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George Dixon's Birth
George Dixon's birth is Unknown. He was supposively born in the year 1840. -
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George Dixon
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His Job before
George worked as a steamboat captain on the Mississippi River between Cincinnati and St. Louis. During this time he met Queenie Bennett, who gave him a $20 gold piece as a token of her love. -
Saving George's Life
Dixon is said to have been given the gold coin by his sweetheart, Queenie Bennett. She asked him to carry it for good luck and as a token of her affection. Dixon kept the coin always with him, and at the Battle of Shiloh it was in his trousers pocket. During the fierce fighting on April 6, 1862, Dixon was struck in the upper thigh by a minié ball. When he examined the wound, he discovered the bullet had struck the coin directly in the center, bending the coin but saving his leg by absorbing much -
Dixon is elected
Dixon was elected 2nd Lieutenant of the 21st Alabama, Co. A, in May 1862. According to Williams, “Dixon … came out on parade for the first time” on June 17, 1862. He was still
recuperating from his Shiloh wound. -
His Legacy
His friend, James Williams, named his first child George Dixon Williams. The child was born in Mobile in May 1863. Dixon was involved in the planning and production of the H.L. Hunley, an experimental Confederate submarine. -
She sinks for the first
The H.L. Hunley sank for the first time – swamped by the wake of a passing ship, the Etiwan. Five men were killed; three (Lt. Charles Hasker, Lt. John Payne and William Robinson) escaped. A diver named Angus Smith helped raise the vessel. -
She sinks for the second
The H.L. Hunley sank for the second time. This time, eight men were
killed – including the Horace Hunley himself. He had forgotten to close the seacock – (a valve which is opened and closed to let water into a ballast tank. Ballast is the water that is allowed into the vessel, making the Hunley get heavier and sink under water). -
What ever did happen?
Dixon convinced Gen. Beauregard to have the Hunley repaired, to raise a new crew and try another attack on the Union fleet. Beauregard told Dixon that he was not to use the Hunley for an attack dive. Dixon, however, felt that since Beauregard didn’t say the Hunley couldn’t dive after an attack, it would still be allowable to practice diving with the vessel and its crew. The Hunley was
fitted with a spar torpedo – a bomb on the end of a long pole. The Hunley would ram an enemy ship, causing the t -
George Dixon's Death
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What could have happened
If the Hunley’s mission on February 17, 1864 was successful,
George Dixon was supposed to signal to shore with a blue
phosphorous lantern (Hicks 65). The light was seen both at
Sullivan’s Island and by a survivor of the Housatonic named
Robert Fleming (Hicks 74).