Captain's remains found in Civil War submarine

The remains of the captain of the American Civil War submarine H. L. Hunley have been found in sediment inside the vessel, bringing archaeologists a step closer to solving the mystery of why it sank on the final leg of its historic mission.

Archaeologists excavating the forward hull of the Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in battle, also unearthed a lantern believed to have been used by the crew to signal to Confederate sentries on shore near Charleston, South Carolina, that they had completed their mission and were heading back to port.

The steel-hulled Hunley was lost off the South Carolina coast on February 17, 1864, shortly after plunging an explosive charge into the USS Housatonic, sinking the wooden-hulled ship that was part of a Union blockade of Charleston Harbour.

Confederate sentries reported seeing a blue light from the lantern on board the Hunley but the vessel never returned to port.