[1] The gold was temporarily stored at the Iron Bank by William H. Young. The Confederate gold, again, showed up in the 1994 sci-fi movie, Timecop. Given how much it cost to go to war, higher-ups in the Confederacy began requesting donations. Generally, it went like this:An individual or his friends would get a tip or a hunchthat some vacant plotheld the secret wealthand out would come the shovels. A battle took place on one of his plantations in central Alabama in October 1779 and the plantation was destroyed. 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. Here is an OP that I posted on it a couple of months ago, to include sharing a couple of photos of one of the coins that he was paid on 4 May 1865, once they crossed the Savannah River and Breckinridge was more . Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads. 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. The below mentioned George Trenholm incidentally, accompanied Davis on part of his flight but dropped out prematurely due to ill health, which was taken as circumstantial evidence by his Union accusers, when they later accused Trenholm of theft. Instead of Liverpool, Semple eventually got as far as Nassau, after hiding out in the Okefenokee Swamp along the Georgia-Florida border for months. He tried to locate the treasure but the landscape had changed so much over the years. According to Beauregard's biography, "What became of that coin is a mystery. Sharps had a nephew named Grady Sharps who witnessed his uncle go into his 100 acres of forest that he owned south of Whites Mill. La Bellone didnt make it and sank near the entrance to Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island. The whole of this region was captured by the Northern forces early in the Civil War. Onto the second were loaded all the cash reserves of the Confederacy (including gold, silver and other coins), as well as the gold reserves owned by Richmonds banks and a large amount of jewelry donated by Confederate women to the cause. Hanna, The Long Surrender by Burke Davis in 1985, and in 2001, An Honorable Defeat: the Last Days of the Confederate Government by Williams C. Davis, the mystery of the disappearing gold was unresolved. The ruins of the plantation still remain to this day. Many posses were formed looking for Railroad Bill. Hansen and some other Alabama citizens raised quite a bit of capital in the form of gold and silver bullion and coins. In his early years, he was a sailor with the pirate Jean Lafitte. The coins are buried on city-owned land, and Danville officials, concerned about disturbing graves, continue to refuse all requests to dig, even test holes. 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. According to local lore, the gold was lost or stolen during the1863 Battle of Gettysburg. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. The wreck is still there and its treasure is waiting to be recovered! The town of Louina lasted from 1834-1902. The duo focused on a spot where they say their instruments detected a large metallic mass. Hardy Clemens died in 1863 leaving no trace of where he hid his treasure. An aspect of the treasure that Clark omitted concerned the fate of 39 kegs of Mexican silver dollars. Alabama, The Heart of Dixie as its nicknamed was the 22nd state to be admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. When Union troops were on the verge of invading New Orleans, Confederates quickly removed millions of dollars of gold to a "safer" location, the city of Columbus, Georgia. CBS News affiliate WTAJ-TVreported members of the Elk County Historical Society say they believe the gold is just an old wives' tale. (The fleeing Confederates also carried about $450,000 in Richmond bank gold, but wouldnt touch those funds, as they didnt belong to the Confederate government.). HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. So if you are ever in that area you might want to have your metal detector and shovel ready because there might be something worth finding buried in the ground there. If you are venturing on to State or Federal lands. He put the wagons back up to make it appear that confederate troops had come by and took the contents of the wagons with them. 's don't mention anything about the skirmish. Visit here for more information on State laws regarding relic hunting, treasure hunting, and artifacts. The gold became a lost legend. Until next time Happy Treasure Hunting! They never made it. General Dukes Brigade. La Bellone ran aground at the entrance of Pelican Bay in September of 1724 which is on the east end of Dauphin Island. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com, politicususa.com and hillreporter.com. Possibly, the fact that almost 1,400 Union soldiers, former prisoners warehoused in the town, had died of smallpox, dysentery, and other diseases and were buried nearby, could also have discouraged random digging. He was referring to the commercial house of Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England. 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. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. He was very skilled at evading the police. From there, I am assuming the Bellview back then is Belleville today, just with a name change. Georgia has always claimed a special place with Confederate gold stories because Confederate President Jefferson Davis was not only captured in the state, but the fate of the gold was discussed at his last cabinet meeting held in Wilkes County. Many of the accounts were published in the papers of the Southern Historical Society, in an effort to dispel rumors that Davis took the money for himself and his family. It is said that some of those wine casks of gold and silver coins are stilled buried near his home. The attack happened in March of 1865. Hansen then used the horses to trample the boxes deeper into the mud. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, They loaded the two boxes of treasure onto two wagons and headed for Columbia. On May 4, after Davis and the few advisers that remained with him made the decision to disband his government, they entrusted some $86,000 of the remaining treasury funds to two Confederate navy. In fact, during a recent renovation of Linden Farm by its owner, a document found hidden in a wall confirms Tidballs possession of a portion of the gold. His nephew Grady tried to find the gold caches that his uncle had presumably buried in the woods. La Bellone was a French merchant ship that was in the area of Dauphin Island to pick up merchandise from the French Colonials in Louisiana. Sharps bought a mill there called Whites Mill in 1897. The Paradas accompanied the FBI to the site in Dent's Run, about 135 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, but say they were confined to their car while the FBI excavated. All the merchandise including the gold and silver bullion and coins sank with the ship. Many names and records have been lost to time. The rumor is that the gold was buried under the name of a confederate general between two false generals in a cemetery. One theory suggests it was stolen by the Michigan Cavalrymen. Also, a Spanish galleon ship broke up near the east end of Dauphin Island in 1801. Winter was approaching so De Soto and his men set up camp until spring. Jefferson Davis with members of his cabinet, 1865, By early May, both Davis party and the remaining fortune had reached Washington, Georgia. It is said that he would only accept gold coins as payment for the ground corn and flour that he sold. With both her husband and her mother deceased, Julia was alone on Staten Island with the children, surrounded by Yankees unhappy with a Southern sympathizer in their midst, even though she had been a First Lady. Supposedly, Nunez buried a treasure of approximately $200,000 somewhere With Union troops closing in on the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, in early April 1865, President Jefferson Davis and the rest of his government fled southward, allegedly carrying with them a considerable amount of gold, silver and other coins. It was abandoned in 1870. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Levi Colbert who lived from 1759 to1834 was the bench chief of the Chickasaw Nation. Young refused to release it, but was compelled to do so by force. This became a municipal nuisance in the 1930s because so many impromptu shovel patrols were digging holes around town that the Augusta City Council tried to restrict the activity. So many of them buried their gold and silver for safekeeping. Perhaps the city will ultimately change its mind and enrich its coffers with the largest portion of the estimated $16 million in value. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Email them to us and you and your club will receive full credit! They were active in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. On one was Davis, officials and important documents. In 1720 there was a trapper that came to the Chickasaw village. So as you can tell it was a great hiding spot for soldiers. Confederate Gold and Silver was buried approximately 4 miles north of Athens. From lost confederate Civil War gold to lost Indian gold to plantation owners and their lost treasure we have a little bit of everything in these stories. And such rumors werent confined to the South. Hanna recorded some of the known expenses incurred by Davis group, including $108,000 paid to escorting troops near the Savannah River and $40,000 paid for supplies in Washington and Augusta, Georgia. (Published 1865)", Last Sighting of the Lost Confederate Gold in Georgia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Confederate_gold&oldid=1130607928, A series of western adventure novels written by, This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 01:37. If you are ever in Muscle Shoals, Alabama along the Tennessee river you might want to take a look around for limestone caves although the Red Bone cave is more than likely underwater now and you will need to bring your scuba gear and do some underwater metal detecting. They searched and searched for months coming up empty-handed so the trappers friend gave up and went back to Fort Rosalie. Lee warned Davis that his government should evacuate Richmond immediately, or risk being captured by Federal troops. Louina by all accounts was a wealthy Indian woman. Many attempts at recovering her gold and silver cache have come up empty. I have not heard of both of these stories. What happened to it, however, no one knows, and this has created a mystery thats spanned over 150 years. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. Late that night, two trains departed Richmond heading south. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. Manage Settings One night two braves took the trapper, tied his hands and feet, and blindfolded him. Whatever they had started off with, travel expenses had steadily depleted their coffers by that time. Hardy grew his small acres of land into whopping 9000 acres by 1850. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. One of his readers showed him a Mexican silver coin dating to the 1850s, which he said was uncovered by a logging crew in the 1940s near a Georgia spot where Davis party is known to have camped. Like all armies, the Rebels found they'd not been paid in some time. Davis was arrested on May 10 by members of the 4th Michigan Cavalry. The gold became a lost legend. I have also researched the legend of Keel Mountain, I agree the O.R. Mr. Willismith owned most of the town. They filled two wooden boxes full. ; Official from Secretary Stanton. The treasure was secured in the false bottom of a carriage. If its there Im all for digging it up. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. The team arrange for Brian Abbott to do additional sonar scans of the lake while Kevin, Al, and Brad are in Georgia with Alex Lagina and Gary Drayton. They filled two wooden boxes full. Davis was on the run for much of April 1865. They worked hard to get good lands out west which the U.S. Government was trying to move them to. The gold from the Richmond bank was accounted for, but was later stolen by around 20 armed men in Danburg, Georgia. At the time, it was reported hed dressed as a woman to avoid capture, but was later said to have been wearing it due to his severesensitivity to cold weather. While sitting at the store Morris Slater was gunned down by Constable Leonard McGowin and some other posse members. On May 4, after Davis and the few advisers that remained with him made the decision to disband his government, they entrusted some $86,000 of the remaining treasury funds to two Confederate navy officials tasked with smuggling it out of the country to Britain. If you are venturing on to State or Federal lands you should know the laws of that State. Simply putting food on the table became an essential concern. 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