The Hunley sank a Union blockading ship, the USS Housatonic by ramming it with a torpedo attached to a spar at the front of the ship. A half-century would pass before another submarine would sink and enemy warship during World War I.
Unfortunately for the Hunley, it sank to the bottom itself while returning from the attack on the Housatonic. All eight men aboard died.
Many theories have been advance over the years as to what happened to cause the Hunley to sink. Some think perhaps it was too close to the explosion and that they were knocked unconscious or perhaps miscalculated how long their oxygen will hold while submerged.
Scientists hope to determine the cause of the ship's sinking when the entire vessel's exterior and interior is cleaned of the sea buildup in the next several years.
The Hunley was raised from the sea floor in 2000. Scientists have spent seventeen years collecting human remains (all aboard were found) and restoring the vessel.
--Old B-R'er
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