Today's funeral through the streets of Charleston for the final eight crewmen of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley will be heavy on period accuracy in what may be the last spectacle of its kind in America.

It also may be the largest single gathering of uniformed Civil War re-enactors ever assembled in South Carolina, above and beyond the 1,200 or so you might find at a battle re-enactment.

"I can't really feel sad," Barker said. "We're here to celebrate their lives."

Representatives of Charleston's hotel and motel industry estimated Friday that as many as 45,000 out-of-towners are staying for at least a part of the weekend, either for the Hunley parade, the Heritage motorcycle rally or the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament.

There isn't a hotel bed to be found for miles. Hospitality officials report practically all of Charleston County's 13,100 hotel rooms are filled.

All of the Charleston-area inns probably would have been filled this time of year anyway, said Tripp Hays, chairman of the Charleston Hotel/Motel Association and director of sales at the Mills House Hotel downtown. But for this weekend, it's a more eclectic bunch than normal who made their reservations as far back as November.

"We've got bikers here, we've got a soccer tournament for girls going on, and we've got some Hunley people, too," said Lisa Duncan, who was working the front desk at the Best Western hotel in Ladson of Friday, not far from the fairgrounds where the Heritage bike rally is being held. "As soon as they are checking out, we got people checking in," she added.

The procession and the graveside ceremony will be televised live on several local stations. Funeral services are expected to begin at 1:30.

An hour later, the crew will be buried.

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