yankeeblue
Private
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2018
I've seen a lot of talk on the Internet about Mosby's buried treasure. The story goes that Mosby made off with about $350,000 worth of gold, jewels, and other goods when he raided the Fairfax Courthouse and captured General Stoughton. Then, on the way back to Confederate lines, his men spotted Union troops in the distance. Not wanting the treasure recovered, Mosby and one of his sergeants went into the woods somewhere near Warrenton close to what is now US Route 122 and buried the treasure in a burlap sack between two pine trees, marking the trees with an X at their bases. Months later Mosby sent some men to recover the treasure, but they were captured and hanged. Mosby never went back to recover it, even after the war.
I have looked through Mosby's memoirs and the memoirs of John Munson, one of Mosby's men, and I can find no mention of taking a treasure trove from the Fairfax Courthouse or even burying anything. They did stop in Warrenton, but it would seem that there was no danger there since General Stoughton was allowed to reacquaint himself with a former classmate who was now a Confederate officer.
Where does this story of Mosby's treasure come from? Is there something to it, or is it just a legend?
I have looked through Mosby's memoirs and the memoirs of John Munson, one of Mosby's men, and I can find no mention of taking a treasure trove from the Fairfax Courthouse or even burying anything. They did stop in Warrenton, but it would seem that there was no danger there since General Stoughton was allowed to reacquaint himself with a former classmate who was now a Confederate officer.
Where does this story of Mosby's treasure come from? Is there something to it, or is it just a legend?