Confederate Gold and Silver

by Peter F. Warren

  On Saturday afternoon Paul took Donna for her first ride on the boat. On the way to the marina they stopped and picked up a couple of grinders from one of the several Subway Restaurants along Highway 17. Besides towels, sun tan lotion, and other necessities for the day, they brought along a cooler of drinks for them to wash their food down with. Once on the boat they slowly cruised north on the Waccamaw River and then turned around, heading south after they had passed the point where U.S. 501 crosses over the river. Even from where they were on the river, they could hear the traffic on the bridge as it passed high above them. This day was like many during the summer as today the bridge again served as a main artery for visitors coming and going to Myrtle Beach. Seeing the bridge from a different viewpoint for the first time, Donna marveled at its size where it spanned the river.

  The lazy day on the river was proving to be a rare treat for them as they had been so busy since moving to South Carolina they really had not spent much time together just relaxing. Donna did not want this day to end. Relaxing in the afternoon sun, she hoped they would spend many more days cruising on the river, just the two of them. Paul’s boat was turning out to be a treat for her to enjoy as well.

  During the time Paul spent over the next couple of days with his discovery, he spent much of it trying to interpret the hidden meanings he thought were contained somewhere within the four letters he had found. He concentrated especially on the one Captain Francis had written to President Davis. “What is he trying to tell Davis in this letter? It’s obvious he hid some of the gold and silver in North Carolina, at least that’s what I think he is saying, but he is so vague in where he hid it. It could be almost anywhere. And why did he leave some of the gold and silver with Governor Allston’s children and not with the governor himself? If he did leave it with the children, what did they do with it and where is it now?” The questions which raced through his mind were many. Again, it was only the answers to the questions that were few. The more he read, the more questions he had, but still he could not crack what it was that Francis was trying to explain in his letter. He even spent a few hours one evening just sitting in his garage trying to put some logic together in his thought process to help him have a sense of where the money could possibly be buried in North Carolina. But the more he worked at the clues, the further his mind seemed to push away any logic he mustered from the letters he read and reread a countless number of times.

  Three days after Chick and Paul played golf, they all met for breakfast to talk about what information Jayne had found on the bayonet and the saber. By now, Paul had spent several hours pouring over the letters in his garage. After meeting them at the Waccamaw Diner for breakfast, Paul was planning to show them the location where he had found the soldier’s remains.

  Arriving before the others did, Paul sat in his favorite booth waiting for them. While he was by himself, Betty came over with a pot of coffee and tried to squeeze a few tidbits of information from him regarding his discovery. As she poured his coffee for him, he only gave her back answers to her questions based on information which had already been contained in the newspapers. She soon realized her curiosity was not going to be satisfied that morning.

  “OK, OK, I get the message. When you are ready you will tell me, right? But remember, you promised!”

  Paul nodded to her and then took his first sip of coffee to help him start the day. Waiting for the others to arrive, he moved the other coffee cups off to the side of the booth and then spread out the day’s Myrtle Beach Times. It had been left on the nearby lunch counter by a previous customer. Casually he looked to see how the Yankees had done against the Red Sox the night before. He was pleased to see the Yankees had beaten Boston for the second night in a row. They were now four games up in the division standings over the Sox. He had almost gotten through going over the Major League box scores when Chick and Jayne sat down in the booth opposite him.

  After placing their orders for the blueberry pancakes Paul had highly recommended, Chick asked the question which had been bugging him for the past few days. “OK, when we played golf the other day I promised myself I would not ask you this, but today is different. Was that the soldier’s gold watch you were teasing us with the other day when you drove off?”

  “Might have been, but you know the ground rules by now. I give you some information, like I did the other day with the coins and the other two items, and then you tell me what you have found out about them. Then I decide if I am going to tell you more.” Paul knew for now he held the high cards in the deck. He also knew Chick, likely for no other reason than to satisfy his own curiosity, wanted to know more about his discovery and what those cards were that he was holding.

  “Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll let Jayne tell you what we know. But you better tell me more about that watch!” Chick then nodded to Jayne. It was a nod telling her to let Paul know what they had found out about the saber and the bayonet. As she started to describe what they had learned, Chick momentarily lost interest in the conversation as his eyes settled on the large stack of hot blueberry pancakes that Betty had placed down in front of him.

  Momentarily ignoring her pile of pancakes, Jayne told Paul what they had learned. “Surprisingly, I think we have found out quite a bit about the two items. While we still have some other resources to check, we have a good feeling about our findings so far. The gold coins are another story in themselves.”

  Through a mouth full of pancakes Paul responded back to her. “Well, so far so good. Tell me more.”

  “The saber was made by a company called Boyle, Gamble & MacFee; they were suppliers of arms to the Confederacy. The model you found is one we believe to be what they called their Type 1 saber bayonet. It was made to be twenty-one and a half inches in length, the blade that is. The number you saw on the brass hilt, the number thirty-eight actually, we believe that number identified the saber as being the thirty-eighth saber they had produced. They were a Richmond based company that operated on South Sixth Street for a period of time. Now for the better news. While it will need to be appraised, our guess is it’s likely worth around $2,400.00 or so. Good news, huh? As you likely know, appraisals are based on the conditions items are in and how many of the same item still exist, and so on, but we think we are in the ballpark with our estimate of its value.”

  “You know, I really had not even thought about its value so I guess I’m surprised, or maybe I’m not, at what you say the saber is worth. To be honest with you, I don’t care what its worth as that’s not what this is about for me.”

  As Chick continued to eat his breakfast, he could not help but smile when he heard how Paul had responded to Jayne’s comment about the value of the saber. He now knew Paul was motivated solely by the hunt for information regarding his discovery. He sensed his new friend, while likely interested in knowing what the value was of the items he had found, was far more interested in other information. What the saber and bayonet were worth was secondary in its importance to what he was trying to accomplish. Knowing this now caused him to be even more interested in working with Paul. Now he sat quietly, more intrigued than ever, trying to figure out what mystery his friend was trying to solve.

  Jayne had barely had time to start her breakfast when Paul interrupted her second forkful of pancakes. “So what else do you have for me, Miss Jayne?”

  Putting down her fork, she looked back at the notes she had spread out on the table next to her pancakes. “As we have discussed, the bayonet was somewhat crudely made. It was likely one that was mass produced, at least mass produced for that period of time you understand. We think it was also likely manufactured by another Richmond based company. It fits the description of bayonets which had been made by the Richmond Armory. They were designed to be used with a musket known as a Richmond Musket. The bayonet’s design, with the off centered locking ring, is why we believe it was made by them. For what it’s worth, the length at the time it was manufactur
ed was around twenty-one and one-sixteenths in size. We don’t even have an educated guess on its value as of yet, but we hope to soon. I have some feelers out there with some Civil War dealers I know and I hope to have an estimate on the value in the next couple of days.” Not knowing how much time she had before Paul peppered her with more questions, Jayne quickly dove into her pancakes again.

  “Looks like you have done your homework. I am impressed with what you have found out so fast. But I want you to stop. I don’t want to know about the gold coins, or their value, or how rare they might be; at least right now I don’t.” Paul stopped to collect his thoughts before he said anything else. Sipping his coffee, he thought about what Jayne had just told him.

  “What the saber is worth, what the coins are worth, really is for others to be concerned with, but not me. Those items I have shown you are not mine to keep and I really have little interest in profiting in any way from what I have found. I also have zero interest in any of the media attention which has been directed my way as that’s not what I am about. What I have an interest in, perhaps because I was a cop, and perhaps because of my interest in the Civil War, is digging at the facts and clues that I have in my possession. Above that, I could care less about what these items are worth. You may not believe me, but that’s how it is. If you want to continue to help me, you both have to agree we will not profit personally, outside of your papers or perhaps from a book you or I may write, by anything we may find. That’s how it’s going to be. It’s up to you whether you are in or out.”

  Chick finished his breakfast as Paul had spoken and was enjoying his second cup of coffee as Jayne was finishing her breakfast. “Paul, it’s refreshing in these times to hear your thoughts on whether we should be able to profit from such an historic find. We both share the same position you have. Being a teacher myself, Jayne as a future teacher, and certainly you as a cop, none of us chose our professions expecting to get rich. I don’t expect to get rich because we are in this with you, even if we find a few more coins or some other items of value from the war. For the two of us, this is a unique experience which will help us become better teachers. I hope you will let us be a part of this with you.” Jayne did not say a word, choosing instead to finish the last few bites of her breakfast. She just nodded her head emphatically at what Chick had just told Paul.

  Previously having made the decision to trust them with the details about his find, Chick’s comments now caused him to realize he had made the right decision. As they sat in the diner’s small booth, Paul was seated opposite from his two new partners. Now he pushed an unused coffee cup towards them. The cup had been placed upside down on a saucer like all diners do when they set their tables. “Either of you need a clean cup for your next cup of coffee?”

  Grasping the hidden meaning of what Paul was saying to them, Jayne reached for the cup first, pulling it closer to her. Picking it up, she saw the gold pocket watch that had been hidden under it.

  “Jayne, please be careful with the watch. It opens now because I cleaned it somewhat, but don’t force it open or close the face too hard. I still need to have it professionally cleaned. Listen, if you want to make some notes about the watch, that’s fine with me.”

  Chick and Jayne both carefully examined the watch for several minutes. Jayne then took some notes regarding her observations so she could research the name displayed on the face of it. She hoped she would be able to find out more about the watch than what they knew so far. As they both examined the gold watch, Paul told them about finding it still hanging inside the massive Live Oak tree where he had found the soldier’s remains. The fact that it had remained hanging in the tree for so long astounded both of them as the watch had remained in such good condition.

  As they finished looking at the watch, Paul showed them the digital photos he had taken during his second visit to the tree where he had found the soldier’s remains. “Of course anything can be staged to make it look real, but this photo shows you where the watch was hanging in the tree. If you look closely at several of the photos you can even see some of the rope fibers I told you about. The fibers were still attached to spots inside the tree.”

  “Simply amazing,” was Chick’s only comment as he studied the photos.

  After talking a few more minutes, Paul then suggested they should head out to the marina so they could talk more freely once they got on the boat. They both knew Paul was being careful about discussing details of his find in the diner as he was protecting what was being discussed from others who sat nearby eating their breakfast. Handing the pocket watch back to him for safekeeping, they readily agreed to his suggestion.

  Starting from the time they all climbed aboard Paul’s boat and until they returned to the marina almost four hours after they had shoved off, Paul talked to them about what he had found in the tree. As they visited the location where he had made the discovery, Jayne made a rough sketch of the area, took numerous photos of the Live Oak tree which had hid the soldier for so many years, and took several photos of the surrounding area as well with her Canon cameras. She also videotaped the same areas with her Canon eight millimeter video camera. She stopped short of filming the inside of the tree as she feared some animal would jump out and bite her. Paul completed that task for her. They did everything they could to document the area in and around the tree, even measuring the circumference of the tree with a small tape measure Chick had brought with him. Jayne and Chick even took the time to measure the size of the opening in the tree, the same opening which both the soldier and Paul had crawled into. After they were done taking those measurements, Chick crawled into the opening so he could get a proper perspective of what the tree’s interior looked like.

  On the return trip to the marina it was Jayne who again brought up the idea of making a documentary. “You know this would be a great story to tell, a story many others would probably enjoy seeing. We need to give this some strong consideration.”

  To their surprise Paul told them he had been thinking about making the documentary since they had last met. He now told them he felt they should put a plan together to move forward with that idea. “I actually like the idea of a documentary as I think we have the start of a great story to tell. I also think we should give some consideration to including the story about Jayne’s great-grandfather in it. That’s a part of the war we should include in the film. The only request I have is I want to meet the guy who Chick spoke about the other day. I want to make sure he understands what the rules are. I need to feel comfortable around him. Sound OK?”

  “That’s fine with us. We already knew you would want to do that.”

  Paul could tell from the look on her face that Jayne was touched by the comment he had made about her great-grandfather’s story being included in the film. He had not made this suggestion to just make her feel good; rather he had suggested this as part of his idea for the documentary’s storyline. It was part of a story he thought would mesh well with the discovery he had made.

  After Paul got the boat back on the trailer at the marina, he offered to buy them both a cold beer at the marina’s small restaurant. Soon they were enjoying their cold beers on the outdoor patio. Sitting at a small wooden table, they had a great view of the river as they discussed what they had seen earlier when they visited the tree. They spent the next hour relaxing and talking until Paul announced he had to go. Standing up to leave, he suggested Jayne should shoot a couple of pictures of the pocket watch he had left in his truck. “This way I can put it back in my safety deposit box tomorrow and not have to worry about it.”

  As Jayne took her photos and a short video clip of the watch, Chick asked Paul if he had given any more thought to the legend of the missing Confederate treasury.

  “Actually I have given it a lot of thought.”

  “Think the treasury will ever be found?”

  “Yes, I do. All someone needs to do is figure out a couple of the clues which
were left behind. But then, when you know the clues and you know some of the other details, you should be able to figure it out. Yes, I expect to find it.”

  Chick was stunned by what Paul had just said. “Are you telling me that . . .”

  Paul cut Chick off in mid-sentence. “Yes, I am.”

  Standing only a few feet away as she packed her cameras back in their cases, Jayne quickly spun around towards Paul and Chick. Her expression revealed the shock she heard from the news Paul had just given them.

  Still momentarily stunned by the magnitude of what Paul had told them, Chick stood silent for a few moments. “Paul, are you telling us you know where the missing Confederate gold and silver is hidden? Are you telling us you know what others have tried to figure out for almost one hundred and fifty years? People have dedicated significant periods of their lives trying to unravel this mystery and now you are telling us, from an accidental discovery you made, that you know where the money is?”

  “Yep. Care to see it? That is the clues I mean.”

  “Damn straight we want to see them!” The loud and bold response from Jayne caught Chick off guard. Almost immediately he and Paul were laughing at her quick aggressive response. It had been so out of character for her to talk so loud, but now she was caught up in the excitement of the moment just as Chick had been moments earlier.

  Paul made plans with them to meet him tomorrow morning at his house so they could talk further. The excitement of what he told them caused the three of them to talk in the marina’s parking lot for almost another hour. Chick tried to pry more details from him about the clues, but he held him off, telling him to be patient. “Chick, let’s wait until tomorrow to discuss the clues. We will have more time then. I need to get going and I’d rather tell you about them went we aren’t so rushed for time.” Now more eager than ever to move on with the hunt, those hours they would have to wait would seem like a lifetime.