In October, local Sugar Grove resident, Spencer Rees, came in to Todd Library for help on a Christmas present he was making. He was trying to make a model of the Hunley, the first successful American attack submarine from the Civil War, for his brother who is a huge Civil War buff. Our search found several books and articles, including a National Geographic article, and a web site for Friends of the Hunley. In less than 30 minutes, Mr. Rees sat down with pencil and paper and his research, and made several sketches to help him with his model making.
Today Mr. Rees brought the finished model to the library to show us the end result of the research. In several weeks, he had produced a beautiful wood replica of the Hunley. Mr. Rees explained to us the parts of the submarine and showed us how the 8-man crew sat. The submarine was only 4 feet high, and the men sat and used hand cranks to propel it. He told us how its torpedo was shot and how the sub was found after 150 years. He really did his research!
Mr. Rees thanked the library, saying he never could have made the model without the help he received here at the Todd Library.
If you would like to find out more about the Hunley, see the following resources from Todd Library:
Campbell, R. Thomas. “The david meets the hunley†Civil War Times Illustrated 41:32(8) March 2002.
Lipscom, F.W. Historic Submarines. 1970. (V857.L56)
Middleton, Drew. Submarine, the ultimate naval weapon : its past, present & future. 1976. (V210.M52)
Oeland, Glenn. “The H.L. Hunley: secret weapon of the Confederacy.†National Geographic p. 82(20), July 2002.