Through a hole in the ballast tank, scientists began cleaning silt out of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley--the first step toward exploring the vessel and removing the remains of its nine-man crew.
The Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, rammed a black-powder charge into the Union ship Housatonic off nearby Sullivans Island on Feb. 17, 1864. The Housatonic sank, but so did the submarine, which was fashioned from locomotive boilers.
