Construction of Hunley began soon after the loss of American Diver.
At this stage, Hunley was variously referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise".
Legend held that Hunley was made from a cast-off steam boiler — perhaps because a cutaway drawing by William Alexander, who had seen her, showed a short and stubby machine.
In fact, Hunley was designed and built for her role, and the sleek, modern-looking craft shown in R.G. Skerrett's 1902 drawing is an accurate representation.
Hunley was designed for a crew of eight, seven to turn the hand-cranked ducted propeller, about 3.5 horsepower (2.6 kW), and one to steer and direct the boat.
Each end was equipped with ballast tanks that could be flooded by valves or pumped dry by hand pumps.
Extra ballast was added through the use of iron weights bolted to the underside of the hull.
In the event the submarine needed additional buoyancy to rise in an emergency, the iron weight could be removed by unscrewing the heads of the bolts from inside the vessel.

Hunley was equipped with two watertight hatches, one forward and one aft, atop two short conning towers equipped with small portholes and slender, triangular cutwaters.
The hatches, bigger than original estimates, measure about 16.5 in (420 mm) wide and nearly 21 in (530 mm) long), making entrance to and egress from the hull difficult.
The height of the ship's hull was 4 feet 3 inches (1.30 m).

By July 1863, Hunley was ready for a demonstration.
Supervised by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan, Hunley successfully attacked a coal flatboat in Mobile Bay.
Following this, the submarine was shipped by rail to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving on 12 August 1863.

However, the Confederate military seized the submarine from her private builders and owners shortly after arriving, turning her over to the Confederate Army.
Hunley would operate as a Confederate Army vessel from then on, although Horace Hunley, and his partners would remain involved in her further testing and operation.
While sometimes referred to as CSS Hunley, she was never officially commissioned into service.

Confederate Navy Lieutenant John A. Payne of CSS Chicora volunteered to be Hunley's captain, and seven men from Chicora and CSS Palmetto State volunteered to operate her.
On 29 August 1863, Hunley's new crew was preparing to make a test dive, when Lieutenant Payne accidentally stepped on the lever controlling the sub's diving planes as she was running on the surface.
This caused Hunley to dive with one of her hatches still open.
Payne and two others escaped, but the other five crewmen drowned.

H. L. Hunley crew lost 29 August 1863:
Michael Cane
Nicholas Davis
Frank Doyle
John Kelly
Absolum Williams
The Confederate Army took control of Hunley, with all orders coming directly from General P. G. T. Beauregard, with Lt.
George E. Dixon placed in charge.
 On 15 October 1863, Hunley failed to surface after a mock attack, killing all eight crewmen.
Among these was Hunley himself, who had joined the crew for the exercise and possibly had taken over command from Dixon, for the attack maneuver.
The Confederate Navy once more salvaged the submarine and returned her to service.

H. L. Hunley Crew lost 15 October 1863:
Horace Hunley.

Thomas S. Parks
Henry Beard.

R. Brookbanks
John Marshall
Charles McHugh
Joseph Patterson
Charles L. Sprague
Construction of Hunley began soon after the loss of American Diver. At this stage, Hunley was variously referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise". Legend held that Hunley was made from a cast-off steam boiler — perhaps because a cutaway drawing by William Alexander, who had seen her, showed a short and stubby machine. In fact, Hunley was designed and built for her role, and the sleek, modern-looking craft shown in R.G. Skerrett's 1902 drawing is an accurate representation. Hunley was designed for a crew of eight, seven to turn the hand-cranked ducted propeller, about 3.5 horsepower (2.6 kW), and one to steer and direct the boat. Each end was equipped with ballast tanks that could be flooded by valves or pumped dry by hand pumps. Extra ballast was added through the use of iron weights bolted to the underside of the hull. In the event the submarine needed additional buoyancy to rise in an emergency, the iron weight could be removed by unscrewing the heads of the bolts from inside the vessel.
Hunley was equipped with two watertight hatches, one forward and one aft, atop two short conning towers equipped with small portholes and slender, triangular cutwaters. The hatches, bigger than original estimates, measure about 16.5 in (420 mm) wide and nearly 21 in (530 mm) long), making entrance to and egress from the hull difficult. The height of the ship's hull was 4 feet 3 inches (1.30 m).
By July 1863, Hunley was ready for a demonstration. Supervised by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan, Hunley successfully attacked a coal flatboat in Mobile Bay. Following this, the submarine was shipped by rail to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving on 12 August 1863.
However, the Confederate military seized the submarine from her private builders and owners shortly after arriving, turning her over to the Confederate Army. Hunley would operate as a Confederate Army vessel from then on, although Horace Hunley, and his partners would remain involved in her further testing and operation. While sometimes referred to as CSS Hunley, she was never officially commissioned into service.
Confederate Navy Lieutenant John A. Payne of CSS Chicora volunteered to be Hunley's captain, and seven men from Chicora and CSS Palmetto State volunteered to operate her. On 29 August 1863, Hunley's new crew was preparing to make a test dive, when Lieutenant Payne accidentally stepped on the lever controlling the sub's diving planes as she was running on the surface. This caused Hunley to dive with one of her hatches still open. Payne and two others escaped, but the other five crewmen drowned.
H. L. Hunley crew lost 29 August 1863:
Michael Cane
Nicholas Davis
Frank Doyle
John Kelly
Absolum Williams
The Confederate Army took control of Hunley, with all orders coming directly from General P. G. T. Beauregard, with Lt. George E. Dixon placed in charge.  On 15 October 1863, Hunley failed to surface after a mock attack, killing all eight crewmen. Among these was Hunley himself, who had joined the crew for the exercise and possibly had taken over command from Dixon, for the attack maneuver. The Confederate Navy once more salvaged the submarine and returned her to service.
H. L. Hunley Crew lost 15 October 1863:
Horace Hunley.
Thomas S. Parks
Henry Beard.
R. Brookbanks
John Marshall
Charles McHugh
Joseph Patterson
Charles L. Sprague
H. L. Hunley (submarine)