The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures

by W. C. Jameson

  Most of the soldiers in the escort were young. And very few of them had seen any action during the war. For that reason, the two bank representatives were nervous throughout the trip. Soon after the column left Washington, a scout reported that it was being followed by a gang of outlaws made up of discharged Confederate soldiers and local toughs. The soldiers comprising the escort were ordered to take extra precautions as the small wagon train lumbered toward the Savannah River.

  Travel was slow, and on the afternoon of May 22nd the party arrived at the front yard of the home of the Reverend Dionysius Chennault, only twelve miles out of Washington. The wagons were pulled into a large horse corral and drawn into a tight defensive circle. The guard was doubled and posted about the corral that night while the rest of the command tried to sleep.

  At midnight the outlaws struck. Firing only a few shots, they surprised the inexperienced federal guards who quickly surrendered. The guards were tied up, and the remaining soldiers, who awakened at the first sound of shooting, were held at gunpoint by a handful of the outlaws. The leaders of the gang smashed open the boxes and kegs containing the gold and silver coins and stuffed their saddlebags full of the booty. Thousands of dollars’ worth of coins were spilled onto the ground as the rest of the greedy outlaws surged forward and filled their pockets. Finally, carrying all they could hold, the outlaws mounted up and rode away on horses barely able to carry the combined weight of riders and loot. One of Reverend Chennault’s daughters estimated that well over one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold and silver coin was recovered from the ground the following morning.

  The outlaws rode northwest to the bank of the Savannah River. On learning that they were being pursued by both Confederate soldiers as well as local law enforcement personnel, they hastily dug a pit and buried all of the wealth in a common cache. They intended to escape pursuit and return for it another time. They set up camp for the night, intending to depart in the morning. A company of soldiers encountered the bandits at dawn and killed every one of them.

  What today is estimated to be worth well over one million dollars in Confederate gold and silver coins is still buried in the ground somewhere on the south bank of the Savannah River and just off the trail.

  Members of the Chennault family gathered up the fortune in coins that had spilled onto the ground during the robbery. Placing the gold and silver into kitchen pots and wooden crates, they buried it in a shallow hole adjacent to a nearby tributary of the Savannah River. Though they waited for a significant amount of time, no representatives of either the Union or Confederate governments ever returned to the Chennault farm to claim any of the treasure.

  The reverend cautioned his family members not to dig up any of the treasure until such time as the passions of the war died down and it would be safe to do so. Researchers have determined that the Chennault cache was never retrieved and still lies buried somewhere on the old farm. Over the years, a number of people have arrived at the farm to undertake a search for this rich portion of the Confederate treasury, but with no success.

  In recent years, the state-of-the-art technology associated with metal detectors has improved to the point that a number of professional treasure hunters once again began developing plans to make additional attempts at recovering the Chennault farm treasure. They are disappointed to learn, however, that the small tributary near where the gold and silver were cached has been inundated by the waters of Clarks Hill Lake. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Chennault portion of the Confederate treasure lies beneath thirty feet of water today.

  A Word about Sources

  I have been searching for and accumulating research and information on America’s lost mines and buried treasures for close to six decades. During that time I have read and examined thousands of articles, documents, journals, diaries, maps, and books. To list all of the pertinent resources employed in the writing of this book would require almost as many pages. Should anyone be interested in pursuing their own research on some of the subjects treated in this book in greater depth, I recommend a simple Internet search.

  In addition, and perhaps just as important, I have been involved in hundreds of interviews, conversations, discussions, and debates with other treasure hunters, professional and amateur, who have invested significant portions of their lives and finances over the decades in studying about and searching for many of the lost treasures described in this book. For these opportunities I am grateful, and the sharing of their knowledge and experience has contributed mightily to my store of information.

  Finally, when it comes to research, nothing beats personal experience. In the course of my more than five decades as a professional treasure hunter, I have had the opportunity and pleasure to be involved with expeditions in search of most of the treasures described in this book. Sometimes I came away with important and valuable discoveries, sometimes not. Invariably I came away with knowledge and information to be filed away for the next quest. And I always experienced an adventure. After seven decades of living for the quest, I no longer get into the field as often as I would like. I suggest that it’s time a new generation undertake the hunt. May you have as much success as I did.

  About the Author

  W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of more than eighty books. He is the bestselling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter has led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and the Travel Channel. He served as an advisor for the film National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. His book Treasure Hunter: Caches, Curses, and Deadly Confrontations was named Best Book of the Year (2011) by Indie Reader. In 2013 he was inducted into the Professional Treasure Hunters Hall of Fame.

  Jameson has written the soundtracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James? Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on the History Channel, the Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops, and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television. He lives in Llano, Texas.