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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  CSS H.L. Hunley Submarine Memorial, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh. Photo by Bill Coughlin, courtesy of HMdb.org

  • Monument Name

    CSS H.L. Hunley Submarine Memorial, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Civil War, 1861-1865

  • City

    Raleigh

  • County

    Wake

  • Description

    The CSS H.L. Hunley marker consists of a bronze plaque on a short lectern shaped granite block. In addition to the inscription the plaque shows a depiction of the submarine taken from an 1863 drawing by George C. Cook. Beneath this is a pair of crossed flags, one the Confederate battle flag and the other the Confederate national flag. The inscription explains the historical significance of the Hunley and lists the crew members who perished when it sank in 1864.

  • Inscription

    ON FEBRUARY 17TH, 1864 THE CSS H.L. HUNLEY WAS THE FIRST SUBMARINE TO / SINK AN ENEMY SHIP IN COMBAT. THE SUB WAS LOST THAT NIGHT AS WELL, WHEN IT / SANK JUST OUTSIDE CHARLESTON HARBOR IN SC, WITH ALL EIGHT CREWMEMBERS / PERISHING. CREW MEMBER JAMES A. WICKS WAS FROM NORTH CAROLINA. WHEREAS / IT PLAYED A SMALL ROLE IN CIVIL WAR HISTORY IT PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN / AMERICAN NAVAL HISTORY. THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA SUBMARINE’S / BRAVE CREW IS LISTED BELOW. BURIED BENEATH THIS MARKER ARE PARTIAL / SEDIMENTARY REMAINS OF THOSE BRAVE NAVAL MEN TAKEN FROM THE SUB WHEN / IT WAS RAISED FROM THE FLOOR OF THE OCEAN ON August 8th, 2000. / LIEUTENANT GEORGE E. DIXON, COMMANDER / ARNOLD BECKER / CORPORAL J.F. CARSON / FRANK COLLINS / C. LUMPKIN / MILLER / JAMES A. WICKS / JOSEPH RIDGEWAY

  • Custodian

    Oakwood Cemetery

  • Dedication Date

    2010

  • Decade

    2010s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.784890 , -78.626760 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      Hinshaw, Wayne. “James A. Wicks: Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley Crew Member from Salisbury?,” Salisbury Post (Salisbury, NC), October 23, 2017, (accessed January 16, 2022) Link

      Historic Oakwood Cemetery, http://historicoakwoodcemetery.org (accessed May 19, 2021) Link

      “CSS H.L. Hunley Memorial,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed November 5, 2015) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite, bronze

  • Subject Notes

    Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in North Carolina's capital, Raleigh, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Annual Confederate Memorial Day services are held at the Oakwood Cemetery each May.

  • Location

    The memorial is located in Historic Oakwood Cemetery, at 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601, in Confederate section. The Memorial Arch, House of Memory, Confederate Monument, Memorial Wall, Gettysburg Memorial, Colonel McLeod Turner Monument, Col. Burgwyn Monument, General George Anderson Monument, Randolph Shotwell Memorial, Arlington Dead Marker and the Civil War Sesquicentennial Marker stand in the same section of the Oakwood Cemetery. Outside the Confederate section are memorials to Worth Bagley and William Ruffin Cox.

  • Landscape

    The memorial is surrounded by grave markers and monuments.

  • Death Space

    Yes

  • Post Dedication Use

    The Oakwood Cemetery continues to serve for Confederate Memorial Services each Memorial Day.

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