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By the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead:  Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment-day; Under the one, the Blue, Under the other, the Gray. These in the robings of glory, Those in the gloom of defeat, All with the battle-blood gory, In the dusk of eternity meet: Under the sod and the dew,  Waiting the judgment-day,  Under the laurel, the Blue, Under the willow, the Gray. From the silence of sorrowful hours The desolate mourners go, Lovingly laden with flowers Alike for the friend and the foe: Under the sod and the dew,  Waiting the judgment-day,  Waiting the judgment-day,   Under the roses, the Blue,  Under the lilies, the Gray. So, with an equal splendor, The morning sun-rays fall, With a touch impartially tender,  On the blossoms blooming for all: Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment-day,  Broidered with gold, the Blue, Mellowed with gold, the Gray. So, when the summer calleth,  On forest and field of grain, With an equal murmur falleth   The cooling drip of the rain: Under the sod and the dew,  Waiting the judgment-day, Wet with the rain, but not with upbraiding,  The generous deed was done, In the storm of the years that are fading  Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment-day, Under the blossoms, the Blue, Under the garlands, the Gray. No more shall the war cry sever, Or the winding rivers be red; they banish our anger forever  When they laurel the graves of our dead!  Under the sod and the dew,  Waiting the judgment-day,    Tears and love for the Gray. -THE BLUE AND THE GRAY   by Francis Miles Finch

H.L. Hunley

Leonardo daVinci is credited with  inventing the first  submarine. His  innovative submarine designs were tested and used during the next four centuries in both Britain and Europe.  What makes the H.L. Hunley one of a kind  is that it is first submarine in history to successfully sink a ship in battle. 

The CSS Hunley was built in  Mobile, Alabama in 1863.  It was designed and constructed by Baxter Watson and James R. McClintock. These gentlemen were very knowledgeable about current  engine technology due to their backgrounds as  manufacturers of steam gauges and other parts for steam engines. The duo soon teamed up with  sugar broker and Deputy Collector of Customs at New Orleans, Horace L. Hunley.  In late 1861 and early 1862 prior to building the H.L. Hunley they had designed a submarine they christened  the Pioneer. 

 

The designers were forced to scuttle the Pioneer when the invading Union army occupied the city thereby making further Confederate research and design efforts altogether unwise.  Watson, McClintock and Hunley fled the city and  continued their research in Mobile, Alabama at the Park and Lyons machine shop. The hardworking trio soon produced  two more designs, the American Diver (a.k.a. Pioneer II) and H.L. Hunley. The  American Diver  was financed totally by Hunley. The inventors experimented with a variety of ways to  power the submarine. They tirelessly researched various propulsion systems and considered both electromagnet motor and  steam propulsion. After much trial and error they finally decided on hand cranking.   Sadly before they were able to fully test the American Diver  it sank in Mobile Bay. 

Researchers believe that the  Hunley was made of a 1/4-inch puddled wrought iron boiler with cast iron end caps and  the hull was between 35-40 feet long. The H.L. Hunley also had two snorkels,  two hatches, fore and aft, dive planes,  glass view ports, and  a 4-foot beam. It was able to carry a full crew of  nine men and was propelled the through the water by an eight-position hand crank that turned a three-bladed propeller. Under optimal conditions the vessel was capable of reaching  a maximum speed of 4 knots. The craft was equipped with a deadly  spar-torpedo delivery system enabling the torpedo to be implanted into the side of an enemy ship and  detonated either by contact or manually. This incredible submarine  cost a whopping $15,000 to manufacture, and was funded by  Horace Hunley who chipped in $5,000 and members of the Singer Submarine Corps, E.C. Singer,  R.W. Dunn and J.D. Breaman, who financed the rest.

                During the Civil War The Confederates weren't the only ones working feverishly to design a submarine. The Union had plans of its own with a submersible known as the 'Intelligent Whale',  this cumbersome vessel is thought to be patterned after James McClintock's Pioneer, was also an iron submarine. Unlike the H.L. Hunley, the intelligent Whale was never used in action. Christopher F. Amer states " While the Hunley itself was not much of a factor in the course of the naval aspects of the War, the idea of a "Hunley", stealthily approaching a ship and delivering death from below was daunting to the enemy. Had a fleet of Hunley's been built, things might have been different. Recall that during the first half of this century a fleet of these stealth devices almost brought Britain to its knees during two world wars.

Original Hunley Blueprints The Battle Investigating Nautical Archaeologist Hunley Investigation

photographs courtesy of The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and the Photographs Division, Library of Congress