Pocket Watch Found on Hunley Slowly Revealing Commander's Story

Civil War Interactive: The Daily Newspaper of the Civil War ^ | Sept. 9, 2002

[robowombat]

Pocket Watch Found on Hunley Slowly Revealing Commander's Story

Sept. 9, 2002--One of the smallest pieces of metal recovered from the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley may hold the clue to the life of her commander, Army Lt. George Dixon.

It's a watch fob, a little piece on the opposite end of a pocket watch chain, used to secure the chain, and thereby the watch, to the owner's clothing. The one on Dixon's watch chain appears to be a Masonic symbol, including the name of a lodge.

Hunley researchers won't yet say which chapter it is in order to give them a chance to review the records, said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission.

"The fob is going to settle once and for all where George Dixon is from," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission.

"Some have said he is from Kentucky. Some have said he is from different places, and somebody has even mentioned he might be from Ohio," McConnell told the Charleston Post & Courier.

The problem with investigating the watch directly is that it is corroded shut. Researchers are being so carefully non-destructive that they aren't just refraining from taking a chisel to the watch hinges. They are holding off on even taking X-rays of the object until they can determine if doing so might cause damage to any photograph that might be held inside the watch cover.

Instead, they studied the watch from the outside and went looking for a duplicate on which they could safely experiment. They found one, interestingly enough, in Scotland.

"The replica we got out of Scotland has a Masonic dial on it. ... It was not exactly like Dixon's on the cover, but it was close," McConnell said. "Now the question is, was it (the Hunley watch) a Masonic watch or not?"

Researchers have long believed Lt. George Dixon was a Mason, although what this is based on has never been made clear. McConnell said the fob has markings indicating an exact chapter of the fraternal organization.

"That chapter has been in continuous existence. Those records should be there," he said.

The gold fob is cut in the shape of a Masonic key-stone emblem and Dixon's name and the chapter of his Masonic lodge are inscribed in flowing cursive, according to reports in USA Today. The name would seem to eliminate the possibility that Dixon bought or otherwise acquired the watch from someone else.

In other Hunley news, McConnell said that no decision has yet been made by the state commission that was recently asked to review the competing bids from three Charleston area towns to host the Hunley permanently. The answer could even be "none of the above," he said, or the board could decide to delay any decision making until later.

"People shouldn't ride on the conclusion it's going to be one of the three," he said. "It could be we decide it will be none of the three. Knowing it will be a year before we even decide on a conservation process, we have a year more than I thought we had."

Return to Front Page

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All CWi news stories are written by CWi staff. Permission for electronic and print reproduction is granted providing the below attribution appears with all reproduced material: Courtesy of: Civil War Interactive: The Daily Newspaper of the Civil War www.civilwarinteractive.com