CHARLESTON, S.C., March 11 (Reuters) - The grave of five Confederate sailors
killed when their Civil War submarine sank in Charleston harbour in 1863 may
have been found under The Citadel military college's football field,
officials said.
South Carolina state Sen. Glenn McConnell, who heads a commission seeking to
locate graves of the crew of the submarine Hunley, Thursday sought
permission to excavate part of the end zone of Johnson Hagood Stadium in
Charleston, where archaeologists believe they have located the grave.
"We are ready to move ahead full steam," McConnell said of plans to examine
a 6-foot by 15-foot trench found earlier this week during stadium
renovations. "We don't know what we will reach until we peel back that soil
and look at what we've got."
The Hunley sank in August 1863 when it was swamped by a wave while moored in
Charleston harbour, drowning five sailors who volunteered to test the
40-foot submarine, which was designed to attack Union blockade ships.
The sailors' bodies were removed and buried in a graveyard for destitute
mariners on a plot of land where officials believe the Citadel stadium now
stands.
The Hunley was raised, but sank again in October 1863 while sailing up the
nearby Cooper River, drowning its second crew. In February 1864, the
submarine sank the Union blockade ship Housatonic near Charleston harbour,
but never returned.
Divers in 1995 found the Hunley about four miles off the South Carolina
coast submerged under 30 feet of water. Efforts are underway to raise the
submarine next year.
If the bodies of its first crew are located, they will be reburied with full
military honours in the nearby Magnolia Cemetery, where the Hunley's second
crew also was buried.
Roster:
Members of the crew of the Hunley who were killed when it sank:
Lt. George E. Dixon
Arnold Becker
C. F. Carlson
F. Collins
Miller
Ridgeway
C. Simkins
James A. Wicks
And perhaps an unknown crewman named White. Bibliography for Research: U. S. Government Printing Office.Official Records of the American Civil War Davenport, IA. Eastern Digital Resources.
DVD - $35.00 COMBO - $50.00 SAVE $30 when you purchase The Civil War in South Carolina bundle which includes The South Carolina Civil War Soldiers Index - a $15 value and Confederate Military History - South Carolina Volume - a $15 value and A Guide to South Carolina Civil War Research.
SAVE $35 when you purchase All the Battles, Dyers Compendium, and Foxs Regimental Losses together. This bundle also includes the 1800 Days Index to All the Battles - a $15 value.
Historical Notes:
