NORTH CHARLESTON — Paul Starkey of Wooster, Ohio, hoisted his 3-year-old daughter, Kelly, in his arms to stare at the rippling image of the H.L. Hunley, submerged in thousands of gallons of water at the bottom of a huge blue tank.

“I sure would like to get a closer look at it,” said Starkey, the 48-year-old father of two. “Maybe they can build a glass tank.”

Starkey is one of about 20,000 people expected in Charleston this week to attend the burial of the Hunley’s eight crewmen. Gov. Mark Sanford, however, will not attend, citing scheduling conflicts.

So far, about 400 people a day are plunking down $10 and lining up to view the sub at the Warren Lasch Conservation Lab at the old Charleston Naval Base.

The Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. Among the visitors on Tuesday were some of the 6,000 Civil War re-enactors, Union and Confederate, who will march in Saturday’s procession, 4.5 miles from the Battery to Magnolia Cemetery.

There, the eight crewmen, entombed in the submarine for 137 years, will be buried alongside 13 others who died in previous missions.

The procession and graveside rites will be televised on ETV. About 300 reporters and photographers from about 70 news organizations, including all three major television networks and CNN, will cover the event.

Sanford, however, and 14 other Southern governors who were invited declined to attend.

Sanford has Air Force Reserve duty this weekend, according to his office. The others also cited scheduling conflicts.

“I’m sure he would like to attend,” spokesman Will Folks said. “But this has been scheduled for months.”

Sanford’s and the other governors’ absences will leave a dent in the political presence at the event.

South Carolina’s delegation will be headed by Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who will be attending on behalf of the governor.

S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster and S.C. Adjutant General Stan Spears will also attend, along with U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry Hallman and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey.

Political observers say it wouldn’t be prudent for many politicians to attend an event with thousands of rebel re-enactors.

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for governors from other states or even from South Carolina to attend,” said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “An historian might be attracted to this event without any consequences. An elected governor would probably get some criticism for attending. It’s inevitable.”

The list of dignitaries is also short on scientists and historians of national prominence. The only familiar name is author Clive Cussler, who is credited with finding the Hunley and has been closely involved with the Hunley project.

For tourists, including Northerners, visiting the Hunley facility in North Charleston on Tuesday, the Confederate flag wasn’t an issue. They were there to view history.

“It’s a part of our history, even if it’s a sorrowful part,” said Carl Upshaw, 59, of Blythewood, who brought three members of his family from Cleveland to see the Hunley.

Normally, the lab is open for tours only on the weekends. But this week, because of the interest in the burial, it’s open each day. Tour groups were taken through the lab every 20 minutes, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Ric Bozzone, 67, a retired New York City police officer now living in Aiken, said he found the exhibit enlightening.

“Up north we knew there was a war; that there was a North and a South. We knew Grant and Lee, and we knew we won,” he said. “I learned a lot today they didn’t teach us back home.”

Southerners “have a right to be proud,” Bozzone said. “They had a lot of brave men fight and die. Like these men on the Hunley.”

Reach Wilkinson at (803) 771-8495 or jwilkinson@thestate.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.