Hunley Commander's Watch No Smoking Gun

AP via SFGate ^ | 12/14/7 | BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer

[SmithL]

Charleston, S.C. (AP) -- When scientists opened the watch belonging to the H.L. Hunley commander three years ago, they thought they had the key clue to why the Confederate submarine sank off Charleston.

But the 18-karat gold watch now seems to raise even more questions even though scientists announced Friday it did not slowly wind down but stopped quickly — perhaps the result of a concussion or rushing water.

"All of us were thinking the watch pointed to the crucial moment," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, chairman of the state Hunley Commission. "But I would say instead of the smoking gun, it's more of the smoke that keeps you from seeing."

The hand-cranked Hunley rammed a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic on Feb. 17, 1864, becoming the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship.

The Hunley also sank that night with its eight-man crew. It was found 12 years ago off Charleston, raised in 2000 and brought to a conservation lab.

The watch owned by Lt. George Dixon was opened in 2004. It read 8:23, tantalizingly close to historical accounts that the Housatonic sank about around 9 p.m.

McConnell said experts from the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors said the damp on the Hunley could have made the watch run slow.

So concussion of the explosion might have stopped the watch and sank the Hunley.

But McConnell also said there is no way to tell if the watch was even working that night.

[SmithL]

Handcrank Boats Forever ping

[SmithL]

fyi

[Tax-chick]

Hunley artifact and speculation.

[BenLurkin]

Maybe it ran until 8:23 a.m..

[Doohickey]

At least it’s still right twice a day.

[SunkenCiv]

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[PAR35]

The copy editor needs to repeat 8th grade grammar.

So concussion of the explosion might have stopped the watch and sank the Hunley.

It should be 'have ... sunk', not 'have ... sank'.

And I just noticed, concussion and dampness seem to be alternative explanations, so the sentence should not have started with the 'so', which suggests a causal relationship. An 'or' would have been more appropriate there. In either event, a definite article is needed before 'concussion'.

Perhaps the writer was trying to say, "An alternate theory suggests that the concussion from the explosion stopped the watch and caused the sinking of the Huntley".

'said the damp on the Hunley'

Damp's an adjective here, not a noun. Should be 'damp air' or 'dampness'.

Bad writers have always been around. Copy editors used to make them look good. Publishers don't understand that spell checkers aren't copy editors.

[Tallguy]

But McConnell also said there is no way to tell if the watch was even working that night. It may have been broken but Dixon may have continued to carry the expensive watch.

Did they find another time piece on the Hunley? If not, I think you can assume that the watch was working. You'd need a working watch to estimate speed, time-to-daylight, etc. It wouldn't make much sense to carry a non-functioning watch unless you had another.

[AnAmericanMother]

‘Damp’ as a noun is a very common British usage. Even my old Webster’s says it’s o.k.

[Smokin' Joe]

I believe you are correct, but only if a broken timepiece was not a contributing factor in the sinking. It would be essential to have some way to estimate time in order to navigate, unless revolutions of the propeller shaft were used. Even in the latter instance a timepiece would have been important in estimating speed.

Without those means, they would have to surface and possibly open the hatch to see well enough to navigate by lights on shore or the stars.

[Tallguy]

Joe: Great point & 1 I hadn't considered. Assume the watch broke/stopped during the mission. Lt. Dixon now has no way to know when the tide is going to shift. The crew exhausts itself attempting to move against a current that hasn't yet shifted & consumes the O2 in the sub. Dixon opens the hatch, sub floods.

[Smokin' Joe]

I am not sure if the hatch was secured when they found the sub or not, but if not, that is one very distinct possibility.

Did any of the ships in the vicinity responding to the sinking of the Housatonic (sp?)report a collision with anything?

For that matter, a little higher seas or their wake could be just as deadly to a vessel with little freeboard if the hatch was open.

[Tallguy]

Did any of the ships in the vicinity responding to the sinking of the Housatonic (sp?)report a collision with anything?

Some of the accounts suggest that after firing on something in the water, one of the blockading vessels rammed an object.

The Hunley was only completely submerged when attacking. At all other times she would have been running with her crude conning tower exposed. If sea condtions permitted she might have had her hatch open. 1 of the theories prior to her discovery was that she was rammed while the hatch was open & that this caused sufficient flooding to send her to the bottom.

All of these theories are subject to revision now that the sub has been found & is undergoing preservation.

[U S Army EOD]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think there was any standard way of setting a clock or watch at that time. It could be set off the town clock or a local sundial. A time shown on a watch at that time would have little meaning. Standard time started with railroad time. I think that was after the Civil War.

But I could be wrong.

Damn Yankees were probably on Daylight Savings time anyway.

[stainlessbanner]

Jine the Confederate Navy
Dixie Ping
(thanks T-C)

[U S Army EOD]

Does that mean I should roll my pants up all the way to my knees?

[stand watie]

interesting speculation.

free dixie,sw

[JamesP81]

At least it’s still right twice a day.

Better than can be said for most libs.