On This Day In Alabama History: Hunley Destroyed Test Target With Floating Torpedo

By Graydon RustAlabama 200

July 31, 1863

The H.L. Hunley submarine successfully destroyed a test target in Mobile Bay with a floating contact torpedo. Built in Mobile, the iron-hulled submarine entered Confederate service in Charleston in August 1863, but sank twice during training exercises, killing 13 men. On the evening of Feb. 17, 1864, the Hunley engaged the USS Housatonic and became the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy ship in combat after ramming the vessel with a spar-mounted torpedo. The Hunley, however, sank soon afterward, and its location was a mystery until 1995. Raised by archaeologists in 2000, the submarine is now on display at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

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