Since its sinking on February 17, 1864, researchers and historians have pondered the above question for more than a century. What we do know, however is that a piece of Civil War history had been lying on the floor of Charleston Harbor off the coast of South Carolina. For all this time, no one, except showman P.T. Barnum (he once offered a $100,000 for the Hunley's recover during the 19th Century) had attempted to recover the doomed sub. Things changed however about 20 years ago, when American author, Clive Cussler, decided that he would try to explain the unexplained — he and his crew of divers from the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) ventured into the Charleston Harbor determined to locate the Confederate sub.