Who conducted the first successful submarine attack during the Civil War?

• A. H.L. Hunley conducted the first successful submarine attack.
• B. The Hunley was the first manned submarine to sink a battleship.
• C. The Civil War ended submarine development.
• D. Submarines were first used in the American Revolution.

Answer: (B)

This question hinges on the historical milestone of early submarine warfare. The first successful submarine attack in the Civil War was carried out by the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, which in 1864 sank the Union ship USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbor. The key point is that the Hunley did sink a ship, but not a battleship—the Housatonic was a wooden-hulled sloop-of-war, and the term battleship does not apply to Civil War naval vessels. So the claim that the Hunley was the first to sink a battleship is inaccurate. Submarine development did continue after the Civil War, and submarines were not first used in the American Revolution—the Civil War marked the first notable successful use of a submarine to sink an enemy ship.