Local man helped raise the CSS Hunley
http://www.dailyworld.com/html/BFA03D3C-23...3EA120CD1.shtmlA funeral was held earlier this year for the crew of the CSS H.L. Hunley, which in 1864 became the first submarine to ever sink an enemy ship in combat.
Billy Bergeron of Pecaniere attended those services in Charleston, S.C.
Bergeron, an expert in undersea oil exploration technology with Delmar Systems of Broussard, had made possible the recovery of the crew's remains.
Speaking to the Opelousas Rotary Club Tuesday, Bergeron said thousands turned out for the funeral.
During the Civil War the port of Charleston was heavily blockade by the Union Navy, which regularly shelled the city.
"There is still a lot of anti-Union sympathies in Charleston," said Bergeron, pointing out that at the funeral there where hundreds of Confederate battle flags on display but only one American flag.
Bergeron was brought into the project after the submarine was located in 1995 after 14 years of searching by author Clive Cussler.
Cussler engaged a salvage company to recover the submarine, which contacted Bergeron, who was born and raised in St. Landry Parish, for help.
Though his work with Delmar and other companies, Bergeron has developed a worldwide reputation for innovation. He holds multiple patents, most associated with deep water drilling rigs.
Bergeron designed a submergible platform that was lowered over the wreckage. Once it was in place, a series of slings were placed around the sub to act as a cradle for the lifting operation.
"It was in perfect condition," said Bergeron, who volunteered his own vacation time to help with the project. "It was made of boiler plate steel - the hardest steel known at that time."
Once raised, the submarine was placed in a saltwater-filled tank at the Old Charleston Naval Base in North Charleston to keep it from corroding.
"Today it is the most significant steel artifact ever recovered," Bergeron said.
He called the ship a masterpiece of engineering, years ahead of its time in design.
"It was made with butted boiler plates with counter-sunk rivets. It is as smooth and sleek as a nuclear submarine. It would be 30 years before the (Union) navy would have such technology," Bergeron said.
In addition to recovering the remains of the crew, Bergeron said researchers have found a number of artifacts, including a $20 gold coin belonging to Lt. George Dixon, commander of the ship on the night it sank.
Bergeron said the coin was Dixon's lucky piece. It had saved his life earlier in the war when it stopped a bullet. Bergeron said the coin still has the indention where it was struck.
It and other artifacts are now on permanent display at the Hunley exhibit. "(The exhibit) is only a $5 fee. It is a great outing," Bergeron said.
The submarine had been privately invented by Horace Lawson Hunley and built in 1863 in Mobile, Ala.
When that city feel to Union forces, the still untested submarine was moved to Charleston.
The hand-powered submarine had a crew of nine: eight to turn the hand-cranked propeller and one to steer the boat.
Three of the Hunley's test missions failed. In October 1863 eight of a crew, including Hunley, died during a trial dive.
But after every failure the Confederate Navy salvaged the 39-foot vessel and returned it to service.
Finally, on Feb. 17, 1864, the submarine made its first and only attack against the blockading Union forces. The Hunley successfully rammed the 18,000-ton USS Housatonic with
90 pounds of explosive powder attached to a 22-foot long spar.
The plan was for the Hunley to then back off, setting off the explosion from range by use of a rope.
The resulting massive explosion instantly sank the Housatonic but submarine never returned. Bergeron said researchers are still trying to learn why.
The most common theory is that the concussion of the explosion sank the sub as well. Bergeron doesn't think so. "(The crew) did flash their lights afterwards to show they were OK," Bergeron said.
"What caused it to sink? We don't know," Bergeron said.