CHARLESTON — The last great Confederate funeral drew thousands of spectators and Civil War re-enactors Saturday paying homage to the eight crew members of the submarine H.L. Hunley.

Crowds estimated at as high as 10,000 lined East Bay Street and Morrison Drive for 4.5 miles from the Battery to Magnolia Cemetery, where the eight Hunley crewmen were laid to rest among live oaks, azaleas and Spanish moss.

Hundreds more jammed the cemetery grounds, sitting in folding chairs or lounging on blankets among the humble graves of Confederate soldiers and granite monuments to Charleston’s aristocracy.

About 4,000 re-enactors served as pallbearers and honor guards. They made up the majority of the 17-block procession.

Jim Dunbar, a 57-year-old re-enactor from Maryland, was a pallbearer.

“I’m just proud to be here,” said Dunbar, a biologist. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor these brave men.”

On Feb. 17, 1864, the Hunley became the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle. Although it sunk the Union blockade ship USS Housatonic, the Hunley also was lost.

The eight men aboard were Lt. George E. Dixon, Seaman Arnold Becker, Quartermaster C. Simpkins, Seaman Frank G. Collins, Corp. J.F. Carlsen, Private J. Miller, Boatswain Mate James A. Wicks and Quartermaster Joseph Ridgaway.

Their simple oak coffins were buried side by side Saturday in a single large grave near 13 other Hunley crewmen who died in the sub during training accidents.

The members of the third crew were carried on eight horse-drawn caissons. A riderless horse with black boots set backward in the stirrups was led behind the coffin of Dixon, the boat’s skipper, signifying the death of a leader.

Republican state senators David Thomas of Greenville and Glenn McConnell of Charleston dressed as two- and three-star Confederate generals respectively and joined the procession.

Gov. Mark Sanford and the state’s two U.S. senators didn’t attend, citing conflicts. Governors from 14 Southern states also sent their regrets. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer; Attorney General Henry McMaster; state Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington; and U.S. Rep Henry Brown, R-Charleston, were among the elected officials who attended.

McConnell, the driving force behind the six-day funeral event and Hunley Commission chairman, led the procession with Randy Burbage, president of the Confederate Heritage Trust and a commission member.

State law-enforcement officers, including one dressed as a Confederate soldier, guarded McConnell. The senator at least once acknowledged friends in the crowd by raising his sword and ordering a salute by the color guard.

“I’m really just swept away by all of the support we’ve gotten from across America and around the world,” he said prior to the event. “I hope it’s uplifting for people. I hope it will help us understand each other and bring us closer together.”

McConnell, the president pro tem of the state Senate, said the event should help bring awareness to the Hunley conservation effort and assist in raising funds for a $40 million maritime museum in North Charleston.

Aside from color guards, many but not all of the re-enactors kept their battle flags furled in accordance with military protocol.

‘I LOVE MY FLAG’

Despite admonitions from organizers that the event was a funeral, not a flag rally, many along the route waved all manner of Confederate flags.

“I love my flag, and I don’t abide by political correctness,” said Everett Moriarty, 71, of Hiensville, Ga., as he handed out small battle flags to bystanders.

But in Charleston Harbor, a 6 foot by 8 foot flag waved halfway up a mast of a sailboat about 100 yards from the Confederate soldier’s monument, where the remains of the eight crew members lay in state prior to the procession.

Overhead a plane towed a giant Naval Cross, which often is misidentified as the Stars and Bars. It read “Dump Beasley,” a reference to the former governor who drew the ire of flag supporters when he tried six years ago to bring the Naval Cross from the State House dome.

Beasley is now running for U.S. senator to replace Charleston’s Fritz Hollings.

Though not registered to march in the procession, re-enactor H.K. Edgerton of North Carolina, known as the “black Confederate,” was allowed to join the lead color guard, carrying a large, unfurled Naval Cross. He has been a fixture at flag events in South Carolina.

There were no protests or incidents. Many blacks watched the procession. All interviewed said they had no problem with the Confederate flags’ being used in an historical context. But others said the celebration of the flag by bystanders was inappropriate, if not offending.

Friends Shirley Dennis and Vivian Hampton, both black, came upon the huge gathering while power-walking. Finding their way blocked, they decided to complete their exercise by joining the procession.

Both said they were unfazed by the flag or the phalanxes of Confederate soldiers. They said they found the history interesting and the walk enjoyable.

“I try to respect everyone,” said Dennis, an account specialist with Charleston County government. “The flag is just a piece of cloth. You can bring the flag down, but does that change people’s hearts?

“We decided to join up out of respect for those men. Maybe that will change people’s hearts.”

Reach Wilkinson at (803) 771-8495 or jwilkinson@thestate.com