For 131 years the ship was pretty much forgotten, except by military historians. S.C. All of the silt that had filled the ship remained inside. Marine scientists and archaeologists now are carefully removing the mud, exposing artifacts and the bodies of the men who had gone down with their ship. The process could take up to 10 years before all of the work is completed. Chris Amer , a member of the Hunley Recovery team and a co-principal investigator of the H. L. Hunley 1996 Assessment Project, will visit Indiana to discuss the finding of the ship and the ongoing efforts to preserve it.
Admission is free.
The War Between the States was a vast proving ground for improving a wade variety of weaponry. It was the first time that the achievements of the industrial and scientific revolution were used on a large scale in war. The submarine, particularly the H.L. Hunley was perhaps the most dramatic naval weapon introduced during the war. The Hunley was built in Mobile, Alabama in l863 and was moved to Charleston, South Carolina to operate against the northern blockading fleet anchored off Charleston Harbor. There were several tragic sinkings in trials, one taking the life of the Hunley s main financial backer and namesake, Horace Hunley.