A Book by Sally M. Walker

A lot of people likely have no idea that submarines have existed in some fashion in a practical sense for around 500 years. While many early mathematicians and scientists did thought experiments on such crafts, the first submarine was said to have been built by Cornelius Van Drebbel, a Dutchman in the service of James I of England, in 1620. While some of these early crafts were impressive, they were more curiosities than practical watercrafts. It was not for another 100 years until a ship called The Turtle was created for military use that our modern era of submarine warfare was born. The topic for today’s review takes place during the American Civil War wherein both sides made use of submarines at various times. The Union launched an ambitious project dubbed The Alligator, and The Confederacy launched The CSS Hunley at around the same time. Named for its ill-fated creator, The CSS Hunley is noteworthy for being the first submarine to successfully attack and sink an opposing warship. It’s also noteworthy for killing more of its own crew than any Union sailors, which is an unfortunate distinction.

“On February 17, 1864, the H.L. Hunley made history as the first submarine to sink a ship in battle. Soldiers on the shore waited patiently after seeing the submarine’s return signal. But after several days, the ship had failed to return. What had gone wrong? In 1995, after over 130 years of searching, the H.L. Hunley was finally found buried off the coast of South Carolina. Follow author, Sally M. Walker on a fascinating journey through the workings of the famous submarine, its voyages, and the difficult obstacles that were overcome to recover, excavate and conserve the ship.”

This book is an entertaining, albeit somewhat short read. I read this digitally, but I would not be surprised if this is one of those sorts of books they sell in a museum gift shop, somewhat written for an older child, young adult market. I was looking for a quick read to place between some larger books I was going through and this fit the bill pretty well. With that said, despite its narrow page count, the book is crammed with plenty of information on the CSS Hunley, all of its various accidents (and yeah there were a lot), its mysterious sinking, and the archaeological work done to both find and restore this interesting bit of American History.

This book was written in 2005, and as such does not have updated information on current scientific findings for this vessel, leaving the sinking as a mystery of sorts. It was theorized sometime around 2013 that the sinking was due to the explosion of the crew’s own torpedo when it attacked and sank the USS Housatonic on February 17, 1864. Located on a stick attached to the craft and far too close to the submarine itself, this bomb potentially caused a shockwave that instantly killed everyone inside. This would explain the lack of escape marks in the wreckage, and the fact that the crew were seemingly still sitting in their seats upon death. Since the CSS Hunley had killed upwards of 13 crew members prior to its final voyage, I’m sure that if the CSA would have found it, it would have been sent out again with modifications!

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley by Sally M. Walker is an interesting book that covers the entire history of this craft from creation to recent preservation. I especially enjoyed the end of the book wherein it is detailed how forensic archaeologists took the human remains inside, and while working with historians, were able to name and rediscover the histories of the men that went down with the ship for the last time. It’s not a huge book, but what is here is very interesting and would be a great jumping on point for further research. If you are like me and enjoy somewhat obscure historical diversions, this book might be a fun little detour from more involved reading.