Civil War Watch Stopped Suddenly; Sub End Still Unknown (H.L. Hunley)

National Geographic ^ | December 17, 2007 | Bruce Smith

[DogByte6RER]

Civil War Watch Stopped Suddenly; Sub End Still Unknown

Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina

Associated Press

December 17, 2007

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, South Carolina.

But the 18-karat gold watch now seems to raise even more questions, despite the finding announced last week that the watch 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 Senator Glenn McConnell, a Republican from Charleston who chairs the state Hunley Commission. "But I would say instead of the smoking gun, it's more of the smoke that keeps you from seeing."

Hunley: Lost and Found

The hand-cranked Hunley rammed a black powder charge into the Union blockade ship Housatonic on February 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. It may have already been broken, and Dixon may have continued to carry the expensive watch anyway.

And if the time on the watch was right, it doesn't explain how Confederate soldiers on shore reported a blue light signaling from the Hunley about 45 minutes after the attack on the Housatonic, he said.

Other Clues

McConnell said the fate of the Hunley may be revealed by other clues from the retrieved vessel. In the coming months, scientists will x-ray valves on the pumping system that are encrusted with sediment.

The position may tell whether the sub was taking on water.

When scientists start removing encrusted sediment from the hull, they may find evidence of a rope showing the Hunley was anchored and waiting for the tide to turn, McConnell said.

One theory is that the sub took on water while waiting to return.

[DogByte6RER]

Very interesting...

[DogByte6RER]

ping

[ErnBatavia]

I love reading about this kind of stuff....mostly because we all know there are mysteries that will never, ever be solved.

[DogByte6RER]

This watch belonged to Lt. George Dixon, commander of the H. L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine that sank off the Charleston, South Carolina coast during the Civil War. Scientists announced on December 14, 2007, that the watch stopped suddenly, possibly at the time the sank. But the new finding doesn't hold many clues into the fate of the Hunley. "I would say instead of the smoking gun, it's more of the smoke that keeps you from seeing," said state Senator Glenn McConnell, a Republican from Charleston who chairs the Hunley Commission. Photograph from Friends of the Hunley/Getty Images/HO

[BallyBill]

The TV special that covered this was amazing. They even used color coding of the remains to show where the soldiers/sailors were located on the subs bottom.

On that show they hadn't finished up with the watch investigation.

[CindyDawg]

I definitely had to read the article to figure that heading out:')

yep...interesting.

[reagan_fanatic]

Not to be morbid or anything, but what would actually remain of the crew after being underwater for this long? Anything?

[kalee]

ping

[Rb ver. 2.0]

Some group has a walk-through mock up of the Hunley mounted on a flatbed trailer. I visited it at a city festival years ago. Definitely unique.

[Riley]

I remember hearing that there was a small amount of soft tissue still in evidence, along with skeletal remains. Surprising, that.

I went to see the Hunley at the Lasch Conservation Center in Charleston in 2003. They let small groups into the lab. You stood on a catwalk and looked down into a tank of water that it was kept in. An absolutely breathtaking sight, to a history buff.

[Dan(9698)]

The hull was intact so the crew was still inside.

There were bones found in the bottom.

[delacoert]

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.

LMAO!!!

I've got a doctor's appointment for 11:30 AM two months from now.

It's a fact I tell ya'!

[Shooter 2.5]

It may have already been broken, and Dixon may have continued to carry the expensive watch anyway.

Not bloody well likely. A commander on a ship with a stopped watch would be like a Railroad Conductor with a stopped watch. No way.

[Professional Engineer]

Ping

[GregoTX]

Very interesting story. Thanks for posting.

[Bulldawg Fan]

Those brave Southern patriots were heroes in every sense of the word. God bless their souls.

[satan]

Virginia Railway Express conductors use them.

[SC Swamp Fox]

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[delacoert]

Not bloody well likely. A commander on a ship with a stopped watch would be like a Railroad Conductor with a stopped watch. No way.

Oops!!! My granddaughter just flushed my grandfaather's pocketwatch down the toilet. I just wound it this morning! When will it stop?

[Andy'smom]

As I remember, the TV special hypothesized that they ran out of oxygen sooner than expected, I guess they were wrong?