The H.L. Hunley and Confederate Ideals in Modern America

Abstract

In February 1864, the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley made
history by sinking the USS Housatonic, after which the H.L. Hunley
sank with all hands lost. The submarine would drift into Confederate
memory as a fascinating piece of advanced technology that many
believed could help win the war. With the resurgent interest
in Confederate memory, the search for this lost submarine was
undertaken successfully by Clive Cussler and the National Underwater
and Marine Agency. Many organizations and individuals, from state
senators to archaeologists, helped raise the wreckage. The raising of this
historic submarine brought a renewed resurgence in Confederate ideals
that influenced elections, especially the 2000 presidential election.
Confederate memory and iconography remained heavily influential
in Charleston, South Carolina. The Confederate battle flag was still
flown proudly over the capital and people were still proudly thinking
of themselves as “Confederate” allies of sorts. The H.L. Hunley was an
important piece of history but also was a weapon in Confederate “Lost
Cause” ideology. This piece of archaeological history keeps the Civil
War memory glowing in the minds of Americans, especially those in
Charleston, South Carolina, where the submarine awaits conservation.