Editing H. L. Hunley (section)

== Predecessors ==
Horace Lawson Hunley provided financing for [[James McClintock (shipbuilder)|James McClintock]] to design three submarines: {{ship||Pioneer|submarine|2}} in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], {{ship||American Diver||2}} built in Mobile, and ''Hunley''.<ref name="Walker">{{cite book
| last=Walker | first=Sally M. | author-link=Sally M. Walker
| title=Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H. L. Hunley
| publisher=[[Lerner Publishing Group|Carolrhoda Books]] | date=2005 | location=Minneapolis | pages = 10, 11
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=txP7dIf1fEkC&pg=PA10
| isbn=9781575058306
}}
</ref>

While the United States Navy was constructing its first submarine {{USS|Alligator|1862|6}}, in late 1861, the Confederacy was developing their own. Likely having within them an incessant loyalty to the Confederate states as well as understanding the financial gains that would come from sinking enemy ships,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Wills |first=Rich |date=28 July 2017 |title=H. L. Hunley in Historical Context |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/the-h-l-hunley-in-historical-context.html#anchor368048 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622070421/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/hl-hunley/the-h-l-hunley-in-historical-context.html |archive-date=22 June 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref> Hunley, McClintock, and Baxter Watson first built ''Pioneer.'' She was tested in February 1862 in the [[Mississippi River]] and was later towed to [[Lake Pontchartrain]] for additional trials. The [[Battle of New Orleans (American Civil War)|Union advance towards New Orleans]] caused the men to abandon development, however, and ''Pioneer'' was scuttled the following month.<ref name = Walker/>
McClintock noted the significance that a boat capable of moving in any direction at any depth could be made, but ultimately decided that such a vessel could be improved.<ref name=":3" /> Hunley, Watson, and McClintock moved to Mobile to develop a second submarine, ''[[American Diver]].'' They collaborated with Park & Lyons machine shops owners, Thomas Park and Thomas Lyons, in the construction of the vessel.<ref name=":3" /><ref name = Walker/><ref name="Early">{{Cite book |last1=Early |first1=Curtis A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-X7iuwvSZn0C&pg=PA218 |title=Ohio Confederate Connection: Facts You May Not Know about the Civil War |last2=Early |first2=Gloria J. |publisher=iUniverse |year=2011 |isbn=9781450273732 |place=Bloomington, IN |page=218}}</ref> Their efforts were supported by the [[Confederate States Army]]. [[Lieutenant]] [[William Alexander (military engineer)|William Alexander]] of the [[21st Alabama Infantry Regiment]] was assigned to oversee the project. The builders experimented with several methods of providing the new submarine with self-propulsion, including McClintock's electromagnetic drive, followed by a custom [[steam engine]], but eventually settled on a simple hand-cranked propulsion system as they felt that the time and money lost in implementing such an engine would not be worth the trouble.<ref name=":3" /> ''[[American Diver]]'' was ready for harbor trials by January 1863, but she proved too slow to be practical. Nonetheless, it was decided to tow the submarine down the bay to [[Fort Morgan (Alabama)|Fort Morgan]] and attempt an attack on the Union blockade. However, the submarine foundered in the rough waters caused by foul weather and the currents at the mouth of [[Mobile Bay]] and sank.<ref name="Sledge2015">{{cite book|author=John S. Sledge|title=The Mobile River|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uqgGCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT188|date=29 May 2015|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-61117-486-1|pages=188–189}}</ref> The crew escaped, but the boat was not recovered.<ref name="usnavy">{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_32/hunley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016165452/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_32/hunley.html | archive-date=October 16, 2012 |title=The Birth of Undersea Warfare – H.L. Hunley  |date=September 17, 2011 |work=Undersea Warfare: The Official Magazine of the U.S. Submarine Force |publisher=United States Navy }}</ref>