The HL Hunley was invented in 1863 by Confederate engineer Horace Lawson Hunley. It was very small and was operated by hand by the operators inside. 8 men would rotate the shaft in the middle, which would propel the ship forward. The submarine could move up and down if it crouched or jumped. Before the invention of the HL Hunley, the only way to sink enemy ships was with underwater torpedoes. The torpedo was connected to a fuse box on shore and when they thought the enemy ships were on top of the torpedo, they flipped the switch and attempted to destroy the enemy ship. Additionally, neither side told their citizens about the submarines, as it was considered illegal in both the Confederate States and the Union. BUT, the Confederates quickly broke this law by building HL Hunley. Eventually, the Hunley made history. It was February 17, 1864, and the Union had a blockade imposed there. Union ships blocked freighters from entering Confederate trading ports. Since this was published, they needed a way to get rid of the blockade because with the lack of supplies they were going to run out of ammo and food. SO, this is finally where the HL Hunley makes history! The Hunley had on board a prototype torpedo designed to target enemy ships. this is what made the Hunley famous. She struck the ship amidships and launched her. He couldn't travel very far, so it had to be literally right in front of him in order to sink him. The name of the sunken ship was the USS Houstatonic. Shortly after the sinking of the Houstatonic, both the Confederates and Union publicly acknowledged their use with submarines. The public has largely opposed their use due to their devious nature. ... middle of paper ...... during a training exercise, the HL Hunley sank! The submarine's whereabouts were not known until 1970, when archaeologist E. Lee Spence located the wreck and kept it a secret until he donated it to the state of Carolina from the South in 1995. They then recovered the wreckage and continue to discover new things. every day about its heritage and history. Many people have theories about why it sank. The first was that it was sabotage; that a disguised union leader opened the air hatch, causing them to drown. Or maybe it was an accident; someone inside accidentally hit the lever, causing it to open. But no matter what happened, the legacy, history and sacrifice of the HL Hunley truly shaped nautical history forever. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2005.