Originally aired on June 06, 1997 - In part 145 of our Civil War series, Virginia Tech history professor James Robertson discusses the unsuccessful attempts to master submarine warfare during the conflict.
#145 – H. L. Hunley
The most dramatic of naval developments in the Civil War involved the first underwater warship to sink an enemy vessel in combat. The human cost of doing so was shocking.
Horace L. Hunley was a New Orleans businessman fascinated with naval innovations. Early in 1862, he and a group of associates designed a small prototype of a submarine they called the Pioneer. Yet the vessel had to be scuttled when Union naval forces seized New Orleans. Hunley moved to Mobile and continued his naval experiments.
In the spring of 1863, he superintended construction of a second and larger underwater craft. It sank in rough water as it was being towed out to attack a blockading fleet. Undeterred by two failures, Hunley altered designs and began work on a third vessel.
It was christened the H. L. Hunley. With an all-metal exterior, it was 30 feet long, four feet wide, and five feet high. It carried a crew of nine. Eight of the men, standing side by side, turned a crank propeller. The ninth member steered the submarine and controlled its depth.
The Hunley’s single weapon was a copper cylinder torpedo. It contained 90 pounds of powder that exploded on contact. Originally, the torpedo was mounted on a float towed by a 200-foot line. The submarine theoretically would dive under its intended victim, drawing the torpedo against the hull and causing an explosion.
It quickly became apparent that in rough weather the torpedo tended to drift toward the submarine because winds caused the missile to move faster than the ship under the water. Hence, the charge was mounted at the end of a 22-foot pine boom attached to the Hunley’s bow. The submarine could now drive the torpedo into the target by ramming, then back away. By a line attacked to the trigger, the charge could be detonated from a safe distance.
Four test dives were performed. During the first, a passing ship flooded the Hunley’s open hatches. All nine crewmen drowned. The submarine was raised, dismantled, carried overland to Charleston, South Carolina, and reassembled for use against Union blockaders outside the harbor. A second test dive was undertaken. A heavy swell from a passing steamer poured through open hatches again. Eight of nine crewmen perished, with only the commander, Lieutenant John Payne, escaping.
Six days later, a third run took place. As the Hunley was easing back into dock, her lines became entangled with those of a nearby ship. The submarine tipped to one side and sank. Six of nine sailors died. Lieutenant Payne asked for a transfer.
Hunley himself then assumed command. Using a volunteer crew from Mobile, he took the vessel out into Charleston harbor for a fourth trial. In the middle of it, the forward ballast tank overflowed. The submarine took all hands with her to the bottom. The score now stood: four tests, 32 men drowned, including the ship’s designer.
Astoundingly, another crew materialized. No more tests were permitted. The next outing would be to do battle.
Shortly after 8:00 on the chilly night of February 17, 1864, the Hunley slipped from her berth and headed across Charleston harbor toward the Union fleet. Her target was the 23-gun sloop USS Housatonic. Union sailors mistook the Hunley for a floating log, then realized their mistake when a tremendous explosion tore away much of the starboard side of the Housatonic. The wooden blockader sank quickly. So did the Hunley.
The likelihood is that the submarine’s torpedo exploded upon contact when only a few feet separated the two vessels. This victory seemed a unique, one-time thing. Nevertheless, a Confederate naval officer predicted that someday, “the submarine Boat” would become “the most formidable enemy of Marine warfare ever known”.
Two world wars proved him correct.