The light was spotted by rebel sentries, but it would also be the last known contact with the sub. Some time afterward, the vessel sank for a still undetermined reason. Theories for the sinking range from the Hunley being hit by another Union ship, or possibly being penetrated by small arms fire from sailors aboard the Housatonic. Dixon's remains have not yet been removed from the Hunley. One of the questions to be answered when Dixon's skull is examined is whether he was wounded before the sub sank.
Officials plan to release an X-ray picture of the lamp today.
The lantern reportedly was found beneath the air bellows that helped circulate breathing air through the sub. The bellows was also removed this weekend, giving archaeologists more room to move around. Of all the men on the final Hunley crew, authorities know the most about Dixon. He reportedly came from Kentucky, worked around boats for a time, and enlisted in the Confederacy's 21st Alabama Regiment when the war broke out. He was wounded at the battle of Shiloh in 1862, but his life was spared when a Union bullet smacked into a gold coin in his pocket, preventing serious injury.