Mark K. Ragan is an author and historian specializing in submarines and the civil war, who also owns and operates his own K-250 submarine in Maryland. His work on the the CSS Hunley submarine has been lauded as the definitive effort on the history of the world's first successful submarine used in naval warfare. The Hunley also brought to the public's attention the story of the twenty-dollar gold piece, which reputedly saved Lieutenant Dixon's life at the battle of Shiloh, and introduced Miss Queenie Bennett, Dixon's Alabama sweetheart. The fabled coin was recovered from the Hunley's interior during excavation. Ragan is the former Hunley Project Historian and has served as consultant for TNT's movie The Hunley and has appeared in numerous documentaries related to The Hunley, the Civil War and submarines. He current work involves Civil War flying machines and is the subject of the upcoming National Geographic documentary Confederate Flying Machines premiering May 10th.
