"Put anything precious under the house!"

lupaglupa

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My great-great-grandfather Ralph was a reluctant soldier but did, when it became unavoidable, join a Confederate cavalry unit. Duty meant he had to be away from home and leave his family unprotected at a time when Northeast Mississippi was full of raiding parties. One day as he saddled up he told his oldest child she should do one thing if the Yankees showed up - take whatever valuables the family owned and stow them safely under the house.

When next he returned Ralph found the Yankees had indeed come and Sarah had followed his instructions perfectly. What, he asked, did she hide? The books! she told him. Her father, a teacher and a great believer in education, was surprised and thrilled to find that his 7-year-old daughter thought that books were the family's most valuable possession.

One thing at least was stolen during the raid - Ralph's razor. He swore to never shave again and, as you can see from the photo below, he didn't.

Rafe.jpg
 
My great-great-grandfather Ralph was a reluctant soldier but did, when it became unavoidable, join a Confederate cavalry unit. Duty meant he had to be away from home and leave his family unprotected at a time when Northeast Mississippi was full of raiding parties. One day as he saddled up he told his oldest child she should do one thing if the Yankees showed up - take whatever valuables the family owned and stow them safely under the house.

When next he returned Ralph found the Yankees had indeed come and Sarah had followed his instructions perfectly. What, he asked, did she hide? The books! she told him. Her father, a teacher and a great believer in education, was surprised and thrilled to find that his 7-year-old daughter thought that books were the family's most valuable possession.

One thing at least was stolen during the raid - Ralph's razor. He swore to never shave again and, as you can see from the photo below, he didn't.

View attachment 344898
There were lots of stories of buried valuables that were never recovered. You wonder how much is still out there.
 
Federal troops occupying Missouri early on were from out of State. Pillage, theft and violence against the citizenry was common. I grew up hearing stories of how local farm families hid or tried to hide valuables from the Yankees. Dad told me many times to watch a particular field west of one of our farms. It was in sod or pasture for most of his and my lifetime. Dad said his Grandpa told him the family that lived their during the CW had dug a hole out back of their house and hidden their money in a canning jar. He said if anyone ever plowed up the field for row crop production I should walk that spot on the hilltop and look for gold coins. Years later I learned that the story was no secret. Many of my neighborhood friends had been told the very same story by their Fathers. The field was finally plowed up and converted to corn and soybean production about five years ago. I wish I could say that the farmer who is farming this piece of ground bought a new tractor, but it wouldn't be true.
 
Federal troops occupying Missouri early on were from out of State. Pillage, theft and violence against the citizenry was common. I grew up hearing stories of how local farm families hid or tried to hide valuables from the Yankees. Dad told me many times to watch a particular field west of one of our farms. It was in sod or pasture for most of his and my lifetime. Dad said his Grandpa told him the family that lived their during the CW had dug a hole out back of their house and hidden their money in a canning jar. He said if anyone ever plowed up the field for row crop production I should walk that spot on the hilltop and look for gold coins. Years later I learned that the story was no secret. Many of my neighborhood friends had been told the very same story by their Fathers. The field was finally plowed up and converted to corn and soybean production about five years ago. I wish I could say that the farmer who is farming this piece of ground bought a new tractor, but it wouldn't be true.
Does gold show up on metal detectors? Asking for a friend
 
My great-great-grandfather Ralph was a reluctant soldier but did, when it became unavoidable, join a Confederate cavalry unit. Duty meant he had to be away from home and leave his family unprotected at a time when Northeast Mississippi was full of raiding parties. One day as he saddled up he told his oldest child she should do one thing if the Yankees showed up - take whatever valuables the family owned and stow them safely under the house.

When next he returned Ralph found the Yankees had indeed come and Sarah had followed his instructions perfectly. What, he asked, did she hide? The books! she told him. Her father, a teacher and a great believer in education, was surprised and thrilled to find that his 7-year-old daughter thought that books were the family's most valuable possession.

One thing at least was stolen during the raid - Ralph's razor. He swore to never shave again and, as you can see from the photo below, he didn't.

View attachment 344898
Great story, and her father obviously had a great influence on her in terms of what she decided was precious. I'm with her :biggrin:
 
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