Plot
Horace Lawson Hunley, H. L. Hunley takes his ship, the ''H.L. Hunley (submarine), H.L. Hunley'', out in the Charleston, South Carolina harbor and it sinks with all hands. As the blockade still needs to be broken, Brigadier General (CSA), Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard has the ship raised and puts George E. Dixon in charge. He starts looking for a crew and after some difficulty finally finds enough volunteers to man it. They practice cranking the propeller. The crew do not all get along with each other. Dixon flashes back to the Battle of Shiloh, where a gold coin given to him by his wife (who was later killed in a steamboat explosion caused by a drifting mine) deflected a bullet and saved his life. They take the ship down and sit on the bottom to see how long they can stay down and almost get stuck. The Union Navy, U.S. Navy is warned about the sub. The crew votes that if after an attack they are stuck on the bottom, they will open the valves, flooding the ship, rather than suffocate. They go out to attack the USS ''Wabash'', but the attack fails. Following the warning the ship has draped metal chain netting over the side. Also the rope which was attached to the torpedo they were to release under the ship gets loose and becomes entangled in the propeller. It has to be cut loose while sailors on the ''Wabash'' shoot at the ''Hunley''. Beauregard proposes putting the torpedo at the end of a long spar. The is ordered to change its position in the harbor and always be ready to steam, meaning it cannot hang metal netting over the side. The ''Hunleys second in command, Lt. Alexander, is ordered to Mobile, Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, and a young soldier who had been volunteering to join the crew is allowed to do so. On February 17, 1864, the CSS ''H. L. Hunley'' sails out and attacks the USS ''Housatonic''. The torpedo is rammed into the side of the ship. It blows up and the ''Housatonic'' is the first ship ever sunk by a sub. A bullet from the ship breaks a window in the conning tower and wounds Dixon. The explosion opens the seams on the ''Hunley'' and it takes on water. It settles to the bottom and the crew cannot release the ballast or pump the ship. As agreed the crew opens the valves and the ship floods, killing the entire crew. General Beauregard attends a memorial service in Charleston for the ''Hunley'' and her crew, while inside the flooded submarine, Dixon sees a vision of his wife, welcoming him into the afterlife.Cast
*Armand Assante as Lt. George E. Dixon *Donald Sutherland as Brigadier General (CSA), Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard *Alex Jennings as Lt. William Alexander *Christopher Bauer as Simkins *Gerry Becker as Capt. Pickering *Michael Dolan as Becker *Sebastian Roche as Collins *Michael Stuhlbarg as Wicks *Jeff Mandon as Miller *Frank Vogt as Ronald White *Jack Baun as Ridgeway *Kevin Robertson as Carlson *Caprice Benedetti as Dixon’s wifeExternal links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunley, The 1999 television films 1999 films 1999 drama films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s historical drama films 1990s war drama films American Civil War naval films American drama television films American films based on actual events American historical drama films American war drama films Drama films based on actual events Films about submarine warfare Films directed by John Gray (director) Films scored by Randy Edelman Films set in 1864 Films set in Charleston, South Carolina Films with screenplays by John Fasano Historical television films Seafaring films based on actual events Television films based on actual events TNT Network original films War films based on actual events War television films