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Article published Aug 8, 2003
Commander's watch may hold clues to fate of
Hunley
DEBRA G. LESTER
Staff
Writer
Three years ago today, the Confederate submarine H.L.
Hunley saw the light of day for the first time in more than 136 years.The first
submarine to ever sink an enemy ship herself sank sometime after the 8:45 p.m.
Feb. 17, 1864, attack on the USS Housatonic.The pocket watch that belonged to
Lt. George E. Dixon, commander of the Hunley, was found on May 30, 2002. The
chain of the gold watch was intertwined with fragile, waterlogged fibers that
archaeologists think means he probably kept the watch in the right hand pocket
of his vest or coat.When the watch was opened in March the face showed it
stopped at 8:23.The time display raised more questions than it answered. Was it
a.m. or p.m.? Were the surviving Housatonic crewmembers' accounts of the attack
incorrect?As the Hunley scientists studied the operation of the watch and
researched time-keeping in the mid-1860s, they found that the Confederate states
kept "Local Apparent Solar Time" while the U.S. Navy adhered to the "Local Mean
Solar Time" of Washington, D.C.With the varying calculations and adjustments,
scientists determined the time on Dixon's watch was probably 26 minutes behind
the time kept onboard the Housatonic.They concluded that the pocket watch
stopped at 8:49 Local Mean Solar Time.That would seem to suggest the Hunley
began to take on water immediately after the attack. But Warren Lasch, Friends
of the Hunley chairman, said such a conclusion would be premature. He said
scientists will have to determine whether the watch was completely wound down.An
examination of the internal mechanism should show that, Lasch said.A crew from
the National Underwater Marine Agency, funded by adventure author Clive Cussler,
found the Hunley in 1995.The hand-cranked sub has been under study at the Warren
Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston since it was raised and delivered
there on Aug. 8, 2000.Plans are to bury the remains of the Hunley crew on April
17, 2004, in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston. Two previous crews of the
ill-fated submarine are buried there.Tours of the Hunley are open to the public
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.To order
tickets, go to www.etix.com or call (877) 448-6539.Debra G. Lester can be
reached at 562-7264, or debra.lester@shj.com.