C.S.S. Hunley

[Freedomlover]

By request from my thread on Vacation in Charleston here is a little more information on my involvement with the CSS Hunley.

In April of 2004 I had the honor of being selected as a pallbearer for one of the sailors who died on board the CSS Hunley following the successful attack on USS Housatonic. Subvets from all over the United States signed up in hopes of being selected, even though selection meant that two trips to Charleston would be required, even if you were from California. The first trip, a few weeks before the ceremony was to get everyone on the same page with regard to what to do and how to do it. The second was for the actual funeral. Here is a link
http://www.submarinesailor.com/histo...ey/funeral.asp to the text from submarinesailor.com reporting the thoughts and comments of the participants. I copy my comments below:

Bob Moore: Along with 6 other subvets, I was a pallbearer for Boatswain's Mate James A. Wicks.

We were on The Battery before sunrise, and the crowd was already swelling. There may well have been more Cofederate troops in town than there were in 1864. Shortly after sunrise the line of hearses approached and the chatter of the crowd quieted somewhat.

Twenty five minutes or so later all eight of the coffins had been ceremoniously placed on the biers, and the work of the Subvets was done. It wasn't like burying a friend (I have done that too often) but it was still very intense. I had in my right hand the remains of a fellow sailor whose qual number was a single digit. It takes cojones to ride any kind of submarine, but if you have seen the H.L. Hunley you have to wonder how they got the wheelbarrows on board. No kidding. Those men most definitely had what it took. Ask yourself if you would have even walked aboard a boat that had already killed two crews, much less hand cranked it into combat. They were, so to speak, my ancestors, and I am so proud of them.

Their final resting place is in Magnolia Cemetery, next to their mates from the first two crews. That is as it should be.

Robert Moore, TM-1 (SS) USN. Diesel Boat Sailor.

[CactusJack]

Thank you sir for sharing that, and thank you for your service to our country.

[ugm84]

Fair winds and following seas shipmates.

George Vajgrt FT1/SS USN (ret)

[Woodsheal]

How much longer before the Hunley goes on public display? I'll plan a trip to Charleston when that day arrives....

[Freedomlover]

How much longer before the Hunley goes on public display? I'll plan a trip to Charleston when that day arrives....

The CSS Hunley is on public display right now. Saturdays and Sundays only, but it is still in a water tank due to the necessity of soaking out the salts accumulated in 140 years under water. According to the conservators I have spoken with it might be more than a decade before she can be displayed in the open air al la the Vasa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship) .

[Freedomlover]

Thank you sir for sharing that, and thank you for your service to our country.

It was my great pleasure, and if age haden't gotten in the way it still would be my pleasure to patrol the deep.

[Mr. MacDougall]

I watched a show on History Channel the other day about Hunley. The guys who took that little boat out had amazing courage and perseverance... I don't know that I'd've been able to do it.

(Of course, I was an Airedale, and I often look at historical aircraft and think, "Wow, how cool would it have been to fly on one of those?" so I guess some things are constants through time).

[Freedomlover]

I watched a show on History Channel the other day about Hunley. The guys who took that little boat out had amazing courage and perseverance... I don't know that I'd've been able to do it.

(Of course, I was an Airedale, and I often look at historical aircraft and think, "Wow, how cool would it have been to fly on one of those?" so I guess some things are constants through time).

Yes, some things are constants through time. My father flew Spitfires and lesser fighters from 1939 to 1943. He considerd himself lucky to have been shot down only three times, and never a scratch to show for it. After the third time he lost the battle (after 13 victories) he chose to move to heavy bombers. 30 odd Lancaster missions later, with nary a bullet hole, the war ended, and I began.

Some men wear a pair, and another generation follows. Others don't, and all we have from them is dust. This is not to say, let no one mistake, that many gallent men died earely and who knows what their seed would have been?

Further deponent sayeth not.

[Macman]

Thanks for sharing that, Freedomlover. I knew about the history of the C.S.S. Hunley, and I'm glad to know about your connection with it.

[ccga3359]

Yes amazing story, amaing history. The complete loss of two crews before it even saw combat, then the loss of the third crew on that fateful night. Brave men indeed. Correct me if I'm wrong but did not author Clive Cussler have something to do with the discovery of the wreck?