Pacific Spotlight: Maj. Andrew R. English, military history buff

What are some of the military-history areas on which you’ve focused?

I’ve published two books, a history of the early Hattiesburg, Miss., area and “Chasing the Fox,” about a forgotten steamship both sides used in the Civil War.

But you’ve also researched the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank after it destroyed the USS Housatonic in February 1864. The Hunley recently was discovered and raised. What kind of a vessel was it?

Apparently very well crafted. She was reworked from a boiler, possibly a locomotive boiler. The South suffered from a shortage of skilled manpower, materials and funds … nevertheless, the Hunley represented the state of the art when she was completed in 1863.

Who built it and why?

Private investors in hopes of collecting prize money local groups offered to sink a Union warship. Some prizes were as high as $100,000.

How was it propelled?

By a nine-man crew. Eight men worked a hand crank that turned a propeller at a speed of about four knots. The ninth was the commander; he steered the vessel and operated the diving planes.

How did the crew breathe?

Before diving, through air retained in the hull; when traveling partially submerged, through a crude snorkel system.

How long could it submerge?

The longest known time the Hunley stayed under and later surfaced with her crew alive: Two hours, thirty-five minutes.

Why did it sink?

Some believe it was perhaps damaged in a collision with a Union warship speeding to rescue the stricken Housatonic.

What happened to the crew?

They suffocated.

Where are their remains now?

Buried at the Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, S.C.

Wasn’t there something about a $20 gold piece?

The engraved 1860 Lady Liberty coin was given to Lt. George E. Dixon, the Hunley commander, by his sweetheart, Miss Queenie Bennett, in Mobile, before he marched off to war. … He was shot at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 but the gold coin stopped the bullet that otherwise would have killed him.

Was it recovered too?

Danish archaeologist Maria Jacobson found it after the submarine was raised in 2000. Its reverse was inscribed, “Shiloh, April 6th 1862 My life preserver G.E.D.”

Was history your favorite subject in school?

Yes, history and geography.

In an age where stealth-fighter technology is almost old-hat, why learn about a hand-cranked submarine almost a century and a half old?

Because technological advantages are only temporary; the enemy is always working on countermeasures. The Hunley was a low-tech, effective solution for a country unable to meet its enemy on equal terms.