What They Wore: An Examination of the Clothing and Shoes Recovered from H.L. Hunley

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Lives Revealed: Interpreting the Human Remains and Personal Artifacts from the Civil War Submarine H. L. Hunley" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Following the excavation of the Hunley submarine, a plethora of artifacts related to the crewmember’s clothing were documented and recovered for conservation at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. These artifacts included buttons from military and non-military clothing, including vests, a kepi, pants, and jackets, as well as a pair of boots and seven pairs of shoes. In addition to the buttons and shoes, textile associated with the clothing worn by the crew were recovered. In most cases, these textile fragments were heavily degraded and only partially represented the clothing used by the crew. By examining the textile fragments along with the buttons, archaeologists have been able to better understand the different articles and types of clothing the crewmembers wore. This, in combination with the study of the shoes, has provided significant insight into the lives of those who operated Hunley during its final mission.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Lives Revealed: Interpreting the Human Remains and Personal Artifacts from the Civil War Submarine H. L. Hunley   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 470