Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The CSS Hunley - Mar. 2nd, 2003
http://www.charlestonillustrated.com/hunley/index.html# ^

Posted on 03/02/2003 12:00:39 AM PST by SAMWolf

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families.

In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.



To list previous Foxhole Threads
or
to add The Foxhole to your sidebar
Click on the Logo

Resource Links For Veterans


Click on the pix

The Confederate Submarine
CSS H.L. Hunley


In 1864, the CSS H.L. Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. The sub was lost that night as well; and has remained a mystery until now. The Hunley wreck was discovered in 1995 and was raised during the summer of 2000. The study and conservation of the submarine is ongoing.



The Hunley has been a local legend for 130 years. It has been incorporated into Charleston history, which has kept the memory of the submarine alive for the generations since the War Between the States. The Hunley even had a museum on Broad Street devoted to it for many years; until it closed in the late 1970s.

The History


A group of private citizens in New Orleans, including James McClintock, Baxter Watson, and Horace Hunley, got together to finance and design a submersible torpedo boat. Their first prototype, Pioneer, was completed, but had to be scuttled in Lake Pontchartrain soon after due to the fall of the city in 1862.

The engineers fled to Mobile where they built a second prototype, American Diver. Mclintock experimented with different motive methods, including steam and battery power. However, in the end they went with a hand cranked drive. On its first time out, it was swamped and lost while under tow outside of Mobile Bay. Its location remains a mystery..



Months later, with additional investors and $15,000 ($300,000 today), they built their third submarine, which would later become known as the Hunley. It was hand cranked by a crew of 8, and used hand pumped ballast tanks, fore and aft, to submerge and surface. Soon, the Hunley was tested and demonstrated a successful attack against a dummy target using a towed contact torpedo. The military approved its use and put the Hunley on a train to Charleston.

Hunley At Charleston


The Siege of Charleston doesn't often appear in the history books as a full fledge battle of the War between the States. However, for most of the war, Charleston was under siege by Federal forces both on land to the south and at sea near the mouth of the harbor. Charleston endured 587 days of constant shelling, the use of confederate prisoners as human shields (the immortal 600) and its fortifications withstood numerous ground attacks (the charge of the 54th Mass -see the movie Glory). It was into this environment that the Hunley was delivered.



Hunley arrived in Charleston on August 12, 1863. She was commanded by McClintock with Gus Whitney as the first officer and the civilian crew from Mobile. Base of operations was the cove, a small inlet behind Sullivan's Island. McClintock took Hunley out daily but had no luck engaging the enemy.

On the night of August 21, 1863, the "Swamp Angel", a secretly constructed federal battery built in the marshes behind Folly Island, began shelling downtown Charleston. The gunners used the steeple of St. Michael's church to target their weapon. Two days later the confederate military, frustrated by Hunley's lack of results, seized the sub and turned it over to Lt. John Payne and a crew from the ironclad CSS Chicora. The new crew trained for several days until August 29, when disaster struck.

Hunley was being towed away from Fort Johnson by the steamer/gunboat Ettawan with the full crew of 9 men on board. Lt. Payne, standing in the open forward hatch, was struggling with the tow line when he accidentally kicked the diving plane tiller into the down position. Due to the forward motion from the tow boat, Hunley dove fast, with both hatches open. Payne and 3 others got out, though one, Charles Hasker was caught in the forward hatch and carried to the bottom, 42 feet down.

The Second Crew


By September 1st, efforts to raise the boat were underway- the process would take 10 days. The sub's future was uncertain until Horace Hunley wrote the military on the 19th, requesting that he and the original civilian crew (who demonstrated the boat in Mobile) be given the project. The military agreed and put Lt. George Dixon in command. In the first days of October, the civilian crew was reassembled and training resumed. On October 5, the CSS David successfully attacked her Goliath, the federal gunboat New Ironsides. Soon after, Hunley resumed nightly sorties outside the mouth of the harbor.

On the 15th, Horace Hunley insists on commanding the sub for a morning demonstration dive under the CSS Indian Chief (records don't explain where Dixon was at the time). The sub dove and never surfaced.



Three days later, divers locate the sub in 56 feet of water. The sub was at a severe angle and had plowed into the bottom. She was raised in several days and after the salvage, it was deduced that:

The forward sea cock was open, allowing the forward ballast tank to fill and overflow. The rear tank was closed and full of air. The hatches were unbolted but remained shut through the sinking due to the pressure of the water. While trying to push open the hatches, Hunley and the first officer both asphyxiated standing in the conning towers where trapped air remained, the rest of the crew drowned. Horace Hunley, manning the forward position (included the forward tank) likely caused the sinking.

Winter Operations


In November 1863, the Hunley was refurbished on a wharf in Mt. Pleasant. Conrad Chapman's painting was executed during this period (Dec 2). A new military crew was put together with volunteers from the CSS Indian Chief. Training resumed and by mid December, Hunley was again running nighttime sorties outside of the harbor. Soon after, CSS David became a regular tow boat, getting Hunley as far out as possible to allow the crew to save their strength for their return voyage.

One day in January, 1864 (a month later ) Hunley's towed contact torpedo drifted into the CSS David, however a crewman went in the water and pushed the torpedo away. CSS David would no longer be used as a tow boat. Also, about this time, federal ironclads began the extensive use of chain nets and other passive obstacles to prevent torpedo attack (Hunley was no secret). Hunley would have to focus operations on the wooden blockade fleet farther out to sea (7 miles out). Her base was moved to Breach Inlet, between Sullivan's and Long Islands (now Isle of Palms). Attacks would now be carried out with a torpedo mounted on a seventeen foot iron pole fixed to the bow (similar to the CSS David).



February 5, 1864, William Alexander was transferred from Hunley's crew. He would later document much of what is known of the sub and it's operations.

Also in early February, a lone federal sloop-of-war, USS Housatonic, began anchoring closer to the Sullivan's Island beach every night (about 3 miles out). Her intent was to be in a better position to intercept the blockade runners that would hug the shoreline and slip past the federal fleet.

Last Mission


On the calm night of the 17th, Hunley engaged Housatonic. She approached on the surface, coming in fast. Housatonic's night watch spotted her and opened fire with small arms, but could not stop the attack. Housatonic, slipped her anchor chain out and reversed her propeller to try to back out of Hunley's path, but this didn't help. Hunley rammed her torpedo into the federal ship, about 8 feet below the waterline. The sub immediately backed away, leaving the torpedo embedded in Housitonic's side. A several hundred foot cord spooled out from Hunley, still connected to the torpedo. At some point, the cord between the sub and the torpedo became taut, detonating the explosive, and quite possibly Housatonic's magazine. The warship went down in less than five minutes, settling upright in 30 feet of water with her rigging still high above the sea. Surprisingly, all but 5 of Housatonic's crew survived.



After the attack, Hunley gave a prearranged signal (with a blue lantern) to sentries on shore, who would build a large fire on the beach at Breach Inlet to help her find her way back, but she never was seen again.



TOPICS: VetsCoR
KEYWORDS: civilwar; confederatenavy; csshunley; freeperfoxhole; veterans; warbetweenstates
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-64 next last
To: SAMWolf; 4ConservativeJustices; stand watie; aomagrat; GOPcapitalist; stainlessbanner; ...
The warship went down in less than five minutes, settling upright in 30 feet of water with her rigging still high above the sea.

Confederate honor bump

41 posted on 03/02/2003 7:42:31 PM PST by billbears (Deo Vindice)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Yep, with my mom, daughter and sister.
42 posted on 03/02/2003 8:02:50 PM PST by Jen (The FReeper Foxhole - Can you dig it?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: dware
You bet! Thanks for supporting our troops!!!
43 posted on 03/02/2003 8:15:31 PM PST by Jen (The FReeper Foxhole - Can you dig it?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf; AntiJen; E.G.C.; bkwells
Tarawa looking very good on this evening's National Geographic.


44 posted on 03/02/2003 9:18:21 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: PhilDragoo
Evening PhilDragoo.
45 posted on 03/02/2003 9:19:13 PM PST by SAMWolf (We do not bargain with terrorists, we stalk them, corner them , take aim and kill them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf

46 posted on 03/02/2003 9:20:21 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf

47 posted on 03/02/2003 9:23:05 PM PST by PhilDragoo (Hitlery: das Butch von Buchenvald)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: PhilDragoo
Der Speigel?
48 posted on 03/02/2003 9:24:34 PM PST by SAMWolf (We do not bargain with terrorists, we stalk them, corner them , take aim and kill them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf

The CSS Hunley under wraps

The CSS Hunley under wraps in front of Ft. Sumter,
where the flag flew at half mast.
Photo by Carole Bartholomeaux

These lists are from The CSS H.L. Hunley, Confederate Submarine, R. Thomas Campbell, Burd Street Press, 1999.

They were desperate, they risked it all in an effort to defeat the enemy. They paid the ultimate price.

Crews lost, may they Rest In Peace, and their names be not forgotten:

29 August 1863 (these first four escaped)
Lt. John Payne, CSN, Commanding
Lt. Charles H. Hasker, CSN
unknown
unknown
Frank Doyle, CSN
John Kelly, CSN
Michael Cane, CSN
Nicholas Davis, CSN
unknown

Lt. John Payne, CSN, Commanding, and Lt. Charles H. Hasker, CSN, along with two other seamen eascaped.


15 October 1863
Horace L. Hunley, Civilian, Commanding
Thomas Parks, Civilian
Robert Brockbank, CSN
Joseph Patterson, CSN
Charles McHugh, CSN
John Marshall, CSN
Henry Beard, CSN
Charles Sprague, Civilian

None escaped. May they Rest In Peace.


17 February 1864. The last crew, who made their kill, and all went to the bottom of the Atlantic.

Lt. George Dixon, CSA, Commanding
Cpl. C.F. Carlson, CSA
James A. Wicks, CSN
Arnold Becker, CSN
Fred Collins, CSN
C. F. Simpkins, CSN
___ Ridgeway, CSN
___ White
___ Miller

None escaped. May they Rest In Peace, and their names be not forgotten.


49 posted on 03/02/2003 10:17:32 PM PST by majordivit
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Captain the Hunley Simulator (Shockwave Player Needed).

http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=SIMULATOR
50 posted on 03/02/2003 11:52:32 PM PST by Hillarys Gate Cult ("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PhilDragoo
BTTT!!!!!
51 posted on 03/03/2003 3:08:57 AM PST by E.G.C.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: AntiJen
BTTT!!!!!!!
52 posted on 03/03/2003 3:09:47 AM PST by E.G.C.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
I'm a former US Navy submariner. The Hunley story is well known to all of us. A few months back I wrote an article for our Florida reenactors newsletter. I submit it here for your consideration and comment.


H.L. Hunley. A locked room puzzle.

February 17 1864 the Confederate Fish Boat H. L. Hunley sailed out of Sand Inlet and into the pages of history. From my viewpoint there really didn’t seem to be that much of a mystery. You take a sawn in half boiler and use it to ram explosives against the side of a ship. It would be more than a minor miracle to get anything recognizable back. So when the Hunley disappeared that night, her ending seemed fairly predictable. In one version of events, she was sucked into the hole in the Housatonic. Being part steam boiler herself, she was undoubtedly removed and discarded as an unidentifiable part of the wreckage when the Charleston ship channel was dredged in the late 1800’s. Another version of events had the boat damaged, either by gunfire from the Housatonic or being run down by the U.S.S. Canandaigua as she raced to the aid of the sinking warship. A rather dramatic replay of this story was portrayed in the made for TV movie HUNLEY. The crew, all alone in their tiny iron coffin, linking hands and singing as they opened the sea cocks and avoided a horrifying death by suffocation.

Then in May of 1985 the Confederate Fish Boat was found, and the real mystery presented itself. More than a thousand feet from the wreck of the Housatonic, the Hunley obviously was well clear of the explosion. When the wreck was raised and examined, (the examination will continue for several years,) the bodies of the crew were found still at their posts. Had the boat flooded, the bodies would have floated to some extent and their remains would have been found in a mixed jumble in the bottom of the boat. To help compound the mystery, stalactites were found extending from the overhead in the boat. These could only form in air, and seem to indicate that the interior of the boat was dry for up to several years after the sinking. As a side note, she was not cobbled together from an old boiler. But, instead was constructed from the keel up as a submarine. Her rivets were countersunk and ground smooth for minimum hydrodynamic drag. That she would stay dry under those conditions for so long is a testament to her designers and builders. So here’s our locked room puzzle. The first submarine to make a successful attack against a warship, surfaces, signals her success to shore and then closes her hatches and sinks, (intact) to the bottom, where her crew dies without further fuss or struggle.

At this point Lt. Colombo turns around, puts his hand to his forehead and says, “There just one more thing I forgot to mention.” The Hunley’s rudder is found beneath the hull. Let me also ask those of you who saw the afore mentioned movie. Why did the candle go out during the endurance test? Hint: It wasn’t for lack of oxygen.

We’ll take these two clues and see if we can’t solve our puzzle. The Hunley’s rudder must have been torn loose before the boat came to rest on the bottom. Two possibilities present themselves. If the Hunley took the shock of the Housatonic explosion broadside the shock could have damaged or loosened the rudder. Or more likely, (in my opinion) she was caught a glancing blow from the Canandaigua. Part of her propeller shroud is missing and there are triangular gashes in the part that remains. (Think manatee and speedboat.) Lt. Dixon is now in command of a ship with no means to direct her movements. This is still no cause for a suicidal plunge to the bottom. However, he does have several options. He can wait for the tide to turn and carry him back to shore. He can wait for daylight to put someone over the side to attempt to repair the rudder. Or as a last resort, scuttle the boat, and swim for either the shore, or the nearest Union ship. They were in uniform after all, even if the status of the Hunley herself was a little hazy. All these options rely on the boat keeping her present position. The obvious solution was to do what they had already trained to do. Bottom the ship and wait it out.

Now let us take a look at the condition of the crew. Exhausted, having undoubtedly little sleep the night before and none during the day, but as good soldiers they will not fall asleep at their posts. Except for that one little detail of the candle. The candle did not go out from lack of oxygen, but from an excess of Carbon Dioxide. CO2 had been building up in the boat since she left the pier. Building up in the boat and the crew. There may have been some fresh air let in when Lt. Dixon opened the hatch to signal the shore. But, it had already proved dangerous to leave the hatches open for any length of time, even in the calm waters of Charleston’s inner harbor. CO2 has two interesting physiological effects, that at first look may seem mutually exclusive. It gives you a splitting headache, and makes you drowsy. So the crew sits on the bottom ready to wait out the hours they know they can withstand on the bottom, not knowing that the clock had started hours before. Possibly passing around a bottle of medicine that had relieved the headaches they had undoubtedly gotten before. Thinking that if they could only close their eyes for a moment….. They lean across the hand crank as the boat takes a list to starboard. Just a little rest before they surface and make their way to safety in the morning.


There is one more point I’d like to make. The Hunley’s place in the record books has always had an asterix next to it. She made a successful attack, but died alongside her victim. The evidence shows the boat made both a successful attack and escape. If indeed the Canandaigua was the instrument of her demise, then she was sunk as a result of enemy action. Not due to a flaw in her design or tactics. Had she successfully returned to port, could she have made more attacks against an alerted fleet? Quite frankly I doubt it. However, she was a successful design, and should be remembered as such.


Recommended reading and bibliography:

Raising the Hunley: The remarkable history and recovery of the lost Confederate submarine. Brian Hicks and Schuyler Kropf 2002

National Geographic, July 2002 Raising Hunley: Civil War Sub

And may I heartily recommend a visit to www.hunley.org The website of the Hunley recovery and preservation efforts.



53 posted on 03/03/2003 3:17:04 AM PST by 75thOVI ("Draw the bayonet, and throw away the scabbard!" The Blue Light Elder)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: majordivit
You forgot some:

Ensign Edward C. Hazeltine, USN
Captain's Clerk Charles O. Muzzey, USN
Quartermaster John Williams, USN
Second-Class Fireman John Walsh, USN
Landsman Theodore Parker, USN

Officers and crew of USS Housatonic, lost in action February 17, 1864. Or don't they count?

54 posted on 03/03/2003 4:31:49 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Hillarys Gate Cult
Thanks for the link to that Simulator.. I'll have to try it tonight when I get home.
55 posted on 03/03/2003 5:44:28 AM PST by SAMWolf (We do not bargain with terrorists, we stalk them, corner them , take aim and kill them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: SAMWolf
Hand Salute, ...... Two
STS2/SS
56 posted on 03/03/2003 6:14:18 AM PST by bmwcyle (Semper Gumby - Always Flexable)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 75thOVI
Very interesting article and based on what they've been discovering one of the most plausible conclusions I've seen.

Has there been any official reaction to your article?

57 posted on 03/03/2003 6:51:44 AM PST by SAMWolf (We do not bargain with terrorists, we stalk them, corner them , take aim and kill them)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: AntiJen
CSMC, by squads, platoons & companies, LOAD for ceremonial salute to our fallen naval HERO-MARTYRS.

FRONT ranks, KNEEL. THREE volleys to fire on ORDER.

READY, aim, FIRE!

FRee dixie,sw

58 posted on 03/03/2003 9:42:06 AM PST by stand watie (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. : Thomas Jefferson 1774)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: billbears
our HERO-MARTYRS are remembered.

free dixie,sw

59 posted on 03/03/2003 9:44:02 AM PST by stand watie (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. : Thomas Jefferson 1774)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: 75thOVI
An interesting and quite plausible analysis. I echo SAMWolf's question, heard any kind of official response to the letter.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}
60 posted on 03/03/2003 10:48:26 AM PST by alfa6 (GNY Highway's Rules: Improvise; Adapt; Overcome)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-64 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
VetsCoR
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson