The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy
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The Civil War's last great unknown naval war story Publishers Weekly This lively account of the first submarine to sink an opposing ship is an excellent niche history. Chaffin (Sea of Gray) relates that H.L. Hunley was neither soldier nor engineer, but an adventurous New Orleans attorney turned exporter who wanted to make his fortune selling the submarine he developed with several partners to the Confederate Navy. After two unsuccessful tests, in 1863 a third submarine performed decently, but the unenthusiastic local commander extolled its virtues to General Beauregard, who agreed to commission a submarine. It was shipped to Charleston, S.C., where it sank twice during testing, drowning both crews- including Hunley himself. In February 1864, the submarine, named the H.L. Hunley, finally sank a Union blockader with its torpedo but never returned. The event assumed mythic status, culminating in great excitement when divers exhumed the wreck in 2000. Chaffin finishes with a lucid description of the impressive details of this splendid artifact of engineering. Sampling from letters, articles and memoirs, the author succeeds in separating facts from legend in this engrossing examination of a pioneering weapon of war. Maps. (Oct.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
MapsPreface: Of Boats, Books, Barnacles, and ArchivesPrologue: Canal Street 3Pt. I New Orleans, Summer 1861-Spring 18621 A Man of Property, Intelligence and Probity 132 The Inventive Faculty of the Country 313 Men Who Would Practice Assassinations at the Bottom of the Sea 454 The CSS Pioneer 65Pt. II Mobile, Spring 1862-Summer 18635 The American Diver 796 The Fish Boat 99Pt. III Charleston, Summer 1863-Winter 18647 The Consequences of Faltering in the Hour of Success 1218 In Other Hands 1359 The H. L. Hunley 14710 'Tis More Dangerous to Those Who Use It Than to the Enemy 15311 A Tide Ripple on the Water 17912 We Can't Get at the Truth 187Pt. IV America, 1865-200413 Skeletons at the Wheel 19714 Discovery, Recovery, Excavation 21515 The Signals Agreed Upon 239Epilogue: Legacy 257App The Hunley's Three Crews and Deaths Aboard the USS Housatonic 263Bibliography 291Index 309
