Campus displays replica of Civil War sub
By INGA LUKAVICIUTE
Fresno State students and visitors got a peek at history in the university’s memorial garden, where a Civil War submarine was displayed.
A replica of the H. L. Hunley submarine, the first submarine to sink a ship, came with a traveling exhibit to Fresno on its second California tour stop.
National Civil War Association president John Nevins said the human-powered submarine operated by eight people will make nine stops on its California tour. Photo by Joseph Hollak |
“This is a revolutionary piece of American technology that was over 100 years ahead of its time,” said John Nevins, a member of Friends of Hunley and a coordinator of the California tour for the National Civil War Association.
“It is a chance to see the past,” said Melissa Jordine, a Fresno State history professor.
The exhibit is designed to raise awareness about a part of history many people do not know about, Jordine said.
The submarine was built in 1863 and used by the Confederate navy to protect Charleston, S.C. On the night of Feb. 17, 1864, the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic, 16-gun warship, in Charleston Harbor used a spar torpedo packed with explosive powder and attached to a long pole on its bow to ram the Housatonic.
A torpedo fired from the Hunley entered the wooden side of the enemy ship and was detonated by a rope as the submarine was backing away. All five crewmembers on the Housatonic died as the ship sank.
Mysteriously, the Hunley also sank, killing its eight-member crew.
Best-selling author and adventurer Clive Cussler and a team from the National Underwater and Marine Agency found the Hunley in 1995 after a 14-year search. The submarine was surfaced in 2000 and placed securely in a freshwater tank in the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in South Carolina.
Jordine said researchers are still trying to solve the mystery of why the Hunley sank and what went wrong that night. Nevins said some theories of why the submarine sank include: the explosion rendered the crew unconscious; or the crew used up all the oxygen while waiting for the tide.
However, the mystery of why the Hunley sank will not be solved until the ship is emptied of silt, which Nevins said is a long and highly documented process.
The replica on display is the second and more accurate replica of the Hunley, said John Dangerfield, a retired marine machinist who opened the Hunley once it was lifted from the Atlantic Ocean.
The replica was built about two years ago and put on a mobile exhibit after people expressed interest in seeing it, Dangerfield said.
After traveling around California, the exhibit will be touring Arizona next month before returning to Charleston. It is scheduled to return to California again in August, Dangerfield said.
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