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CSA Hunley Museum
Friday, Oct 11th
The first submarine to sink a ship was the CSA Hunley.
Horace L. Hunley, designed and built the Confederate
submarine in Mobile, Alabama in 1863.
The completed submarine was then moved to Charleston.
On 17 Feb 1864, the CSA Hunley
sank the Union Blockade Steamer Housatonic.
The Hunley never returned to port and was feared lost.
Searches for the boat were unsuccessful.
On 3 May 1995, the National Underwater Marine
Agency (NUMA) successfully located the remains
of the Hunley in 30 feet of water buried under 3 foot
of sediment. A professional recovery team was organized
and excavation began in January of 2001.
The Hunley was taken to the Warren Lasch Conservation
Center in Charleston. The bodies of 8 crewmen and
numerous personal artifacts were recovered from the sub.
The 8 man crew was buried in a large processional
through Charleston at the Magnolia Cemetery on 17 April 2004.
Magnolia Cemetery is the Memorial Site also for the
two submarine crews lost during sea trials previous
to the Hunley's successful mission. Horace Hunley was
a victim on one of the sea trials himself.
The Hunley is being kept in a 90,000 fresh water
conservation tank at the center as research continues.
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