Horace Lawson Hunley
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Horace Lawson Hunley (December 29, 1823 Sumner County, Tennessee – October 15, 1863 Charleston, South Carolina), was a Confederate marine engineer during the American Civil War. He developed early, hand-powered submarines, the most famous of which was named for him, H. L. Hunley.
Although he was born in Tennessee, his family (including mother Louisa Harden Lawson and father John Hunley) eventually relocated to New Orleans. He served in the Louisiana State Legislature, practiced law in New Orleans and was a generally notable figure in that area. In 1861, after the start of the American Civil War, Hunley joined James R. McClintock and Baxter Watson in building the submarine Pioneer. The Pioneer was promising, but in order to prevent capture by the Union, it had to be scuttled when New Orleans fell to Union forces.
After an unsuccessful attempt at another submarine with McClintock and Watson which ended in the vessel's sinking in Mobile Bay, Alabama, Hunley funded himself completely a third one named in his honor: H. L. Hunley.
Five men from the first crew of the H. L. Hunley died during early tests when the open hatches were flooded by the wake of a passing ship; four men managed to escape. A second crew was assembled in Charleston Harbor.
On October 15, 1863, though he was not really part of the second crew, Hunley decided to take control as captain during a routine exercise. But the vessel again sank, and this time all eight crewmembers were killed, including Hunley himself.
Horace L. Hunley was buried with full military honors at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina on November 8, 1863.
After the failure of the second crew, his Hunley submarine was again recovered and with a third crew, it went to be the first submarine in the history of naval warfare to attack and sink a ship (USS Housatonic) but sank again shortly after the successful attack and was lost for more than 130 years until it was recovered in the early 2000s. The final crew was reburied with full military honors by Confederate reenactors in April 2004.
