Customer Reviews

The Hunley

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This is a new, updated version of "The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice, & Success in the Civil War", now simply renamed. Like the original, this slightly smaller format trade paperback edition is illustrated with period drawings, photos, and copies of documents. The richly informed and annotated text of the first five chapters is nearly identical to the early edition, but laid out for easier reading and reference. The expanded sixth and last chapter includes a detailed account of the recovery and excavation of the vessel, which happened since the original publication, and in which Ragan participated. As in the original, Ragan's personal accounts of his research and related activity enhances the overall reading experience. The new work adds an index and includes expanded endnotes, increasing its value as reference tool.

Anyone remotely interested in this topic would do themselves a favor to read it. It was well researched, has exhaustive detail, and is highly readable. I can't imagine another book on the subject coming close to equalling it.

I used this book for a research paper and it was helpful. Some of the information did not match up with other books on the subject, but overall it was a good read. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Civil War or the Hunley.

So much new information has come to light since this book was written. A prime example is the author's treatment of the fabled and iconic "blue light" which he states is crucial to understanding what happenened to the sub after her torpedo exploded. He clings to the claim that the "blue light" was a blue lantern, despite recent research proving that the blue light was a pyrotechnic, hand-held flare in common use by the world's military forces. A blue lantern has been shown to be impractical for signaling over the four mile distance between the site of the Housatonic's sinking and the sub's shore base. The nail in the coffin of the blue lantern myth is the signal lantern recovered from the Hunley: it has a clear glass lens, not a blue one. Check out the Winter 2012 edition of "Civil War Navy" magazine to learn about the blue light signal used by the vessels of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. YouTube videos also show the blue light in use: "Burning Blue Light" and "Making Civil War-Era Blue Light" demonstrate manufacture and use of the pyrotechnic signal.

This book has it all! The author includes copies of original letters and pictures which I think adds to the book. I especially liked the engineering drawings of the submarine itself. A read, I'd suggest anyone to read it.

This is the original ground breaking work done on the Hunley. At the time when Ragan wrote this book, many people (and some historians) thought that the Hunley was just a low draft "David" type torpedo boat and that it blew itself up in a "kamakazi" style attack. Ragan's book provided evidence that (1) it was a fully funtioning submarine and that (2) it got away before sinking.
Ragan was proven to be correct when the sub was discovered intact hundreds of yards away form the vessel it had destroyed. Ragan also correctly predicted that a gold coin would be found with the remains of the submarines captain, Lt. George Dixon. More than a few people scoffed at this- until the coin was also found! Bravo!
I would highly recommend reading this book- it was the first and, in my opinion, still the best work done on the subject.