While on the route to Columbia the wagons and horses started to get bogged down on the marshy ground 4 miles North of Athens, Alabama. The Confederate escort unit got away, but when they reported to whomever they were supposed to report to in the east and were asked about the gold shipment, they told him about running into some yankees and that it had been hidden to keep the yankees from getting it in case they were killed or captured. The image of stacks of gold bars imprinted with "C.S.A" is tantalizing. A member of the society said there is no historical evidence that gold is buried in the area. What remained of the Confederate treasury, in the form of gold and other valuable coins, was disbursed as payroll to Confederate troops during its transport south. General Duke and his men as each man under his command received as payment the sum of $26.25, which amounted to a total of about $26,250. C.E. Legend of the Lost Confederate Gold Posted on December 5, 2020 December 31, 2020 by Terry W. Platt Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. Levi and his brother George were interpreters and negotiators that worked with U.S. Indian Agent John Dabney Terrell Sr. of Marion County Alabama. The funds were then stored there in a vault at a local bank, and within days after the war ended, the Richmond banks had their funds returned to Richmond on five wagons. Two treasure hunters are hot on the trail of $2 million worth of Confederate gold bullion that went missing in the 1800s. What Confederate Money (paper notes) that they had was burned at Washington, Ga. in the middle of town by Brig. I have not heard of both of these stories. Confirmed. Apparently in 1865, $100,000 of gold and silver was put into two large metal boxes by Confederate troops, and then thrown into the swamp. But with 100 acres to cover and now metal detectors back then it was never found. They never made it. If you ever dreamed of finding a treasure hidden by an outlaw, gangster, or a wealthy person, but was not sure where to start. Heirloom Seal of the Realm. I have also researched the legend of Keel Mountain, I agree the O.R. Which leads us to today. In early 1865 when the Yankees under Gen. James H. Wilson were burning Selma, and it was pretty much a given that they were coming to Montgomery next, the local polititians and civic leaders had two steam barges loaded with all of Montgomery's (the Capital of Alabama) money, gold, valuables, and even silverware and jewelry from shops and . I doubt very seriously that any of the phantom confederate gold myths are real. A message was sent to the Justice Department seeking comment on the suit, which asks a judge to order the FBI to immediately turn over the records. History, that is to say old rumors, tells us that a giant cache of gold was buried within walking distance of my house. Probably. General Dukes Brigade. Thats where the bad news begins. They worked hard to get good lands out west which the U.S. Government was trying to move them to. Should Ken Burns start working on a new special? The FBI has long insisted the March 2018 dig came up empty, but the agency has consistently stymied the Paradas' efforts to obtain information. Martha Mizell Puckett, the author of Snow White Sands, had failed to include footnotes, references or even a simple bibliography to support the presence of gold in Brantley County. It seems tales about long-lost Civil War gold will not go away, even though for the last 156 years people have looked unsuccessfully across the country for it. 1. These were enormous-sized boxes measuring from 3 deep x 2 wide x 4 long. These legends are fueled by the fact that the state was a hub . The FBI claimed their 2018 dig came up empty, but treasure hunters Dennis and Kem Parada aren't so sure. Is there $54 million worth of Civil War gold buried in Dents Run? Standing a discrete distance away and watching were Dennis and Kem Parada, owners of Finders Keepers, who still believe well, you known their name. Expand. There are many different stories of where on his plantation the gold was hidden. In April of 1862, Union Army Brigadier General Orsmby M. Mitchel left Nashville, Tennessee and moved his small army southward through Shelbyville toward Huntsville, Alabama. You are using an out of date browser. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. In the waning days of the war, in April 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond with a trainload of what was left of the Confederate treasury . Originally published Aug 3, 2007 Last edited Mar 26, 2020. The Chickasaw Chief and some of his braces took the treasure the Spaniards had left behind and hide it in a big limestone cave which was located on the northern bank of the Tennessee River. Imperial Seal of China created by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, lost after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the 10th century. Of particular note, Wayne J. Lewis researched the connection between the Confederate gold and the Mumford estate due to his personal interest in the legend. Jean Lafitte the French Privateer and Pirate is said to have spent a considerable amount of time visiting Fort Morgan, Alabama. It was the summer of 1863, and Union Lieutenant Castleton and his men were lost. Many attempts at recovering her gold and silver cache have come up empty. The belief that Confederate gold is buried in Wilkes County has persisted since the end of the war. Please enter valid email address to continue. The Confederacys Ferrous Stonewall in a Far East Civil War. If you are venturing on to State or Federal lands. Some of the treasure had been retained by Brig. The balance of the captured treasure was assembled and loaded into wagons for transport to Washington, D.C. Hansen stayed with his friends for a few days hiding under the floor when Union Soldiers would come by. Win McNamee/Getty Images. was the operator of a ferry during the Civil War, on the Perdido River. JavaScript is disabled. We are situated in a flat, cotton friendly region which once hosted the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians. As soon as they spent all the gold and silver they came back for more. There you go its all about rights again. JavaScript is disabled. The wreck is still there and its treasure is waiting to be recovered! There is also a story of a cross embedded with jewels that were put in a well by pirates that never came back to claim it. Then check out 14 Lost Treasures of Wisconsin. Then, after the Justice Department ordered a more thorough review, the FBI said its records were exempt from public disclosure. The story has it that Mr. Clemens buried $100,000 worth of gold on his property because he was worried about losing it. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. The officer brought troops to Henrys home in the hopes of getting Henry to tell them where his treasure was hidden. 2nd Alabama Cavalry said: There seems to have been a great deal of attention placed on finding the "Lost Confederate Treasure" which has spanned the last 154 years since the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis on 10 May 1865 at Irwinville, Ga., which brought the Civil War to a close. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Until next time Happy Treasure Hunting! Treasure hunters who believe they found a huge cache of fabled Civil War-era gold in Pennsylvania are now on the prowl for something as elusive as the buried booty itself: government records of the FBI's excavation. However, his business fortunes suffered great losses throughout the course of the war. Norfolk Southern train derails in Springfield, Ohio, At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to "take some time away" from the team after allegedly brandishing a gun in a club, How Paul Murdaugh testified "from the grave" to help convict his father, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Promising drug could provide alternative to statins, new study finds, Iran to allow more inspections at nuclear sites, U.N. says, NTSB to investigate in-flight turbulence that left 1 passenger dead. Eventually the responsibility for the treasure was passed on to the Secretary of War, John C. Breckenridge, who then placed Brig. It is said that he would only accept gold coins as payment for the ground corn and flour that he sold. A man named Hardy Clemens who was a rich businessman, politician, and farmer bought a few acres of land in Coaling, Alabama on the shores of Big Sandy Creek in 1845. The gold became a lost legend. state of Alabama. La Bellone ran aground at the entrance of Pelican Bay in September of 1724 which is on the east end of Dauphin Island. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. They tried to get the horses and wagons out of the swampy area but the load was too heavy and the wagons got stuck. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. The really big lost treasure is that of the Confederate Treasury in custody of Jeff Davis upon leaving Richmond, fleeing the Yankee hordes. This little island has been cut off from the outside world until just recently when a bridge was built that goes from the mainland of Alabama across the Mississippi Sound to Dauphin Island. By all accounts, $100,000 in gold and silver coins was being transported by wagon in two wooden crates. Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush. Also called hard currency. Subscribe Today! This ended in the Trail of Tears that forced the Indians out. pistelero, everyone knows that confedereate gold was made and distributed throughout the south, and some stories about hidden treasure are real. Bushes envelop the pig farm, and the cemetery is wooded over. near a point where route 90 crosses the river. In conclusion, historical research has determined only $70,000 of the gold belonging to the banks in Richmond is missing, but not lost, as it was accounted for in the robbery during its shipment back to Richmond. He ran an inn and Ferry that became known as Buzzard Roost in 1801. However, despite searches conducted throughout the years, nothing of value has ever been found there. In June 1863, President Lincoln ordered two wagons with false bottoms to carry anywhere from 26 to 52 gold bars weighing 50 pounds each from Wheeling, West Virginia, 400 miles north to Pennsylvania to pay the Union troops . Levi Colbert who lived from 1759 to1834 was the bench chief of the Chickasaw Nation. In 1810, King Kamehameha was the first king to bring all the islands of Hawaii under his control. Finders Keepers filed a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department over its failure to produce documents on the FBI's search for the legendary gold, which took place nearly four years ago at a remote woodland site in northwestern Pennsylvania. Plus, as others have pointed out, gold weighs alot. This means that certain products that you may see advertised on this site I get paid a small commission if that product is clicked on AND purchased by you. Image from Life and Confession of the Noted Outlaw James Copeland, University of Mississippi Press. Dictionary of Banking Terms.). The abandoned town of Demopolis can be found near the Tombigbee River, close to the intersection of routes 80 and 43. Another account maintains Jefferson Davis entrusted the entire Confederate treasury into the care of Sylvester Mumford. However, although the banks and the Confederacy had shipped their gold on the same train, each had its own security forces and the gold was never commingled. But the runway incident is a real one. While they fought the commander detailed a couple of men to hide the gold. It would be a great place to find all kinds of history and relics that might still be strewn about by all those army camps. Near Athens there may be a Confederate treasure. 3. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. I guess this happened more often than we would think. The legend of James Copeland, along with his treasure, is largely drawn from the somewhat questionable account of Sheriff J.R.S. Henry refused and was subsequently strung up to a tree and whipped. Lt. General Richard Taylor would surrender the Department of Alabama . One time in Montgomery, in the late '80s, or early '90s, I was finishing some sheetrock in a small business, in sort of a row of businesses in the same long building. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. In the 1966 Spaghetti Western film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the . Railroad Bill finally met his doom when a $500 reward was issued for him dead or alive. Original: Feb 28, 2018. 28. The two trains left Richmond at midnight and when the tracks ended at Danville, Davis and his staff began to travel south on horseback. The area was then abandoned around 1830. I did not know of this event until I had moved to California, but I have retired and have relatives and land in the area. Will the FBI abscond with it? Captian Seigneur de Beauchamp was able to get her anchored in the harbor without any damage. In 1975, amateur fortune hunters, now called Finders Keepers USA, claim they heard about the gold from a mysterious stranger and began looking, using a map he drew for them. ****************. Others suggest he buried it underneath his home or by the cotton gin. Mr. Sharps would take a shovel and sack with him on these treks into the woods. He is said to have stored the gold and silver coins that he got from the Ferry goers in wine casks. The duo heard about the legend from Kevin and decided to help him in his adventure. It also carried bullion, donated jewelry, and 7Isaac W. Avery, The History of the State of Georgia From 1850 to 1881 (NewYork . Some of the most valuable placers in Alabama are found in Cleburne County. Because it was in a state park, they were told to stop looking. The ferry was used by Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. She questioned whether the agency is "acting in good faith.". You see people didnt trust the banks back then because they were often robbed and the insurance programs of the Federal Government were not that good. They also covered the boxes with straw and fertilizer to conceal the treasure within. Explore Alabama - ALABAMA TREASURE LEGENDS Table of Contents: Alabama Treasure Legends, Legend of the Lost Confederate Gold, Old Flint River Settlement Gold, $30000 in Gold Coin Buried in Bridgeport Alabama, Loot Buried by Levi Colbert in Buzzard Roost Alabama , Rumors of Buried Treasure in Demopolis Alabama (White Bluff), C. Boaz Whitfield . The ruins of the plantation still remain to this day. The church petitioned the court to expand the scope of the scholarships by including residents of counties which immediately surrounded Brantley and by defining an orphan as a child who had lost at least one parent. If its there Im all for digging it up. The Hero of Gettysburg Surveyed the Great Lakes. According to the legend, none of Castletons group of eight cavalrymen and one guide named Connors knew about the gold. I got the Keel Mountain story from a treasure hunter in west Tennessee, and it was a small, one-paragraph statement. The lost confederate payroll and The fabled lost confederate treasury. It was then settled by wealthy plantation owners and then vacated around 1860. buried treasures may be here. Millions of dollars' worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for after the war, and its possible location has been the source of speculation of many historians and treasure hunters. You could argue the Delosie Mine belongs to North Carolina AND Tennessee, as it used to lie right on the border. Few mysteries present themselves so close to home. A man by the name of C.E. Due to the moral and legal concerns about restricting the fund to white orphan girls, the church then petitioned the court to open the scholarship to all ethnic groups. Captain Parker and the treasure, now moved to wagons, were directed to the old U.S. Mint at Charlotte, North Carolina, which was considered the safest storage place. Another had the group split up because of Castletons fever, with the lieutenants group taking the gold and disappearing. Looking For a Top Rated Metal Detector That Wont Cost You Thousands of Dollars but works like a $2000 machine? With the Davis party was a navy paymaster, James S. Semple. In fact, when she died in 1946 at age 99 in Washington, D.C., she bequeathed almost $600,000 to the children of Brantley County through an endowment and two scholarship funds. La Bellone didnt make it and sank near the entrance to Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island. The duo focused on a spot where they say their instruments detected a large metallic mass. Supposedly, Nunez buried a treasure of approximately $200,000 somewhere So with no luck finding the treasure he packed up and moved to California. Several legends, actually. With Union troops closing in on the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, in early April 1865, President Jefferson Davis and the rest of his . The Rebel and the Rose"" reveals for the . The Indians thought this request to be outrageous and attacked De Sotos camp. By the time that the trea-sure train under Confederate naval captain William Harwar Parker gold and silver coins. You are using an out of date browser. Postal Service in 2000 and still has family and friends in Brantley County. Morris started robbing trains because he was angry with the Louisville and Nashville railroad because a brakeman found him on a train ride that was headed for Mobile that he didnt pay for. Most if not all of them take place well into the war, and by then the confederate had serious cash flow issues. The trapper ended up not marrying the chiefs daughter and he went away freely although he killed two braves to make sure he was able to leave. After meeting with the treasure hunters in early 2018, the FBI brought in a contractor with more sophisticated instruments. Here are a few of the gems and buried treasure in Virginia that we managed to dig up. She would then sail the goods back to France. Henry Nunez Morris was formerly a skilled circus performer and had an athletic build which made getting on off trains a breeze. Rutherford B Hayes Presidential Library & Museum, William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, On Trees and Forests: Correcting Historys View of J. Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln on Emancipation Proclamation Day, January 1, 1863, General Burnside of Burnsides Bridge Fame Faced Infamy at Fredericksburg for Lack of a Bridge. I was born and raised in the area. It was said that many riders were so overloaded that they later discarded or hid large quantities of the coins all over Wilkes County. I live n the the ala state line and have pulse and gpr if anyone is interested in searching, Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Near Athens, Alabama, in Limestone County Alabama, there may be a Confederate treasure. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. The daughter didnt want anything to do with the braces that her father presented to her but she had an infatuation with the white trapper who recently came around. So many of them buried their gold and silver for safekeeping. but where did the money come from? In 1720 there was a trapper that came to the Chickasaw village. . The area was founded by exiled followers of Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800's. So with Jesse James spending time and hiding out, its only natural that many believe that he would have buried treasure in and around these areas of Alabama. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. However, their work created great doubt that any lost Confederate gold ever existed in the first place. The story of this lost treasure dates back to 1540 when the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was in this part of the New World. After some minor resistance from roving Confederate bands, on April 11, 1862, his Union troops marched into Huntsville and occupied the city. The brakeman subsequently threw him off the moving train. By all accounts, he stayed by the tracks between Atmore and Bay Minette Alabama stealing from the trains every chance he got. Hello all, Any of y'all ever read or hear of the Confederates escorting $250,000.00 in gold to the east coast in 1864 being attacked about two miles east of Tallassee, Alabama near or crossing a little creek? The contractor detected an underground mass that weighed up to nine tons and had the density of gold, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed last year at the request of news organizations, including The Associated Press. The Nunez Ferry ran for 47 years from 1815-1919. They loaded the two boxes of treasure onto two wagons and headed for Columbia. In 2012, Finders Keepers members said they'd found the location of . This rumor of buried treasure in Wilkes County nevertheless spawned a legend involving a family of local repute, the Mumfords, and the location of the lost Confederate gold. The courts eventually agreed with the federal government, who claimed the funds because the Richmond banks had aided a rebellion by making loans to the Confederacy. Louina was forced to leave Alabama during the Trail of Tears and sold her trading post Isham T. Weathers. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. According to most news accounts and his website, hes been fighting for the right to dig there ever since. He waited there until spring and set off to sail back to France at the beginning of April 1725. Paul Seaburn is the editor at Mysterious Universe and its most prolific writer. The wreck of an unidentified wooden ship that was initially uncovered by Hurricane Camille in 1969 can be found about 6 miles from Fort Morgan along Alabama's Gulf . It may not display this or other websites correctly. In his early years, he was a sailor with the pirate Jean Lafitte. Initially, with one-third of her estate, the will established the Sylvester Mumford Memorial Endowment at the Thornwell Orphanage in Clinton, South Carolina, which was founded in 1875 and is now known as the Thornwell Home and School for Children. In late May 1861, Jefferson Davis, the former Mississippi Senator and the reluctant president of the seceding Confederate States of America, moved the capital of the CSA from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia to boost the morale of the Confederate troops and weld Virginia to the Confederacy. In recent years, the number of students receiving tuition assistance has fluctuated between ten and twelve. This is the tale of what happened to the Confederate Treasury. rjcox / flickr. Visit here for more information on State laws regarding relic hunting, treasure hunting, and artifacts. According to local lore, the gold was lost or stolen during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. His farm can be found off of Nicholasville Road North of Stone Road. The Ghost Town of Old Cahaba located on route 22 approximately 14 miles southwest of Selma, was used as a Confederate Fort during the Civil War. The troops were trying to keep the gold and silver away from Union soldiers. There are a few instances of the plantation ruins that still remain to this day including the spring where the cotton gin was. CSS Texas was the third and last Columbia-class (or Tennessee-class according to some sources) casemate ironclad built for the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.Not begun until 1864 and intended to become part of the James River Squadron, she saw no action before being captured by Union forces while still fitting out.CSS Texas was reputed to have been one of the very best . Named after one president, Thomas Jefferson, he went on to marry the daughter of another, Zachary Taylor. Im not sure of the accuracy of this story but here it goes. Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. Her book alleged that New York native and Confederate sympathizer Sylvester Mumford was present at the Confederacys final cabinet meeting in Washington, Georgia, and claimed that Jefferson Davis divided the gold among those present and instructed them to use the money as they felt best. The Chief agreed but he had other intentions as well. circa 990-995. There's a book out called " Confederate Gold" I haven't read it but it may give some clues. His What in the World! podcast is a fun look at the latest weird and paranormal news, strange sports stories and odd trivia. It is said that some of those wine casks of gold and silver coins are stilled buried near his home. The American Civil War may be about to start up again and not for any of the reasons you might think. "There was a tremendous amount of gold that went missing during the Civil War," added author William Rawlings, who has written about a rumored Confederate treasure of gold and silver that went . More Controversy on the Roswell Affair: An Alien Accident? Mystery Gulf Coast shipwreck. The attack happened in March of 1865. The existence of caches of hidden or lost Confederate gold has been the source of numerous Georgia legends. The FBI has since dragged its feet on the treasure hunters' Freedom of Information Act request for records, their lawyer said Wednesday. In April 1865, the Civil War ended for most Americans. She made her money by running a trading post and she was one of the only Indian women to have owned slaves. Some think its on the Alabama side while others say its on the Florida side. Civil War shipwrecks in Alabama were concentrated mostly in and around Mobile Bay. The town of Louina lasted from 1834-1902. When he would return he wouldnt have the sack with him. The Missing Confederate Gold, Raid at Chennault, Georgia, May 24, 1865. Here we go! So get your picks, shovels, and metal detector ready as we go through the 15 lost treasures of Alabama. . A big oak tree stands where his house was. Davis was attending church services on Sunday, April 2, 1865 when he learned that Lees defensive line at Petersburg had been broken and the evacuation of Richmond was imminent. Indeed, no one who was an eyewitness to the events ever documented that the gold was actually lost. Your email address is safe, and unsubscribing is easy. First published on January 6, 2022 / 11:11 AM. Ill Trade You a Fredericksburg for a Winchester and a Pea Ridge. Hanson wounded the last Union soldier but he got away. Lost Confederate Gold As the end of the Civil War became imminent, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled his capital city of Richmond, Virginia. monkey business strain,
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