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The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy

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Even though hundreds of books are published on the Civil War every year, it is rare that something truly new and original comes along. "The H.L. Hunley" by Tom Chaffin provides exactly that. Even though the story of the Hunley is well known to Civil War buffs and professional historians this is the first book to cover in depth the submarine boats creation, mission, destruction and recovery. It also offers insight into the development of submarine warfare as an accepted practice of war making.

Too often in the study of history one will come across a well-researched book devoid of a good narrative or, in return, a great story with little to no actual research. Chaffin deftly combines both and creates that rarest of Civil War books, a well-researched book that is also well written and will appeal to a broad audience of both layman and academics. There is something for everyone in this fine work. Combining history, myth and memory, as well as recent archeological work, Chaffin's book will be the starting point for study of the doomed ship.

It is a must-read for Civil War historians' ands adds invaluably to our knowledge of the defense of Charleston in the waning period of the war. This book will also please students and readers interested in maritime history and the study of unconventional warfare.

In biblical scholarship we speak of the search for the historical Jesus. We humans tend to create legends and myths around important people, places and events. Someone must have the keen scholarship, the healthy skepticism, and the painstaking research to carefully separate fact from fiction, legend from history. Dr. Tom Chaffin has marvelously demonstrated this ability in his new book on the Hunley. I feel indebted to Dr. Chaffin in helping me better understand Horace Hunley from a psychological perspective. This is very important to me as a blood relative of Horace. I am fascinated not only by the submarine but also by the man for whom the submarine is named. Not since the Ruth Duncan book, "The Captain and Submarine CSS H L Hunley" printed in 1965, has any author devoted as much research on Horace Hunley himself, including his sister Volumnia Hunley Barrow and her wealthy husband, Robert Ruffin Barrow. Their intimate connections with Horace Hunley are often overlooked in how they shaped him as a man. Dr. Chaffin's breadth of scholarship is applied like a sharp scalpel to every detail of the Hunley story, separating cherished myths from the raw facts. He does this not only with Horace Hunley, but also with George Dixon and Queenie Bennett, along with the story of the blue light said to have been seen from the shore. Having shared Hunley genealogy with Dr. Chaffin from my old Hunley family bible, I am grateful for the opportunity to get to know this historian on a personal level. I have deep respect for his intellect and self-discipline in overcoming a severe struggle with his health as he researched and wrote. As a Sherlock Holmes scrutinizing every detail of an investigation, Dr. Chaffin used a vast variety of resources in writing this fine book. I especially enjoyed the primary sources he consulted and the carefully documented footnotes for any reader who wants to pursue an item of interest even further. I have no doubt that this book will be the authoritative guide and the definitive work for many years on Horace Hunley and the submarine that changed naval history.

The past few decades have seen an unprecedented flourishing of exploration and retrieval of sunken vessels and their cargo. There are richer wrecks than that of the _H. L. Hunley_, but few of such technological and historical interest. The _Hunley_ was a submarine serving the Confederate forces in the Civil War, and it was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship. It didn't last long thereafter, and it wasn't until World War I that submarines became practical machines of war, but the _Hunley_ was an important step in submarine evolution. After it was raised in 2000, it was available for examination by engineers and historians, and has begun to divulge some of its secrets. In _The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy_ (Hill and Wang), historian Tom Chaffin has told about the raising of the vessel and its recent evaluation by experts, but has given a full history of its development, its creators, and its activity during the Civil War. Chaffin also wrote _Sea of Gray_, an exciting history of the Confederate raider Shenandoah, and has again presented a smoothly narrated and comprehensive story of a lost ship in a lost cause. This time, however, the ship represented the best inventiveness and high-tech accomplishment of its age, and Chaffin has placed the ship, its inventors, and the doomed men who sailed on it within a military, technological, and historical context.

There were submarines before; Leonardo da Vinci himself said he had designed one, but uncharacteristically did not show anyone else the design, he said, "because of the evil nature of men who would practice assassinations at the bottom of the sea..." Chaffin reviews the history of submarines, with the _Hunley_ being far more advanced than any that had gone before. Horace Lawson Hunley was a lawyer and customs officer in New Orleans, and met with his friends inventor James McClintock and Baxter Watson who both owned a machine shop; they conceived the idea of a submarine boat. Their third prototype, created in Mobile, Alabama, was shipped to Charleston in 1863. It was forty feet long, designed for a crew of eight, one commander and seven men to turn the zigzag crankshaft that operated the propeller; there were also hand pumps for shifting ballast. At Charleston, the _Hunley_ sank twice, drowning the two crews, the second commanded by Hunley himself. It may be an illustration of the desperation of the Confederates that the _Hunley_ was re-floated for a third attempt, and crewmen were found to man it. On the night of 17 - 18 February 1864, it was deployed with a mine on a spar, and sank the USS _Housatonic_. Something subsequently went wrong with the _Hunley_, as it sank with all hands. There is evidence that the submarine did not go down in the blast that she gave the _Housatonic_, and there are confused stories of lantern signals and countersignals possibly given by the _Hunley_ after the attack. Of course, the cause of the sinking is one of the interests of researchers who are examining the raised vessel, as are different questions about its manufacture and technical capacity. Of more human interest is that the remains of the third crew were given a stately funeral through the streets of Charleston in 2004. Horse-drawn caissons and Civil War reenactors participated in the procession, which ended in Magnolia Cemetery, the burial place for the men of the first and second crews as well.

The historic sinking of a ship by a submarine did not affect the war's outcome, but _Hunley_ has an important place in the history of how submarines became standard weapons. When the Germans employed submarines in World War I, they used vessels and weapons far beyond anything Horace Hunley and his fellow entrepreneurs could have thought possible. Chaffin explains that the Germans, like the Confederates, practiced commerce raiding, destroying civilian vessels as well as military, bringing to the seas the sort of total war doctrinally propounded by Union general William Tecumseh Sherman. Now, of course, we have submarines ready to deliver enormous destruction, and we take for granted that they are out there ready to do far more than the assassinations Leonardo fretted about. There isn't any way to read about advancements in warfare without some regret, but Chaffin's final chapters, about the curiosity of those who have brought the ship back and are devoted to answering the many mysteries of its creation and operation, contain plenty of optimism and admiration for simple human curiosity, as well as demonstrating once again how strong a hold the Civil War has on the imaginations of those who make it their chief historical interest.

I've been through most of the popular authors' works on H. L. Hunley, and found Mr. Chaffin's work to be entertaining and informative. In one regard, he stands above previous authors: his treatment of the storied "blue light." Recent research shows that the "blue lantern" was a myth begun by some one of those previous authors, based on the single historical testimony of a crewman of the Housatonic, who observed a "blue light on the water just ahead of the Canandaigua" as the rescue vessel steamed to the succor of the sunken Federal sloop. Based on this mention of "blue light" someone decided that it was a blue lantern, the absence of historical information not withstanding, a story which refuses to die despite the discovery on the recovered Hunley of a lantern with a clear, not a blue, glass lens. It is to Mr. Chaffin's credit that he spends what one reviewer thought to be an inordinate amount of print discussing the blue light issue, and did not fall prey to the ill-conceived story of a blue lantern. For those who would like to learn the answers to some of the questions which Mr. Chaffin posed about the blue light, do a YouTube search for "Making Civil War - Era Blue Light" and "Burning Blue Light" to learn about the signal seen by the Housatonic's lookout. I applaud Mr. Chaffin for his careful treatment of the issue, and for not falling into lockstep with the "blue lantern" gospel as preached by other authors.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I bought it specifically for the information it provided on the discovery, recovery and excavation of the Hunley, and it delivered 100% on what I was hoping it would contain. Moreover, the background on Hunley's predecessors, the CSS Pioneer and American Diver, provides superb information on the difficulties faced by early submarine designers and how they were over done. A good read, worth buying.

Tom Chaffin is that welcome fellow among academic historians. A meticulous and determined scholar who's never at a loss for fresh perceptions, he can also make a narrative move like the wind.

The story of the H.L. Hunley bristles with historic significance -- the vessel was the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship. But the story also resonates with a sense of awe -- at the mechanical audacity of the submarine's design and at the bravery of the men who took it down.

Chaffin has worked hard to bring truth to a subject that over time, in his words, "had become encrusted with the barnacles of accumulated lore." The rigor of his labor is apparent in the 25 pages of notes that follow the narrative. It's a superb and convincing job.

Tom Chaffin has brought the H. L. Hunley back to life. A compelling, fascinating, thoroughly researched book. The author combines all the various aspects of the ship and her predecessors, from idea to inception to sinking to resurrection, in one very enjoyable and riveting book..

Many students of American history and the Civil War are familiar with the story of the Hunley, but over the years, legends, TV movies, rumors and guesswork have obscured the facts. Mr.Chaffin has sifted through the myths, putting life in the characters, events in their historical context. Not only that, he weaves all the pertinent information into a thoroughly enjoyable, easy to ready story as well. A great book for everyone.

Have read the book and totally enjoyed it. Being a former Navy person I was fascinated how these men were able to get into this boat and know the chances of survival. I have already shared the book to other people interested. Thank you.

good part of history most will never read. if you have an interest in submarines or the hunley, read this book.

Chaffin did a heroic job of researching the scraps of evidence that exist in regard to the developers of the Hunley, but alas!(Chaffin's favorite interjection), if one is looking for new and cutting edge archaeological evidence, there just isn't anything new. That book is yet to be published, and it may be a decade before it is possible since the archaeology of the vessel may take that long. I bought the book without examining it closely--anticipating that the archaeology aspect would be a large part of the story--it was not.