The following text is taken from the Friends of the Hunley web
site in its entirety (4/19/12): A lantern that helped give birth
to one of the greatest maritime legends of the 19th century has
finally finished a complicated, multi-year conservation process.
The small tinplate artifact was found inside the Hunley’s crew
compartment. The last time it looked in such good shape was
during the waning days of the Civil War when it may have been
used to give the Hunley captain’s last communication to land –
the famous blue light signal – before he and his crew vanished
into the depths of the sea… A blue light has long been a central
event in the unsolved mystery of the Hunley’s disappearance.
Historical records indicate the experimental submarine’s crew
was to signal to shore with a blue light if they achieved their
mission to take down one of the Union ships blockading
Charleston harbor. Confederates on land would then light a fire
to help guide the Hunley safely back to shore. The evening of
February 17th, 1864, th