A Mystery in Killingly

Killingly, CT

On Apr. 27, 2001, a team of researchers who are studying the remains of the Confederate Submarine, The Hunley, announced that they had found an identification tag associated with human remains, and the tag was that of a Union soldier! The soldier was Ezra Chamberlin, who was a volunteer in the Connecticut 7th Regiment.

The H.L. Hunley was a submarine, used by the Confederate military off the coast of Charleston during the Civil War. In an attack on the Union warship Housatonic, the H.L. Hunley sank off of Charleston on Feb. 17, 1864 (Hunley), where it remained until finally recovered on Aug. 8, 2000. During the following excavation efforts (still ongoing), the ID tag of Union soldier Ezra Chamberlin was found on the Hunley-- though Chamberlin was reported to have been killed in a battle at Fort Wagner, on July 11, 1863! In fact, Chamberlin's grave can be found in northeastern CT (in a cemetery in Killingly), where his remains were to have been burried at least a year after his death.

Further facts about the circumstances of Chamberlin's death, and the presence of his dogtag on the Hunley remain to be uncovered.

Send Comments and/or questions to: Killingly Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.