Hunley

During the fall and winter of 1863-64, a small iron submarine prowled the waters outside Charleston Harbor. Operating at night with only a single candle to illuminate its crude depth gauge and compass, it was not uncommon for this hand-cranked vessel to venture six or seven miles out to sea in search of an enemy warship. On the night of February 17, 1864, the Confederate torpedo boat H. L. Hunley became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship. It was a feat that would not be repeated until World War I, over fifty years later.