Name: In the Waves
ISBN: 9781524744151

Rachel Lance

"A story about a woman scientist's journey to discover a submarine"--

My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine

In the Waves

Jeremy Anderberg

I like Civil War stuff. As a dad, I’m obligated to like anything with a submarine in it. And I terribly enjoy mystery stories. In this new book, Rachel Lance has brilliantly combined all of those in a lively and highly readable account of what had long remained a Civil War question mark.

In 1864, a smallish, 40-foot Confederate submarine hovered just under the surface of Charleston Harbor with a torpedo attached out front on a 22-foot-long spur. This vessel had been haunted by poor luck and numerous prior deaths, but this mission against the USS Housatonic appeared to be a success. There was a direct hit and the enemy ship sank in a matter of minutes (albeit with minimal loss of life). But as her operators waited back on shore, the Hunley failed to show up. The submarine and her eight sailors were lost.

When the boat was found and recovered in the 1990s, it was mostly intact, and the preserved skeletons of the men didn’t seem to show any sign of an escape attempt.

What on earth happened down there?

Rachel Lance, as an engineer and blast scientist, was immediately intrigued when she happened upon the story. Rather than just give us science-y explanations (of which there are plenty, don’t worry), she blends genres a bit: the readers get into the history of submarines and explosions and submarine explosions, we get an utterly fascinating anatomy lesson of what happens to the human body after an explosion (the internal stuff is as bad as the external!), and we also get Rachel’s own narrative of chasing down the mystery through some wild first-hand experiments.

For being a book about explosions and a group of men dying in a small metal cylinder, it’s surprisingly fun. Rachel’s personal touch even gives it, at times, a lighthearted tone, without minimizing the mystery and tragedy of death.

Anthony Bosio

One of "The Most Fascinating Books WIRED Read in 2020" "One part science book, one part historical narrative, one part memoir . . . harrowing and inspiring.”—The Wall Street Journal How a determined scientist cracked the case of the first successful—and disastrous—submarine attack On the night of February 17, 1864, the tiny Confederate submarine HL Hunley made its way toward the USS Housatonic just outside Charleston harbor. Within a matter of hours, the Union ship’s stern was blown open in a spray of wood planks. The explosion sank the ship, killing many of its crew. And the submarine, the first ever to be successful in combat, disappeared without a trace. For 131 years the eight-man crew of the HL Hunley lay in their watery graves, undiscovered. When finally raised, the narrow metal vessel revealed a puzzling sight. There was no indication the blast had breached the hull, and all eight men were still seated at their stations—frozen in time after more than a century. Why did it sink? Why did the men die? Archaeologists and conservationists have been studying the boat and the remains for years, and now one woman has the answers. In the Waves is much more than just a military perspective or a technical account. It’s also the story of Rachel Lance’s single-minded obsession spanning three years, the story of the extreme highs and lows in her quest to find all the puzzle pieces of the Hunley. Balancing a gripping historical tale and original research with a personal story of professional and private obstacles, In the Waves is an enthralling look at a unique part of the Civil War and the lengths one scientist will go to uncover its secrets.

In the Waves My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine

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