Hunley

CSS H. L. Hunley was a Confederate submarine built in Charleston, South Carolina, during the American Civil War. It was developed to break the Union blockade and was named for Horace Lawson Hunley, one of its sponsors. The hull was wrought iron, about 40 feet long, and carried a crew of around eight who powered the craft by turning a hand crank for propulsion. Its weapon was a spar torpedo—an explosive charge mounted at the end of a pole that could be used to ram a target ship's hull.

On February 17, 1864, Hunley conducted its only successful attack, sinking the Union gunboat USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor. The explosion also doomed the Hunley, which sank with all eight crew aboard. For nearly a century, its fate remained a mystery, until the wreck was located in 1995 and raised in 2000 in a careful archaeological and conservation operation.

The recovered submarine is now the subject of extensive study and conservation at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston, where it is being preserved and studied with its artifacts. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hunley’s discovery contributed to naval history by providing the first authenticated instance of a submarine sinking an enemy vessel in combat. It also marked a milestone in underwater archaeology, prompting advances in preservation of underwater cultural heritage.