Her Majesty's Gold

by Gregory Kopp

  He flicked an ash from his burning cigarette. Johannes was equally puzzled.

  “No one should be working in the vaults today.” He said to Cordwell. “I’ll investigate it. But you stay here!”

  “Of course, sir.” Richard feigned a salute at Johannes. “I discovered a cool and comfortable spot with a pleasant breeze.” He took another drag on his cigarette.

  Johannes pushed past him and went down the basement stairs. At the base of the stairs, he rounded the corner of the basement to investigate the unusual noises. He pulled out his pistol from his pocket and pointed it straight ahead. He tried to see what was happening in the vault, but it was too dark. As he crept closer, Johannes spotted five men loading an empty handcart with burlap bags. Two of them were dressed as policemen.

  Johannes shouted “nobody moves, or I will shoot” and he cocked the trigger on his pistol.

  Johannes leveled his pistol at one of the policemen. Georg turned and fired a gunshot and hit Johannes in the shoulder. This caused him to spin around and drop his weapon. Johannes crumbled to the ground as the bullet seared through his shoulder causing excruciating pain.

  Georg went over to the fallen Johannes and kicked his pistol away from him. He looked down at him and did a double-take. He recognized him. Johannes also looked up at the eyes of his assailant and recognized him too!

  Georg leveled his gun at Johannes and looked at him with dark steely eyes.

  “Don’t move or I’ll kill you!”

  Johannes looked at the Confederate spy and said: “Somehow, I knew I would see you again!” He winced from the pain in his wounded shoulder.

  Georg lowered his weapon. “What are doing here?” He asked.

  Johannes said, “I am guarding the Treasury Building against the rioting anti-draft mobs.”

  It was Georg’s turn to smile. “You mean the riots we started.” He said with a laugh and raised his revolver again and leveled it at Johannes.

  “You started them? Why?” Johannes said in wonder. But then it dawned on him that Georg was working for the Confederacy!

  Georg laughed once more. “You don’t think New York City young men were prepared to be drafted, do you?” He said. “Old Abe Lincoln is losing the support of his own people in this blasted war!”

  At that moment, the Confederate lieutenant came up to Georg. “We’re almost done, Sir.” He said. “How are we getting out?” the lieutenant wondered aloud.

  Georg hushed him. “I have it covered. We now have two hostages!” Johannes looked up at Georg and saw him point at another unconscious man tied up in the corner of the vault.

  Meanwhile, Richard Cordwell was startled when he heard the gunshot down below in the vault. As a result, he drew his revolver out of his coat pocket and climbed quietly down the stairs to where Johannes had disappeared. He saw a man dressed as a policeman pointing a pistol at Johannes sitting on the ground. He also saw four other men loading a hand cart with burlap bags. It appeared to Richard that Johannes was bleeding from his shoulder. His shirt bore a deep crimson stain spreading to his chest. He cocked the trigger on his revolver. In that same instant, Georg heard the sound of his revolver, and ducked down and fired a shot back in Richard Cordwell’s direction. But he missed it.

  “C’mon,” Georg shouted at his men. “Let’s get out of here!”

  He turned to his fellow soldiers and helped push the handcart into the dark hallway, onto the crank elevator and closed the heavy steel door. After they had gone, Richard ran up to Johannes.

  “Bloody, hell. Are you ok?” He asked.

  Johannes struggled to his feet with his arm hanging limply at his side. “After them, they are stealing the gold!” He shouted at Richard as he began climbing the stairs. Richard turned around to look at the vault. He noticed the gold belonging to Great Britain was missing. Richard and Johannes began running up the stairs after the five men.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  When Georg and his men reached the main floor of the Treasury Building, they stepped out of the elevator and confronted another sentry half asleep at his post.

  “Hold there! Who are you?” The startled sentry cried to the five men pushing the handcart loaded with gold off the elevator. Georg responded by shooting the sentry and killing him. The Confederate soldiers pushed the handcart outside the side door of the building and vanished.

  Meantime, Richard Cordwell and Johannes reached the top of the stairs and discovered the dead sentry. They raced down the hallway and discovered the wide-open side door. The five men had escaped with the gold!

  “They are gone.” Said Johannes resignedly. Cordwell placed his revolver back into his jacket pocket.

  “Would you recognize them if you saw them again?” He asked Johannes.

  “Yes, I’ll never forget that face,” Johannes said.

  “Good, now let’s patch you up and go after them!” He said to Johannes as they began walking to the front of the Treasury Building.

  Johannes stopped him and said, “Wait, he said there was another hostage. I recall seeing another man in the vault.”

  “You wait here and get that bloody shoulder looked at! I’ll take care of him.” Richard said. He returned to the basement vault and found Robert Lincoln unconscious in the corner. Robert was tied up and his clothes were disheveled. Richard shook him. Robert Lincoln opened his eyes.

  “Where am I?” He asked Richard Cordwell.

  “In the Treasury Building. You’re safe now.” Richard replied as he helped him to his feet. Robert took a few small steps, but almost fell to the ground. Richard supported him up the stairs to the ground floor of the building. Meantime, General Burnett and the New York City militia reinforcements had arrived.

  General Burnett spotted Richard Cordwell helping Robert Lincoln to the front door for some fresh air. He paled when he recognized who he was. He had met Robert Lincoln once at a reception in the White House in Washington City. He ordered two soldiers to assist Richard to carry Robert to a chair near the open front door of the building. General Burnett turned to Richard Cordwell and demanded: “What happened here?”

  “Thieves stole Her Majesty’s gold!” said Richard Cordwell.

  “Do you know where they went?” said a surprised General Burnett.

  “Yes, to the docks. I overheard their leader say they needed to get back to their ship to sail on the evening tide.” Cordwell said.

  The wounded Johannes was tended to by an arriving corpsman. Johannes overheard the general speaking to Richard Cordwell. He stood at attention with his injured arm limp at his side and addressed the general.

  “General I want to go with your men. I recognized the leader as a Confederate spy from New Orleans. I can help you capture him and his men and retrieve the gold.” Johannes said with emphasis on the last words, “retrieve the gold”.

  General Burnett agreed and ordered a squad of militia soldiers to help Richard Cordwell and Johannes capture the Confederate spies and return the gold. As they were preparing to leave, Allan Pinkerton arrived out of breath from running all the way from City Hall. He had heard there was a skirmish with Confederate spies and hurried to offer his assistance to the officer in charge.

  Pinkerton spotted Robert Lincoln propped up in a chair by the front door of the Treasury Building. He rushed past the soldiers to give him aid. Robert waved him away.

  “I’m fine Allan. Just a little shaken up!” Robert Lincoln said.

  Allan Pinkerton with a relieved look on his face turned toward General Burnett and recognized Richard Cordwell. He placed his hand on his holster containing a revolver and turned toward Cordwell. He knew Richard Cordwell was a detective from Scotland Yard. Pinkerton had been active in the Scotland Chartist movement against the British Crown and evaded arrest before emigrating to America.

  “Stand down, Pinkerton.” General Burnett ordered when he saw his hand prepared to draw his revolver. “This man rescued young Mr. Lincoln from Confederate spies. They have infiltrated the city and stolen gold bullion from
the Treasury.”

  Allan Pinkerton replaced his revolver in his holster giving a wary eye to Cordwell. Richard Cordwell also tensed up at the sight of Lincoln’s former bodyguard.

  Pinkerton said to General Burnett. “I have to return the president’s son to Washington City, General. I receive my orders directly from the President.”

  General Burnett nodded and instructed two soldiers to go with Pinkerton and Robert Lincoln to his hotel to retrieve his belongings. Richard Cordwell fingered an old Scotland Yard warrant for the arrest of Allan Pinkerton, which he carried in his pocket. Pinkerton was surrounded by Union soldiers and on a mission for the President of the United States. The arrest warrant would have to wait for another time Richard realized.

  Allan Pinkerton helped Robert Lincoln to stand up and they both returned to his hotel to gather his belongings under escort by two New York City militia soldiers. Meanwhile, Richard, Johannes and a squad of militia soldiers began walking towards the docks of New York City.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Richard Cordwell and Johannes reached the wharves in New York City and began searching the docks with the squad of soldiers. They discovered the two Confederate private soldiers loading the large burlap bags on-board one of the ships at anchor. Their sergeant was standing in the bow of the ship and smoking a hand-rolled cigarette. The two soldiers were laughing and talking about returning home with the gold they had stolen.

  Richard Cordwell, Johannes and the squad of soldiers adopted positions surrounding the ship. Richard whispered to the soldiers not to fire until he or Johannes gave the direct orders.

  Johannes crept up to the bow of the ship undetected. He gripped his revolver in his good hand. Meanwhile, the Confederate sergeant began rolling a new cigarette. Johanne leaped onto him and knocked him unconscious to the deck with the butt of his revolver. Simultaneously, Richard and the remaining soldiers began firing at the two privates unloading the gold.

  Georg heard the shooting and rushed above deck with his revolver drawn. The Confederate lieutenant was trailing right behind him. Georg spotted Johannes standing over the sergeant and shot at him but missed. Johannes scurried to take cover behind some barrels on the deck of the ship.

  One of the Confederate privates had been struck by a militia soldier’s bullet and was lying on the dock bleeding to death. While the Confederate lieutenant jumped down off the ship and began firing his revolver at the militia soldiers. Richard Cordwell shot the Confederate lieutenant between the eyes, and he fell dead onto the dock. The other Confederate private dived into the water attempting to escape.

  Georg jumped Johannes from behind and began pummeling his injured shoulder. Johannes cried out in pain and pushed Georg off of him and onto the deck of the ship.

  Johannes stood up and leveled his revolver at Georg and shouted: “Stop, you are under arrest!”

  Georg with blood in his eyes ignored him and leaped at Johannes. Johannes fired and Georg was stopped in midair by the bullet to his chest and fell to the deck. Georg opened his eyes and smiled at Johannes.

  “You win!” He said before expiring.

  Johannes placed his revolver back in his holster. He covered Georg’s body with a tarp and turned to go. He noticed the ship’s captain and crew huddled in the hold attempting to hide from the firefight. Johannes flung a silver coin at the captain.

  “Return this man to New Orleans and allow him a decent burial,” Johannes ordered. The captain nodded and Johannes then ordered the militia soldiers to load the burlap bags filled with gold onto the handcart.

  Richard Cordwell and his men tied up the Confederate sergeant and searched in vain for the Confederate private who jumped into the water. After several minutes when the private still did not come up for air, Cordwell told the militia soldiers:

  “Forget about him. He’s likely drowned!”

  Johannes and the militia soldiers finished loading the gold bullion back onto the handcart. Richard Cordwell said to Johannes, “I have to finish some business for the Queen. Please excuse me, but I will meet you later back at the Treasury Building.”

  Johannes and the militia soldiers with their prisoner began pushing the handcart filled with gold down the street back to the Treasury Building, while, Richard Cordwell walked swiftly in the opposite direction, hoping to find Allan Pinkerton alone, to arrest him.

  Several yards downstream, the Confederate private surfaced from beneath the water, coughing and gasping for air. He looked around and did not see any soldiers, so he swam to shore and scrambled to hide in some bushes. In his hand, he was carrying a gold bar stamped with the Great Seal of Queen Victoria. He placed it in his pocket and determined to wait until dark to make his way south.

  “I’m done fighting Yankees.” He thought to himself. “I just want to go home.” He wept as he saw his brother Daniel’s body lying dead on the New York City dock while he waited for nightfall.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Richard Cordwell was standing on the train station platform scanning the crowd and looking for Allan Pinkerton. He was holding a warrant to arrest Allan Pinkerton for the crimes he committed in Scotland against the British Crown.

  Meantime, a large crowd of waiting passengers began pushing and shoving to board the next train as it approached the station. Cordwell spotted Robert Lincoln on the station platform. He was being pushed by the crowd closer and closer to the edge of the tracks.

  At that moment, Richard Cordwell heard a woman shriek and saw Robert Lincoln fall onto the tracks in the path of an oncoming train. He pushed through the crowd, but feared Robert Lincoln would be struck by the train before he could rescue him. A man reached down and grabbed Robert Lincoln by the collar and hauled him back up to the station platform to safety. Robert was visibly shaken but regained his composure quickly. As Richard Cordwell reached his side, Robert was shaking the man’s hand.

  “Thank you, Mr. Booth!” Robert said excitedly and pumped his hand. He had recognized Edwin Booth, the famous stage actor. Robert had seen him perform on stage at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City.

  Edwin Booth replied, “Not a problem” and turned to go back to his place in line while waiting for the next train.

  Robert shook the dirt off his jacket and trousers and turned around. He was surprised to see Allan Pinkerton with two soldiers suddenly appearing by his side along with Richard Cordwell.

  Pinkerton spoke up first. “I was sent here by your father. And I am going to make sure you arrive safely to Washington City. Now follow me!”

  Allan Pinkerton and the two soldiers walked to the back of the station platform beckoning for Robert to follow them. Richard Cordwell chuckled and slapped the young man on the back.

  “That was some escape! Give my regards to your father. I hope to meet with him when I arrive in Washington City.” He said to Robert.

  Robert Lincoln smiled and picked up his suitcase and began following behind Allan Pinkerton and his soldier escorts. Richard Cordwell placed the arrest warrant for Allan Pinkerton back into his jacket pocket. It would have to wait for another day. He returned to the Treasury Building to ensure the Queen’s gold was returned to the vault.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Later that evening, Washington City

  Abraham Lincoln was writing at his desk. But he was anxious to hear any news about his son or the whereabouts of General Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

  John Hay stepped inside Lincoln’s office. “Mr. President, we received word from General Meade.” He continued. “Regrettably, General Lee and his army were able to cross the Potomac River after all and escape back into Virginia.”

  John Hay handed the telegram to the president. Lincoln stopped writing and looked up with a pained look on his face as he grabbed the telegram from Hay’s outstretched hand. He read it briefly and crumpled the paper in his hand. Hay took one look at Lincoln’s face and his dark eyes and hastily turned to leave the president’s office.

  Before he left, Lincoln
had shouted “Any word about my son?”

  John Hay turned around and told him “No, but Mr. Pinkerton is working on it!” He closed Lincoln’s office door and returned to his small desk.

  Tears began to well in Lincoln’s eyes, and he slowly laid his head down on his arms on his desk and began to weep quietly. “This war will go on indefinitely!” He said to himself.

  Suddenly, the door burst open and Robert Lincoln strode into the room. President Lincoln looked up in surprise and rose to his feet. Robert could see his father was crying as he stood in his office.

  Lincoln grasped his son. “You’re safe!” and he hugged him harder. “Mama will be so happy to see you. She was deathly worried!” He said as he released his son.

  Robert smiled at his father and saw the crumpled telegram in his hand. His father threw the telegram into the wastebasket next to his desk (to be retrieved later by John Hay for his records).

  “C’mon, Robert. Let’s surprise Mama and Tad.”

  Abraham Lincoln gripped Robert by the arm and steered him next door to the parlor. Robert was surprised at the sudden gesture of affection from his father. He vowed to ask John Hay about the contents of the telegram when he came by later to tell him about adventures in New York City.

  Chapter Thirty

  General Wool ordered the New York State militia to return to New York City from Gettysburg to quell the anti-draft rioting. Ten thousand hardened veterans of Gettysburg patrolled New York City before the anti-draft riots were over. These troops included an all Irish regiment who tore down the barricades set up by the rioting anti-draft mobs. The barricades had been used to hide behind as they hurled bricks and fired upon the police.

  The Union Draft lottery resumed in New York City in August 1863. It was completed without any more violence or riots. Of the three-quarters of a million men drafted into the Union army during the Civil War, fewer than forty-five thousand men were sent to active duty.