Railroad Bill real name Morris Slater was a black train robber, murderer during the late 1800s. Lost Treasure Near Clear Fork Creek. They never made it. Some of the most valuable placers in Alabama are found in Cleburne County. Had he known that in April of 1865 he, his cabinet and about $700,000 in gold and specie would have to evacuate Richmond to avoid capture during the waning days of the Civil War, he might have elected to remain in Montgomery. 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. Hardy Clemens died in 1863 leaving no trace of where he hid his treasure. Another had the group split up because of Castletons fever, with the lieutenants group taking the gold and disappearing. Here's how this gold war began, according to a Pittsburg Post-Gazette article about a 1983 story in Lost Treasure magazine. The really big lost treasure is that of the Confederate Treasury in custody of Jeff Davis upon leaving Richmond, fleeing the Yankee hordes. In 2002, the church awarded $32,000 to qualified women from Southeast Georgia, and in October 2003 there were fifteen women attending colleges or technical schools who were funded by the scholarship program. 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. The FBI initially claimed it had no files about the investigation. He was very skilled at evading the police. I would keep a close I on the eastern shore of Dauphin Island. Metal Detecting in Alabama - Coin & Treasure Hunting In the 1966 Spaghetti Western film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the . Please enter valid email address to continue. 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. After a long day traveling Hansen ended up at a friends home. Manage Settings The two trains left Richmond at midnight and when the tracks ended at Danville, Davis and his staff began to travel south on horseback. Some of the add-ons on this site are powered by. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Clemens owned many slaves so he was worried they would tell any soldiers that came by where the buried treasure was. With the Davis party was a navy paymaster, James S. Semple. The area was founded by exiled followers of Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800's. Henry Allen Nunez was an early-day entrepreneur. . Those two boxes of gold could still be buried deep in that bog near Athens, Alabama. The trapper ended up not marrying the chiefs daughter and he went away freely although he killed two braves to make sure he was able to leave. 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. I have not heard of both of these stories. Lost Confederate Gold - J. Mark Powell Curse of Civil War Gold Season 3: Release Date, Cast, Renewed or Canceled Rocky Springs, MS 39086, USA. When he would return he wouldnt have the sack with him. 11 Treasures That Are Still Hiding In Kentucky - OnlyInYourState The town of Louina grew to 2,500 residents with 30 homes, two churches, two schools, eight stores, and even a Masonic Lodge. 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The image of stacks of gold bars imprinted with "C.S.A" is tantalizing. She made her money by running a trading post and she was one of the only Indian women to have owned slaves. 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. Dauphin Island held many camps over the centuries including a British army camp, a Spanish army camp, a Federal army camp, and a French army camp. The question that I pose. You see the Civil War was going on and many plantation owners were worried that their wealth would be looted if Union soldiers came around. Mobile Bay was not permanently closed to blockade-runners until Adm. David G. Farragut's fleet ran past Fort Morgan into Mobile Bay on August 5 . De Soto and his men fled and left the treasure they had stolen from the Cherokees behind. Military money pokes. It would be a great place to find all kinds of history and relics that might still be strewn about by all those army camps. Bushes envelop the pig farm, and the cemetery is wooded over. Buried Train Robbery Loot: $30,000: On a farm in the Osage Hills close to the small town of Okesa, Ok. Of particular note, Wayne J. Lewis researched the connection between the Confederate gold and the Mumford estate due to his personal interest in the legend. 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. . If you are venturing on to State or Federal lands. Until next time Happy Treasure Hunting! your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable. She was a cargo ship that held deer hides, beaver pelts, tobacco, and 40,000 crowns of gold and silver bullion and coins. The Union Cavalry came upon them and they were both killed. 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. As the story goes, Thomas Jefferson Beale and a team of 30 men . . List of missing treasures - Wikipedia Hansen ended up killing one of the Union scouts. Lewis concluded that the Brantley County Confederate gold legend was probably fabricated from a combination of the legend told in Snow White Sands and the actual gold shipments after the war. But, the first story sounds very familiar with a post I put on Treasure Legends-"swamp gold." With its rich history of lost treasure, there is no wonder that we have 15 stories pertaining to lost treasure in Alabama. The Paradas accompanied the FBI to the site in Dent's Run, about 135 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, but say they were confined to their car while the FBI excavated. A man by the name of C.E. He resigned his commission as a captain after almost six years and he retired from the U.S. After some minor resistance from roving Confederate bands, on April 11, 1862, his Union troops marched into Huntsville and occupied the city. The townspeople decided to defend Newton but were worried that if they got defeated that the towns treasury would be looted. It may not display this or other websites correctly. 3. That's what an FBI agent was seeking to find out in 2018 when he applied for a search warrant to dig at the site in Elk County, northeast of Pittsburgh, according to a court filing unsealed on . But with 100 acres to cover and now metal detectors back then it was never found. Jean Lafitte the pirate supposedly buried gold coins on a beach in what is now Bayou la Batre. Shipwrecks of Mobile Bay and Alabama 1861-1865 - Admiral Raphael Semmes In April 1865, the Civil War ended for most Americans. CBS News affiliate WTAJ-TVreported members of the Elk County Historical Society say they believe the gold is just an old wives' tale. The war, and its various aspects . This Metal Detector Has all the top features you would expect in a quality metal detector. The legend states that DeSoto and his men cant to the Bay of Espiritu Santa which is now Tampa Bay Florida. Legend of Lost Gold of Keel Mountain National Treasure Hunters Gurley state of Alabama. $54 million in Lost Gold From the Civil War May Have Been Found You are using an out of date browser. Confederate Soldiers Buried Gold: Gold Coins So Davis took with him the entirety of the Confederate Treasury, a If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. The chief wanted him to marry his daughter. 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. 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. However, although the banks and the Confederacy had shipped their gold on the same train, each had its own security forces and the gold was never commingled. Catahoula Creek is a thin and meandering waterway that . Just imagine if you were the one to discover all this loot! There you go its all about rights again. 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. According to most news accounts and his website, hes been fighting for the right to dig there ever since. Henry refused to tell the soldiers where the treasure was and was beaten again. 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. Some say he buried his gold on his pig farm. Near Athens there may be a Confederate treasure. In 2012, Finders Keepers members said they'd found the location of . The lost gold also played a key role in the legendary 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The wreck of an unidentified wooden ship that was initially uncovered by Hurricane Camille in 1969 can be found about 6 miles from Fort Morgan along Alabama's Gulf . Millbrook, Al. All but about $70,000 was recovered and transferred to Augusta, Georgia, where ownership of the funds was tied up in court until 1893. In 1720 there was a trapper that came to the Chickasaw village. The story has it that Mr. Clemens buried $100,000 worth of gold on his property because he was worried about losing it. He went to Fort Rosalie and told a friend about the treasure. 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. La Bellone ran aground at the entrance of Pelican Bay in September of 1724 which is on the east end of Dauphin Island. It was an E-mail he sent to someone and it found it's way to being an article on several sites. A battle took place on one of his plantations in central Alabama in October 1779 and the plantation was destroyed. The French officials seemed La Bellone unsalvageable and didnt attempt to recover the lost cargo. It was then settled by wealthy plantation owners and then vacated around 1860. buried treasures may be here. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. FBI on trail of $55M in gold missing since Civil War - al Winter was approaching so De Soto and his men set up camp until spring. The rest of the gold found its way into the hands of his daughter, Goertner Gertrude Mumford Parkhurst, in New York, where she lived and invested it well. 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. 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, a Spanish galleon ship broke up near the east end of Dauphin Island in 1801. Lewis graduated from Thornwell High School in 1958 and then from Clemson University in 1962 before serving on active duty in Germany and Vietnam with the U.S. Army. But during heavy rains, the river would rise fast and recede slowly so during those times people could not cross. FBI Hunt for Civil War Gold Detailed in Unsealed Affidavit By all accounts, $100,000 in gold and silver coins was being transported by wagon in two wooden crates. Sharps bought a mill there called Whites Mill in 1897. From there, I am assuming the Bellview back then is Belleville today, just with a name change. Wesley Millett and Gerald White are the authors of The Rebel and the Rose. It is said that John Buried $100,000 worth of gold there. Still feverish, Castleton took over and made a number of course changes, including a plan to build a raft and float down the Susquehanna River to Harrisburg. Buried treasure in Alabama may be located in ghost towns. Both were published by The Surrat Courier, a . "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 .