Hunley Submarine - Civil War

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H.L. Hunley commander's 18-karat gold watch no smoking gun
When researchers opened the watch belonging to the H.L. Hunley commander 3 years ago, they believed they had the key clue to why the Confederate submarine sank. But the 18-karat gold watch now seems to raise even more questions despite the fact that watch did not slowly wind down but stopped quickly. "All of us were thinking the watch pointed to the crucial moment. But I would say instead of the smoking gun, it's more of the smoke that keeps you from seeing," said Glenn McConnell. Hunley rammed a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864, becoming the first sub in military history to sink an enemy warship.
by physorg.com :: 2007-12-19 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Artifacts from the South's submarine are turning fable into fact
In a war filled with stories, the H. L. Hunley's is one of the standouts. An invention born of desperation, the Confederacy's secret weapon was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship. The craft was an example of creativity and engineering under difficult circumstances. The Hunley is also one of the biggest Civil War mysteries left. Since the conflict ended in 1865, about 50,000 books have been published on every aspect of its politics, strategies, daily life, combat, and civilian experiences. But in that avalanche, the complete story of the Hunley submarine has never been told.
by usnews :: 2007-06-28 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Hatch first part of Confederate submarine Hunley to be restored
Scientists say a hatch cover of the Confederate submarine HL Hunley will be the first part of the sub to be restored using a process approved by the US Navy. The Navy has approved plans to conserve the hand-cranked sub by soaking it in high pH water to remove corrosive salts from the iron. The Hunley sank with its crew of 8 after sending the Union blockade ship Housatonic to the bottom in 1864. The sub was located in 1995 and raised in 2000 from the Atlantic off Charleston.
by wistv :: 2007-01-07 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Rebel submarine Hunley may reveal its secrets in a year
In a year's time, scientists hope to solve the mystery of why the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley sank, the chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission said. "Between the science of archaeology and the science of conservation in that laboratory, they will solve the ultimate mystery. I think it's reasonable to say we're probably within a year of solving that." The hand-cranked Hunley sank the Union blockade ship Housatonic in 1864, becoming the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship.
by msnbc :: 2006-11-23 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

New research fills in life of Hunley crewman Arnold Becker
Article no longer available from the original source.
When Arnold Becker was buried two years ago, little was known about him except that he was the smallest and youngest crewman aboard the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley. He served on the CSS General Polk and was aboard the Confederate ironclad Arkansas, which in 1862 ran a gauntlet of 39 union vessels on the Mississippi before reaching the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. New research and a Confederate surgeon's journal have helped fill in the life of Becker, one of eight crewmen who died when the Hunley, the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship, sank off Charleston in 1864.
by armytimes :: 2006-10-19 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Scientists remove Civil War sub rear hatch
Scientists removed the rear hatch on the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, although the work won't immediately remove the questions about the sinking of the sub in 1864. The 40-foot, hand-cranked sub, the first in history to sink an enemy warship, sank off Charleston after sending the Union blockade ship Housatonic to the bottom on Feb. 17, 1864. The 8 Hunley crew members went down with the sub. The Hunley has two towers with hatches but the rear hatch was locked. The fact it was locked indicates the crew didn't sense an emergency in the last minutes of the sub.
by msnbc :: 2006-09-14 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Clue found in mystery of Confederate Civil War sub Hunley
Scientists say they may have found a clue in the mystery of why the Confederate submarine Hunley sank 140 years ago after making history by sinking an enemy warship in battle. Archaeologists working to restore the submarine recovered six years ago from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean have found evidence the forward hatch may have been opened intentionally on the night the sub sank. If the hatch was intentionally unlocked, there are several possible explanations. Dixon could have opened it to see if the 40-foot vessel was damaged when it rammed a spar with a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864.
by msnbc :: 2006-07-15 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Solve the Mystery - Confederate Sub's Unexplained Sinking
20 Area Scientists Called on to Study Confederate Sub's Unexplained Sinking: Solve the Mystery, Save Its History. Scientists, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex have been enlisted to help uncover one of the nation's most alluring naval mysteries: What caused the CSS Hunley to sink 142 years ago? About 20 scientists traveled to Charleston and began their intensive look into the mystery of the historic vessel. The experts in various scientific fields took a daylong tour, examining close-up the famed submarine, the first involved in combat in the nation's history. It was lost during a naval battle in 1864 in Charleston harbor.
by redorbit :: 2006-07-08 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Submarine Hunley project officials challenge cost analysis
Officials with the foundation preserving the Hunley dispute The State newspaper's analysis that the current and future costs of preserving the Confederate submarine have risen to $97 million, saying the costs are much lower. Officials of the Friends of the Hunley say The State should not have included three items: (1) The estimated $42 million cost of a proposed museum for the Confederate sub. (2) The state's $3.9 purchase of Civil War artifacts, known as the Peery collection. (3) The complete $35 million cost of a campus Clemson University wants to build around the North Charleston conservation laboratory that houses the Hunley.
by thestate :: 2006-05-28 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Civil War submarines remain elusive prey
Civil War submarines known to once be in Shreveport but unseen since that conflict continue to elude searchers. "The submarines look like they will stay an enigma for a while," said Ralph Wilbanks, the diver who led underwater efforts that found the Confederate submersible Hunley off Charleston Harbor in 1995. Wilbanks thinks the submarines were abandoned and salvaged after the Civil War. Wilbanks and his crew also made scanning runs over the site of the suspected grave of the Civil War warship Grand Duke, out in the middle of Red River just north of Cross Bayou.
by shreveporttimes :: 2006-03-01 :: Naval war and blockade - American Civil War

Mystery: ID tag of a Union soldier aboard a sunken Confederate sub
An identification tag of a Killingly soldier had been found aboard a sunken Confederate submarine in Charleston, SC. Thus began the mystery and the search for answers as to why the dog tag of a Union soldier, Ezra Chamberlin, was on board the Confederate submarine, "H. L. Hunley," which sank in Charleston Harbor February 17, 1864, after ramming an explosive charge into the Union blockade ship "Housatonic" that sank it. The Hunley had been discovered in 1995 by Clive Cussler's National Underwater Agency (NUMA) and raised from the bottom of the harbor on August 8, 2000.
by killinglyhistory :: 2006-01-25 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

Confederate submarine Hunley raised after 136 years
The Confederate Civil War vessel Hunley, the first submarine to sink a ship, was brought to the surface after 136 years on the seabed, with its crew believed to be still aboard. The nine men who drove the submarine into its first and final encounter with the Union blockade ship Housatonic in 1864 did not escape. Having rammed the 23-gun sloop, jamming a torpedo bomb into its timbers with the aid of a harpoon fixed to its outer hull, the Hunley's crew then reversed their craft away from the target before pulling a rope to detonate the device. It is thought that the concussion from the explosion crippled the submarine.
by telegraph :: 2000-08-09 :: Hunley Submarine - Civil War

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