The many fascinating characters and events surrounding the history of the first successful military submarine is presented in this story of the CSS H. L. Hunley

THE HUNLEY

by Mark K. Ragan

The cover image of The Hunley is from the original painting by Mort Kunstler, "The Final Mission".  www.mkunstler.com

Why did the Hunley sink?  Mark Ragan's The Hunley  suggests a grappling hook could have been used as an anchoring device for the submarine.  The crew could have thrown the hook overboard to remain stationary while waiting for the tide to change.  The current may have pulled the sub - downward toward the hook - allowing water in the tower. A grappling hook was discovered directly out in front of the Hunley with the sub aimed directly away from it. Mark Ragan has had a similar experience in his own submarine when he tossed out an anchor in a current and it started to pull the sub over.
 

During the fall and winter of 1863-1864, a small iron submarine prowled the waters outside Charleston Harbor.  Operating at night with only a single candle to illuminate its crude depth gauge and compass, it was not uncommon for this hand-cranked submarine to venture six or seven miles out to sea in search of an enemy warship.  On the night of February 17, 1864, the Confederate torpedo boat H. L. Hunley  became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship.  It was a feat that would not be repeated until World War I, over fifty years later. 

After more than a decade of research at the National Archives and other repositories in the South and Mid Atlantic, Mark Ragan has put together an exhaustive work on the CSS H. L. Hunley.  The narrative begins in the small machine shop in Mobile, Alabama, where the Hunley was conceived. The 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.  Ragan’s personal accounts of his research and related activity enhance the overall reading experience.   It ends with the vessel's recovery from her century-old gravesite on the ocean floor and the return to land of her final crew. 

This volume contains photographs and documents gathered from private and public archives around the United States and brings the reader up to date on the history of the vessel, as it has evolved since the publication of Mark Ragan's first book in 1995, The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice, & Success in the Civil War. The new work adds an index and includes expanded endnotes, increasing its value as reference tool.  

November 2006, 362 pages. Softcover $29.95
ISBN 13: 978-0-87844-177-8, ISBN 10:  0-87844-177-8

Press Release (PDF)

Read more about The H. L. Hunley

Watch a video of how the Hunley was raised

 

About the Author:
Mark K. Ragan served as Hunley project historian during the recovery and excavation of this history-making Civil War submarine.  He dove with the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology during the 1999 investigation of the Hunley's victim the USS Housatonic,  and worked as a diver on the night shift when the submarine was being retrieved from its watery bed.  He occasionally assisted the archaeologists assigned the task of excavating the interior of the little torpedo boat.  He holds a degree in archeology/anthropology and has published three previous volumes on the Civil War submarines.  Mark Ragan lives with his wife in Maryland, where he owns Chesapeake Submarine Service, Inc. More about the author.

 Book review: "The Hunley"  from THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Mark K. Ragan's "The Hunley" Sets the Standard for Books on the Famous Confederate Submarine. By Scott Boyd

Date published: 3/31/2007

THE MYSTERY of why the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley never returned from its final mission has baffled Civil War scholars, naval historians and ordinary people alike--all captivated by its remarkable story. Mark K. Ragan's newest book, "The Hunley," does not solve the mystery, but provides many fascinating new details about the elusive submarine, those who built it and those who discovered it 131 years after it disappeared.  Read more