Tuscarawas Valley Civil War Round Table

The Tuscarawas Valley Civil War Round Table will meet on Thursday, September 11 at 6:30 PM in the Community Room of the Dover Public Library, located at 525 N. Walnut Street in Dover. The featured presenter will be John C. Spaziani, who will present: “The Hunley: The Rest of the Story.”

The H. L. Hunley, often referred to as just The Hunley, was a submarine of the Confederate States of America (CSA) and was the first and only combat submarine to sink an enemy warship (The USS Housatonic) during the American Civil War. The Hunley, nearly forty feet long, was built at Mobile, Alabama, and launched in July 1863. On February 17, 1864, The Hunley attacked and sank the USS Housatonic, which had been on Union blockade-duty in Charleston’s outer harbor. Five US Navy sailors were killed in the attack. The Hunley did not survive the attack and sank, taking with her all eight members of her crew. Finally located in 1995 by adventure/historian/best-selling author Clive Cussler, The Hunley was raised in 2000 and the crew was given a military funeral, with full military honors. This event was attended by thousands of living historians and reenactors worldwide. The Hunley is on display in North Charleston, South Carolina, at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center on the Cooper River. Examination, in 2012, of recovered Hunley artifacts suggests that the submarine was as close as 20 feet to her target, the USSHousatonic, when her deployed torpedo exploded, which may have contributed to the submarine’s own loss.

John C. Spaziani grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, attending St. Peter’s Prep and Stevens University, obtaining a BS, Mechanical Engineering. Spaziani also earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the State University of New York, an MBA from Lynchburg College and a Master of Counseling and Human Development from Walsh University. Spaziani worked on Project Apollo missions IX through XVII, power plant and infrastructure projects worldwide. His love of history and the Civil War stems from a 1963 visit to Gettysburg with his parents. He has an extensive library, including original works and artifacts. Spaziani is also a living historian, often portraying Confederate Colonel William Calvin Oates, Confederate Lt. George Erasmus Dixon, captain of the Confederate submarine the Hunley, and Confederate Colonel Samuel Cooper. He has spoken at the American Civil War Museum (Appomattox, VA) and numerous Civil War Round Table Events in OH, PA, VA, NC and SC and other Gettysburg venues. John Spaziani and Charlene have been married almost fifty-eight (50) years. They are now residents of South Carolina, and have three sons.

The mission of the Tuscarawas Valley Civil War Round Table is to educate the community about the American Civil War, to preserve Civil War heritage and to remember those who struggled for their cause. For more information, please call the Dover Public Library at 330-343-6123.