H. L. Hunley, CSS
A submarine of the Confederate Navy and the first submersible craft to engage and sink a warship. Privately built in 1963 in Mobile, Alabama, the Hunley was made from a cylindrical iron steam boiler, made deeper and lengthened by the addition of tapered ends, and hand-powered by a crew of nine: eight to turn the propeller by hand, and one to steer the craft. On the night of February 16, 1864, the Hunley attacked the 1, 800-ton sloop-of-war the USS Housatonic with a spar torpedo packed with explosive powder. The explosion not only sent the Housatonic to the bottom of Charleston Harbor (off the coast of South Carolina) but the Hunley as well.
The wreck of the vessel was finally found by the writer Clive Cussler in 1995, and the Hunley was raised in August 2000.See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
