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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;CamaroDMD, post: 7802015, member: 5233&quot;]Well, I just got back from a 2 week east coast vacation.&nbsp; The first week, we spent traveling from New York to South Carolina and the last week we spent at a rented beach house in Folly Beach, SC playing in the water.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our last sight seeing stop before going to the beach house was a small museum/conservation center where the Confederate submarine HL Hunley is being conserved in Charleston, SC.&nbsp; For those of you who don&#039;t know, the Hunley was history&#039;s first combat submarine to sink an enemy vessel.&nbsp; It sank a US ship in Charleston Harbor on it&#039;s only mission in 1864 and never returned.&nbsp; The vessel was found over a century later and raised from the sea floor in 2000. </p><p><br /></p><p>The museum is really neat, it tells the story of the submarine and it&#039;s place in history.&nbsp; Frankly the way the story is told in the museum does lean on the &quot;Lost Cause&quot; narrative a little heavy (in my opinion).&nbsp; But, it&#039;s worth stopping by.</p><p><br /></p><p>So...what about the $20 Gold?&nbsp; Well...here&#039;s the story.</p><p><br /></p><p>The submarine commander was a man named George Dixon, he was a Lieutenant in the CSA Army.&nbsp; Family legend stated that Dixon&#039;s sweetheart had given him a $20 Double Eagle as a good luck charm when he went off to fight.&nbsp; The story goes on to say that he had that coin in his pocket at the Battle of Shiloh when he was struck by a Union bullet.&nbsp; But, the bullet hit the coin deflecting it and saving his life.&nbsp; Dixon was wounded in the leg during the battle.</p><p><br /></p><p>A good story...but one that doesn&#039;t feel true.&nbsp; Or is it?</p><p><br /></p><p>In 2002 when they were examining the inside of the submarine, they found a 1860 $20 Double Eagle near where the remains of Lt. Dixon was found.&nbsp; The coin was deformed and on the back it was engraved &quot;<i>Shiloh April 6, 1862 My life Preserver G. E. D.&quot;&nbsp; </i>Forensic study of Dixon&#039;s remains also found evidence of a healed injury on his hip...right where his pocket (and the coin would have been).</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin is on display at the Hunley Museum.&nbsp; Here is the coin...and of course a photo of the sub.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was a fun experience to see the submarine and the artifacts and if you ever get the chance it&#039;s a quick stop worth checking out.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/EM8H8yG.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/De7VC4e.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Fg8HEVZ.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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