HUNLEY

in full H.l. Hunley, first submarine to sink an enemy ship. Operated from 1863 to 1864, it was a Confederate invention of the American Civil War. The Hunley was designed and built at Mobile, Ala., and named for its chief financial backer, Horace L. Hunley. Less than 40 feet (12 m) long, the submarine held nine crewmen, eight of whom propelled the vessel by hand-cranking a single screw. Its commander controlled steering and depth. The Hunley was shipped by rail in 1863 to Charleston, S.C., where, in an attempt to sink the Union frigate New Ironsides, it was swamped by a wave from a passing paddle wheeler; only the commander, Lieutenant John Payne, escaped. In early October 1863, the Hunley capsized near Fort Sumter; Payne and two seamen escaped. Raised by Hunley, the submarine went to the bottom again on October 15th during a practice dive, with loss of all hands, including Hunley himself. Raised again, it was launched several times in search of Union blockaders, and on Feb. 17, 1864, it successfully attacked the Union sloop Housatonic with a spar torpedo, sinking the vessel. The Hunley, however, was lost in the attack, along with Lieutenant George Dixon (the commander, who was one of the submarine's builders) and its other crewmen. It was never raised again. Modern reconstructions of the Hunley were completed at Charleston (196667) and Mobile (1990).