On a dark night in February of 1864, the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat, torpedoed the Union blockade ship USS Housatonic, a feat that would not be repeated for another 50 years. But fate was not kind to the Hunley that night as it sank with all of its crew on board before it could return to shore. Considered by many to be the Civil War’s greatest mystery, the Hunley’s demise and its resting place have been a topic of discussion for historians and Civil War buffs alike for more than a hundred years.

Adding still more to the intrigue, the vessel was discovered in 1995 by a dive team led by famed novelist and shipwreck hunter Clive Cussler, sparking an underwater investigation that resulted in the raising of the Hunley on August 8, 2000. Since that time, the extensive research and restorative efforts underway have unraveled the incredible secrets that were locked within the submarine at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Join Civil War expert Brian Hicks as Sea of Darkness recounts the most historically accurate narrative of the sinking and eventual recovery ever written. Hicks has been given unprecedented access to all the main characters involved in the discovery, raising, and restoration of the Hunley. Complete with a foreword and additional commentary by Clive Cussler, Sea of Darkness offers new, never-before-published evidence on the cause of the Hunley’s sinking, providing readers a tantalizing behind-the-scenes look inside the historic submarine.

“The comprehensive story of the Confederate submarine HL Hunley from the first rivet until today. This is a must-have book for anyone who loves submarines, appreciates American history, or wants to learn more about the HL Hunley. I could not put this book down, and neither will you once you start to read it!”

—Wreck Diving Magazine



“Brian Hicks’s unique perspective provides the true story of the Confederate submarine remembered as the Hunleyfrom the beginning to the present. Through exacting research he reveals a fascinating phenomenon that provides an intellectual adventure. His every detail is visibly accountable as he preserves the time period with intimate research of the people and the undersea vessel that forever changed the history of naval warfare.”

—Clive Cussler, best-selling adventure novelist and founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency


“Never was an author better positioned or better prepared to write such an engaging and entertaining history. Hicks is an accomplished writer by trade, a Southern history buff by avocation and a close friend of many of the key movers and shakers who found, raised and are now restoring the submarine … There will always be unanswered questions, but all of the answers we do have are artfully woven together in Brian Hicks’ [Sea of Darkness].”

—Frank L. Cloutier, The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)


“Through skillful interweaving of the past and the present, Sea of Darkness illuminates the murky waters of the American Civil War. Hicks delivers an accurate, detailed account of military history that reads like an adventure novel, with a vibrant cast of characters and a storyline that will transport readers into the depths of naval warfare.”

—Colonel W. Hays Parks, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired


“The Hunley project is about discovery. It’s about learning what history can teach us. This project shows us what science, innovation, technology, and the human spirit can make possible. It is about courage.”

—Warren Lasch, Friends of the Hunley

“… In Sea of Darkness, we go on a journey through time between the early 1860s, when men first dreamed up the idea of an iron submersible, to the modern preservation efforts to save the now 152-year-old ship, whose whereabouts lay shrouded in mystery for 131 years … In sections the book reads like a historical adventure novel, with all the suggestive and pensive undercurrents of the doomed ship and crew. But Hicks’ true story also pieces together facts about the ship, theories on why she sank and details regarding the ongoing effort to reveal all the secrets the Hunley held for so many years.”
—Paul Grimshaw, Grand Strand Magazine