The last secret of the H.L. Hunley
May 11, 2014 5:59 AM   Subscribe

"Of all the men known to have boarded the Hunley, indeed, only about half a dozen escaped death in her iron belly–yet McClintock himself survived the war, and one of the keys to understanding the events of 1879 is to establish why he did so."
Scam artists, war profiteers, double agents, possibly faked deaths, and the precursors to the IRA are all tied together by the designers and builders of the first combat submarine to sink a warship, in the American Civil War.
posted by jenkinsEar (6 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
Fascinating, if highly speculative, story. Neat!
posted by Wretch729 at 8:06 AM on May 11, 2014


I love the shenanigans folks could get up to in those days of loose identity.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:34 AM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Great story; thanks for posting it!
posted by languagehat at 9:17 AM on May 11, 2014


I know a ton of former submariners who can relate to all this!
posted by easily confused at 12:40 PM on May 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Thanks for this post!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 8:45 PM on May 11, 2014


Interestingly, I'm currently sitting in my office about half a mile from where the Hunley currently sits. It's part of a museum now where you can take tours. The history of the submarine is fascinating and a bit terrifying if you're not a fan of enclosed spaces.
posted by This Guy at 5:24 AM on May 12, 2014


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