Secrets of the Crew of the Sunken Civil War Submarine

Man walks past the bow of  Civil War submarine HL Hunley Credit: Reuters

Tom happened upon an interesting story he wanted to share:  Research was conducted on the remains of the 8 member crew of the H.L. Hunley (the first submarine to sink another ship in battle - during the US Civil War), which sank off the coast of South Carolina. In this blog you'll learn about the crew, how they died and the odd way their remains were found. 

WHO WERE THE CREW? 
Researchers found that 4 of the crew were born in Europe! Only one member of the crew is known to have married and had children; his descendants have been located.  Nothing is known about the others.  


THE ODD WAY THEY WERE FOUND 
 All 8 skeletons were found perfectly preserved at the posts inside the sub, with no damage observed to the skeletons.  When the Hunley was raised in 2000, salvage experts were amazed to find the eight-man crew poised as if they had been caught completely unawares by the tragedy. All were still sitting in their posts and there was no evidence that they had attempted to flee the foundering vessel.

HOW THE CREW DIED

The submarine being raised in 2000 Credit: US Navy

Researchers  at Duke University believe that the crew accidentally killed themselves, dying from the torpedo blast of the charge they set off, drowning the crew.   The blast from the charge caused their blood vessels to burst, causing them to die instantaneously.  Forensic artists have recreated busts of the men from the remains.  "This is the characteristic trauma of blast victims, they call it 'blast lung,'" Dr Rachel Lance.“You have an instant fatality that leaves no marks on the skeletal remains."

 The research was published in PLOS ONE.
 
  SOURCE: UK Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/08/23/mystery-deaths-hl-hunley-submarine-crew-solved-accidentally/