The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1920-05-22
FOUND IN BERMUDA.
A: S. Salley Receives Letter Telling of
Finding of Lost Relic. y
(From the Columbia State J

Finding of Lost Relic. .
(From the Columbia State
1t is not often that a newspaper
controversy is productive of much
material good, but one that was wag-
go, in the State some years ago has
just resulted in the, locating of the
press of the great seal of the Con-
federate State, which was lost enroute
to this country in 1864 and purpose
fol- which it was made.
In 1864 Lieutenant Chapman, of
the Confederate navy, was detailed to
bring the seal to Richmond. When
he reported to Secretary Benjamin in
Richmond he had the seal to turn
over, but announced that the press
for it had unaccountably lost in
Bermuda.
When Richmond was about to fall
in 1865 Secretary Benjamin directed
j. w. Bromwell. one of his clerks, to
pack UP the records of the depart
ment and take them. to a place of
safety Bromwell took them to Char
lotte, NC, where he hired q garret
and stored them. Some years after
the war Colonel John T. Pickett, who
had formerly been departmental
clerk in Richmond, but was then con-
ducting curio shop in Washington,
employed Bromwell as clerk. Very
soon thereafter Colonel Pickett offer
ed to sell the records of the Confed-
crate state department to the United
States government. When trade
was finally closed Lieutenant Thomas
O. Selfridge, Jr., u. S. NJ, was directed
to proceed to a certain point in Cam
ada to receive the records from
Pickett.
About this time Colonel Pickett Of
fered for sale gold, silver and bronze
electrotype reproductions of the great
seal of the Confederacy. One of these
in bronze is now in the office of the
historical commission of South Caro-
lima. Accompanying each of these
reproductions is facsimile copy of
certificate from the markers of the
great seal setting froth the genuine
ness of the seal and starting that so
perfect copy could not have been
made save from the original. What
Pickett had done with the original
seal could never be learned by any
ono Of the many people interested in
the matter until a few years ago when
Gaillard Hunt, then of the library Of
congress, acquired some letters which
! Pickett had written to Selfridge and
which showed that Pickett hal given
the seal to Selfridge. Mr.. Hunt re-
vealed the secret of his discovery to a
few Of his friends. Some time after
that former citizen of Richmond ac-
quired thes letter press books of
Colonel Pickett and learned the sSsne
secret that Mr.. Hunt had learned. The
later discoveries made a newspaper
story of the matter for a Richmond
paper and three wealthy and patriotic
young gentlemen Immediately open
ed negotiations with Admiral Self
ridge for the purchase of the seal,
with the result that they secured it
fcr liberal sum and placed it in the
Confederate museum in Richmond.
When the story of the action of the
Richmond gentlemen appeared in
press dispatches in South Carolina
newspapers there were some myth
worshippers who believed fanciful
story about Mr.. Benjamin having
dropped the great seal into the Sa-
vannah river as the Confederate sec
rotary of state crossed from Atbeville
into Georgia, and they forthwith ex-
pressed their doubts as to the cor
rectness of the Richmond story. They
were answered by A. S. Salley, Jr.,
secretary Of the historical commission
of South Carolina, in a letter TO the
State, wherein he set forth the fore
going facts as to che seal. Some days
later, Mr.. Salley received a letter
from a gentleman in Washington say
il, that his daughter had visited
Bermuda the summer before and had