We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. After depositing the Richmond bank funds in a local vault in Washington for safekeeping, Davis continued heading south with his wife, Varina, their children and a few others. So what happened to that missing Confederate treasure? In the film, a thief goes back in time to hijack the money using advanced technology. He told his friend all about the story of the two wagons, treasure, and the fight with the Union soldiers. 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. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. She questioned whether the agency is "acting in good faith.". Long story short it is said that Levi Colbert buried some of his savings from the inn and ferry operations in what is now Colbert County Alabama. ; Official from Secretary Stanton. The travels of James Semple and his infatuation with the widow of the president, Julia Gardiner Tyler, were mentioned in the book and provided evidence of Semples activities on behalf of Davis and the South, even after the surrender of Confederate forces. All Rights Reserved. The total amount of money and gold that left Richmond with Davis is unknown. 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. The true value of the treasure that left Richmondheld under the guard of Confederate Navy Captain William H. Parker and the young midshipmen in his commandwill likely never be known. Well, there you have it the 15 lost treasures of Alabama. He didnt even tell his son. De Soto demanded that the Chicksaw Chief who had a camp nearby furnish him with squaws for his trip into Mississippi. He came to Alabama in 1815 and set up a ferry for crossing the Perdido River that has banks of the Alabama and Florida side. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. Tidball, for his part, decided that the war was over for him, as he was seen a few days later heading north from Georgia, accompanied by a Confederate judge and a paroled army officer. I have not heard of both of these stories. A rich man named Hansen was a Confederate sympathizer who wanted to financially help the Confederate economy that was falling apart at the end of the Civil War. Beauregard Trying to Profit by Sherman's Blunder. Semple did seem to disappear into the night, for he had to avoid the attention of both the enemy and paroled Confederate soldiers looking to confiscate horses and wagons in returning to their homes. 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. Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. One theory suggests it was stolen by the Michigan Cavalrymen. Its unclear what happened to the money. Jefferson Davis , the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, circa 1865. Mysteries endure, too, including the ultimate disposition of the Confederate treasury. As soon as they spent all the gold and silver they came back for more. Millions of dollars' worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for after the war. Postmaster General John Reagan, who was with Davis in Danville, added more detail, recalling that the gold was to be hidden in the false bottom of a carriage. People like to believe theres something out there, Rawlings says. Hansen ended up killing one of the Union scouts. One account has the gold being stolen in the far south area of Brooks County where local lore has it the train was attacked by . Jesse James the legendary outlaw of the west and in those days Alabama was considered out west had hideouts in and around the areas of Dawson, Guntersville, Gadsden, and Mentone Alabama in the Sand mountains. ANCIENT VOICES: Ditlihi's Journey Into The Truth Of Ancient Treasure In The Southwest. Now only Hansens one friend knew about the treasure but his friend was arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive. He was then valued at $300,000 which made him a wealthy man, to say the least! He also owned two plantations outside of what was called Savannah now central Alabama. Railroad Bill real name Morris Slater was a black train robber, murderer during the late 1800s. He ran an inn and Ferry that became known as Buzzard Roost in 1801. The area was founded by exiled followers of Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800's. They picked 3 men to bury the box full of gold coins somewhere near the courthouse. In this Sept. 20, 2018 photo, Dennis Parada, right, and his son Kem Parada stand at the site of the FBI's dig for Civil War-era gold in Dents Run, Pennsylvania. One of the clues to the former Navy paymaster and his survival after the events of May 4 were documented by Robert Seeger in his 1962 book, And Tyler, Too, which provided an in-depth look at the presidency of John Tyler and his family. [6], Last edited on 31 December 2022, at 01:37, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Confederate States Secretary of the Treasury, "The Georgia Odyssey of the Confederate Gold", "OUR ARMIES. JavaScript is disabled. Another sci-fi production, 2012s Alcatraz television show, also featured the gold, with its characters realizing the treasure was buried beneath the prison back in 1960. They never made it. Please do not use this website if you disagree with any of the terms outlined here.Thanks for visiting!Thank You,Frank W. Pandozzi, Website Owner. He took the bodies of the Confederate soldiers with him. Henry Nunez 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. I grew up in Prattville, Alabama. The FBI initially claimed it had no files about the investigation. They had to pay $108,000 to troops who escorted them near the Savannah River, and $40,000 more was spent on supplies in Georgia. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Civil War historian William Rawlings explained, People like to believe theres something out there. With them was the remainder of the Confederate treasury, including crates of gold and silver coins, gold bullion from Richmond bank reserves and jewelry that had been donated to the Southern cause. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. 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. She made her money by running a trading post and she was one of the only Indian women to have owned slaves. You are using an out of date browser. The Confederate gold, again, showed up in the 1994 sci-fi movie, Timecop. 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. Then you will want to check out the Garrett AT Pro. Even today, rumors persist about the fate of different parts of the missing Confederate treasure, fueling tales of discovery ranging from rural Georgia to Muskegon, Michigan. ]", "The Armies and Their Work. He tried to locate the treasure but the landscape had changed so much over the years. I was born and raised in the area. The Confederates got away or won the little skirmish or what have you but the men who hid it had been killed. De Soto and his men fled and left the treasure they had stolen from the Cherokees behind. It was never recovered. They took a small fortune in gold and silver with them when they fled Richmond, Virginia in April 1865. Meade, Sheridan, Wright, Thomas and Canby Ordered to Push the Enemy at all Points. Having his ferry there solved this problem. His wife gave in again and told the soldiers where another cask was buried. Sharps bought a mill there called Whites Mill in 1897. And some say its buried amongst the slaves in the graveyard on the property. Some say he buried his gold on his pig farm. 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. The various narratives of the disbursement of the treasury end in Washington, Georgia on May 4, 1865, when two Confederate Navy officials, James A. Semple and Edward Tidball, were entrusted with $86,000 in gold. 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. The Success of George H. Thomas Union Soldiers During the American Civil War. The mystery thus began when Semple and Tidball disappeared. 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. Three children and two men drowned but the rest of the passengers were saved by a brigantine sailboat that was nearby. Davis and His Gold. 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 One of the first settlements of Alabama is called Dauphin Island. 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. Besides, Semple was done with any sort of an adventure. 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. Near Athens there may be a Confederate treasure. Most if not all of them take place well into the war, and by then the confederate had serious cash flow issues. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. He was referring to the commercial house of Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England. So Hardy decided to bury the treasure late at night when everyone was asleep. There are rumors that caches of coins and silverware are buried on and around the plantation ruins. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Looking For a Top Rated Metal Detector That Wont Cost You Thousands of Dollars but works like a $2000 machine? Over the course of the next two years, he traveled between the U. S. and Canada in clandestine activities, often using the alias Allen S. James, his travels financed with the Confederate gold. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates. Plus, as others have pointed out, gold weighs alot. The phrase "Lost Confederate Gold" has a romantic ring. There are many lost treasures and legends of Alabama and I encourage you to visit this state and enjoy the rich history that Alabama presents. Instead of Liverpool, Semple eventually got as far as Nassau, after hiding out in the Okefenokee Swamp along the Georgia-Florida border for months. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. The Confederate States of America were formed prior to Abraham Lincoln taking office in March 1861. 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. There was even a systemto such pursuits. They were active in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Also, a Spanish galleon ship broke up near the east end of Dauphin Island in 1801. Its still hidden in a limestone cave called Red Bone. It was then settled by wealthy plantation owners and then vacated around 1860. buried treasures may be here. They worked hard to get good lands out west which the U.S. Government was trying to move them to. It would have taken a large amount of troops to dig and hide all the treasure, and as poor as alot of those soldiers were after the war, why not go back and dig up the treasure? was the operator of a ferry during the Civil War, on the Perdido River. AFFILIATE DISCLOSUREI am an affiliate marketer. C.E. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. No one else knew where the box was buried and it hasnt been found to this day. Some of the Confederate treasures reportedly buried in light of Union take over were: $30 Million in gold buried outside of Savannah, Georgia, a hub of minting, trading, and gold mining before it fell to Union forces. Several legends, actually. Union soldiers happened by and demanded that Hansen and his men unload the cargo in their wagons because they became suspicious that the cargo in the wagons might be guns and ammunition. The wreck is still there and its treasure is waiting to be recovered! Two trains left from the capital that night. Some of the Southern leaders . After a long day traveling Hansen ended up at a friends home. With the Davis party was a navy paymaster, James S. Semple. I would think that they would have USED the gold before burying it. Lee warned Davis that his government should evacuate Richmond immediately, or risk being captured by Federal troops. So the treasure has never been found. The entrance of the town has a historical marker at the entrance that explains the towns history. 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. Sorry, I don't know anything about these. Others suggest he buried it underneath his home or by the cotton gin. The Outlaw PresidentJefferson Davis was an unlikely traitor to the United States. Almost half a million dollars in reserve gold was also gathered from a bank in Richmond. Manage Settings 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. Levi Colbert who lived from 1759 to1834 was the bench chief of the Chickasaw Nation. Jean Lafitte the French Privateer and Pirate is said to have spent a considerable amount of time visiting Fort Morgan, Alabama. He returned to relative obscurity in his native Virginia, near where he was born in New Kent County, and turned his attention to earning a living. It was abandoned in 1870. While they fought the commander detailed a couple of men to hide the gold just in case they lost and were captured. Henry Allen Nunez was an early-day entrepreneur. Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. Is There Treasure Waiting For You In Alabama? Davis was on the run for much of April 1865. What happened to it, however, no one knows, and this has created a mystery thats spanned over 150 years. Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. (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. In North Carolina, some say gold was secretly hidden because they couldn't get the heavy treasure through a swamp north of Greensboro. And chances are good people are searching for it at this very moment. 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. The first carried Davis and other Confederate officials, along with the governments most important documents and other archived materials. Once called the Rose of Long Island for an advertisement that used her image, Julia was strikingly attractive, even at 45. In the 1938 book, Flight Into Oblivion, by A.J. The Justice Department denied the request - and, as of last month, had yet to assign the FOIA request to a staffer for processing, according to the lawsuit. In Washington, Georgia, a small town untouched by the war, he was entrusted with $86,000 in gold coin and bullion (about $1 million in today's money) and disappeared into the night. They held it until General John Bell Hood marched his Confederate army through in 1864. The FBI has since dragged its feet on the treasure hunters' Freedom of Information Act request for records, their lawyer said Wednesday. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The war, and its various aspects, continues to capture the interest and imagination of many Americans who are fascinated by the battles, leaders, and strategy displayed during that conflict. According to Beauregard's biography, "What became of that coin is a mystery. Levi and his brother George were interpreters and negotiators that worked with U.S. Indian Agent John Dabney Terrell Sr. of Marion County Alabama. As for the Richmond bank gold, it quickly fell into the hands of Federal troops, which occupied Washington within days after Davis left. Under the headline"What Became of the Confederate Gold," Moses told the newspaper a small portion of it went to buy food for returning soldiers, while the bulk of about$40,000was turned over to the federal authorities. 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