The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy » (Bargain)

Tom Chaffin is a professor of history and the director/editor of the James K. Polk Correspondence Project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His books include Sea of Gray (Hill and Wang, 2006) and Pathfinder (Hill and Wang, 2002). His work has appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, Time, and other publications. He lives in Knoxville.

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.)

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Maps

Preface: Of Boats, Books, Barnacles, and Archives

Prologue: Canal Street 3

Pt. I New Orleans, Summer 1861-Spring 1862

1 A Man of Property, Intelligence and Probity 13

2 The Inventive Faculty of the Country 31

3 Men Who Would Practice Assassinations at the Bottom of the Sea 45

4 The CSS Pioneer 65

Pt. II Mobile, Spring 1862-Summer 1863

5 The American Diver 79

6 The Fish Boat 99

Pt. III Charleston, Summer 1863-Winter 1864

7 The Consequences of Faltering in the Hour of Success 121

8 In Other Hands 135

9 The H. L. Hunley 147

10 'Tis More Dangerous to Those Who Use It Than to the Enemy 153

11 A Tide Ripple on the Water 179

12 We Can't Get at the Truth 187

Pt. IV America, 1865-2004

13 Skeletons at the Wheel 197

14 Discovery, Recovery, Excavation 215

15 The Signals Agreed Upon 239

Epilogue: Legacy 257

App The Hunley's Three Crews and Deaths Aboard the USS Housatonic 263

Bibliography 291

Index 309