Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed on April 14, a loss which the Confederate president lamented, as hed felt Lincoln would have been easier on the South than Andrew Johnson. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This Metal Detector Has all the top features you would expect in a quality metal detector. Jean Lafitte the pirate supposedly buried gold coins on a beach in what is now Bayou la Batre. Whatever they had started off with, travel expenses had steadily depleted their coffers by that time. 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. He is said to have stored the gold and silver coins that he got from the Ferry goers in wine casks. In the 1966 Spaghetti Western movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," the protagonists get information about lost Confederate gold hidden in a . Louina was forced to leave Alabama during the Trail of Tears and sold her trading post Isham T. Weathers. The rumor is that the gold was buried under the name of a confederate general between two false generals in a cemetery. Digging Deeper: Lost Treasures of Oklahoma. Finally, in the wake of the treasure hunters' appeal, the FBI said it had located 2,400 pages of records and 17 video files that it could potentially turn over - but that it would take years to do so. So as you can tell it was a great hiding spot for soldiers. The Fenian Brotherhood, which was preparing to attack Canada with a growing army, seemed to be an opportunity; and with the apparent blessing of Jefferson Davis, with whom he was somehow able to exchange messages, though Davis was securely locked up in prison at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, Semple became a courier for the Fenian movement. Legend held the treasure was watched overby ghostly spirits. Where did the loot go? All Rights Reserved. [OFFICIAL. 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. They picked 3 men to bury the box full of gold coins somewhere near the courthouse. var FIX=FIX||{}; The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. 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. In the other were cash and gold reserves and jewelry, estimated to be worth around $1 million. Bill Kirby has reported, photographed and commented on life in Augusta and Georgiafor 45 years. 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. In 1872,The Chronicle put that question to the man in charge Col. Raphael J. Moses, the former Confederate quartermaster. From there, I am assuming the Bellview back then is Belleville today, just with a name change. The story goes that when she was forced to leave she had so much gold and silver her horses couldnt carry the load so she was forced to bury the gold and silver where she stood. 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 ended up falling off the mills roof when he was doing repairs in June of 1899. Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey-based politics, entertainment and history writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com, politicususa.com and hillreporter.com. The troops were trying to keep the gold and silver away from Union soldiers. ; Official from Secretary Stanton. On October 11, 1862, General P. G. T. Beauregard was ordered to take the gold from Young's bank in Columbus. 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. First published on January 6, 2022 / 11:11 AM. With the Davis party was a navy paymaster, James S. Semple. 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. The first carried Davis and other Confederate officials, along with the governments most important documents and other archived materials. Jean Lafitte the French Privateer and Pirate is said to have spent a considerable amount of time visiting Fort Morgan, Alabama. AFFILIATE DISCLOSUREI am an affiliate marketer. He wanted to trap game on the tribal land so he asked the chief permission. De Soto and his army of men some 600 plus came to the Sacred mountain City of the Cherokees. He was referring to the commercial house of Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England. 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. Jefferson Davis stated in his 1881 book, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, that the transfer of the treasure was made to Mr. Semple, a bonded officer of the Navy, and his assistant, Mr. Tidball. Davis added only that the instructions to Semple were for him to attempt to deliver the gold abroad to the financial agent of the government. Then, after the Justice Department ordered a more thorough review, the FBI said its records were exempt from public disclosure. 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. 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. Mr. Sharps would take a shovel and sack with him on these treks into the woods. Jefferson Davis fled Richmond with multiple wagons filled with gold and silver. The duo focused on a spot where they say their instruments detected a large metallic mass. It is said that John Buried $100,000 worth of gold there. The Confederate president and other government officials were urged to leave Richmond immediately to avoid being captured by Union troops. His train, however, encountered some expenses. buried near what used to be his house on the Alabama side of the river. So they filled a strongbox full of gold coins that the town had stored up as the treasury. The crew members that survived and made it to shore said there was a million dollars worth of gold and silver aboard. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. Several legends, actually. 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. 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. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. The Confederates got away or won the little skirmish or what have you but the men who hid it had been killed. Long standing legend tells of $100,000 of gold and silver was put into two boxes by Confederate troops in 1865, and then thrown into the swamp. They are the rarest of any Civil War weapons. (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. This small island holds many lost treasure stories. The chief said that he could have all the treasure if he would marry his daughter. So I can't totally discount the story. 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. But, the first story sounds very familiar with a post I put on Treasure Legends-"swamp gold." Treasure hunters in the area believe his house was located at the following coordinates: N 3030 38 W 872651 which is close to U.S. Highway 90 bridge that now crosses the Perdido River. And chances are good people are searching for it at this very moment. His wife gave in again and told the soldiers where another cask was buried. Two trains left from the capital that night. It was abandoned in 1870. Of what was taken, only $140,000 was recovered. 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. Visit here for more information on State laws regarding relic hunting, treasure hunting, and artifacts. These states were opposed to the abolishment of slavery. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads. Near Demopolis is an area named White Bluff. 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. Henry Nunez In an account he made to a Richmond newspaper in 1893, Parker recalled that the government funds placed in his charge totaled only about $500,000 in gold, silver and bullion. Still, rumors of the millions persist. In the Civil War-era movie, Gone With the Wind (1939), Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, is rumored to have stolen the treasure. The whole of this region was captured by the Northern forces early in the Civil War. your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach, Two wooden boxes full of gold and silver bullion and coins, Buried deep in a bog nearAthens, Alabama, NearFlorence, Alabama south of Whites mill, Hardy Clemens plantation ruins nearCoaling, Alabama on the shores of Big Sandy Creek, Dawson, Guntersville, Gadsden, and Mentone Alabama in the Sand mountains, Ghost town of Louina inRandolph County Alabama, the caves between Atmore and Bay Minette Alabama, N 3030 38 W 872651 which is close to U.S. Highway 90 bridge that now crosses the Perdido River, 40,000 crowns of gold and silver bullion and coins, Near the entrance to Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Cave full ofgold and silver bars, coins, and jewels, Underwater cave near Muscle Shoals, Alabama along the Tennessee river. Davis was on the run for much of April 1865. So what happened to that missing Confederate treasure? Well, there you have it the 15 lost treasures of Alabama. Some say he buried his gold on his pig farm. Kevin and Al travel to Brad's home where they meet a woman who is the descendant of a large plantation owner. In popular imagination, the Richmond bank goldhas become part of the lost Confederate treasure, and there is some truth to that story, Rawlings says. His anger turned to crime and robbing the L&N trains was the outcome. 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. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. Mr. Sharps became rich after owning the mill. The chief wanted him to marry his daughter. 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. 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. The Chief agreed but he had other intentions as well. 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 wreck is still there and its treasure is waiting to be recovered! Some think its on the Alabama side while others say its on the Florida side. 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. 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