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H.L. Hunley bullseye lantern reproduction

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  • H.L. Hunley bullseye lantern reproduction

    The Friends of the Hunley, the Confederate submarine's fund-raising and advocacy organization, of which I am a member, is offering a "reproduction" of the bullseye lantern which was found in the sub and laboriously conserved. For only $56.95, the Friends will sell you a numbered, certified copy of the lantern. Trouble is, in their eagerness to make a buck, they gloss over the research which shows that the lantern was not the source of the blue light signal which history says the crew sent to shore after sinking the Housatonic, 17 February, 1864. You can go to the Hunley.org site and take a look at the lantern, which appears to have a blue tint to its bullseye lens. Despite exhaustive research which discredits the modern myth of the blue lantern, the Friends is willing to perpetuate it, coyly dancing around the question of "Was it used to provide the prearranged signal or just used to light the inside of the submarine while the crew cranked it into world history?" Disclaimer: I did the research which debunked the blue lantern myth, and the Friends refuses to acknowledge its validity. My findings have been discussed elsewhere in this Forum. I find it appalling that the advocacy group for the world's first successful combat submarine would place dollars above truth, but that is unfortunately the case. If you just have to have this latest offering from the Friends of the Hunley, recognize that it is a piece of schmaltz, and will serve only to perpetuate a myth which seriously delayed the submarine's discovery and obfuscated the events of that historic night 150 years ago.
    Chris Rucker
    Ferguson's (SC) Artillery Co.
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