The H.L. Hunley submarine drama continues to fascinate us centuries after its tragic Cival War combat dissapearance.
New evidence shows the Hunley’s pumps were not set to bilge, suggesting the crew was not frantically pumping water out of the 40-foot sub’s crew compartment as previously believed. “There doesn’t appear to be a lot of movement,” said Maria Jacobsen, lead Hunley archaeologist. “That’s either because they were unable to move, or whatever happened, happened so fast they didn’t have time to react.”
Fascinating Hunley Facts
Operating the Hunley - State Museum replica
• World’s first submarine to successfully sink an enemy ship…only to perish hours later!
• Found in 1995 it took 5 years to raise it safely for studying…“What we found was that these fellows were drowned, the bodies floated, they decomposed and slowly sank.” –
• Despite being submerged under water for ~150 years it had an almost intact interior including the eight crewmen remains. More than 3,000 artifacts were collected, most valuable being people’s fingerprints and soft brain tissue still present inside the skulls!
• 3-D laser mapping technologies were used for the first time in an archaeological project to reconstruct the interior at the time of the sinking.
• Hunley had 2 pumps, one forward the other aft. Normally the forward pump drained the forward ballast tank and the aft the back tank. But the men who built the Hunley “rigged the system” so either pump could control the water level in the other tank. A neat safety net that makes understanding the sub all the more difficult…
The Sinking Theories…
• The crew sat the sub down on the ocean floor waiting for a favorable tide and ran out of air.
• The explosion from the charge carried on Housatonic also damaged the sub, flooding and settling the Hunley to the bottom.
• The Canandaigua, another Union war ship that came to aid Housatonic, swamped the Hunley because its hatches were open to allow fresh air into the hull.
• Mother Nature did it…
So where do we go from here?
H.L. Hunley Submarine
For one, take the pumps apart to figure out what was going on in the submarine. Scientists have already tried peeking with microscopic video cameras, but both pumps are filled with mud.
Some day, with the help of better technology, put the crewmen fingerprints to use. “What we can do with them we don’t know” said Paul Mardikian, senior conservator at the Hunley project.
Meanwhile you can visit this fascinating submarine at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center at 1250 Supply Street (on the old Charleston Navy Base) in North Charleston. Tours are offered Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM and Sunday Noon – 5 PM. Tickets are $12, seniors, military and members pay $10, and kids under 5 get in for FREE. Check the website for details and live Hunley photos.
You can also “play around” at its full size replica on display at the SC State Museum downtown Columbia. Admission to the museum is only $5.
Help solve the H.L. Hunley mystery!
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