The H.L. Hunley submarine made history during the American Civil War when she became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. In February 1864, the Hunley, under command of Lieutenant George E. Dixon, sank the U.S.S. Housatonic; a Union blockade vessel. The Hunley's mission was a success, but disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and never returned to port. The Hunley was the third in a series of submarines constructed by engineers Horace Lawson Hunley, Baxter Watson, and James McClintock. Before the Hunley's successful attack on the Housatonic, the Hunley had two accidents, the second of which claimed Horace Hunley's life.
The submarine was found by author Clive Cussler, and his team known as NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) in 1995. She was raised in 2000, and has since been undergoing conservation efforts at the Warren-Lasch Conservation Center, in Charleston, South Carolina. There is a museum devoted to the H.L. Hunley, which is open to the public on weekends.
