The Long Patrol - CSS H.L. Hunley, Charleston, and The Civil War 1863-2004

The Long Patrol gains its name from a tradition in the United States Navy that no submarine that fails to return from a mission is ever thought of as being "lost". After a patrol lasting 139 years, the Confederate States Submarine H.L. Hunley returned home.

On one level, "The Long Patrol" is a description of how the world's first truly operational submarine was designed and built. As this part of the story is methodically unveiled, the characters of Horace Lawson Hunley and the Confederate military officers who backed him come to life and step off the pages of the book.

On another level, this book is an indispensable social history of the Confederacy during its slow death. It concludes with a description of the burial of the crew of the H.L. Hunley, that links the events of the 1860s with those of 21st century America.

In his discussion of the likely causes for the loss of the Hunley, Mike Kozlowski's description of exhaustion, exposure, cold, ever-decreasing oxygen levels and the multiplying factors of ill-health, concussion and long tern malnutrition all strike a resonant chord. His is perhaps the most likely and well-substantiated of all the proposed explanations for the loss of the Hunley and is one that fits well with information gained during the recovery of the sunken submarine.