I have talked to the guy who wrote what you found on #2. The first was given to the Presbyterian Church, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, in trust for the maintenance and education of white orphan girls of Brantley County. Maybe you could be the one who prospers from finding one of these lost treasure gems in Alabama! It was the summer of 1863, and Union Lieutenant Castleton and his men were lost. AFFILIATE DISCLOSUREI am an affiliate marketer. They were transporting a large quantity of gold bars, hidden in false-bottomed wagons, from Wheeling, W.Va., to the . General Dukes Brigade. So if youre in Randolph County Alabama look up that old ghost town that was once called Louina. Puckett was rather vague about what Mumford did with the gold he allegedly transported to England, except to claim that he ordered enough seed corn from South America, by way of Great Britain, to replant the whole State of Georgia. In the movie, the characters are hunting for . However, despite searches conducted throughout the years, nothing of value has ever been found there. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. The abandoned town of Demopolis can be found near the Tombigbee River, close to the intersection of routes 80 and 43. 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? var FIX=FIX||{}; His anger turned to crime and robbing the L&N trains was the outcome. Some say he buried his gold on his pig farm. The troops were trying to keep the gold and silver away from Union soldiers. . The Chief agreed but he had other intentions as well. However, the new civil war wont be between the North and the South this one will be between the government and the treasure hunters who claim they found the location of the buried gold as far back as 2005 and have been denied their rights to it. In November 2004, they claim to have found a fire pit in Dents Run where human skeletons were allegedly discovered in 1876. Residents of Wilkes County who witnessed the event said that the bushwhackers waded knee-deep in gold and silver coinage before loading it in all kinds of bags and sacks and riding away. As soon as they spent all the gold and silver they came back for more. Given this claim that the source of these scholarships was in fact a portion of the lost Confederate treasury, researchers throughout the years sought to confirm the veracity of the Mumford legend. The wreck is still there and its treasure is waiting to be recovered! A second scholarship, known as the Sylvester Mumford Memorial Fund, was to be awarded to students from Brantley County who attend Georgia College, then known as Georgia State College for Women. Is there $54 million worth of Civil War gold buried in Dents Run? He went to Fort Rosalie and told a friend about the treasure. Hansen ended up killing one of the Union scouts. 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. Also while feverish, Castleton made the mistake of telling the troops about the gold. Originally published Aug 3, 2007 Last edited Mar 26, 2020. Sharps Buried Treasure: Sacks of gold coins: Near Florence, Alabama south of White's mill: The McGillivray Plantation Treasure: Puckett claimed that when Miss Gertrude decided that the remainder of the Confederate gold should be returned to the people to whom it belonged, her personal lawyer, Judge J.P. Highsmith, suggested that an educational trust be established for the descendants of the Confederate soldiers. 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. Somewhere near Primm Springs, Tennessee. She was a cargo ship that held deer hides, beaver pelts, tobacco, and 40,000 crowns of gold and silver bullion and coins. This Metal Detector Has all the top features you would expect in a quality metal detector. google037df74da6aab727.html Gold and Silver Coins: Ohio River: Lost Confederate Payroll: Unknown: Small cave near Cumberland Gap, Kentucky! Most of the tales revolve around the . He also interviewed local historians and librarians in Washington, Georgia, none of whom had heard of the golds connection to Brantley County. Which leads us to today. The officer brought troops to Henrys home in the hopes of getting Henry to tell them where his treasure was hidden. Others suggest he buried it underneath his home or by the cotton gin. After some minor resistance from roving Confederate bands, on April 11, 1862, his Union troops marched into Huntsville and occupied the city. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Bruce Wetterau is the author of Lost Treasure, A Clay Cantrell Mystery Adventure, a novel about the hunt for a horde of Confederate gold and the story of how it came to be lost in a cavern in the Allegheny Mountains. 's don't mention anything about the skirmish. So I can't totally discount the story. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. #26. Mystery Gulf Coast shipwreck. The Outlaw PresidentJefferson Davis was an unlikely traitor to the United States. Both were published by The Surrat Courier, a . But with 100 acres to cover and now metal detectors back then it was never found. After leading the South for four years, he had high hopes to escape the country and rebuild a new Confederacy. The lost confederate payroll and The fabled lost confederate treasury. His What in the World! podcast is a fun look at the latest weird and paranormal news, strange sports stories and odd trivia. Supposedly, Nunez buried a treasure of approximately $200,000 somewhere 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. There are stories that the Islanders tell of buried pots, jars, and treasure chests full of gold and silver. was the operator of a ferry during the Civil War, on the Perdido River. 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 would keep a close I on the eastern shore of Dauphin Island. 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. According to reports, the total bounty would be worth more than $1.36 million today. 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. Or, a Top Secret Human Experiment Gone Wild? These legends are fueled by the fact that the state was a hub . 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. . "There's been a pattern of behavior by the FBI that's been very troubling," said Anne Weismann, who represents Finders Keepers. In the 1966 Spaghetti Western movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," the protagonists get information about lost Confederate gold hidden in a . Apparently in 1865, $100,000 of gold and silver was put into two large metal boxes by . 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 ruins of the plantation still remain to this day. Two more Union soldiers were killed along with the two rebels that had been with Hansen. Eventually the responsibility for the treasure was passed on to the Secretary of War, John C. Breckenridge, who then placed Brig. They also covered the boxes with straw and fertilizer to conceal the treasure within. Rocky Springs, MS 39086, USA. 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. Also, a Spanish galleon ship broke up near the east end of Dauphin Island in 1801. La Bellone didnt make it and sank near the entrance to Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island. The Army sent Pinkerton detectives disguised as prospectors and lumbermen to clandestinely look for the gold, but they obviously never found it. WJAC and other Pennsylvania and national news outlets reported that dozens of FBI agents, along with Pennsylvania state officials had arrived in Dents Run, 27 miles from St. Marys. With slightly less than a thousand men in his command, Duke transferred all the treasure into six wagons and began his journey south with eight of his veterans on each wagon as guards and the rest of his command, along with the midshipmen, as escorts. Sep 27, 2005. The treasure may be He waited there until spring and set off to sail back to France at the beginning of April 1725. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 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. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Hunley, was one of the first working submarines that operated with a crew. The really big lost treasure is that of the Confederate Treasury in custody of Jeff Davis upon leaving Richmond, fleeing the Yankee hordes. "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 . 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. The Beale Treasure - The Myth of Millions in Bedford. Win McNamee/Getty Images. Waters in the Chulafinnee Mining District will all produce gold. The story has it that Mr. Clemens buried $100,000 worth of gold on his property because he was worried about losing it. I guess this happened more often than we would think. Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it? Such is the legend of the Lost Gold of Keel Mountain told first by an old Madison County man named Jeremiah McCain, who had joined up with a renegade band of rebel guerillas in early 1862. . Alabama lost treasure sites are listed on this page. More Controversy on the Roswell Affair: An Alien Accident? Will the FBI abscond with it? A battle took place on one of his plantations in central Alabama in October 1779 and the plantation was destroyed. Heirloom Seal of the Realm. but where did the money come from? The balance of the captured treasure was assembled and loaded into wagons for transport to Washington, D.C. 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. Today the town has only two homes standing that are in use. It is said that he would only accept gold coins as payment for the ground corn and flour that he sold. The Union Cavalry came upon them and they were both killed. Because it was in a state park, they were told to stop looking. By all accounts, he stayed by the tracks between Atmore and Bay Minette Alabama stealing from the trains every chance he got. Clemens owned many slaves so he was worried they would tell any soldiers that came by where the buried treasure was. Hansen then used the horses to trample the boxes deeper into the mud. Henry knew he could make a fortune with his ferry because the Perdido River was a popular crossing spot for people going from Alabama to Florida and vice versa. They never made it. Also called hard currency. There's a book out called " Confederate Gold" I haven't read it but it may give some clues. In 1720 there was a trapper that came to the Chickasaw village. Author Robert Scott Davis, Wallace State College, Hanceville, Alabama. The combined hoard is believed to be between $500,000 and $600,000 in gold, the combined values of the Richmond Bank & Confederate . Approximately Four miles north of Athens, Limestone County, and about half a mile from a prominent stream crossing, two huge metal box's, containing $100,000 in gold and silver were dumped into a bog by Confederate soldiers to prevent their seizure by the Union Soldiers in 1865. They worked hard to get good lands out west which the U.S. Government was trying to move them to. This made Grady think that his uncle was burying the sack full of presumed gold coins in various places in the woods. 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. The Indians thought this request to be outrageous and attacked De Sotos camp. Humankind: Amazing moments that give . But, the first story sounds very familiar with a post I put on Treasure Legends-"swamp gold." Levi and his brother George were interpreters and negotiators that worked with U.S. Indian Agent John Dabney Terrell Sr. of Marion County Alabama. Railroad Bill real name Morris Slater was a black train robber, murderer during the late 1800s. However, somewhere in Wilkes County, Georgia, the wagon train was bushwhacked. So do your due diligence before going on your treasure-hunting expeditions. 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. The duo heard about the legend from Kevin and decided to help him in his adventure. In the Civil War-era movie, Gone With the Wind (1939), Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, is rumored to have stolen the treasure. According to most news accounts and his website, hes been fighting for the right to dig there ever since. It was said that many riders were so overloaded that they later discarded or hid large quantities of the coins all over Wilkes County. 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? First published on January 6, 2022 / 11:11 AM. As heir to the Mumford estate, Miss Gertrude allegedly made provisions to return the balance of the Confederate treasure to Southern hands after her death. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. The gold and silver coins are said to be buried east of his old homestead. However, their work created great doubt that any lost Confederate gold ever existed in the first place. Digging Deeper: Lost Treasures of Oklahoma. Henry Nunez 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 . Two treasure hunters are hot on the trail of $2 million worth of Confederate gold bullion that went missing in the 1800s. Visit here for more information on State laws regarding relic hunting, treasure hunting, and artifacts. Legend. The Rebel and the Rose"" reveals for the . 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. Jean and his older brother Pierre stole a lot of loot over the years in and around the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1800s. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Lost Treasure Near Clear Fork Creek. The chief wanted him to marry his daughter. So with no luck finding the treasure he packed up and moved to California. Finders Keepers asked the Justice Department for expedited processing, which can be granted in cases where there is widespread media interest involving questions about the government's integrity. According to local lore, the gold was lost or stolen during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. JavaScript is disabled. The FBI has since dragged its feet on the treasure hunters' Freedom of Information Act request for records, their lawyer said Wednesday. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. From there, I am assuming the Bellview back then is Belleville today, just with a name change. Navy Captain William H. Parker was placed in charge of the second train and, knowing that the special cargo was comprised of gold ingots, gold double eagle coins, silver coins, silver bricks and Mexican silver dollars, he gathered the only available personnel to provide a military guard. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The legend of James Copeland, along with his treasure, is largely drawn from the somewhat questionable account of Sheriff J.R.S. The attack happened in March of 1865. Other Confederate gold, remains of the treasury evacuated from Richmond, did ultimately reach Georgia. A town was named after her that once was one of the largest towns in Randolph County Alabama. My Special Bundle Package of digital books and the links to my TV series is loaded with information that will guide you toward treasures large and small. While they fought the commander detailed a couple of men to hide the gold. Another had the group split up because of Castletons fever, with the lieutenants group taking the gold and disappearing. Some of the most valuable placers in Alabama are found in Cleburne County. 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. Hanson wounded the last Union soldier but he got away. He and his friend decided to head out to recover the treasure. Until next time Happy Treasure Hunting! The Search for the Lost Confederate Gold. Louina was forced to leave Alabama during the Trail of Tears and sold her trading post Isham T. Weathers. Henry refused and was subsequently strung up to a tree and whipped. The bushwhackers were stragglers from both the Federal and Confederate armies who had heard of the treasure and the handouts being given to soldiers. Lachlan McGillivray was a wealthy fur trader back in the mid to late 1700s. William Pettits Buried Gold Coins: $80,000 worth of gold coins: A few miles from Lexington, Kentucky. 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. Hansen and the two soldiers went on their way dressed as farmers. Henrys wife gave in and told the soldiers where one of the wine casks was buried. He would then bury the wine casks in various areas around his homestead. Back during the depression Uncle Byron Campbell got word that during the Civil War the folks of Lucille Al. Confederate gold refers to hidden caches of gold lost after the American Civil War. 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By Hans KuenziThe Cleveland Civil War RoundtableCopyright 2008, All Rights Reserved, 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. Wesley Millett and Gerald White are the authors of The Rebel and the Rose. They were active in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. The two wooden boxes full of Confederate gold fell out of the wagons and sank quickly into the mud. You must log in or register to reply here. . De Soto and his army of men some 600 plus came to the Sacred mountain City of the Cherokees. Unfortunately, Parker found the U.S. cavalry already in the immediate area and made alternate arrangements. The duo focused on a spot where they say their instruments detected a large metallic mass. Paul Seaburn is the editor at Mysterious Universe and its most prolific writer. (Note: specie describes money in the form of coins, usually gold or silver, as opposed to paper money. The townspeople decided to defend Newton but were worried that if they got defeated that the towns treasury would be looted. La Bellone ran aground at the entrance of Pelican Bay in September of 1724 which is on the east end of Dauphin Island. Sep 27, 2005. He ended up in prison until the end of the war. I would think that they would have USED the gold before burying it. Railroad Bill finally met his doom when a $500 reward was issued for him dead or alive. Alabama, The Heart of Dixie as its nicknamed was the 22nd state to be admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. You must log in or register to reply here. It was an E-mail he sent to someone and it found it's way to being an article on several sites. 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. He also owned two plantations outside of what was called Savannah now central Alabama. Lost Confederate Gold As the end of the Civil War became imminent, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled his capital city of Richmond, Virginia. Back in the 1800s that made for a huge town. The Irish Crown Jewels, stolen from Dublin Castle over a century ago, are still out there for treasure-seekers to find today.