Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-08-19

bankrupted v-thet Southern

mr.. Davis, being advised that presi.
dent johnson had brought an end to the
armistice, and repudiated the Sherman
Johnston treaty, Immediately began ef-
forts to prevent the capture OF himself
and the treasures of the Confederacy !:
the gold and silver of the Confederacv
an dthat OF the Richmond banks was
loaded into wagons, and the President
OF the Confederate States, with his
Cabinet ministers, started south with
it, guarded by three brigades OF cav
alry-Dibbrelrs Vaughn's and Dukes.
I'.When we arrived at washington,
Ca, 1t became apparent to Mr.. Davis
that he could not with such a retinue
escape the vigilance Of the Federal
cavalry, which was rapidly closing in
on him from every direction. SO the
money kegs belonging to the govern
ment were opened and the silver was
divided among the boys. each, without
regard to rank, receiving $25.5O and
they were granted indefinite furlouehs.
Mr.. Davis with his family and q much
smaller escott pushed ON further south.
and was, few days afterwards. can
tured by the Federals.
hanks
sought the aid of the Federal command
ers to return their specie to Richmond.
and from them obtained permit to re-
turn with it to Richmond, and also a
guard of soldiers to protect it on its
return trip.
Some of the officers and men Of Gen.
Vaughn's brigade became appraised
that train of specie was being carried
North under Federal escort, and they
jumped to the conclusion that it was
tn eproperty of the Confederate gov
eminent, which the Federals had cap
tured. They concluded that their four
years of hard service for the Confeder-
acy entitled them to share OF this
gold. provided that could succeed in
securing it from the Federal guard.
With them the war was not yet over,
ana they acted upon the idea that any
thing was fair in war;
'They organized an expedition with the
view of capturing this money. and fol-
lowed the train until favorable oppor-
charged the train. captured anu dis
armed the guard and proceeded at once
to knock the heads out the kegs contain
ing the gold. and to fill their forage sacks
Several of them got away with as
much as 100000 apiece; some were content
with $4,000 and still others with less
amounts, depending upon the carrying
capacity of their forage sacks and saddle
bags.
'One fellow began to All his sack out of
the first key he came to. which proved to
be a key of silver. He was happy when
he lugged off his bag full of silver dollars
but when he met his companions later in
In ron 1xa0x. Yhprn
count their money. and found that while
he had such a large hulk and heavy load
of money. 1t only counted up about $4,000
MS companions. who were goldbugs, dis
daining the silver kegs. had secured such
large sums in gold. he became greatly dis
turbed over his i'll luck and greatly Of
Tended at the refusal of the others to dI-
vide their gold with him--his predictions
for free silver had cost him many thou
sands of dollars-and he determined TO
turn informer. Upon Information fur
nished by this silver king. several of the
goldbugs Were unprecedented and COM
PEELED to give up their booty. hut a num-
Der of them Were wise enough to keep
on going until they got safe away from
the scene of their capture. ~
Two OF these men, officers j of Col.
Meals 10th TennesseeF Battalion. went
with their money, amounting to $50 600, to
Western town and established a bank
ing house; the town rev TO be a great
city, and these bankers became men of
great wealth. y.G
Il have heard it said that they subse-
quently lost their heads in a real estate
boom similar to that which about the
same time struck Chattanooga and dissi-
pated the fortunes they had built up on
their captured gold.
Two others. whom l knew. invested
their booty in the cattle business and be-
came wealthy cattle kings. while another
became wealthy planter in Texas.
THE Richmond banks spent large
sum of money in vain effort to recover
their money and detect the men who had
gotten 1t. Some 20 years after the war
was over. they got Information that the
bankers and boomers of the Western city
were among the men who had captured
their money. but they had no way of es-
tablishing the truth of the information.
the witnesses to the transaction could
not afford to tell on them, and so their
effort to get something back from this
source came to nothing.
Il give you this unwritten chapter of
the Civil War to show how a handful of
rebel soldiers were seized with the Klon-
dixie fever long before the Yukon was
known or Alaska had become the prop
erty of the United States