Hunley crew's burial set for Saturday

Thursday, March 23, 2000

By SCHUYLER KROPF
Of The Post and Courier staff

     The funeral for five members of the Confederate submarine Hunley's first crew is Saturday, and hundreds of Civil War re-enactors are expected to escort the procession through the streets of Charleston.
     The march will start at 10:45 a.m. at The Battery.
     "For years, we didn't know what happened to the first crew," said Randy Burbage of the Confederate Heritage Trust.
     "Now that we do, we're able to put them at rest in a place of honor and dignity with Horace Hunley and the second crew," he said. "It's like the fulfillment of a life-long dream."
     The procession will carry the skeletal remains on horse-drawn, flag-draped carriages to Magnolia Cemetery for a 12:30 p.m. burial ceremony in the Hunley Plot.
     No parking restrictions are in place along the parade route, but northbound traffic on East Bay Street and Morrison Drive will be interrupted when the procession passes through.
     The five sets of remains were uncovered during a dig at The Citadel's football stadium where a Civil War cemetery was covered over during construction. The men drowned in the fall of 1863 when the wake of a passing ship rushed through the Hunley's open hatches near its mooring on James Island. The remains will be buried next to Horace Hunley, one of the sub's principal designers. He and eight others died inside the sub a few weeks later during a second testing mishap.
     Saturday's procession will follow the same route as last year's burial march when about two-dozen sets of Confederate remains were put to rest.
     The procession will go from The Battery, down East Bay Street to Morrison Drive and into the cemetery. It should take about one hour to walk the 4.5 mile route. Some re-enactors will be wearing their best dress uniforms. There also will be a 21-cannon salute.
     On Friday night, the remains will lie in-state at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion at Cannon and Ashley streets downtown. A Requiem Eucharist service will be held at 7 p.m.
     Re-enactors from South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Mississippi and North Carolina are expected to attend Saturday's main event, Burbage said.
     The victims are all believed to be Irish immigrants who joined the Confederate cause in New Orleans. They joined the Hunley project after being stationed in Charleston. A forensics examination on one set of bones shows one of the five Hunley sailors was a 13-year-old boy.
    
WANT TO GO?
     What: Funeral procession and burial of five Confederate submarine Hunley crewmen.
     When: Saturday at The Battery. March begins about 10:45 a.m., after a brief ceremony. March to Magnolia Cemetery should take about one hour. Burial scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
     Who: Civil War re-enactors will escort horse-drawn funeral carriages.
     Where: March route is down East Bay Street to Morrison Drive and into Magnolia Cemetery.
     Parking: Limited spaces outside the cemetery. Some distance walking may be required.
     Church Service: On Friday, the skeletal remains will lie in-state at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion at Cannon and Ashley streets downtown. A Requiem Eucharist service will be held at 7 p.m.
    
    

Used with permission of The Post and Courier and Charleston.Net