The following article is the second in the two part series from Ed recounting his experience visiting the “H.L. Hunley” at Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, SC. You can read the first article in the series here. In this second article, we will see how the Lasch Center is carefully piecing together the answer to the Hunley’s mysterious demise, as well as the experience of the eight crewmen who perished within her iron hull.
The story told by the exhibits becomes a time machine for any museum attendee, taking them back to the America of the mid-19th century where the knowledge and skills garnered from the first hundred years of the Industrial Revolution were being bent towards what would soon be called the science of warfare. Machine shops peopled by engineers and mechanics familiar with the scientific principles and methods learned from the Industrial Revolution were adding this insight to their mechanical skills and engineering expertise, giving form to the dream of underwater travel and warfare. The museum then moves forward to the present, detailing the “Hunley’s” recovery, restoration and preservation.
While the cleaning and preservation of the “Hunley” itself was proceeding, artifacts from within the submarine were being uncovered, each being assigned a coordinate as to its location within or on the hull or the concretion covering its surfaces inside and out. A major part of the recovery effort was the location of the remains of the eight crewmen of the “Hunley” who perished in mysterious circumstances on that fateful night of February 17, 1864.
There was the gold coin of “Hunley” commander George Dixon, found resting near his left thighbone within the hull.
A brass oilcan, found covered with concretions and the leaching of rusty iron, restored to near-original condition (it even had some of its original oil inside.)
The “Hunley’s” rudder, recovered encased with concretions and sea life, and restored to its proper appearance.
Crewman James Wicks’ silk bandana required the skills of Mary Ballard, Senior Textile Conservator for the Smithsonian Institute for a most painstaking of conservation effort.
Most remarkable are the Lasch Center’s efforts to put faces with the names of the “Hunley’s” eight crewmen. Using the latest skills and techniques of forensic science, the Lasch Museum’s conservators have been able to reconstruct a face from a casting of each crewman’s skull. All eight of the reconstructions are currently on display at the museum, putting a human face upon history.
There is much more of the “Hunley” to be seen at the Lasch Conservation Center; the best way to do so is by taking a tour.
The facility is open to the public Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost is $18 for adults and $10 for youth, 6 to 12 years of age.
Membership in Friends of the Hunley will lower the adult fee to $12.
The discount for seniors and military is $15 and children 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
Oh, and they have a very good gift shop on site.
Next time: the sixth entry from the Inventor’s Vade Mecum handbook counsels the Young Inventor on the Choosing and Keeping of Journeymen for his Project Team.
(Note: All graphic images of Infernal Machine game materials used in this series of articles are subjective and may change and appear different in their final form. All images show sourcing unless otherwise noted.)
Previous Articles:
Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare — Setting the Stage
Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) – Part 1: Where Do I Start?
Infernal Machine: The Inventor’s Vade Mecum (Nautica ed.) Part 4 — Installing Dread and Destruction
Author: Edward Ostermeyer
Great article. Reminds me of my visit to Charleston in 2004 to participate in the Hunley crew burial ceremony. I picked up some cool items from the gift shop at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, also.