The H.L Hunley Submarine

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Recommended: Navy heritage and traditions

The H.L Hunley was invented in 1863 by Confederate engineer, Horace Lawson Hunley. It was very small and was hand cranked by the operators inside. 8 men would crank the shaft down the middle, which would propel the ship forward. The submarine could go up and down if they crouched or jumped up. Before the H.L Hunley was invented, the only way they can only sink enemy ships by torpedoes that were planted underwater. The torpedo was connected to a fuse box on the land and when they thought that the enemy ships were on top of the torpedo, they pulled the switch and tried to destroy the enemy ship. Also, neither side talked to their citizens about submarines because it was considered illegal in both the confederate and union states. BUT, the confederates soon broke this law when they built the H.L Hunley. Eventually the Hunley made history. It was February 17 1864 and the Union had a blockade issued there. The union ships were blocking cargo ships from entering Confederate trading ports. Since this was issued, they needed a way to get rid of the blockade because with the lack of supplies, they were going to be starved of ammunition and food. SO, this is finally where the H.L Hunley makes history! The Hunley had a prototype torpedo on board designed to be aimed at enemy ships. this is what made the Hunley famous. She hit the ship around the middle of the ship and launched it. It couldn’t travel very far, so it had to be literally be right in front of it to actually sink it. The name of the ship it sunk was the U.S.S Houstatonic. Shortly after the Houstatonic sunk, the Confederates and the Union both acknowledged to the public of their use with submarines. The public widely opposed their use due to the fact that they were sneaky. The...

... middle of paper ...

...ing a training exercise, the H.L Hunley sank! The submarine's whereabouts weren't know until 1970 when archaeologist E.Lee Spence located the wreckage and kept in a secret until he donated the find to the state of South Carolina in 1995. They later recovered the wreckage and are continuing to find out new things everyday about it's legacy and it's history. Many people have theories as to why it had sunk. One was that it was sabotage; that a union officer in disguise opened the air hatch,causing them to drown. Or maybe it was an accident; someone in there accidentally hit the lever causing it to open. But no matter what happened, the H.L Hunleys legacy,history, and sacrifice has truely shapened nautical history forever.

Works Cited

Walker, Sally M. Secrets of a Civil War submarine: Solving the mysteries of the H.L. Hunley. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2005.

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