The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-10-14
(From the Washington Star.)

remarkable events Of 1863-ffty years
20. Anniversaries like his serve as
points Of eminence from which one
can look Jack with more than ordi- |
nary appreciation and refresh the
memories On important events that
should not be lost. So this RENEWAL of
the short. tragic and little advertised
C~onfederate submarine Hunley is told.
that the extraordinary herOism Of her
various crews may not be entirely lost
sight Of in the flight Of passing years.
The present-day efficiency in SUBJ
marine navigation has not been read.-
~ attained, but quite to the contrary.
Its development has been replete with
shocking disasters, each, however,
serving a certain purpose by teaching
a lesson in the process OF perfecting
the ultimately successful craft. A
history OF this development would be
yoluminous and at the same time in
teresting. but the life story Of the SUBJ
iect of this short sketch is the most
remarkable in these annals.
All Hands Lost"
Her mortality record, when percent
ages alone are considered, is undoubt-
eddy greater h any vessel v built.
While there are thousands OF instances
of all hands lost, where a 100 per cent
loss exists it is very difficult to find a
case where such a vessel has been
saved and again had the misfortune
TO repeat the tragic al hands lost"
This little craft has Jour such diasters
charged against her name, in which
none Of her crew escaped, one where
there was an IS per cent oss and
another with a so per cent loss.
The inventive genius that created
the submarine Hunley, and she really
was a very ingenious craft. was w. A..
Alexander. Some information seems
10 indicate that he was aided by a
man named McClintock. The latter
had experimental extensively on Lake
F'ontchartrain, La, and eventually en-
yolved a submarine Of questionable
success, but yet possessed Of consider
able merit. u unfortunately for
this inventor, Admiral Farragut made
his famous passage Of the lower Miss
iSsippi n had taken New Orleans,
so in order to prevent his craft from
falling into the hands OF the Federal
forces she was scu.tled and lost.
Not being discouraged by this un-
fortunate turn in his affairs, McClin-
took, it appears, went to Mobile and.
sssociating himself with II. l. Hunley
and Mr.. Alexander. put his previous
experience with their ingenious minds
into the plans OF a larger submarine,
which bore Mr.. Hunley's name.
In these days the construction OF
this boat would be looked upon as e
tremely crude. but in view of the ia
cilities that were available in the
ridden country, she was a monument
TO the skill Of her designers, despite
the fearful record she left behind
The vessel was fashioned from a large
horizontal steam boiler. twenty-fivt
feet long. and in order to give NOR
headrOOm it was cut in halves longi
tudinally, the upper part then beint
raised about two feet by the insertion
of a strip Of plating. The ends wer'
taken out and the sides of the bOilel
drawn together and riveted. necessar.
arrangements being made for the &C
commodation Of the propeller shaft
In this way the boiler became a sharl
doublo-ended craft.
Internal Arrangements.
The propeller shaft, arranged witt
o series Of cranks, extended two-third
The length Of the boat. giving room TO
seven men to stand on alternate l
and operate the crank shaft by hano
The steering wheel, compass and me-
curry gauge Ito show the amount o
pressure) we're located forward, Wher
\ small watertight hatch, or cover
over his head and a corresponding on
aft were the only means of entranc
or exit. There was a bulkhead FOL
ward and one aft; which formed
W~ater-ballast tank at each end OF tn
vessel; each was fitted with sea coch
II a pump, by the use Of which tn
trim OF the craft could be regulated
Blocks Of iron ballast wereattached- I
The keel by keys, which by being turf
I'd from within would release tn
weights and add materially theret
10 the buoyancy Of the vessel, wheI
ever 1t was found difficult to bring N
TO the surface.
The Hunley was fitted with a rudd'
similar to that on any craft. but in a.
dition she was equipped with W la
eral planes or "fins," by the use
which her course could be a rising
WING one. Both planes were Ia
to the same shaft, which passed q
rectly through the boat, and oy
lever attached to 1t the officer cou
elevate or depress the planes at W,
While the problems Of submarl
navigation were ingeniously met
these rcsourceful men, they were pal
eu at the difficulties Df SllnDlVlng q