The vessel
could hardly have been more primitive--inside its iron shell there wasn't even
an engine--nine soldiers turning cranks provided the power. But the H. L.
Hunley made history on February 17th, 1864, when it ran the Charleston
blockade and sank the U.S.S Housatonic. Not only was it a symbolic
victory for the besieged Confederate forces, it was the first time that a
submarine had sunk an enemy vessel in combat. But on the return trip, something
went wrong, and the Hunley never made it back to port. For over a
century, its fate remained a mystery, and the iron sub quickly became a part of
maritime lore. But in 1994, a team of divers funded by author Clive Cussler
finally found the Hunley--in nearly perfect condition--buried beneath the
silt on the ocean floor. RAISING THE HUNLEY meets with some of the divers who
found the wreck and the archeologists who helped raise the long-lost ship and
bring it back into Charleston--136 years after it sailed into history. Filled
with footage of its discovery and reclamation, HISTORY'S MYSTERIES presents
the extraordinary story of the fabled Hunley.
5437331
/ Civil War Journal sets 1 and 2
