Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-15
A LOST CHAPTER OF HISTORY.
HOW Pile OF Confederate Gold DIsap-
peared-The Last Meeting of Davis
Cabinet
from the Ns,o York S,ln


ABBEVILLE, $. e., Nov. 22.-On q cold.
drlzziy day in February, 1865, a train
drew up at the depot here with mystic
rlous car attached. With it came several
agents, who busted themselves in hiring
teams for the transportation of the con
tents of this car. Abbeville is about
20 miles from the Savannah river, whic h
divides South Carolina from Georgia, and
IS the terminus of the branch
OF the Columbia and Greenvlle
railroad that runs off about u miles from
hodges depot TO this village. COnse-
quently, the only way to reach the Geor-
ga frontier is by horse power.
by III O'Clock that night enough horse
teams were secured, and they began load
ing from the mysterious car. The goods
rolled out were in stout little kegs Of
phenomenal weight, and though the pack
ages were small. they taxed the strength
OF the able-b0dled negroes detailed for the
work. At length the loading was accom-
pllshed, and amid the flash OF lanterns
and the cracks of whips and the cries of
drivers, the long line of teams pulled out
OF the muddy railroad yard up the steep,
sloppy hill, through the village streets,
where curious crowds had gathered to
watch them pass, and disappeared in the
that leads to Georgia.
| When the teams had gone about ten
miles, forty or fifty masked men rushed
! upon the astOnished drivers and care
takers, held them mute under the muzzles
| OF pistols, and proceeded to unload the
wagons of their stout little kegs. A
cloth was spread upon the ground, and
around it assembled the ring, with
pickering torches held aloft, while deft
/ in bo nf bn hon
poured their contents into a single heap.
1t was gold-bright, yellow, glittering
gold pieces by the thousand. The hungry
eyes behind the masks cleaned with
| reflected avarlce. 1t was a weird, mystic
scene, like page from some Arabian
| romance. The abysmal silence of the for
est, broken only by the rearing and plung-
ing OF the atfrighted mules, the shriveling
ring OF light varying as the torches We're
moved to and fro, the surrounding gloom,
| the anxious faces OF the negro drivers
gazing with startled eyes and gaping lips
upon this fantastic spectacle, the eager
circle of masks, and last the solid pile of
sovereigns, the centre Of the whOle-all
| formed panorama which those who saw
will never forget.
With all possible haste the money
was divided up between the mask
ed men, and in fifteen minutes
gold. Nothing remained but the empty
kegs and empty wagons, and the care
| takers of this last remnant of the COnfed-
crate treasury sent the teams back to Alb
! beville, while they continued on their way
| toward Georgia. What became OF the
money, and who got it, remains to-day a
! profound secret, and will probably never
| be learned. Ny information about the
| forest scene was derived from one of the
/ 1rfx nF hn h hon
mask had thrown a tin bucket full Of gold
in exchange tor a cOmmodiOus carpet bag,
and he showed the gold in confirmation Of
the story. na
A few days after this, stray squads of
| Wheelers cavalry began to wander
through the town. Sherman's army had
passed through Georgia and through a
part OF South Carolina little lower down
than Abbeville, and was now sacking
and burning Columbia. The broken
forces which opposed Sherman were
taking the back track a little higher up,
and seeking to reach the pine lands Of
Georgia.
One evening about shutdown, jefferson
Davis reached Abbeville. Judah p. Ben
jamin was with him and two other men,
bers OF his Cabinet, think, but who they
were do not now remember. Abbeville
ia a long, struggling town, OF one street,
reaches point where it branches off into
the upper or western part. just in this
fork is situated what used TO be the resi-
dence of Armistead Burt, who was before
| the war a Congressman from South Caro-
| lima. Mr. Burt is dead now, and the house
| is in strange hands. The house itself is
a square, stOlid, unpicturesque three
! story building, surrounded by what used
to be lovely grounds and gardens and
I IA 49,. -. L. ~
net proceeded TO the house OF MIR. Burt,
where they were Hospitality received.
A strange coincidence! Has it ever
been noted before? / believe not. Here
was about TO be performed the last official
act of the Coufederacy, while hardly a
stones throw from the spot was Secession
Hill, the grove which gave birth to the
war. just four years previously, this am
phitheatrIcal hill, shaded by oaks and
other giant trees, was filed with sea
of excited faces, all looking toward
stand constructed against three tree
trunks at the foot, and containing the
leading men Of the State. IL was the first
Of the secession meetings. Speaker after
speaker diated in glowing terms on the
/ necessity Of severng the relations Of the
| State with the Union. and every word was
| cheered TO the echo. At length the
venerable Judge Wardlaw, II man whose
| decisions had been quoted throughout the
| land, and who held a place in the front
rank OF jurists, rose and solemnly warned
the people against the rash step they
were taking. He told them plainly that
they would be crushed; that they had not
a single chance, and that. aside from
arguments about their political rights, it
would be better for them TO remain in the
/ Union with disadvantages than 10 light
and be forced back at the point Of She
/ bayonet, with all the evils that war and
defeat would entail. Judge Wardlaw
/ was Kissed of the pl atf0rm. The people
I we're determined on their course. But
/ such of them as now survive are con-
/ ylnced Of the wisdom of his cOunsels.
/ The almost deserted condition Of Able
Vile on that bleak February day, when
/ jefferson Davis sought the hospitable
/ shelter Of Mr.. Burt's residence, bore mute
/ but eloquent witness 20 the prophetic
words Of Judge Wardlaw. In gloomy
/ loneliness Davis and his Cabinet assem-
| bled in one OF the sitting rooms. They
/ held their last consultation. discussed
/ mans that were discussed only 70 be-
/ abandoned. and finally decided that the
/ end had come, and that they mad better
/ try 10 escape. Then they examined such
papers as they had with them, ana when
/ the hour OF y struck the ashes OF nearly al
/ az those papers were smOuldering In the
/ glowlng Goals OF the big wood FIRE. The
/ question then came mp ~ 10 the disposal
/ az The seal of the Southern Confederate
I ...a ,,fafV that A. oulnf 10 be