The E-Sylum:  Volume 6, Number 1, January 5, 2003, Article 9

NEW BOOK: RAISING THE HUNLEY

  Coincidentally, after writing Sunday's note about the Edward
  R. Hamilton bargain book lists, a fresh copy of their catalog
  arrived in the mail Monday.  In it I found a copy of "Raising
  the Hunley: The Remarkable History and Recovery of the
  Lost Confederate Submarine" by B. Hicks & S. Kropf.
  (Ballantine, 301pp).   At $16.95 it wasn't discounted much
  from the $25 retail price, but it was only published in March
  2002.   Amazon and Barnes and Noble offer the book for
  slightly more, and "used" copies are already appearing for
  sale as low as $11.

  We discussed the Hunley in the E-Sylum in May and June
  2001 (v4, nos 22-24).  Lt. George Dixon, the sub's
  commander, carried with him an engraved $20 gold piece,
  which was found in the ship's wreckage.

  I ordered a copy of the book for $11.50 from another
  dealer and it arrived Friday.   It contains a section of color
  photos, including a shot of the famous gold piece.  Another
  item of numismatic interest is pictured:

  "It was copper, about the size of a half dollar, and it was
  stuck to the back of the first officer's skull.  On one side was
  a relief profile of George Washington, just like a modern
  quarter, and on the other side was a name: Ezra Chamberlin.

  The medallion was the sort of thing a young soldier in the
  Civil War bought with his own money to help identify his
  body in case he were killed; it would be a half century before
  the advent of official dog tags.  These medallions were made
  by private merchants and sometimes even sold on the sidelines
  of battlefields.  It was stamped with enough information to
  cause the biggest uproar of The Hunley's excavation so far.
  Ezra Chamberlin had entered service early in the war --
  September 6, 1861 -- as a private in Company K of the
  Seventh Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers.  The scientists
  were speechless.  Could it be true? -- a Connecticut Yankee
  on a Confederate sub?"

  For a picture of the item and more information, see
  http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=IDTAG
  http://www.thehunley.com/Crew/chamberlin.htm
  http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/brian/KHS/chamberlin/chamberlin.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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