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I have to give credit where its due in the courage and daring department.

No doubt. At the Hunley exhibit in Charleston, the docent alluded to the fact that all hands on the Hunley were volunteers, which was surprising in and of itself because the mission for which the Hunley became famous was manned by its third crew.

The Hunley had actually sunk twice before, with the loss of five out of eight crew on its first voyage, and the loss of all eight crewmen on the second, including the vessel's namesake, Capt. Horace Hunley.

The men who volunteered for duty on the historic third Hunley mission were well aware of the fate of the first two missions. Why would they volunteer for a task meaning almost certain death? Because all of them understood the potential of the submarine to change the nature of naval warfare. Serving aboard the Hunley was the 19th century equivalent of being an astronaut a hundred years later. All of these guys understood the technological leap a successful submarine mission would be, and they wanted to be a part of it.

The exhibit also contained a replica of the Hunley, cut open from the rear so that visitors could enter. The first thing you notice is that the average 21st century American isn't going to fit through the hatch up top. The second thing you notice is how crowded that tin can would be with eight hands inside. You can only imagine the terror that would grip those on board as sea water came rushing in to drown them. Then you see that the only crewman who has even the most remote chance of exiting the tube in an emergency is the one standing directly under it. And that's only if he's the size of a current-day 11-year old...otherwise he has no chance at all, due to the tiny diameter of the hatch.