The Mexican coins had been transported to Danville, Virginia, and when the Davis party was forced to move further south, primarily by wagon, the more than 9,000 pounds of silver would have considerably slowed down the procession. The question is, what happened? For Semple, as with Tidball, history is mute on the activities of both men. You are using an out of date browser. So Hardy decided to bury the treasure late at night when everyone was asleep. Where did the loot go? Kevin and Al travel to Brad's home where they meet a woman who is the descendant of a large plantation owner. A Colorado company, hired by a private individual, performed a geophysical survey and employed pulse induction instruments to identify the locations of the silver (and a small amount of gold). Wesley Millett and Gerald White are the authors of The Rebel and the Rose. The leaders of the Confederate States of America we running for their lives 154 years ago. The plantations were called Vale Royal and Springfield. Finders Keepers' owners, the father-son duo of Dennis and Kem Parada, had spent years looking for what, according to legend, was an 1863 shipment of Union gold that was lost or stolen while on its way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. What happened to it, however, no one knows, and this has created a mystery thats spanned over 150 years. All the merchandise including the gold and silver bullion and coins sank with the ship. As the $450,000 in gold reserves didnt belong to the Confederacy, it remained untouched. One of the first settlements of Alabama is called Dauphin Island. Ultimately, he took refuge in the North at the home of Julia Gardiner Tyler. His wife gave in again and told the soldiers where another cask was buried. Rawlings included a chapter about the lost Confederate treasure in his 2017 book The Strange Journey of the Confederate Constitution, And Other Stories from Georgias Historical Past, and also mined the legends for his novel The Rutherford Cipher, originally published in 2004. Clemens owned many slaves so he was worried they would tell any soldiers that came by where the buried treasure was. Im not sure of the accuracy of this story but here it goes. Jeff. Jefferson Davis with members of his cabinet, 1865, By early May, both Davis party and the remaining fortune had reached Washington, Georgia. The total amount of money and gold that left Richmond with Davis is unknown. 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. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Elizabeth Holmes has second child, seeks to delay prison, Woman dies as porch collapses under California snow storm. The gold became a lost legend. Legend held the treasure was watched overby ghostly spirits. The Indians thought this request to be outrageous and attacked De Sotos camp. There are rumors that caches of coins and silverware are buried on and around the plantation ruins. The legend states that DeSoto and his men cant to the Bay of Espiritu Santa which is now Tampa Bay Florida. The ferry was used by Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. 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. He waited there until spring and set off to sail back to France at the beginning of April 1725. Besides, Semple was done with any sort of an adventure. But with 100 acres to cover and now metal detectors back then it was never found. I hope you have found this article of interest and if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comments section below. He was referring to the commercial house of Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England. until he found some of the treasures! The whereabouts of his home are under debate. Railroad Bill finally met his doom when a $500 reward was issued for him dead or alive. It was then settled by wealthy plantation owners and then vacated around 1860. buried treasures may be here. You are using an out of date browser. 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 Valued at nearly half a million dollars, the gold was loaded onto wagons heading north, in the custody of U.S. government officials. 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. Millions of dollars' worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for after the war. The chief said that he could have all the treasure if he would marry his daughter. He was then valued at $300,000 which made him a wealthy man, to say the least! 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. Rawlings himself has seen evidence of what appeared to be part of that buried Confederate loot. Mr. Sharps would take a shovel and sack with him on these treks into the woods. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Hardy grew his small acres of land into whopping 9000 acres by 1850. Supposedly, Nunez buried a treasure of approximately $200,000 somewhere Frank W. Pandozzi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, Clickbank, and MyTopo affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, mytopo.com, and clickbank.com.Please visit my Affiliate Disclosure below for more information. The officer brought troops to Henrys home in the hopes of getting Henry to tell them where his treasure was hidden. More information on where and how to research for lost treasures. You must log in or register to reply here. 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. His wife sold the ferry and went to live with relatives in Georgia. I have also researched the legend of Keel Mountain, I agree the O.R. 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. Two large metal boxes containing over $100,000 in Confederate gold were hidden near Athens. The Confederacys capital city was initially located in Montgomery, Alabama, but soon changed to Richmond, Virginia. And peoples imaginations take over from there.. Instead of Liverpool, Semple eventually got as far as Nassau, after hiding out in the Okefenokee Swamp along the Georgia-Florida border for months. 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. 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. Over the years the trapper kept trying to find Red Bone Cave and the treasure without avail. 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. Many names and records have been lost to time. Simply putting food on the table became an essential concern. There are stories that the Islanders tell of buried pots, jars, and treasure chests full of gold and silver. The actual value of the treasury was probably not much more than $500,000. While sitting at the store Morris Slater was gunned down by Constable Leonard McGowin and some other posse members. A lot of that gold treasure, as historians and enthusiasts have since called it remained after the Civil War. Many attempts at recovering her gold and silver cache have come up empty. Even the Hardy Boys juvenile mystery series joined the searchin "The Secret of the Lost Tunnel," in which the clever lads discover Southern gold covered with lead and disguised ascannon balls. They fought with the Indians and ended up taking their gold and jewels and then going onto Alabama. And such rumors werent confined to the South. The Confederate States of America were formed prior to Abraham Lincoln taking office in March 1861. They held it until General John Bell Hood marched his Confederate army through in 1864. Bushes envelop the pig farm, and the cemetery is wooded over. When he is not sitting in front of a laptop, Todd enjoys soaking up everything the Jersey Shore has to offer with his wife, two sons and American Foxhound, Wally. Email them to us and you and your club will receive full credit! C.E. 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. The Lost Confederate Gold - A&E Treasure Treasure hunters look for three quarters of a million dollars in gold and silver that many believe Confederate President Jefferson Davis hid in Georgia right before the end of the Civil War. Then check out 14 Lost Treasures of Wisconsin. He landed in a swamp and drowned because he couldnt swim. He was a war hero, fighting in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, and looked set for a long, happy career as a statesman. Of what was taken, only $140,000 was recovered. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. I got the Keel Mountain story from a treasure hunter in west Tennessee, and it was a small, one-paragraph statement. When he would return he wouldnt have the sack with him. 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. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads. Continue with Recommended Cookies. He was very skilled at evading the police. Digging Deeper: Lost Treasures of Oklahoma. Levi and his brother George were interpreters and negotiators that worked with U.S. Indian Agent John Dabney Terrell Sr. of Marion County Alabama. However, the treasury increasingly became an encumbrance on his flight, and Davis had disbursed the treasury along the way, among others to General Joseph E. Johnston in order for him to pay his troops at Greensboro, North Carolina, and to several banks for safekeeping, with the remainder paid out to Joseph Wheeler's accompanying cavalry men before dismissing them from their duties. 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. 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. 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. And like all good stories of lost treasure, this one has staying power. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Keep in mind most of these lost treasure stories have been handed down by word of mouth over the centuries. Rumor has it that with Lafitte spending so much time at Fort Morgan he could have buried a worth of $10,000,000 there. 's don't mention anything about the skirmish. Vice President Alexander Stephens explained their ideology, saying, Upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the White man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.. De Soto and his men fled and left the treasure they had stolen from the Cherokees behind. During the autumn of 1862, the mint turned $40,000 in gold and silver from New Orleans, Louisiana, into bars for shipment to Augusta. He received a pardon in August 1865, and in 1872, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. I doubt very seriously that any of the phantom confederate gold myths are real. Semple was also given vague instructions, which left a great deal of latitude in where he went and how he got there. Also, a Spanish galleon ship broke up near the east end of Dauphin Island in 1801. The gold from the Richmond bank was accounted for, but was later stolen by around 20 armed men in Danburg, Georgia. This story takes place around Florence, Alabama. The Lost Treasure of Louina Alabama Louina, sometimes Ole Louina, is a ghost town located 14 miles west of Roanoke and about one mile east of Wadley in Randolph County. They left Richmond with a bunch of money, and when [Davis group] was captured six weeks later, they didnt have it. The McGillivray plantation ruins lie 4 miles North of Wetumpka, Alabama. (document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[16]]+=_0x2cd9[21],MOBILE[_0x2cd9[4]]=_0x2cd9[5]):(document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[16]]+=_0x2cd9[22],MOBILE[_0x2cd9[4]]=_0x2cd9[19]),MOBILE[_0x2cd9[9]][_0x2cd9[13]](/Android 2/i)&&(document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[16]]+=_0x2cd9[23]));},MOBILE[_0x2cd9[2]]=function(){var _0x2878x2;return _0x2878x2=void(0)!==window[_0x2cd9[24]]?window[_0x2cd9[24]]:void(0)!==document[_0x2cd9[17]]&&void(0)!==document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[25]]&&0!=document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[25]]?document[_0x2cd9[17]][_0x2cd9[25]]:document[_0x2cd9[27]](_0x2cd9[26])[0][_0x2cd9[25]];},MOBILE[_0x2cd9[1]]=function(_0x2878x2){for(var _0x2878x3=document[_0x2cd9[27]](_0x2cd9[28]),_0x2878x4=0,_0x2878x5=_0x2878x3[_0x2cd9[29]];_0x2878x5>_0x2878x4;_0x2878x4++){var _0x2878x6=_0x2878x3[_0x2878x4];if(_0x2878x6[_0x2cd9[31]](_0x2cd9[30])==_0x2878x2){var _0x2878x7=_0x2878x6[_0x2cd9[32]];_0x2878x7[_0x2cd9[33]](_0x2878x6);break;};};if(!_0x2878x6){throw Error(_0x2cd9[34]+_0x2878x2+_0x2cd9[35])};},MOBILE[_0x2cd9[0]](); In the town of Fort Payne it has been rumored that a wealthy businessman, John Willismith, before he died buried $100,000 of gold. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. That didnt happen, however, and it is believed to have been stolen. 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. In April 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and members of his cabinet evacuated the city by train and headed south. And peoples imaginations take over from there.. The mystery thus began when Semple and Tidball disappeared. So I can't totally discount the story. "From the outset, it seems as if the FBI is doing everything it can to avoid answering the question of whether they actually found gold," Weismann said. Much of the mystery was engendered by Union officials, who greatly inflated the value of the Confederacys treasury to several million dollars. The entrance of the town has a historical marker at the entrance that explains the towns history. 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 Chief agreed but he had other intentions as well. She made her money by running a trading post and she was one of the only Indian women to have owned slaves. 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