The H.L. Hunley—The Confederate Submarine That Made History
The H.L. Hunley was a revolutionary Confederate submarine that changed the course of naval warfare during the American Civil War. Built in Mobile, Alabama, in 1863, the Hunley was approximately 40 feet long and designed to be operated by a crew of eight men, who manually cranked a propeller to propel the vessel. Its primary mission was to help break the Union blockade of Southern ports, a vital strategic effort for the Confederacy. However, the Hunley’s journey was fraught with peril. Before its historic attack, it sank twice during training exercises, claiming the lives of 13 crew members, including its financier, Horace Lawson Hunley.
Despite these setbacks, the Confederate Navy remained committed to the submarine’s potential. On February 17, 1864, under the command of Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the Hunley embarked on a daring mission to attack the USS Housatonic, a Union warship stationed outside Charleston Harbor. Armed with a spar torpedo—a 135-pound explosive charge mounted on a 22-foot-long pole—the Hunley successfully detonated its weapon against the enemy vessel, sinking the Housatonic in just five minutes. This marked the first time in history that a submarine had successfully sunk an enemy ship in combat.
However, the Hunley never returned from its mission. Shortly after its attack, the submarine mysteriously vanished, leaving historians puzzled for more than a century. It wasn’t until 1995 that the wreck was finally discovered, buried beneath 30 feet of water and layers of silt. When the vessel was raised in 2000, researchers found the remains of its crew still seated at their stations, suggesting they had perished instantly—possibly due to the shockwave from the torpedo blast. Today, the Hunley is preserved at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, serving as a testament to both the ingenuity and the risks of early submarine warfare.
How the Hunley Used a Spar Torpedo to Attack the USS Housatonic
On the night of February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley embarked on a mission that would change naval warfare forever. Under the command of Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the Confederate submarine set out to attack the USS Housatonic, a 1,240-ton Union sloop-of-war stationed in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Unlike modern submarines, the Hunley had no self-propelled torpedoes. Instead, it relied on a spar torpedo—a 16- to 22-foot-long wooden pole mounted to the front of the vessel, with a copper cylinder containing 135 pounds of black powder attached at its end.
Approaching stealthily in the darkness, the Hunley maneuvered toward its target. The plan was simple yet incredibly dangerous: the submarine had to physically ram the spar torpedo into the hull of the Housatonic, embedding it below the waterline. Once the explosive was lodged in place, the crew used a detonation trigger—likely a rope or mechanical device—to set off the charge as they backed away. The explosion was devastating. Within minutes, the massive Union warship sank in shallow waters, claiming the lives of five crew members.
However, the Hunley’s success came at a cost. The proximity of the blast may have doomed the submarine itself. Modern research suggests that the shockwave from the explosion likely ruptured the lungs of the Hunley’s crew, killing them instantly. Others speculate that the blast wave disabled the submarine, preventing it from resurfacing. Regardless of the exact cause, the Hunley vanished after the attack, taking its crew with it. It would remain lost for over a century, leaving historians to puzzle over its fate.
The Daring Mission That Changed Naval Warfare Forever
On the night of February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley embarked on a mission that would forever alter naval warfare. The Confederate submarine, commanded by Lieutenant George E. Dixon, had one goal: to break the Union blockade of Charleston by sinking a Union warship. Its target was the USS Housatonic, a 1,240-ton sloop-of-war stationed just outside Charleston Harbor. The Hunley’s weapon of choice was a spar torpedo, a 135-pound explosive charge mounted on a 22-foot-long pole extending from the submarine’s bow (Wikipedia).
Navigating stealthily through the dark waters, the Hunley’s eight-man crew manually cranked the submarine’s propeller, inching closer to the Union ship. Just before impact, the Housatonic’s crew spotted an eerie shape moving toward them, but they had little time to react. The Hunley rammed its torpedo into the Housatonic’s hull and backed away before detonating the charge via a lanyard (Battlefields.org). The explosion was devastating. Within minutes, the Housatonic sank, marking the first successful submarine attack in history.
However, victory came at a cost. Shortly after the attack, the Hunley vanished beneath the waves, taking its crew with it. The exact cause of its disappearance remained a mystery for over a century. Some speculated that the submarine was swamped by the explosion’s shock wave, while others believed it was unable to surface due to structural damage. Regardless, the Hunley’s mission demonstrated that submarines could be lethal weapons, paving the way for the future of undersea warfare (Britannica).
The Tragic Fate of the Hunley and Its Crew After the Attack
The H.L. Hunley made history on February 17, 1864, by becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy warship, the USS Housatonic. However, its moment of triumph was also its last. Shortly after the attack, the Hunley vanished beneath the waters off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, leaving behind one of the greatest maritime mysteries of the Civil War. For over a century, historians and naval experts speculated about its fate—did it suffer structural failure, run out of oxygen, or fall victim to Union retaliation? The answers remained buried until the wreck was discovered in 1995, lying under layers of silt approximately four miles offshore at a depth of 30 feet.
When the Hunley was raised in August 2000, researchers found something startling: the vessel was remarkably intact, with no signs of catastrophic damage or desperate escape attempts by the crew. The remains of all eight men, including their commander, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, were still seated at their respective stations, suggesting they had perished instantly. Scientific analysis pointed to a likely cause—blast lung, a fatal condition caused by the shockwave of the spar torpedo explosion. The 135-pound black powder charge, detonated just 20 feet from the submarine’s hull, would have sent a concussive force through the confined space, likely rupturing the crew’s lungs and rendering them unconscious or dead within seconds.
The crew’s remains were carefully examined, identified, and in 2004, given a proper military burial in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, in a public ceremony honoring their sacrifice. Today, the Hunley is preserved at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, where ongoing research continues to reveal new insights into its tragic final moments. Though its mission was a success, the Hunley’s fate underscores the perilous nature of early submarine warfare, a field that would later revolutionize naval combat but at a tremendous human cost.
How the Hunley Was Rediscovered and Preserved Over a Century Later
For more than a century, the fate of the H.L. Hunley remained one of the greatest maritime mysteries of the Civil War. After successfully sinking the USS Housatonic on February 17, 1864, the submarine and its crew vanished without a trace. It wasn’t until 1995 that a team led by bestselling author and underwater explorer Clive Cussler, in collaboration with the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), discovered the Hunley buried under silt approximately four miles off the coast of Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina source.
Raising the Hunley was no small feat. On August 8, 2000, a carefully orchestrated recovery operation lifted the submarine from the seabed and transported it to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston source. The vessel, remarkably intact, was covered in a thick layer of concretion—hardened sediment formed over decades of submersion. Conservators faced the monumental task of stabilizing the iron structure, which had been weakened by prolonged exposure to seawater. To halt further corrosion, the Hunley was placed in a specially designed tank filled with a sodium hydroxide solution, a process that continues today as part of its long-term preservation source.
Beyond preserving the submarine itself, researchers sought to uncover the mystery of why the Hunley never returned to port. Forensic analysis of the crew’s remains, discovered still seated at their duty stations, suggested they perished instantly from the shockwave of their own torpedo explosion. In 2004, the eight crew members were given a formal burial with full military honors in Charleston’s Magnolia Cemetery, marking the final chapter of their extraordinary story.
Today, the H.L. Hunley remains a powerful symbol of innovation and sacrifice. Housed at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, it continues to be studied by archaeologists and historians, offering insights into 19th-century submarine warfare. Visitors can view the submarine and learn about its groundbreaking design, ensuring that the legacy of the Hunley and its crew endures for future generations.
The Impact of the Hunley’s Success on Future Submarine Warfare
The H.L. Hunley’s attack on the USS Housatonic in 1864 was more than just a desperate Confederate gamble—it was a glimpse into the future of naval warfare. Before this moment, war at sea was dominated by surface ships, their firepower and maneuverability determining the outcome of battles. The Hunley introduced an entirely new element: stealth. By proving that a small, submerged vessel could strike a much larger warship undetected, it forced military strategists to reconsider the very nature of naval combat.
One of the Hunley’s most significant contributions was its use of a spar torpedo, a weapon that foreshadowed the self-propelled torpedoes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While the Hunley’s method of attack—physically ramming an explosive charge into its target—was crude by modern standards, it demonstrated the devastating potential of underwater explosives. This concept directly influenced the development of more advanced torpedoes, which became the primary weapons of submarines in both World Wars.
The Hunley also highlighted the challenges of submarine warfare. Its disappearance after the attack underscored the dangers of operating underwater, particularly with limited technology. Subsequent submarine designs incorporated better ballast systems, propulsion methods, and oxygen supplies. By World War I, submarines had evolved into formidable weapons, with German U-boats nearly crippling Allied supply lines. None of this would have been possible without the Hunley’s pioneering, if tragic, mission. Its success marked the beginning of a new era—one where control of the seas would no longer belong solely to surface ships.
How Submarines Evolved After the First Successful Attack
The H.L. Hunley’s 1864 attack on the USS Housatonic proved that submarines could be viable weapons of war, but its design was rudimentary and perilous. In the decades that followed, naval engineers refined submarine technology, transforming these vessels from experimental oddities into essential components of modern naval warfare.
One of the most significant advancements was propulsion. The Hunley relied on human-powered cranks, severely limiting its speed and endurance. By the late 19th century, steam-powered submarines emerged, but these were impractical for underwater operations. The real breakthrough came in the early 20th century with diesel-electric propulsion, which allowed submarines to travel long distances on the surface using diesel engines and switch to battery-powered electric motors while submerged. This innovation greatly enhanced their effectiveness in combat.
Weaponry also evolved. The Hunley used a spar torpedo, which required direct contact with the enemy ship—an extremely risky approach. By the late 19th century, self-propelled torpedoes, first developed by Robert Whitehead in the 1860s, became the standard. These torpedoes could be launched from a distance, making submarines far more lethal while keeping their crews safer.
Submarine construction improved as well. The Hunley’s iron hull was primitive, but later designs incorporated stronger materials such as steel, allowing for deeper dives. The development of pressurized hulls in the early 20th century enabled submarines to operate at greater depths without succumbing to water pressure, expanding their tactical capabilities.
By World War I, submarines had become formidable weapons. Germany’s U-boats demonstrated their strategic potential, disrupting Allied supply lines with unrestricted submarine warfare. In World War II, further advancements, including sonar, radar, and improved torpedoes, made submarines even more effective. The introduction of nuclear-powered submarines in the 1950s, beginning with the USS Nautilus, allowed for virtually unlimited underwater endurance, revolutionizing naval strategy.
From the Hunley’s daring but doomed mission to today’s nuclear-armed submarines capable of global reach, the evolution of undersea warfare has been profound. The lessons learned from the Hunley’s pioneering but tragic expedition laid the foundation for the development of one of the most powerful military assets in modern history.
