Was Hunley the Victim of a Mighty Wind?
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The mystery of the CSS Hunley is one of those irresistible things, made all the more tempting to the scientific mind because the answers seem tantalizingly within reach. The old Confederate submarine fared so well during its 136 years at the bottom of the ocean, just outside Charleston Harbor, that Harry Pecorelli III, an underwater archaeologist studying the vessel, says it is “frozen in time,” a stunning fossil of the Civil War. Millions are being spent by a foundation dedicated to preserving the submarine, which was brought to the surface in 2000. A PhD-laden staff of full-time scientists pores over the craft, and a $40 million museum, which will chronicle the Hunley’s distinction as the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, is in the works. But such a specimen, and such a tale, is sure to attract others. The tug is especially strong in South Carolina, where something close to Hunley-mania has gripped a state long consumed by all things Civil War. Everyone wants t
