He Bet His Life
By ASHTON CHAPMAN
Although the Confederate subma¬
rine “Hunley" was the first ever to
sink an enemy war vessel, it was a
rather crude affair, but none the less
was the forerunner of the U. S. Navy’s
present-day atomic-powered subma¬
rines.
This “fish-boat" of the South was
named for its inventor, Capt. Hor¬
ace L. Hunley who, when Confederate
officials declined to finance his "crack-
brained" scheme, backed it not only
with his own money but with his very
life.
He started his experiments with un¬
derwater craft in his native New Or¬
leans but when that city was captured
by Federal forces he shifted operations
to Mobile. From there the tiny sub
was brought to Charleston on a rail¬
road flat car.
It was made from a 25-foot section
of iron boiler four feet in diameter,
cut end to end longitudinally and a
one-foot strip of iron riveted between
the halves for a keel. Each end had
a cone-shaped ballast tank which could
be flooded by valves for submerging
or emptied by hand pumps for sur¬
facing.
Hand power was the only kind
aboard the "Hunley.” Four men
crouching on each side of a long cam
shaft attached to a propcllor at the
stem, madly turning piston-like han¬
dles. could generate a maximum speed
of about four miles an hour.
The conning tower, forward, had
four bull’s-eye glass observation ports.
Beneath this sat the captain, reading
the compass by a candle and manipu¬
lating the wheel from which cables
ran aft to the rudder, also the lever
which moved a pair of "fins” near the
bow.
In the first five experimental voy¬
ages in Charleston harbor the ‘‘Hun¬
ley" sank each time, drowning or suf¬
focating a total of some 35 Confederate
officers and enlisted men. On the third
trip Capt. Hunley himself was one of
the victims, for he insisted upon
operating it personally, claiming the
previous disasters were caused by im¬
proper handling of his invention.
By this time the sub had earned
the nickname "Tin Coffin," but the
odd little vessel held such fascination
for volunteers there was no difficulty
securing a sixth crew, commanded by
Lt. George E. Dixon.
On the murky night of Feb. 17,
1X64, this crew proceeded from Sul¬
livan's Island against the brand new
corvette, USS "Housatonic," one of the
largest vessels in the Federal fleet
which had been blockading Charles¬
ton harbor since early in the war.
The spar-torpedo carried by the sub¬
marine struck the warship, exploding
the great ship's powder magazine. Wii-
Stated Well
"Many Swedes tell you they are get¬
ting their extensive social-welfare serv¬
ices ‘free’ — education, unemployment
insurance, old-age pensions, medical
care. But the Taxpayers’ Association
study makes it doubtful that there is
even much redistribution of income or
welfare from the ’rich’ to the ‘poor.’
Half of the population now pay 30 to
40 per cent of their income in taxes.
Two-thirds of the tax money levied for
redistribution purposes in effect returns
as ’social services' to the identical in¬
come groups that paid it, after an enor¬
mous merry-go-round.” — Hfnry
H azl i u, Newsweek .
HORACE L. HUNLEY
nesses back on Sullivan's Island and
on the Charleston battery' said that in
the tremendous flash of light they saw
the "Housatonic" literally blasted out
of the water. She then settled beneath
the waves in four minutes, but with
the loss of only five lives aboard.
Those who waited for the "Hunley”
to return to its dock waited in vain.
Evidently she was sunk by the ex¬
plosion. or was sucked into the side
of the "Housatonic” through the hole
torn by the discharge.
GcnI. P. G. T. Beauregard, who hail
reluctantly permitted what proved to
be the final operation of the “Hunley,"
some years later wrote that when a
diver was sent down, after the war,
to examine the wreck of the "Housa¬
tonic" he "discovered the fish-boat
lying alongside its victim."
The greatest secrecy surrounded the
operations of the "Hunley” and the
selection of her crews. Often it was
months before their own families
learned the names of the men who
lost their lives on her several ill-fated
trips in Charleston harbor. Now, with
the lapse of nearly a century, the
most diligent efforts have been suc¬
cessful in discovering the identity of
only 16. less than half the number of
gallant Confederate naval officers and
enlisted men who gave their lives in
this manner but who helped prepare
the way for the ultimate development
of the atomic-powered submarines of
today.
THE STATE. OCCtMBCR a. 1962
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