hunley as captain went under a friendly ship the Indian Chief

to demonstrate the diving procedure to ensure the crew's safety when suddenly the observers on

the dock noticed air bubbles rose to the surface of the water suggesting that air had rapidly

escaped the submarine. The members of the second crew was Horace Hunley as the Captain,

Robert Brockbank, Joseph Patterson, Thomas W. Park, Charles McHugh, Henry Baird, John

Marshall, and Charles L. Sprague, sadly none of the crew members survived this sinking proving

the Hunley was the “Iron Coffin” (Walker 26) and (Hunley.org). Alexander McClintock and

Lituenet Dixon concluded that it was a piloting error. However, other possible deaths according

to Sally M. Walker was the crew not turning the keel’s iron ballast weights enough to float,

water pressure outside the Hunley prevented them from opening the hatches, or the rear seacock

was empty (27-33). Before the disaster, Lieutenant George E. Dixon was sent to recover in

Mobile Alabama from a gunshot wound to the left thigh striking his soon to be his lucky coin

and later engraving on the coin “Shiloh, April 6th, 1862, my life preserver, G.E.D” (Hicks 94).

Dixon often went on test runs in the Hunley also, if there were enough space he would have been

a member of Horace Hunley’s death crew. Less than two days after this sinking Dixon and

William Alexander talked about putting the submarine back in service and forming a third crew.

Therefor Dixon requested to General Beauregard to put the Hunley in service once more. Soon

after October 18, 1862, Beauregard replied to Dixon’s telegram saying “I can have nothing more

to do with that submarine boat. Tis more dangerous to those who use it than to [the] enemy”

(Walker 30).
 On February 17, 1864, was the moment of truth for the crew to sink an enemy union blockader

to help the confederates resupply on ammunition and other supplies. The third crew had George

E. Dixon, Frank Collins, Joseph Ridgaway, C. Lumpkin, Arnold Becker, Miller, James Wicks, J.

F. Carlsen (Hicks 16). Tragically, none of the crew survived the final mission. On February 17,

1863, Dixon had initially wanted to target the “USS Wabash, one of the more feared blockaders.

It carried a higher bounty, which was enticement enough. However, the Wabash constantly

moved and sometimes lingered nearly 12 miles offshore” (Hicks 23). Because the Wabash

constantly moved prevented the Hunley crew from attacking that ship. Knowing they would not

have the energy or the oxygen to go that far. Also, money was one of the reasons Horace Hunley

decided to build the submarine. Being a feared blockader meant that vessel had more weapons,

showed less mercy, and caught more blockade runners than the rest of the blockaders. The crew

only had one torpedo which would leave them defenseless after an attack. So instead Dixon

decided to go after the “Housatonic anchored far from the rest of the fleet, closer to shore,

minimizing Dixon’s chance of running afoul of other enemy ships” (Hicks 23). Because the

Housatonic was closer to shore, they could close the hatches earlier to have enough oxygen so

they would not have to come up for air once the crew was close to the ship and they would have

the energy to crank away from the torpedo before it makes contact with the ship. Therefore

decided to attempt to sink the Housatonic. Next, they had to wait for the right time to do the

mission, “For weeks in January and February of 1864, the crew waited for strong winds to abate,

not wanting to take any chances rough seas could sink the Hunley” (Chris). Sinking the Hunley

would mean that they would have to wait even longer to find the right time and place to find a
ship to sink. Also, possibly a new crew to operate the Hunley. “Feb. 17, 1864” (Duke University)

was the deciding date when Dixon saw the Housatonic and began getting the crew ready. “The

Hunley’s approach was stealth” (Friends of the Hunley) being stealth meant that the crew did not

want to be spotted because of the lack of weaponry. “At about 8:45 pm, several sailors on the

deck of the USS Housatonic reported seeing something on the water” (Friends of the Hunley)

despite the attempts not to be seen they were spotted and fired upon hitting the iron hull. A few

moments later the spar torpedo exploded and blew a large hole in the Housatonic. “The

Housatonic sank in less than five minutes, causing the death of 5 of its 155 crewmen” (Friends of

the Hunley). That moment marked the Hunley as the first submarine to sink an enemy ship.

Tragically 1 hour later the Confederate comrades that were on the dock did not see the Hunley

return to the dock, so they were presumed dead. The Confederates did not attempt a recovery of

the submarine, so the Hunley sat 30 meters down in the Charleston harbor. However, In

November of 1864, “Union divers searched the wreck of the Housatonic to see if parts of the

ship could be salvaged. Union naval commanders were eager to locate the Hunley too” (Walker

39). Although the union search attempt to find the Hunley, they did not find the submarine. The

Union naval commanders believed that the technology of the submarine would benefit the Union

navy. Because of the Unions failed attempt at finding the Hunley the submarine stayed in the

murky waters, sand, and mud buried her to be well spotted. Therefore the submarine became a

legend instead of reality.

One hundred fifty years later the legend of the Hunley spread with a reward for whoever found

it. P. T. Barnum, a famous circus owner, offered a reward of one hundred thousand dollars for
whoever could find the submarine first. Clive Cussler and NUMA divers began searching for the

Hunley during the summers of 1980 and 1981. Using an electronic instrument that measures the

strength of earth’s magnetic field called a magnetometer they placed the instrument in the ocean

and towed it behind the search boat. “Reports from the Civil War era claimed that the Hunley

had been spotted near the wreckage of the Housatonic” (Walker 41). Tragically during their

search, they did not find the Hunley but found other pieces of iron scraps but not the Hunley. In

the early 1990s, underwater archeologists Wes Hall and Ralph Wilbanks teamed up with Cussler

to continue the search for the Hunley. On May 3, 1995, Cussler and the underwater archeologist

teamed up with Harry Pecorelli to continue the search after the previous years search failing.

Pecorelli decided to go scuba diving over a suspect target about 1,000 feet from the Housatonic

sinkage. As Pecorelli was 27 feet below the surface, he probed the sand with a pole. Three feet

later Pecorelli hit something hard. The team could not correctly identify the object because of the

murky waters, so they vacuumed the sand and later uncovered a complete hatchway, the snorkel

box behind it, and part of a dive plane. The team decided to cover the Hunley backup so treasure

hunters could not find it and come back with a camera some other time. Finding the Hunley later

meant battling for ownership of the submarine. Fighting for the Hunley was between the United

States government because it was found in United States government waters, South Carolina

because the Hunley was found off of South Carolina's coast near Sullivan's island and charleston,

and between Alabama, because the submarine was built in Mobile, Alabama. So the final

decision was that the Hunley belonged to the United States government, the sub should be raised

and kept in South Carolina. After raising the Hunley and putting the submarine into the fifty

degrees Fahrenheit preserver, archeologist began taking apart the submarine. During the process
scientist found a single candlelight by the captains position, buttons, hats, part of a leather belt, a

leather wallet, two pocket knives, three pencils, four tobacco pipes, a small stoppered medicine

bottle with liquid inside, eight canteens, a lantern, Lieutenant George Dixon's coin, pocket

watch, a diamond brooch human remains of bones that were later identified to be the third and

final crew. In the captain's position was twenty-five-year-old Lieutenant George E. Dixon,

twenty-two-year-old Arnold Becker, forty-five-year-old C. Lumpkin, twenty-six-year-old Frank

Collins, twenty-three-year-old Corporal J. F. Carlsen, forty-seven-year-old Miller,

forty-five-year-old James A. Wicks, and thirty-year-old Joseph Ridgeway.

One hundred fifty years later there are still mysteries such as how the Hunley sink, also

did the submarine sink. Scientists are still unsure of the cause of sinkage but continue to research

and revolutionize modern submarines. Also, scientist have found more consistent ways to

preserve historical artifacts. Because of the sinkings, recovery of the Hunley, and finding

artifacts have led scientist to generate theories and continue researching.

Sources

Cnet.​ 24 June 2017, www.cnet.com/news/

h-l-hunleys-flaws-inspired-advances-in-air-and-space/. Accessed 17 Jan.

2019. This source is a website by Erin Carson that provides a small history

of the Hunley and the final sinking. Erin Carson also provides detailed

explanations of how it was powered and the up periscope. The up periscope

provides a small amount of bias as well as the history of periscopes that

are on submarines that the Hunley did not have.

Hicks, Brian. ​Sea of Darkness​. This book gives a detailed history of the sub,

what went on during that period of time, details of all sinkings, crews, a
 detailed description of the final mission, the final sinking, the recovery,

what scientist found, the burial of the crew, about important figures,

union activity, and the personnel that recovered the submarine. The book

gives specifically detailed of dates and events that happened. This book

contributed to every detail that was implemented into the project being

used as a reliable source for researchers.

Press Republican.​ 3 Sept. 2017, www.pressrepublican.com/cnhi_network/

solved--year-mystery-of-confederate-submarine-hl-hunley/

article_6dc48c6e-25d1-5cad-9de7-b4a6d320da81.html. Accessed 17 Jan. 2019.

This source is a website that describes the details of the Hunley such as

the weight, length, and color. This source also describes the current

location of the Hunley's resting place. Finally, it describes how the

Hunley sank and the evidence behind that theory.

Walker, Sally M. ​Secrets of a Civil War Submarine.​ Minneapolis, Lerner

Publishing Group, 2015. This source is a book that describes the entire

history, the recovery, what was found, and the burial of all the Hunley

crews. This book was important for finding details about Horace Hunley and

James McClintock. The book gives a detailed history of the author of how

she has done other history books proving the reliability of this source.

www.britannica.com.​ Encylopedia britannica inc., www.britannica.com/topic/

H-L-Hunley/media/276916/200065. Accessed 11 Jan. 2019. This source is a

website that describes the history, the final sinking, the recovery, what

Duke university thought happened to the sub, and the burial of all Hunley

crews. Duke University has been contributing to the research of the Hunley

as well as providing tools for the friends of the Hunley. This website

gives specefic details of the sinking and the science behind the theory.