Which Union warship was sunk by the submarine H. L. Hunley in 1864?

The Union warship sunk by the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley in 1864 was USS Housatonic. The attack occurred on the night of February 17, 1864, in the outer harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, while Housatonic was enforcing the Union blockade.

Housatonic was a wooden-hulled, steam-powered screw sloop displacing about 1,240 tons and carrying twelve large guns. Hunley approached underwater and drove a spar torpedo into the ship’s hull. The resulting explosion sent Housatonic to the bottom in roughly three minutes, killing five members of its crew.

The victory was historically important because it was the first successful sinking of an enemy warship by a submarine. It was also fatal for Hunley: the submarine disappeared after the attack, taking all eight men aboard with it. The wreck was located in 1995 and raised in 2000. USS Tecumseh, USS Cairo, and USS Cumberland were different Union vessels sunk in other Civil War actions.