Many historians consider the Hunley to be the first successful submarine attack. Why would the Confederate Navy want to build submarines instead of building more battle ships? Researchers – people who study something to learn new information Recovered – found and restored to working condition Hatches – an opening, especially on a ship Submarine – a ship designed to operate completely underwaterīlockade – to seal off a place to prevent people or goods from going in or out Today, archaeologists still study the Hunley’s wreck to discover what happened on its first and only mission. The Hunley stayed lost underwater until researchers found it in 1995. Unfortunately, the Hunley was too close to the explosion and it sank as well. Hunley made by Bob Bass – Tennessee State Museum collection The mission was a success but at a cost.ġ6.75 in. The charge ignited and BOOM! It exploded. The explosive was successfully attached to the ship. The Hunley had 135 pounds of gunpowder attached to a 16-foot pole. The goal was to sink the Union ship, the Housatonic. In November 1863, the Hunley was given its first mission. Horace Lawson Hunley – Tennessee State Museum collection It was recovered again for an official mission. In total, the Hunley sank two times during testing. The Hunley sank again in another test killing all eight men working, including Horace Lawson Hunley. The Confederates recovered the submarine and tried again. Five of the nine men working died during that test. During an early test, the Hunley sank when it went underwater before all the hatches were closed. Any new weapon created for war can be very dangerous, including the H.L. It was supposed to dive underwater and put explosives on the hull of enemy ships to sink them. Hunley, named after its designer, was a 40-foot iron tube operated by eight men. Tennessean, Horace Lawson Hunley, designed one of the earliest submarines as a solution. One way to do this was by using submarines. The Confederates needed to find a way to fight the Union ships that were all around them. They used it to blockade southern ports this meant that important supplies could not reach the Confederacy.

The North, or Union, had a bigger and more powerful Navy than the Confederates, or the South. A submarine is a ship designed to operate underwater. You may hear about the use of submarines during World War I, but did you know submarines were used during the Civil War? The first submarine to sink an enemy ship was used by the Confederate Navy. Capital Maintenance and Improvements Grants.The Modern Movement for Civil Rights in Tennessee.Transforming America: Tennessee on the World War II Homefront.Understanding Women's Suffrage: Tennessee's Perfect 36.The Three Rs of Reconstruction: Rights, Restrictions and Resistance.The Lives of Three Tennessee Slaves and Their Journey Towards Freedom.The Age of Jackson and Tennessee’s Legendary Leaders.Cherokee in Tennessee: Their Life, Culture, and Removal.The Life and Times of the First Tennesseans.From Barter to Budget, Financial Literacy in Tennessee.Between The Layers: Art and Story in Tennessee Quilts.The State of Sound: Tennessee’s Musical Heritage.

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Hunley submarine plans