The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-02-18
THE CONFEDERATE TREASURE.
A story from n California Paper About n
Large Lot of Gold.

N
Large Lot of Gold.
A San Francisco paper says that when
the Confederate army under Gen. Lee
was forced back from the trenches at
Petersburg President Davis hurriedly
ordered about fourteen millions of dol
lars, the property of the banks
of Virginia and of the Confederate
States, to be placed on trains at Rich
mond and sent South, intending to CON
vey it to the Mississippi depart
ment, if possible, there to make final
stand. The treasure was carried down
to Charlotte, N. G., where the railroad
ended. AT this place it was decided to
leave the money belonging to the banks
of Virginia, i'll keeping of their officers.
The rest of the money, belonging to the
Confederate States, was placed in wag-
ons, and the retreat continued. The
brigades of Gems. Basil Duke and
Vaughan, who had succeeded in escaping
from East Tennessee, and had arrived at
Charlotte few days before, were placed
under the orders of Glen. John G.
Breckenridge to act as an escort to the
treasure, and the command proceeded
south until Greensboro, Washington
information was received that the Fed
eral general, Wilson, had captured Ma
con, few miles distant, and in the line
of retreat to the trans Mississippi de-
partment. The news soon got among
the men. They became demoralized, and
a rush was made for the wagons con-
tanning the treasure. 1t was speedily
divided up among them, the officers being
unable to restrain the men. Among the
lucky ones were two soldiers belonging
to Company B, Third Tennessee Mounted
Infantry, of Vaughans brigade, from
Munro county. Tenn. One of them was
named Albert Stevens, and the other
we will call j. Il. Jones. They had
charge of the wagon containing $3.50, 600
in gold; and when the panic spread
among the soldiers, and the cry was
"saucc gui pcW," they retained their
presence of mind, and drove off in the
woods, where they divided the money,
making some $4,000 apiece, and sep
arated, Stevens taking his to his home
i'll Tennessee, where he buried it, con-
filling its hiding place to his mother, a
very old lady. Finding that it would be
dangerous for him to remain in Tennessee,
owing to the unsettled condition of
things there, the people being equally
divided on the questions of the war, he
went TO Georgia, where he found Jones,
who had bought small place and was
quietly waiting until it would be safe
for him to return home. Stevens stayed
awhile with Jones, and then went off to
another part of Georgia to visit some
relatives. Before going, however, he
informed Jones about the hiding of his
money and his mothers knowledge of
its whereabouts. AS soon as Stevens
was gone Jones mounted his horse and
made bee line for Tennessee, to the
place where Stevens lived. Arriving
there he presented his comrades mother
with forged letter, purporting to come
from her son, directing her to deliver
the money to Jones, which the old lady
did. Jones then started direct for Cali
fornia. Arriving here he purchased a
large tract of land in Mendocino county,
land being very low at that at that time,
and has since amassed a large fortune in
addition to his ill-gotten gains, and is
now highly respected and a member of
! the church.
In the course of time Stevens, having
ascertained that it would be safe, started
for home, possibly dreaming of a future
life of ease and comfort on some blue
grass farm, raising fat cattle and bloodcd
horses, this being your average Ken
tuckian's or Tennesseean's idea of an
earthly paradise. On reaching home he
soon found out his loss. Buckling on
his revolver, he secured the entire South
and West in search of his faithless
friend, vowing to shoot him ON sight,
and only recently ascertained his where
abouts. He is now in correspondence
with prominent lawyer of this city,
and an attempt will shortly be made to
bring Jones to account through the
courts.