Scafuri said while Civil War-era surface ships could be propelled by steam engines, the Hunley, confined to running in water, even at the surface, did not have that luxury. Hunley disappeared and was lost for 136 years.” The Lasch Center has worked on the craft’s preservation since its raising.

So Hunley was able to sail in and detonate its torpedo, sinking Housatonic in less than 10 minutes.

They were seen approaching when they got close, but Housatonic didn’t have enough time to respond. “The attack took place at night according to the U.S. Mike Scafuri, senior archeologist at the Lasch Center, said that after the second accident, the Hunley was ordered to run only on the surface to avoid losing a third crew when it went out against the Housatonic. It was raised in 2000 and is undergoing conservation at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, where it can be seen by visitors on weekends. Hunley.Īfter eluding discovery for more than 130 years, the actual submarine was found in Charleston Harbor in 1995 by writer and shipwreck explorer Clive Cussler. Two crews were killed in training for its attack, and the dead included the sub’s namesake, builder Horace L. The Hunley was built in 1863 in Mobile, Alabama and shipped by rail to Charleston to try to break the Union blockade of Charleston Harbor. 17, 1864, the submersible ship never returned to port, and its fate remained an enigma – for more than a century. After its historic sinking of the USS Housatonic Feb. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. In South Carolina, one of the biggest is the disappearance of the Confederate submarine H.L.

Hunley submarine tin sign