Remains of 8 Crewmen Found Aboard Confederate Submarine
Scientists studying the recovered Confederate submarine H.S. Hunley have now found the remains of eight crewmen, leaving only the vessel’s captain, Lt. George Dixon, unaccounted for. All of the crewmen were found at their battle stations ready to crank the sub’s propeller shaft, indicating that the craft probably sank very quickly, though researchers don’t yet know why. Dixon would have been in the rear of the sub, an area that has not yet been excavated. Removal of the skeletons has been slowed by the presence of fragile clothing intermingled with the remains.
The Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. It sank nearly 140 years ago and was recovered from Charleston Harbor last fall.
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Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II
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