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Our Treasure
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Hunley sinks the HousatonicTwo of the biggest problems with the Hunley was it's short range and the inability for the Captain to see where he was steering. Although there was a compass, it proved quite unreliable inside the iron boiler used in the subs construction. This meant that the Hunley would travel a ways, and then have to surface, open a hatch, look around, pick a direction and then submerge again. The ships of the Union blockade generally eliminated the Hunley's threat by staying out of range. On February 17, 1864, though, they got a little cocky. The Union gunship, USS Housatonic anchored well inside the inlet at Charleston. At 9:00 PM the Hunley left Sullivan's island, and headed toward the Housatonic. The crew of nine was commanded by Lt. George E. Dixon, a Confederate cavalryman who had been wounded at Shilo. Because of his background as a engineer Dixon was attached to the Hunley project during his recovery. Because of the primitive ballast system on the Hunley, it was not able to submerge much below the surface, and so left a wake. An alert lookout on the Housatonic saw it's approach and warned the Captain. The Captain ordered the ship moved, but multiple anchors complicated that order. Soldiers on board shot rounds of musket bullets at the Hunley, but they just bounced off the sides. The "harpoon torpedo" plunged into the side of the Housatonic below the waterline. The Hunley then reversed itself, backing away from the ship, leaving it's 135 lb explosive charge inside. A rope unraveled as the sub backed off, then tightened and pulled a mechanism that exploded the charge. Although it took only three minutes for the Housatonic to burn and sink, just five lives were lost. The Hunley surfaced and the hatch was opened. A prearranged signal was given to mark the success of the mission, but the submarine never returned to port. Although there has been much speculation, no one knows what happened to the Hunley and it's crew. In August of 2000, researchers managed to raise the sub and take it to a conservation lab, where it presently sits in a large tank of sea water. Perhaps one day soon these researchers will be able to tell us what happened to these brave men.
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