Posted on 11/14/2002 6:21:10 AM PST by stainlessbanner
NORTH CHARLESTON - The commander of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley apparently went into his last battle with a $20 gold piece in one pocket and a diamond ring and diamond brooch in another.
"We used to say that J.E.B. Stuart was the last cavalier, but I think you're going to have to put George Dixon in that same category," state Sen. Glenn McConnell, the chairman of the S.C. Hunley Commission, said Wednesday.
Stuart was the Confederate cavalry commander who wore a plumed hat and cloak into battle. Dixon was the commander of the hand-cranked submarine that sank after sinking a Union blockade ship off Charleston in February 1864.
The Hunley was raised two years ago and brought to a conservation lab at the old Charleston Naval Base.
The ring and nickel-sized brooch, both of which could have been worn by a man, were recovered last week from sediment removed earlier from the Hunley, researchers say.
They were found amid deteriorated textile material thought to be the pocket of Dixon's coat or pants, said Maria Jacobsen, the senior archaeologist on the project.
The ring, a size 6 with a cut in the band so it could perhaps be worn by someone with a larger finger, has nine diamonds weighing together about 1 carat. The brooch has 37 small diamonds, amounting to about 2 carats.
Both the pieces are of European design, said Barry Woods, a jeweler who attended a news conference where the items were displayed.
Researchers, including one at the Smithsonian Institution, are researching similar pieces from the 19th century to gauge their value.
Woods estimated that, were the pieces made today with diamonds of similar quality, the ring would cost about $1,500 and the brooch $3,000. Earlier this year, scientists recovered a watch and ornate chain also believed to belong to Dixon.
"We have the gold coin, we have an elaborate gold watch and now we show up with the elaborate jewelry. The evidence in the textiles seems to point to the fact that he was well-dressed," McConnell said. "That's why I say it appears that J.E.B. Stuart was not the only last cavalier."
The jewelry was found near what would have been Dixon's right pockets, indicating they were put away for safekeeping. Dixon was thought to have been left-handed, McConnell said.
He said it is possible the brooch might have been a present for Dixon's sweetheart, Queenie Bennett.
"That tells you something about his optimism. It tells you this was not a suicide mission. He valued life and he valued the nice things in life," McConnell said.
According to legend, Bennett gave Dixon the gold coin, which stopped a Minie ball at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, saving Dixon's life.
The coin was recovered earlier from the submarine. Estimated to be worth as much as $10 million, it goes on display to the public for the first time during tours of the conservation lab this weekend.
Unfortunately, yes. Everyone who graduated from the US public school system in the last quarter century.
By the time he got hungry and came home, Lee was decisively engaged due to lack of intel.
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