We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. In the Cumberland mountains of central Tennessee a small Confederate detail had hidden the gold in a mountain cache. It definitely would be worth taking a metal detector to the beach. Henrys wife gave in and told the soldiers where one of the wine casks was buried. And such rumors werent confined to the South. He sketched the symbols . Manage Settings He waited there until spring and set off to sail back to France at the beginning of April 1725. Then too, given the volume and weight of the silver, the digging would have certainly been noticed by soldiers and townspeople, whether during the day or at night under the glow of kerosene lamps. AFFILIATE DISCLOSUREI am an affiliate marketer. I live n the the ala state line and have pulse and gpr if anyone is interested in searching, Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. So with Jesse James spending time and hiding out, its only natural that many believe that he would have buried treasure in and around these areas of Alabama. The chief wanted him to marry his daughter. The attack happened in March of 1865. 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 its there Im all for digging it up. With the technology of today, why does the specie remain buried? 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. Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey-based politics, entertainment and history writer. At the time no one questioned his integrity or his simple explanation. Union officials also estimated the value of the Confederate fortune in the millions of dollars, hoping to spur along the Federal troops seeking the fugitive Davis and his government. I would think that they would have USED the gold before burying it. The FBI initially claimed it had no files about the investigation. They loaded the two boxes of treasure onto two wagons and headed for Columbia. 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. I have talked to the guy who wrote what you found on #2. De Soto demanded that the Chicksaw Chief who had a camp nearby furnish him with squaws for his trip into Mississippi. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Demopolis is an abandoned town on the Tombigbee River, near the intersection of rout 43, and 80. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 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. He was specific about the state, but Bellview and Booneville are marked as being in Tennessee. Besides, Semple was done with any sort of an adventure. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. They took a small fortune in gold and silver with them when they fled Richmond, Virginia in April 1865. 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. So get your picks, shovels, and metal detector ready as we go through the 15 lost treasures of Alabama. So Hardy decided to bury the treasure late at night when everyone was asleep. People like to believe theres something out there, Rawlings says. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Supposedly, Nunez buried a treasure of approximately $200,000 somewhere One day a Union Officer became privy to Henry Nune and his buried treasure. And some say its buried amongst the slaves in the graveyard on the property. That was generally what he had been told to do in May 1865, in what became known as the "Last Order" of the Confederacy. First published on January 6, 2022 / 11:11 AM. Bill Kirby has reported, photographed and commented on life in Augusta and Georgiafor 45 years. What happened to it, however, no one knows, and this has created a mystery thats spanned over 150 years. The Union Cavalry came upon them and they were both killed. The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. That didnt happen, however, and it is believed to have been stolen. Union soldiers were invading the countryside around Sherwood Forest, the Tyler plantation, and the safety of her young children was paramount. 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. JavaScript is disabled. Jeff. On March 7, 1896, he was in a general store in the town of Atmore, Alabama. The rest of the missing money has been said to be the basis for several local fortunes in the Danburg area. Millions of dollars' worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for after the war. Hansen now alone with the two wagons of treasure knowing that the soldier would soon return with more union troops decides to use the horses to overturn the wagons into the deep swamp. Many of these treasures are now on private land or owned by the federal or state government. Henry Allen Nunez was an early-day entrepreneur. Ultimately, he took refuge in the North at the home of Julia Gardiner Tyler. You are using an out of date browser. C.E. Then check out 14 Lost Treasures of Wisconsin. The folk ballad by Lonnie Donegan was named after him. He received a pardon in August 1865, and in 1872, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. As soon as they spent all the gold and silver they came back for more. 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. Among Confederate veterans organizations, rumors later swirled that their fleeing leaders were carrying millions of dollars when they evacuated Richmond. The French officials seemed La Bellone unsalvageable and didnt attempt to recover the lost cargo. So they filled a strongbox full of gold coins that the town had stored up as the treasury. Given these events, and his extensive property, Tidball very likely profited from a disbursement of the treasury in Georgia. buried near what used to be his house on the Alabama side of the river. Your email address is safe, and unsubscribing is easy. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. If you are venturing on to State or Federal lands you should know the laws of that State. They picked 3 men to bury the box full of gold coins somewhere near the courthouse. In the film, a thief goes back in time to hijack the money using advanced technology. 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. Jefferson Davis, a Congressman from Mississippi and former Secretary of War, was named its president. So with no luck finding the treasure he packed up and moved to California. Most importantly, Davis only has a few dollars on him when he was captured, which led to a long-running question: where did all the money and gold go? CBS News affiliate WTAJ-TVreported members of the Elk County Historical Society say they believe the gold is just an old wives' tale. Know of good Lost Treasure Stories for this County? Clemens owned many slaves so he was worried they would tell any soldiers that came by where the buried treasure was. They left Richmond with a bunch of money, and when [Davis group] was captured six weeks later, they didnt have it. The townspeople decided to defend Newton but were worried that if they got defeated that the towns treasury would be looted. Having his ferry there solved this problem. They worked hard to get good lands out west which the U.S. Government was trying to move them to. Alabama, The Heart of Dixie as its nicknamed was the 22nd state to be admitted to the Union on December 14, 1819. After the decision was made to disband the Confederate government on May 4, 1865, Davis entrusted $86,000 to two Confederate navy officials, whom he tasked with smuggling the money to England. Late that night, two trains departed Richmond heading south. He went to Fort Rosalie and told a friend about the treasure. Mysteries endure, too, including the ultimate disposition of the Confederate treasury. This was probably done to increase the incentive to Union soldiers combing the villages and roads of the Carolinas and Georgia for the treasury, and for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who had fled Richmond. Davis was arrested on May 10 by members of the 4th Michigan Cavalry. 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.. But this time Henry died from being beaten. The gold and silver coins are said to be buried east of his old homestead. Knowing that he was wealthy and owned half of the town the legend has it that the gold could be buried anywhere in Fort Payne. ; Official from Secretary Stanton. A battle took place on one of his plantations in central Alabama in October 1779 and the plantation was destroyed. 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. var FIX=FIX||{}; So if youre in Randolph County Alabama look up that old ghost town that was once called Louina. Henry refused to tell the soldiers where the treasure was and was beaten again. A town was named after her that once was one of the largest towns in Randolph County Alabama. Confederate States of America currency circa 1865. 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. It happened between the Confederate Armory which was not over run during the war and present day, Wall Street . 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 . From Harper's Weekly The federal Branch Mint at Dahlonega had $23,716 in gold and silver when it was taken over by the Confederate States of America in 1861. The lack of discussion in these books is not surprising. "There's been a pattern of behavior by the FBI that's been very troubling," said Anne Weismann, who represents Finders Keepers. 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. There are rumors that caches of coins and silverware are buried on and around the plantation ruins. 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. The FBI has long insisted the March 2018 dig came up empty, but the agency has consistently stymied the Paradas' efforts to obtain information. General Dukes Brigade. They were active in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Many names and records have been lost to time. 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. Railroad Bill finally met his doom when a $500 reward was issued for him dead or alive. Jean Lafitte the French Privateer and Pirate is said to have spent a considerable amount of time visiting Fort Morgan, Alabama. 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. The Confederate president and other government officials were urged to leave Richmond immediately to avoid being captured by Union troops. While sitting at the store Morris Slater was gunned down by Constable Leonard McGowin and some other posse members. He was then valued at $300,000 which made him a wealthy man, to say the least! Hansen and some other Alabama citizens raised quite a bit of capital in the form of gold and silver bullion and coins. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 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. The rumor is that the gold was buried under the name of a confederate general between two false generals in a cemetery. In April 1865, the Civil War ended for most Americans. It was abandoned in 1870. 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. Bushes envelop the pig farm, and the cemetery is wooded over. 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. When he would return he wouldnt have the sack with him. On April 2, 1865, an urgent telegram came for Davis from General Robert E. Lee. He took the bodies of the Confederate soldiers with him. In the 1966Spaghetti Westernmovie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," the protagonists get information about lost Confederate gold hidden in a grave at a cemetery. Maybe you could be the one who prospers from finding one of these lost treasure gems in Alabama! This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. So what happened to that missing Confederate treasure? Is There Treasure Waiting For You In Alabama? In popular imagination, the Richmond bank goldhas become part of the lost Confederate treasure, and there is some truth to that story, Rawlings says. The legend of the Confederate gold is referenced in many films. Union troops closing in on the Confederate capital. 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. In 1872,The Chronicle put that question to the man in charge Col. Raphael J. Moses, the former Confederate quartermaster. There was even a systemto such pursuits. Allegedly, some of the Confederate treasury was hidden in order to wait for the rising again of the South and at other times simply so that the Union would not gain possession of it. Two trains left from the capital that night. Its unclear what happened to the money. He practically owned half of the town of Fort Payne. I am sure some of your readers are from that area and are familiar with the Prattville, Montgomery area and of course, the Alabama River. He is said to have stored the gold and silver coins that he got from the Ferry goers in wine casks. In the movie, the characters are hunting for $200,000 worth of gold that is rumored to be hidden in a cemetery. Key role in the town of Fort Payne a thief goes back in time to hijack the using! 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