A Civil War submarine commander's lucky coin... A World War II warbird rescued from a lake... And a miniature nuclear warhead for use on battlefields??

I'm Andrew Davis.

I'm a history enthusiast with passions for exploring and finding cool objects from the past.

But for me?

It's even cooler to find artifacts with remarkable historical ties.

The Palmetto State shares a rich culture and I'm here to tell its stories through the mementos left behind.

Join me on this journey as we uncover some of these historical stories.

This is Curiosity Trek!

In one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War A future submarine commander's life was saved... By a coin??

Mike Scafuri: Weapons at the time could be catastrophic and inflict some severe wounds.

If the injury to his leg had not been deflected somewhat by the coin, it could have shattered his femur.

This was often a fatal wound!

Today's first artifact is located at the old naval shipyard in North Charleston, South Carolina.

It takes about a couple of hours to get there from Columbia!

The story of the Confederate submarine H.L.

Hunley is one of those parts of South Carolina's history where the more one learns about it, the more awe inspiring and bizarre it becomes.

The Hunley sank under mysterious circumstances after its historic attack on the U.S.S.

Housatonic in February, 1864.

After its recovery in the year 2000, North Charleston's Warren-Lasch Conservation Center has been its home ever since.

But what if I told you that there was a coin found inside the Hunley, which is arguably just as legendary as the submarine itself?

the "life preserver" of its final commander, Lieutenant George E. Dixon.

This particular coin was minted in the year 1860 however its historic tale developed during the height of the of the American Civil War, between April, 1862 and February, 1864.

Clemson University archeologist Mike Scafuri is here to uncover the story of Lt. Dixon's good luck charm.

Hey Mike, how's it going today?

Hey how are you?

Welcome.

Now, what can you tell our viewers about who Lt. George Dixon was?

George Dixon was the captain, the final captain of the H.L.

Hunley submarine.

His early life was somewhat of a mystery.

We don't know much about his whereabouts until 1860 where he shows up in Mobile as a steamboat engineer.

Thereafter, his notable activities include fighting in the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862, where he was wounded.

While recovering back in Mobile, he got involved in the H.L.

Hunley submarine, later on becoming its final captain.

Host: The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War.

Early in the engagement, Dixon's left thigh was struck with a Minié ball but a gold $20 piece in his pocket miraculously deflected the bullet saving his leg... Perhaps even his life!

Scafuri: 25,000 men lost their lives or were injured or maimed during this battle.

It was pretty significant and at that time it was the largest loss of life in the United States at that point in any battle.

And one of the casualties during this battle was Lt. George Dixon.

He actually fell the first day, early in the morning on April 6th.

He was shot in the leg.

Fortunately for him though,he had a pocket-book in his leg with a coin in it.

The bullet actually hit the coin in his pocket-book, reflected back out of his leg and apparently saved his life or at least he felt so.

He was done as an infantry officer at that point but he had a nice story to tell about his survival and the lucky break he had with the bullet hitting the coin in his pocket.

Host: While Dixon was recovering in Mobile, Alabama, he became acquainted with a lawyer named Horace Lawson Hunley.

Dixon was both curious and intrigued by Hunley's iron "fish boat" taking shape in the Park and Lyons Machine Shop.

After initial tests in July 1863 Confederate brass ordered the Hunley to be moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where it could be used against the Union fleet strangling the city.

As qualified as he was, Dixon was not the Hunley's first commander.

Two crews manned the submarine before Dixon got his chance.

But in that time, several accidents with the Hunley occurred, the second of which claimed the life of Horace Hunley himself.

13 men lost their lives in these accidents, and the Hunley earned the nickname: "The Peripatetic Coffin".

Scafuri: But what's interesting is that the project didn't end.

Dixon somehow convinced the general in charge of Charleston's defenses P.G.T.

Beauregard, of the Battle of Shiloh, to give him another chance.

But maybe it speaks to his level of desperation in doing something about this blockade.

They didn't have any other options.

They were trying anything and everything to try and stop the blockade or break the blockade or lessen its impact.

They didn't have a navy to respond.

And so he would give Dixon one more chance with the H.L.

Hunley.

Host: Despite the Hunley's hard luck, Dixon believed this infernal machine could work.

Dixon and his crew made history by successfully sinking the U.S.S.

Housatonic on February 17th, 1864.

Unfortunately, the Hunley never returned to its port on Sullivan's Island.

The reason for its disappearance remains a mystery.

Scafuri: What happened to Hunley after sinking Housatonic?

How did they end up on the bottom?

That is our goal is to answer those big questions.

The short answer to that is we don't know.

That's what we're trying to find out.

there's no clear answer though, at this point.

There's no smoking gun thus far as a result of our research that tells us conclusively that one thing or another caused the Hunley to not return.

All of the evidence about what happened to the men inside the submarine, outside of the submarine has slowly faded over time.

This is an extremely cold case.

Host: In May 2001, while excavating the Hunley's interior, Clemson University archaeologist Maria Jacobsen plunged her hand into the muck around Lt. Dixon's remains.

Her fingers felt the touch of a familiar shape.

When she pulled this object out of the mud and washed it off, she had just found Dixon's lucky $20 coin.

Legend had become fact!

Scafuri: The story of Lt. George Dixon's gold coin predates the story of Hunley.

The story was in the newspaper, in the Mobile Daily Herald in 1862 after the battle talking about how this young lieutenant had taken a coin with him into battle.

It had saved his life.

He had made a name for himself somewhat because of the events of the Battle of Shiloh.

Later on, getting involved in Hunley, he made another name for himself as the final captain who lost his life eventually on board the H.L.

Hunley submarine.

In 2001, when we began the interior excavation of the Hunley one of the things that we considered as a possibility that would be on board would be George Dixon's gold coin.

And sure enough, when excavating his remains, archaeologist Maria Jacobsen discovered this gold coin.

And what was amazing about it?

Well, not only was it twisted and bent as you would expect from a coin that was impacted by a bullet, but he had had it engraved.

"Shiloh April 6th, 1862.

My life preserver.

G.E.D."

for George E. Dixon.

Something that nobody could have anticipated.

So this was a true story.

It was definitely a case of a legend, a myth about an historical event, being proven true by archaeology.

We actually found the coin, and he had had it engraved, just confirming what we already thought we knew about it, sort of bringing it full circle and it's a fascinating artifact because of that.

Host: So what do you think, fellow viewers?

Was it fate that led George Dixon to command the Hunley on its final run?

Or was it one massive coincidence?

You decide!

The H.L.

Hunley submarine isn't the only cherished piece of South Carolina's history found beneath the waves.

The difference with this next artifact?

Aircraft are not exactly made for underwater excursions!

How did the B-25 Mitchell revolutionize U.S. air power in World War II, and earn its status as an aviation icon?

Ron Skipper: We could not get to Japan with what we had available at the time.

They needed something to be able to take off from a navy aircraft carrier.

This "C" model B-25 Mitchell bomber was assembled at North American Aviation's plant in Inglewood, California and delivered to the old Columbia Army Air Base in 1942.

Sometimes the most historically impactful things can be found in the most unassuming of places.

From the outside, this hangar at Jim Hamilton-L.B.

Owens Airport looks just like any other, but housed inside is a relic which helped change the course of world history.

"December 7th, 1941 a date which will live in infamy."

After the attack at Pearl Harbor, American armed forces needed a morale boost and it came in the form of the Doolittle Raiders.

Could you tell us about the infamous attack at Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor, of course, as we all know was a surprise.

We were ill prepared when it occurred in a number of ways, but one way was we could not get to Japan with what we had available at the time.

Of course, ships getting there, they could be easily spotted and that sort of thing.

We didn't have aircraft that could just go because we didn't have forward bases that we could fly from.

So the mission of the Doolittle Raiders was a huge morale builder for the people of the United States and for the service personnel that were conducting this operation, and that we were able to advance with our aircraft carriers that did not get attacked in Pearl Harbor because they were at sea, but move in close enough where we could actually launch a attack on Tokyo.

As little effect as it actually had, it was a big morale booster for the U.S. and for all the servicemen involved.

Host: Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle needed volunteer aircrews for this retaliatory strike against Japan, and those crews would be found here in Columbia, South Carolina.

Skipper: When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor morale was very low in the U.S. and through the military.

They wanted some way of coming in and showing that we could fight and we could build the morale back up.

Jimmy Doolittle was an aviator in the Army during World War I.

When World War II broke out, he was selected to do a special mission and to choose the teams that would fly this special mission.

South Carolina was a primary training base for B-25's at the time there were numerous bases around South Carolina, and they selected Columbia Army Air Base to be the focal point for that training.

The 17th Bomb Group was in Oregon, and they were reassigned here and used at Columbia Army Air Base to select the crews and to do a limited amount of training before moving on.

Host: The Army Air Corps needed an aircraft capable of taking off from a Navy aircraft carrier, a feat never attempted at that point in history.

U.S. Navy Captain Francis Low felt that twin engine Army bombers could take off from an aircraft carrier.

Colonel Doolittle was the perfect man to make that plan a reality.

Skipper: Other aircraft were considered, but B-25 had a couple of things: the size, it could carry a payload, and it had the range to do the mission.

But the unique thing about it was they needed something with those ingredients to be able to take off from a Navy aircraft carrier, which had never been done before.

And so therefore, it was selected as the aircraft of choice.

Host: On June 6th, 1944, on the exact same day as the D-Day invasion in Normandy a world away, here in South Carolina, low altitude bombing exercises were being conducted with B-25 trainees over Lake Greenwood.

During the course of those exercises, a B-25 C's propellers accidentally touched the water below, causing it to crash and sink into the lake where it rested for 39 years.

The plane was found intact in March 1983.

Mat Self, the son of Greenwood Mills founder Jim Self, organized a group to raise this B-25.

In cooperation with Senator Strom Thurmond and the U.S. Navy Reserves, the aircraft was salvaged from its watery grave.

Chuck Messick: In March of 1983, we went to search for the aircraft.

We brought some explosive ordnance disposal folks from from Charleston up to help us do the side scan sonar to look for the aircraft.

Well the EOD folks had arrived a day before we got there and was searching the lake for for the aircraft with the side scan sonar.

Then after that March weekend that we found the aircraft, we went back and started our process, worked at getting the tasking from the Navy to recover the aircraft, and then started the project for making a salvage plan, getting the assets available to us to make it work.

There were so many volunteer companies that provided things such as Duke Power provided some of the barges, things of that nature, and we scheduled it in August.

We came down here and we recovered the aircraft in a matter of ten days, I guess.

Host: After the bomber was recovered, it needed a home.

Columbia's Owen's Field Airport seemed the proper choice.

Skipper: Columbia had hosted Doolittle Raider reunions here in the past because they started at Columbia Army Air Base.

Their idea was to acquire this aircraft, bring it here and restore it for Doolittle Raider reunions that were going to be held here.

And because the money was invested by the city and by the county to do the restoration, of course, stayed here.

And logistically, it's difficult to move that large aircraft around anywhere.

So therefore, it just became home here for this aircraft.

Now some Columbia residents can remember way back when the name "Skunkie" was painted on the nose of this aircraft.

What is the story with that name?

Messick: That's an interesting story.

During the time we recovered the aircraft there's no pictures that show that there was a painted "Skunkie" on the side.

However, we knew it was named "Skunkie".

We knew so much that even Mat Self and his documents... Other documents that Strom Thurmond put out, some other documents the Navy put out referred to it as "Skunkie".

When we raised it there was some term that we found in the aircraft that called it "Skunkie".

Therefore, it's "Skunkie" with a I-E I believe, not a Y that we have gone with since that time.

Now I know there's been some skepticism about that and I don't have hard evidence, but I am fairly sure that that name "Skunkie" was on the aircraft or in the aircraft sometime when we found the aircraft.

We called it "Skunkie" from the day we raised her.

I was former military, he was former military and we know what service guys tend to do.

They'd like to name things and do that sort of thing.

Generally, training aircraft did not have a name.

They had "GF 2", they had serial numbers or a number of numbers to identify them.

They didn't have names.

If you can imagine, this is Ron Skipper's opinion if you can imagine, this aircraft sat on the bottom of a lake for 39 years, it became a fish habitat.

So when you pull that aircraft up, as we know some things have a tendency to start smelling of a lake which isn't always pleasant.

And there's plenty of red clay right there that you could easily scoop up some red clay and put the word "Skunkie" on the side of it because it probably had a little bit of a odiferous odor to it at the time.

But I also talked to the pilot, the student pilot Dan Rossman he said when he inspected the aircraft prior to flying it on that day he said he does not recall it ever having any name on that aircraft.

So out of respect to him, I've never called it "Skunkie".

Host: This B-25 "C" model is the last remaining aircraft from the fleet used to train the airmen who perpetuated Doolittle's legacy at Columbia Army Air Base.

There are only six B-25 C's left in existence.

Although she will never again take to the skies, she is currently undergoing restoration for static display.

The South Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation plans to use her as the centerpiece for a future aviation museum in the Palmetto State.

For more information about seeing this warbird for yourself visit www.SCHistoricAviation.org.

Not far to travel for our last artifact!

Located just down the road from Owens Field Airport, the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia features features an odd piece of Cold War weapon tech in its collection!

The M388 Battlefield Tactical Nuke nicknamed the "Atomic Watermelon", was launched from the rather ironically named "Davy Crockett" Recoilless Rifle!

It was tactical, but it wasn't precise.

The name I still find ironic that they named it after somebody that was very good with a rifle!

The "Davy Crockett" recoilless rifle and its M388 nuclear warhead were only in service together between 1961 to 1971.

The advent of nuclear weapons near the end of the Second World War changed global politics and warfare forever.

When Fat Man and Little Boy were unleashed over Japan, one war ended, but a new war was ushered in: The Cold War.

The East and West alike ramped up arms production and military strength, which included the development of more powerful atomic weaponry.

In the nuclear world however, bigger was not always better.

Nuclear weapons are highly destructive, and American leaders sought means of minimizing damage while still packing that atomic punch.

The M28 "Davy Crockett" Recoilless Rifle and its payload: the M388 nuclear bomb.

A big boom in a tiny package!

The South Carolina Military Museum's own Heather McPherson and Saddler Taylor join us to unveil the explosive history behind this Cold War relic.

My name is Heather McPherson.

I'm the Curator of Collections at the SC Military Museum.

My name is Saddler Taylor, and I'm the Executive Director of the SC Military Museum.

Thanks for joining us today, Heather!

Thanks for having us.

Now, who designed or manufactured this "Davy Crockett" weapon system?

So as you can see, it's kind of two different components.

So the warhead itself was created and developed by the Atomic Energy Commission, while the recoilless rifle weapon system was designed by the Army's Ordnance Corps.

The warhead was developed in 1957, while the "Davy Crockett" was kind of a prototype weapon system a year later.

Now, when you combine the two they were in service from 1961 to 1971 so about a decade.

The "Davy Crockett" was exclusively used by the U.S. Army.

It was not used in combat, not used in battle, but it was deployed to a few areas like West Germany, Okinawa, South Korea... and it was never actually live fired except in testing in Nevada.

So only two live warheads actually fired from it.

Host: Despite the deadly effects of this atomic payload, Army personnel humorously dubbed the M388 with the nickname the "Atomic Watermelon"!

Well as you can see it's kind of an oblong projectile, so the nuclear warhead is inside of this but the soldiers thought it looked really funny and kind of like a watermelon.

So they decided to name it the "Atomic Watermelon" because of the shape of the projectile.

Host: That covers the payload, but what about the launcher itself?

Why was the M28 named after the famous American frontiersman?

Heather: Davy Crockett was a tough American frontiersman and there was a kind of an old, tall tale about him wrestling a grizzly bear.

And during the time the "Davy Crockett" was being developed the Soviet Union was often portrayed as a bear and America was Uncle Sam or an eagle.

So they might have named the "Davy Crockett" after him, kind of as that fight against the bear, a.k.a.

the Soviet Union.

Host: Speaking of fighting the bear relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were tense during the Cold War.

The "Davy Crockett" launcher and its M388 warhead was one of many weapon systems developed as a deterrent to the spread of communism.

This "Red Scare" was viewed to be a very real threat.

Saddler Taylor: The "Davy Crockett", the Mike 28 or Mike 29, is a direct result of the arms race and the onset of the Cold War post Korea.

Try to take yourself back to the mid 50s, and the United States was very concerned about Russia essentially taking over Europe.

All signs pointed to Russia doing that.

That was their stated objective was to spread communism throughout Europe and really by proxy the world.

But Eisenhower, interestingly, he saw great value in tactical level nuclear capability, really for two reasons:.

one was to counter that Soviet threat, that spread of communism kind of the big picture, and the smaller picture was he saw great value in doing something that was cost effective and more important: tactical in that it would limit the amount of collateral damage.

He wanted the U.S. to have an arsenal that had strategic level nuclear weapons as a deterrent, but he saw great value in tactical level weapons systems, which is what "Davy Crockett" is.

So and that was largely, a way to limit the highly destructive nature of large scale nuclear weapons.

Host: Now that we know why this weapon was created... How did it work?

So they were very mobile, they could be manned by a 3 person crew.

It could be either deployed like this, on a tripod that people would carry around with them, or more commonly, it was put on the back of a Jeep.

It is a fission bomb very similar to the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Much smaller, obviously.

Think of it in the equivalency of TNT: it's about 10 to 20 tons.

The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima was about 16,000 tons equivalent of TNT.

It's considered a tactical nuclear warhead as opposed to a strategic nuclear warhead.

So it typically had the blast radius was about 500 feet.

That would level a building or anything standing within 500ft, it would level it.

Then out at about 1000ft was the radiation dispersion area.

You see all the sight assembly here that was all analogs, no digital technology.

What we would call a Fire Direction Center in an artillery unit, they would get coordinates; has personnel that take that data, do math, there's math involved.

So you would do those calculations and that would give you your sight data.

And then you would enter that sight data into this sight: direction, elevation, quadrant.

That's going to send that projectile generally where it needs to go.

Host: The "Davy Crockett" was only in service around ten years.

What factors led to its retirement?

It's ironic that it was named the "Davy Crockett" because Davy Crockett was known for his marksmanship, right?

He could shoot a squirrel out of a tree at 300 yards.

But this "Davy Crockett" was not accurate.

It was mainly an issue with accuracy as why it was kind of tabled.

We live in an age of digital technology precision weapon systems.

Two things that this was not that largely led to its demise.

So in the grand scheme of things, it had a real small, real short service history.

Knowing what we know about atomic dynamics now, I don't think it's a crew that many people would volunteer for.

Nowadays we think, well, who would want to be on that crew that's shooting a nuclear warhead and the range is only 1.7 kilometers?

Host: Although the "Davy Crockett" and the "Atomic Watermelon" are considered novelties compared to the weapons of today, we hope you had a blast learning about this piece of Cold War weapon tech!

Fear not, fellow viewers!

This journey may be coming to a close but there is much more to what all South Carolina has to offer when it comes to the mementos left behind by the cultures and people who helped shape our state's history.

I'm Andrew Davis.

Thank you for joining me on Curiosity Trek!

Until next time!