Personal artifacts recovered from submarine H.L. Hunley will remind The Charleston Museum visitors that crew members were regular people with 'hopes and fears'

Crew member's shoe before and after conservation (Friends of the Hunley)

Clothing and items belonging to the doomed crew of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley will go on display for the first time in an exhibit at The Charleston Museum that will feature mannequins and items related to each man.

“This exhibit, ‘Textiles from the Deep: Findings from the H.L. Hunley Submarine,’ offers fresh perspectives because it is the first time these newly conserved textile fragments will be on view for the public,” Virginia Theerman, curator of historic textiles at the museum, told the Picket in an email.

“Each crew member will have a slant board display with their archeological materials from inside the Hunley. There will also be a mannequin representing one interpretation of how that man might have been dressed, using garments primarily pulled from The Charleston Museum's collection," said Theerman. (Below, conservation of clothing, Friends of the Hunley)

The exhibit, which opens Oct. 3 and runs through April 4, features a silk bandana, shoe, buttons, brass oil can (still holding oil) and a thimble, among other artifacts. It is being sponsored by Friends of the Hunley and the South Carolina Hunley Commission.

On Feb. 17, 1864, Hunley made history by becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy warship. The 40-foot iron vessel -- bullets pinging off its iron exterior -- planted a torpedo in the hull of the Union ship USS Housatonic, setting off a charge that sent the Federal vessel and five crew members to the sandy bottom within minutes.

The Hunley and its eight-man crew disappeared beneath the waves and entered the realm of legend. To this day, historians, scientists and others debate what caused it to end up on the ocean floor. 

Since recovery from the Charleston Harbor in 2000, the submarine and the crew’s belongings have been undergoing extensive conservation at Clemon University's Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston. Some of the textile items were freeze-dried during conservation.

Kellen Butler, executive director of the friends group, told the South Carolina Daily Gazette the Lasch Center has been unable to display the textiles because of the lack of humidity controls.

The Picket has written previous posts on the conservation of clothing, which were made of cotton, wool or cashmere.

The knotted bandana (above, Friends of the Hunley) was worn around the neck of crew member James A. Wicks.

Wicks -- a Southerner by birth -- was in the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of the Civil War. When the USS Congress was crippled by the Confederate warship CSS Virginia at the Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862, he switched sides, according to the Friends of the Hunley. 

He was about 45 years old when he joined the Hunley mission.

“Given his personal history, it is not surprising Wicks is the only crew member known to be wearing a bandana around his neck, a common practice for enlisted Union sailors during that time,” surmised a 2007 article in the Friends' newsletter, "The Blue Light."

Wicks served on the CSS Indian Chief before Hunley skipper Lt. George Dixon chose him to be part of the eight-member crew.

The Friends says the father of four girls (left) stood nearly 5 feet 10 inches tall and was a heavy tobacco user. He had blue eyes and brown hair, according to records. His family was living in Florida when war broke out.

Wicks had the Hunley’s sixth crank position and in an emergency, his job was to release the aft keel block, should weight needed to be jettisoned so that the submarine could rise from the ocean floor.

His remains were found associated with seven US Navy buttons, which is consistent with his military service, according to the Friends of the Hunley. 

Theerman said The Charleston Museum has had two prior exhibitions on the Hunley, both more than 25 years ago.

“I hope visitors will take away a human feeling of recognition from long ago history -- the idea that each one of the crew was an everyday person with their own hopes and fears,” she said. “I also hope they will learn more about textile conservation, and the science of preserving such delicate materials.”

Refurbished oil can, naval buttons and thimble; click to enlarge (Friends of the Hunley)

Bird's-eye view of the Battle of Pickett's Mill: It's happy trails to old use of terrain map as park volunteer revamps it to add troop locations and names

Revamped map in Pickett's Mill museum (Michael Hitt and Civil War Picket photos)

A large terrain map showing the trail system at Pickett’s Mill battlefield in Georgia has been saved from the dustbin of history and is being modified to add troop and artillery locations and the names of blue and gray regiments that clashed there on May 27, 1864.

“People like details,” said Michael Hitt, a volunteer at Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site. “It causes you to start learning.”

The old map, which had been propped in the corner of an adjoining room, was to be thrown away. It had no information about the battle but was rather a basic visual guide to the trails.

Hitt, a Civil War researcher, envisioned another purpose.

He has been working on its new use for about three weeks, putting in about 50 hours as of Friday, when I paid a visit.

Whereas the map formerly was presented at an angle, the interpretive version rests flat on a platform, enabling visitors at the site in Paulding County to peer down from four angles, imagining the Confederate and Union perspectives. (See Picket video above for more detail)

Hitt has painstakingly put in small labels made of board. They denote military units, earthworks, mills and buildings present during the battle, which ended in a Confederate victory during “The Hell Hole” series of clashes there and at nearby Dallas and New Hope.

The Federal army suffered 1,600 casualties at Pickett’s Mill, compared to 500 for the South. The advance on Atlanta was delayed about a week. 

The board member with the Friends of Pickett’s Mill Battlefield painted the current trail system on the glass so people will be able to superimpose those and the map labels.

“The Pickett's Mill story will now be so much easier to understand,” the friends group said in a Facebook post.

“The idea is after people view it, from all angles, then go outside onto the battlefield, you should feel like you're in the model and you will know what took place and where. Just trying it makes history more enjoyable, as the park has only three historical markers.”

For a sense of scale, a house fits within a thumb nail, and a four-gun battery takes up the same amount of space. (Picket photos, above and left)

Unlike an electric map used in the old days at battlefields, this one is static, so it needs to capture a moment in time. Hitt chose 4 p.m., just before the futile Federal assaults began.

Hitt says the location of the map is a bonus. People will be able to look up at a series of maps on a nearby wall and see the progression of the fighting.

The volunteer would like to see more track lighting in the room to improve illumination above the map, but that likely will have to come later.

Work on the labels has been completed. Hitt on Friday showed me blue and gray construction paper and lists of regiments (Picket photos, below) he will use on the edges of the table to show who fought in the ravine and elsewhere on the well-preserved site. Asked how long it will take to finish the project, Hitt said it will be as long as it takes. (See Picket video above for more detail)

A reproduction 12-pounder howitzer that rests in the same room is positioned before a painting of a wooded area.

Hitt said that scene does not show trees and fauna that were at the battlefield, so he would like to have it redone.

Hitt is hopeful the changes will make for a better visitor experience.

“How can you make history more interesting to the average person?”

The visitor center and museum at Pickett’s Mill are open Friday-Sunday. The park is located at 4432 Mt. Tabor Church Road, Dallas, GA 30157

Under construction: The map and battlefield maps behind it (Picket photo)

The Dawkins House, seat of South Carolina's government in the chaotic end of the Civil War, gets $1.1 million for next phase of preservation work. Students at Union campus are learning about those who lived there

Rear of house includes 1760s section at right; beautiful saw cuts on wood, reworked windows (Courtesy Robert Schmitt)

About $1.1 million has been procured to fund the next phase of restoration for a home in Union, S.C., that briefly served as the office for the state’s governor after he fled Columbia during the Civil War. Construction is expected to begin next spring.

The nonprofit Preservation South Carolina made the announcement on social media this week, saying Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill last month allocating $800,000 for the ambitious project. Another $300,000 was garnered from corporate and private donors in Union County.

“Together, we are one step closer to preserving the Dawkins House for generations to come,” PSC said of the project milestone.

Stabilization of the once-dilapidated structure largely concluded in March 2025 and officials set about raising and seeking funds to perform the second phase. (January 2026 Picket photo, below)

But that doesn’t mean efforts related to the house are largely at a standstill.

Craftsman Robert Schmitt has continued to repair windows and sashes dating to the 1840s and a class at the University of South Carolina Union is digging up little-known facts about the Dawkins House and the people – free and enslaved – who lived there before, during and after the Civil War.

The house, a terminus residence situated on the USC Union campus at the end of Church Street, was nicknamed “The Shrubs” and was occupied by Judge Dawkins and his English-born wife Mary Poulton Dawkins. The 1850 Federal slave schedule indicates they owned about 20 enslaved persons before the war, but there may have been more on other properties the couple owned. 

Union, which is south of Spartanburg, briefly served as the Civil War capital of the state after Columbia fell to Union forces in 1865 and Gov. Andrew Magrath (right) fled to the town. From about Feb. 15, 1865, until early April, Magrath ran the state from the Dawkins House. He apparently worked in an informal library near the drawing room, which survives today.

According to histories and local legend, Magrath and his subordinates burned possibly incriminating documents and correspondence in the home’s fireplaces. (The building served as South Carolina's capitol while the city was briefly is capital.)

Magrath and his staff raced away from Union as Federal troops moved in. He was eventually captured on May 25, 1865, and imprisoned at Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Ga., until release that December.

Breaking down the project expense, timeline

The $300,000 state-funded Phase 1 of the work shored up the building. Phase 2 will be much more extensive and expensive. Objectives include:

-- Installation of new piers on concrete footings in the crawlspace;

-- Strengthening of porch, first and second floor framings, the roof system and all walls;

-- Installation of the required framing for a new interior staircase where the original historic, spiral staircase was located in the central hall. This will entail strengthening the floors and walls in this area, including any necessary new footings in the crawlspace.

Extensive repairs, upgrades are needed in structure (Preservation South Carolina)

Bill Comer, a Union native who is heading up the Dawkins House rehab project for PSC, told the Picket in an email Charleston-based Bennett Preservation Engineering will begin engineering design work in a couple weeks. Design, procurement and construction contracting are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2027, with Phase 2 construction beginning no later than April, he added

PSC said the final phase will cost about $500,000.

The group has been working with the USC Union campus and local leaders to rehabilitate the house into an alumni and corporate center for the college.

Robert Schmitt keeps at it, one pane at a time

One of nearly three dozen windows at the property (Robert Schmitt photo)

Robert Schmitt, 76, has thus far repaired 15 windows at the Dawkins House. The restoration expert has taken out old window glass, removed rot and replaced weathered glazing.

He has identified nails that were used in the original section of the house built in the 1760s, and some that were used to build the 1845 addition. Some of the glass panes are original to the 1845 house, but Schmitt has taken about a dozen from his stock for replacements.

Schmitt first completed the 10 windows and 20 sashes at the front of the dwelling. He is keeping them at his home until the house is farther along. 

“The front wall is very, very wavy,” he told the Picket.

He said the old windows are wonderful because of their craftsmanship. “These parts were probably not made on site. Most of the mill work was from Charleston.” He doesn’t believe any of the windows date to the 1760s.

About 70 percent of the glass in those windows is original.

The attractive transom at the front entrance likewise should be temporarily removed when work resumes, Schmitt added. “It is probably a step up from what you usually see.” 

Unfortunately, he said, the top of the feature is obscured by the low roof above the porch. (At left, Picket photo of Comer (left) and Schmitt in front of the transom.)

Schmitt recently completed work on five attic windows, but says about 19 windows on the house are still to be repaired. “I am ready to crank back up.”

College class spotlights the enslaved

Andrew Kettler, assistant professor of history at the two-year USC campus at Union, has been teaching a new course related to the Dawkins House for about a month.

“HIST 480-701 -- Internship in Public History” is heavy on research, with a focus on library, courthouse and genealogical records. (Excerpt from a Kettler PowerPoint, below)

The two students, working like detectives, are digging up records from myriad sources, such as death schedules and wills. If they can find a Dawkins will, it may list enslaved persons and what they may have received upon Thomas’s death. That could help the effort to find out more about those individuals.

There’s a lot at stake. Supporters say it’s important the full history of the home and its occupants be told, warts and all. Union County has a long segregation history and the area was known for Ku Klux Klan activity and postwar lynchings. There have been recent efforts, however, to acknowledge that history. Kettler said there is much more to learn.

Officials say they want the building also to be aimed at the future and bring new attention to USC Union, which has a growing enrollment. Currently, it has about 1,400 students; many are affiliated with the athletics programs.

“This is the first time for PSC to have a class that is going on at the same time as one of its preservation projects,” said the professor.

Kettler said students will begin a formal Dawkins family tree next week. They are currently writing short essays based on letters (one at right) written in the early 19th century.

The USC Union Reasearch Club will be assisting the endeavor. "We aim to cultivate an atmosphere of intellectual curiosity on the USC Union campus among students, faculty, and staff, which will nurture a more general love of learning," the group says of its mission.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HOUSE

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/08/history-investigators-ambitious-college.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/04/as-fundraising-intensifies-to-fix-up.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2026/01/scs-civil-war-governor-slept-and-likely.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2025/09/craftsman-has-window-to-history-of-home.html

Three factories were in production along Georgia's Sweetwater Creek when the Yankees showed up in 1864. One mill was burned. What happened to the others?

The falling water and shoals of Sweetwater Creek west of Atlanta attracted mill operators a decade or so before the Civil War came calling.

Besides the New Manchester textile site, which was famously burned in July 1864 by Union cavalry and the workers subsequently shipped north, two other mills were close by -- the Ferguson mill upstream and James M. Alexander’s timber and flour operation just to the south. They were near the small community of New Manchester in what is now called Douglas County.

Adrian Fox, interpretive ranger at Sweetwater Creek State Park, recently showed me a small part of the ruins of the Angus Ferguson timber and flour mill, which also had a small cotton gin. A few stone pilings remain in the creek.

Click to see details on three mill operations along Sweetwater Creek (Picket photo)

Records show Ferguson ran up a white flag of surrender to Union forces. Did it prevent destruction?

Let’s step back a moment, before attempting to answer that question.

Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman had a specific strategy for his troops when they came across mills.

“One of his objectives was to destroy any industry that might be of use to the Confederate government. Now in many cases, he would leave a flour mill, because he was uncertain how long his own troops would be here, and if they were here for a prolonged period of time, they might need flour,” Charlie Crawford of the Georgia Battlefields Association told Georgia Public Television several years ago.

“And so he didn’t destroy every flour mill. But a paper mill or anything that was essentially superfluous to his efforts, but yet might aid the Confederacy, was fair game.”

The New Manchester mill and supporting buildings were fair game, given it was known to produce fabric for the Confederate army. Two mills in Roswell were destroyed, along with a paper mill in Cobb County.

There’s no evidence Alexander’s mill was burned, but there are conflicting accounts on Ferguson’s (left), which was on the part of the creek called Factory Shoals. (A road by that name is the main road in the park.)

Lisa Land Cooper, in her blog “The Story Behind the History,” wrote farmers brought grain to be ground into meal and flour, timber from nearby forests was cut into lumber, and locally produced bricks supplied construction projects throughout the area.

“It was a staple resource for the folks who would have lived out here especially prior to the New Manchester mill being built” in the 1840s, said Fox.

“There nothing in the official war correspondences saying the Ferguson mill was burned. We can see its only mention (above) is the usage of the bridge at that site to get across Sweetwater Creek,” said Fox.

“We know the Ferguson mill immediately surrendered when the union arrived," she added. "The worst damages the Ferguson mill sustained were the loss of grain to feed horses and a few burned bags of wool, but both the building and the machinery were left untouched.”

That contention is cited in the 1987 book “Douglas County Georgia: From Indian Trail to Interstate 20.”

Scenic shoals at Sweetwater Creek (Georgia State Parks)

While Cooper acknowledges some accounts show little damage by Union troopers, she cites an alleged letter by a relative of Ferguson, saying the mill and workshop were burned. It was later rebuilt, Cooper said

Fox said the mill, in fact, was left standing, and the primary miller on site after the war was Orange Bowden, who was formerly enslaved.

A faded sign along Sweetwater Creek (Picket photo, below) details the New Manchester company store and Ferguson’s brick-making operations (at left), which employed enslaved workers and made bricks for the New Manchester mill. At five stories,the mill was the tallest structure in the region.

Cooper’s article said remains of a second Ferguson mill were an attraction into the 20^th century, drawing fisherman and campers. Angus is buried in a small family cemetery inside the park. 

READ MORE ABOUT NEW MANCHESTER:

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2013/07/howls-of-protest-georgia-women-mill.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2017/08/action-civil-war-textile-mill-near.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2017/09/support-team-crew-finishes-work-that.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2010/10/remarkable-story-of-french-flag-ruse.html

Rangers at Kennesaw Mountain battlefield will remind visitors to use proper bike, walking lanes on reopened Mountain Road. You can take a shuttle, but not a car

(Photos Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park)

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park -- nearing the end of a major safety improvement project --- has officially reopened Mountain Road with marked lanes for walking and bicycling. A shuttle van will continue to take riders to the summit.

No private vehicles are allowed on the 1.6-mile paved road to the top of the Civil War site northwest of Atlanta. For a time, there will be continued education of visitors about the changes.

“We know new markings can take a little getting used to, so thanks in advance for your patience and for looking out for fellow visitors,” the park said Wednesday about the nine-month project.

Ray Hamel, chief of interpretation, said Thursday there will be increased patrols to help ensure everyone is following the new regulations: 

-- Pedestrians can walk only in a designated lane, keeping left on the way up, right on the way down. “We’re aware of (social media) comments about pedestrians spreading out across the road, and we’ll continue addressing that through both education and enforcement,” Hamel told the Picket in an email.

-- Cyclists may use the road seven days a week, within the designated hours and marked lane. For summer, that is 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; for winter, 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

-- The summit shuttle bus runs daily 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. There is no charge to ride beyond the standard park entrance fee. It has a powered wheelchair lift, and the van can accommodate riders using wheelchairs.

-- Private vehicles are not permitted. “There is a gate at the bottom of the road that will prevent unauthorized vehicle access. Since reopening, we’ve had very few incidents of private vehicles getting through, and when it happens, we respond quickly,” said Hamel.

Superintendent Patrick Gamman said a sidewalk to the Mountain Road bus turnaround should be completed by next week. A soft opening for Mountain Road was held Tuesday, he told the Picket.

Park officials say Mountain Road had seen increased traffic incidents and medical emergencies before work began late last year. (At left, Picket photo from before lane striping)

While cars, when not attended to properly, are the most inherently dangerous of the three modes of transportation, pedestrians and bicyclists often have close calls and incidents. That’s why each bicyclists and pedestrians will now be in separate lanes.

As the surrounding area has continued to grow, the park has become one of the last remaining greenspaces in the metro Atlanta region. That growth has brought challenges in accommodating an increasingly recreation‑centered visitor base, park officials said.

“Following an increase in near misses and accidents, the new design is intended to facilitate safer accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists, and runners, while better supporting the park’s evolving role in the community,” said Hamel.

Some commenters on social media lament restricted hours for bicyclists and the end to auto travel to the top.

For those who do venture up, you get great views of the skyline and buildings below as you travel the winding road. Many visitors undertake the popular walkup trail. (For the curious, the summit is 1,808 feet above sea level.)

A few signs along the road indicate Confederate cannon and defensive positions from June 1864.

There’s a few for Maj. Gen. Edward Walthall’s division, namely the Quarles and Reynolds brigades. At the top while visiting in January, I used a marker to match views of Marietta and Atlanta and saw one listing 14 Georgia generals who fought for the Rebel army at Kennesaw Mountain.

A marker provides details on what can be scene from near the summit (Picket photos)

And above that is a cool stretch of emplaced cannons mimicking the Confederate positions.

The park thanked visitors for their understanding.

“Visitor reactions have been generally positive,” said Hamel. “Patrons have adjusted smoothly to the changes, and we’ve heard appreciation for the improved flow and safety features.”