Home News ACHP and NTHP to Present First Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation

For more information, contact Bruce Milhans at (202) 606-8513 or bmilhans@achp.gov

October 3, 2002, Washington, DC—The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley made history February 17, 1864, when it carried out the world's first successful submarine attack on a surface ship.

This October, 138 years later, team members responsible for raising the Hunley from the ocean floor will be the first recipients of the newly created Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP)/National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation, which will be presented October 10, 2002, at the National Preservation Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

This new award category celebrates an exemplary Federal preservation partnership achievement that resulted in preservation of this important historic resource.

"The discovery of the Hunley by private citizens and the cooperative Federal, State, corporate, and institutional effort to recover and conserve this invaluable historic relic epitomize the kind of partnerships that are essential to preserving America's heritage," said ACHP chairman John L. Nau, III. "This effort sets an appropriate precedent for this first-ever federal partnership award."

"This vessel is a time capsule that was sealed for 13 decades on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean," said NTHP president Richard Moe. "Raising the Hunley provides a tangible connection with the daring and dedicated men who changed the course of history. As a result of this extraordinary collaboration it is possible for future generations to learn from this historic submarine."

Finding and raising the Hunley was made possible by an unprecedented collaboration among Federal and State agencies, private-sector organizations, corporations and individuals, including the Department of Defense; U.S. Navy; National Park Service; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; South Carolina Hunley Commission; South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology; South Carolina Department of Archives and History; South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; South Carolina Educational Television; Oceaneering International; National Underwater and Marine Agency; Titan Maritime LLC; National Geographic; and the Friends of the Hunley, Inc.

The Hunley was discovered by the National Underwater and Marine Agency, a private non-profit group created and led by best-selling author Clive Cussler, who will be among the recipients of the award at the October 10 ceremony.

Media interested in attending the conference should contact Katie Callahan at (202) 588-6141 as soon as possible. Registration is free to the media, as are the Honor Awards Ceremony, field sessions, educational sessions, and special events. For information and images on the 2002 Preservation Award winners, visit NTHP's Web site.

An independent Federal agency, ACHP promotes historic preservation nationally by providing a forum for influencing Federal activities, programs, and policies that impact historic properties; advising the President and Congress; advocating preservation policy; improving Federal historic preservation programs; protecting historic properties; and educating stakeholders and the public. ACHP is located in Washington, DC, with a field office in Colorado.

Photos courtesy of Friends of the Hunley, Inc.

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Posted October 3, 2002

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