H. L. Hunley
Submarine · Confederate States of America · Lost 1864 · The Georgia & South Carolina Coast
The Confederate hand-cranked submarine that became the first submersible in history to sink an enemy warship, lost with all hands the same night.
The Vessel and Her Loss
H. L. Hunley was a privately built, hand-cranked iron submarine developed for the Confederacy in Mobile, Alabama. On the night of 17 February 1864 she rammed a spar torpedo into the Union sloop-of-war USS Housatonic off Charleston, sinking her in the first successful submarine attack in naval history. Hunley did not return from the mission and was lost with all eight crew. She was located in 1995 and raised in 2000, and is now under conservation in North Charleston.
Vessel
- 1863
- Park and Lyons
- Mobile, Alabama
- Iron
- 40 ft
- 4 ft
- Not established
- Hand crank, single propeller
- Confederate States Army/Navy, privately financed by Horace Lawson Hunley
Loss
- February 17, 1864
- Enemy action
- Off Sullivan's Island, approximately 4 miles outside Charleston Harbor, South Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean, Charleston Harbor approaches
- Sullivan's Island, South Carolina → Attack on USS Housatonic
- Not established
- 8
- 8
- Lt. George E. Dixon
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Recovered intact in 2000; under conservation
- Not established
- 1995
- Recovered and on display/conservation at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, North Charleston
Position
- 32.719° N 79.805° W
- Surveyed position
- Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Position corresponds to the documented Housatonic/Hunley engagement site off Sullivan's Island.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (97/100)
The precise cause of Hunley's own sinking, whether from the torpedo blast, gunfire, or an accident, remains debated among researchers.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Construction, mission, loss, and recovery details.
Wikipedia, citing multiple sourced references
Engagement location and casualty figures.
