Hunley's Captain Dixon's life saving coin

[CSA Today]

"On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh, George Dixon was shot in the leg."
On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh George Dixon was shot in the leg. According to legend, the bullet struck a $20 gold coin in his pocket, absorbing the impact of the shot and sparing his life. Dixon barely survived Shiloh and a few years later lost his life leading the H. L. Hunley into world history as the world's first successful combat submarine.

https://www.facebook.com/HunleyProj...9387790442245/982796961767986/?type=3&theater

 

[DixieRifles]

The story of his gold coin is quite fascinating. Thanks for reminding us.
I had to post the link on my FB page.

 

[donna]

Thanks for posting. Always enjoy reading about Captain Dixon. He was a very brave man.

 

[Keiri]

I honestly think they knew the Hunley was a suicide mission. Dixon especially knew how many men died in that contraption - he watched the aftermath of some and almost died in it once when they sunk into sand. I wonder why he, with a promising future, and a woman he loved, chose to go on an almost certainly fatal attack.

 

[Rebel Rally Point]

I honestly think they knew the Hunley was a suicide mission. Dixon especially knew how many men died in that contraption - he watched the aftermath of some and almost died in it once when they sunk into sand. I wonder why he, with a promising future, and a woman he loved, chose to go on an almost certainly fatal attack.

Duty

 

[Vicksburger]

"On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh, George Dixon was shot in the leg."
On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh George Dixon was shot in the leg. According to legend, the bullet struck a $20 gold coin in his pocket, absorbing the impact of the shot and sparing his life. Dixon barely survived Shiloh and a few years later lost his life leading the H. L. Hunley into world history as the world's first successful combat submarine.

https://www.facebook.com/HunleyProj...9387790442245/982796961767986/?type=3&theater

I love this story because all the people who don't believe in "romantic legends" were proven SO WRONG when they actually found the coin!

 

[AndyHall]

They all knew they faced long odds. The crew were all volunteers, several of them recruited from CSS Indian Chief, that had served as the "target" in a practice mission when the submersible sank the second time. They had witnessed that themselves.

In The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe wrote about the culture of the military pilots, especially test pilots, who lived dangerous lives and saw many of their colleagues killed, even in peacetime. There are a thousand things that can go wrong in an aircraft and cause a fatal accident, but the pilots themselves refused to concede that point -- whatever went wrong mechanically, it was something that they should be able to handle and survive. It was a refusal to concede that they themselves were not in complete control. And yes, it was sad when another pilot went down but, you know, he should've been able to handle it. He screwed the pooch.

I think something akin to that was going on with the Hunley crew. They knew the boat's history, heard the comments about the "peripatetic coffin," but I think they convinced themselves that they could succeed where the previous crews had not.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Never thought of the Hunley like that! It's always bugged me, wondering if those poor men set out to at least desperately achieve their mission before it inevitably sank again- which made them unspeakably brave or did they believe some how this time it would be different. You could see that- the test pilot mentality, still whew, takes your breath away thinking about the size of that thing, all of them crawling in there having committed to keep it afloat for the duration. If they didn't believe they could it'd just be a big, metal coffin- which it was in the end. Pretty crazy they sank that ship first!

 

[Scottish Rebel]

I honestly think they knew the Hunley was a suicide mission. Dixon especially knew how many men died in that contraption - he watched the aftermath of some and almost died in it once when they sunk into sand. I wonder why he, with a promising future, and a woman he loved, chose to go on an almost certainly fatal attack.

Patriotism.
There is no greater honour than to serve your country.

 

[Claude Bauer]

"On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh, George Dixon was shot in the leg."
On this day in 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh George Dixon was shot in the leg. According to legend, the bullet struck a $20 gold coin in his pocket, absorbing the impact of the shot and sparing his life. Dixon barely survived Shiloh and a few years later lost his life leading the H. L. Hunley into world history as the world's first successful combat submarine.

https://www.facebook.com/HunleyProj...9387790442245/982796961767986/?type=3&theater

I remember seeing a video clip of the moment they found the coin--the researcher who found it, Maria Jacobsen, was awestruck. There was a reporter there too, who didn't seem to understand the significance of the artifact. Can't find the clip, but here's a story about the find titled "I've got the coin."

http://glimpse.clemson.edu/“i’ve-got-the-coin-”/

 

[Keiri]

I would have cried the moment I had it. Thanks Andyhall, new perspective.