Lost Civil War Gold Legends.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
Although not a haunting these lost gold stories are related to ghost stories. While the old west has plenty of lost gold legends like the Lost Dutchman' Gold Mine and Legend of the Lost Mormon Gold, and there are plenty of pirate treasure myths, the Civil War has lost gold stories as well: The Lost Confederate Gold of Jefferson Davis, The Confederate Gold in Wilkes County, Georgia, Mosby's Treasure, the Knights of the Golden Circle Treasure, and others. While some people laugh at these legends other people enjoy the tales for the entertainment value. There are people who believe these stories and search for the lost treasures. Book have been written on the subject of lost Civil War treasures. Does it take a certain kind of person to believe these Civil War treasure stories?
 
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This book is by Dr: Roy William Roush, Ph.D. As the book jacket states he is a Military Historian. Can I assume that Doctor Roush honestly believes in "The Huge Buried Treasures" of the Knights of the Golden Circle?
 
Does it take a certain kind of person to believe these Civil War treasure stories?
An interesting question. I've been sitting here stymied over what the response might be. Seems these days there are many gullible people around, but I'm not sure that they have enough in common to say they are of "a certain kind"!

In the case of these lost-treasure stories, I can understand the appeal -- it would be easy to hope that you're the one-in-a-million that's going to go out there and actually find the missing cache. If you're not used to doing critical study and research, you might not realize that there are substantial critiques of these legends.

Roy B.
 
I had an uncle who studied the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine for decades. He search for it several times. Although a bit odd his obsession with the Lost Mine was basicly harmless. This uncle also believed in things like ghosts and ETs living on earth. Although his stories were fun to listen to his brothers did not believe them and neither did me or my brother. My sisters kind of believed the ghost stories
 
I think the chances of there being "lost" Confederate gold are about as good as having lunch with Bigfoot . I agree that as long as it is harmless , well everyone needs a hobby . The problem becomes when folks get obsessed with the subject based on very dodgy information . A perfect example is that terrible show about lost Confederate gold on the History Channel a few years back . I found myself yelling at the TV a lot . Thankfully that only lasted on season.
 
There is such a story passed down in my family about my ancestor, C.P. Snell, one of John Hunt Morgan's men, written by my father:

"C.P. was with a group of men that caught a Federal train, finding that it was carrying payroll money for the troops. There was a Yankee cavalry unit approaching, so C.P. and the others hurriedly filled pillowcases with the U.S. money, galloping off and splitting up with the enemy not far behind. As C.P. approached a swollen stream, he spotted a hollow fallen tree, jammed the sack(s) of money into it and started swimming to the other side. He made it back to his unit without the money.
After the war, he returned to the area to locate the tree and the money. What he found was a burned area and all the fallen trees were just ashes.”


Sounds like the end of the story, right? Well, check this out.

Before the war, C.P. Snell was a poor farmer with a wife and 8 children. When he came home from the war, he divorced his wife and remarried, to my gg grandmother. Within a few years, he built a large and fine home in downtown Bowling Green.

In 1870 he owned real estate in the value of $20,000, including a home and a vacant lot in Bowling Green, and personal property worth $4,000. In addition, there was an 18-year old domestic servant living in the house.

C.P. made a habit of giving a gold coin to each of the children and he would tell them, “As long as you keep this coin, you will never be poor.”

When he died in 1881, he owned 222 acres in Warren County, as well as eleven properties in Bowling Green, some of which were rent-producing.

Now, the finale. This intriguing story was provided by a descendant of C.P.'s first wife.
Referring to Vitula (Snell) and her husband, George McCown, she wrote, “Both were from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They went to Missouri after the Civil War to look for money which had supposedly been buried near Rolla, Missouri, in a cave, by the Snell family to prevent the North from getting it. It was never found by the McCowns. If you look on the map you will see many caves in that area.”

We do know that C.P. and his family vacationed at Hot Springs, Arkansas on more than one occasion and interestingly enough, the railroad from western Kentucky to Hot Springs runs right through Rolla.

Am attaching photos of C.P. Snell's house before the war and his house after the war.

Does anyone seriously believe that C.P. found the tree with the sack of money burned to ashes?

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Guess it depends on what you consider lost treasure stories.......Missouri has tons of such local tales, many based on least some fact, most will never be found.

The bigger the treasure in the tales, the more likely it's fanciful. But in state where riders of each side would kill men in the night and or rob homes, undoubtedly some died without anyone else knowing where their valuables were hid, or booty hid and the hider killed before ever retrieving it.
 
The local tale here is the Callahan gold, an old man hid $1000 in gold and silver, then was arrested and became Ill in prison, he dies without telling his daughter where it is.

After his death, his slave Issac says they hid it in the smokehouse, then a week later noticed the dirt disturbed so told Callahan, who told Issac he knows, he moved it. So the whole story is based on the word of a slave who could have stole it himself.......but many kids have looked for it their youth.
 
Regarding the Gettysburg campaign...June 27th William Boadenhamer, a jewler from Hanover was relieved from a box of jewelry by Lt. Col. Elijah (Lige) V. White's cavalry. Reportedly some or most of the jewelry was buried. Is it still in the ground? Was it recovered? Did the Confederates pocket the loot? What would be the value of Boadenhamer's $1,000 claim equate to in today's economy? Has somebody found the treasure and kept silent? Who knows?????
 
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