Confederate Gold and Silver

by Peter F. Warren

  The court’s decision mandated disbursement of the assets to ten states who had once been part of the Confederate States of America. The National Park Service would be the only other governmental agency to receive any portion of the assets. Sharing of the assets was to occur after Paul and his colleagues had disbursed equal shares of the first million dollars to the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi. That initial disbursement would be followed by a similar disbursement of two million dollars to the Park Service. The court’s decision agreed with Paul’s logic about maintaining the nation’s national parks for the generations that followed. Both the Gettysburg National Military Park and the Fort Sumter National Monument would each receive one million dollars in funding for repairs, maintenance, and continuing education programs. The Park Service also was granted permission to use a portion of the money for land acquisitions in and around the Gettysburg National Military Park. To the surprise of almost everyone, the court also agreed with Paul’s comments concerning the upkeep of our national parks. Citing the upcoming one hundredth anniversary of the nation’s first national park, the court awarded the Park Service an additional one million dollars. The Park Service was directed to dedicate these funds solely for repairs and improvements to the ten busiest national parks across the country.

  For their efforts in finding the gold and silver, and for their services in helping to disburse the found money, the court awarded Paul and each of his four colleagues a token gesture of three gold Liberty Head dollars, two gold Liberty Head twenty dollar coins, five gold Liberty Head ten dollar coins and two Seated Liberty silver dollars. It came as a complete surprise to them that the court had granted them any of the Confederate treasury, but as he had with the previous clues, Paul soon figured out it had been based on a recommendation Judge Morgan had made in his writings to the court. Paul was also pleased to learn the court awarded him three thousand dollars for his out-of-pocket expenses incurred during the hunt for the missing money.

  The court’s decision also awarded the city of Charleston one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars so the city could host the Civil War’s Anniversary Celebration. From that allocation, Charleston was mandated by the court to set aside twenty-five thousand dollars and place it in a special fund. Those funds were to be specifically earmarked for the maintenance and upkeep of the city’s public and private cemeteries where Civil War and other war veterans had been buried.

  The court also took time to give special recognition to Duke Johnson’s family. The court’s decision spoke at length about the compassion the Johnson family had given to the grave site of the three Confederate soldiers for so many years. The court also recognized the Johnson family for their generous donation of a parcel of their farmland so a North Carolina state park could be built. Citing those two points, the court awarded the Johnson family one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. After hearing about the court’s decision, Duke joked with Paul that his family had been paid around one thousand dollars per year for maintaining the grave site for the past one hundred and fifty years.

  The court ignored Paul’s request for one hundred thousand dollars to be set aside to help fund the documentary film they wanted to make regarding the story of Captain Francis and the lost Confederate gold and silver. Instead, the court ordered the project to be funded with two hundred thousand dollars. The court mandated that any profits from the documentary were to be used for ‘the benefit of our sailors and soldiers injured while defending our freedoms’. The court wrote in their decision the documentary was ‘indeed a story that needs to be told to America’ and also wrote ‘our nation’s history, whether good or bad, has to be preserved for the generations that followed’.

  The decision of the court to disburse the recovered Confederate assets directly to the states and to the Park Service was partially due to the historical value of the items that comprised the treasury. This part of the court decision surprised Paul and several others as they had expected the court would simply conduct an auction of those items and then disburse the monies raised to the parties involved. In explaining the reason for doing so, the court’s opinion echoed what Paul had said regarding some of the personal belongings of Captain Francis. The court concurred that the gold and silver coins, as well as the gold and silver bars, were irreplaceable. The decision reflected how uncomfortable the court had felt in auctioning off a part of the country’s history. The decision would now leave it up to the states to do what they wished with the assets they would soon receive. Each state would be free to either sell off the coins or to put them on display in their museums.

  Lastly, the court again agreed with Paul and ordered the items which had once belonged to Judiah Francis, including the four letters, to be kept together ‘forever and for a day’ so the public could experience what life and death had been like during the final days of his life. The court further ordered that while the items were to stay together, they were to be shared amongst those states who expressed an interest in displaying them for their citizens to view. The belongings of Captain Francis would first be displayed at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. They would remain there until the end of April, 2015. By then the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Civil War would be over. After that date the items would be put on display in Richmond for the balance of 2015. The court’s decision assigned the Park Service the responsibility of monitoring the sharing of these items among the fifty states after leaving Richmond.

  Several states grumbled when they heard the restrictions that had been put on the use of their newly acquired funds, but none raised any formal complaints to the court. The media had run several stories on the court’s decision and had lauded the court for earmarking the funds for the benefit of the public. Collectively the states had decided to remain silent regarding the court’s decision. None of the states made any backdoor attempts at trying to modify the court’s decision on how they could spend the money as they all were afraid of the negative media backlash they would receive if they criticized the court’s disbursement of the funds. Publicly the states took the position they were pleased the court’s decision allowed them some leeway in how the money could be used to care for their Civil War sites. Privately they had hoped the funds could have been used for other means as well.

  For Mayor Davis the court’s decision was news he had hoped for and he quickly reorganized his anniversary celebration committee so Charleston could finally host the event during the month of April. The historic celebration would become a focal point in the documentary film Paul and his friends would soon make.

  Overall everyone, including the Park Service, came out a winner as they would soon share in a pot of money that was roughly twenty-seven and a half million dollars after all of the other disbursements had been made. Any frustration the states might have felt quickly dissipated after the court’s decision had been read. Since the last cannon had been opened at the cemetery, Paul and his colleagues had scoured the city trying to find the last missing cannon. It took some effort, but they finally found the last one. It was inscribed with the number two on it.

  It had taken them several frustrating days to find it, but after Chick suggested they should expand their search off the peninsula section of Charleston, where they had found the other cannons, they found the last cannon at Fort Moultrie Historic Park on Sullivan’s Island. It was a relief to them to find the old cannon as now they knew it was they who had found the last part of the missing Confederate gold and silver and not someone else. Paul and the others had wanted all of the lost money to be shared by everyone who had already received a portion of the other money. Their final wish would now be granted. The remaining gold and silver coins were found in an old Garrison mortar, one they had almost missed the day they visited Fort Moultrie.

  After the court’s decision had been read that morning, Paul advised Judge Morgan of the last cannon being found. Two days
later, under Paul’s supervision, and with the assistance of both the city of Charleston and the National Park Service, the last cannon was opened. It revealed no additional surprises, just gold and silver coins. The coins were soon determined to be among the rarest and most valuable from that time period. Their estimated value, at almost seven hundred thousand dollars, made those who had shared in the initial disbursement even more pleased to hear their original allocations would be slightly increased.

  After leaving the United States District Court on the day the decision was first read, Paul and his friends stopped to celebrate the court’s favorable decision on how the money was to be split up.

  At the Charles Towne Pub, located a short walk from the hotel they were staying at, Chick raised his first bourbon of the afternoon and proposed a toast in Paul’s honor. The simple toast recognized him for the discovery he had made and for the adventure he had led them on. Graciously accepting the compliment, he joined the others by raising his frosted mug of Coors Light. Then Paul stood and again raised his mug of beer, somberly offering the next toast. “Perhaps the person we should be toasting today is the friend we never had a chance to meet, Captain Judiah Francis. Here is a toast to him, to his men, and to what they were tasked with doing. Most importantly, it is a toast to how they all died. For now we know they died serving their country. While proudly serving their country, they each deserved a fate far better than what they received.”

  They all stood quietly for a moment as they held their drinks in a salute to Francis and his men. “Hear, hear!” They finally yelled in unison and then sat down. Remarkably none of them had taken a sip of their drinks. There would be time for that later.

  Spring, 2012

  30

  A Final Tribute.

  “Let the tent be struck.”

  Dying words of General Robert E. Lee, CSA

  On the morning of April 3rd, a red Ford dump truck, towing one of Duke’s Low Boy trailers with a green John Deere backhoe on it, slowly entered the driveway of Duke Johnson’s hog farm in Maple Hill. Escorted by four North Carolina Highway Patrol vehicles, two black funeral hearses closely followed the dump truck onto the property. Paul, Chick, Jayne, and Duke, along with several of his employees, were standing in the driveway waiting for them. Soon they all made their way to the meadow where Duke’s granddaddy had placed the steel cross so many years ago. Already in place was a new freshly paved driveway which soon would take visitors to the newest state park in North Carolina.

  Near the steel cross now stood the original wooden cross, it had been gingerly taken there from the barn so it was present for the ceremony. Close to the two crosses stood Honor Guards from the North Carolina National Guard, the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Charleston Police Department, from various North and South Carolina chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and from the Sons of the Confederacy. Their various flags, including the flags of the United States, the North Carolina state flag, the South Carolina state flag, the flag of the Confederacy, and the POW/MIA flag, waved in the gentle breeze which blew across Duke’s field on a beautiful sunny spring morning.

  Standing near the Honor Guards were several local and state politicians, including North Carolina’s governor, Beatrice Downs, and Mayor William Davis. Also present were dozens of Civil War reenactors representing various units from both the North and the South. Next to the reenactors stood nearly two hundred proud military veterans. These veterans were from World War Two, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Proudly standing with them were several active duty members from each branch of the nation’s military. These active duty military members were soldiers, Marines, Air Force, and navy personnel who had recently returned home from serving overseas. It was an impressive sight to see.

  Off to the side were satellite trucks from several news stations. Close to those trucks stood a large contingent of television reporters and print media representatives from various national and local media outlets.

  Standing proudly near the grave site in their uniforms was the Maple Hill High School band and choral group.

  With the assistance of both Jayne and Bobby Ray, Pete captured the events of the morning on three video cameras. The video they shot that morning, as well as several still photographs taken by Jayne, would later win them acclaim when it was included in the documentary film they all would soon collaborate on. Their documentary would later win three East Coast Independent Film Association awards, including one for cinematography.

  After brief comments from Governor Downs, Duke Johnson, and Paul, the remains of the three Confederate soldiers were respectfully removed from their resting places and placed into identical dark maple wooden caskets. As the last Confederate soldier was being placed into his casket, the Maple Hill High School band softly played Dixie. That song, followed by a rendition of America the Beautiful, one sung by the Maple Hill High School chorus, and coupled with what was taking place with the remains of the long dead Confederate soldiers, brought tears to the faces of many people who were present. As the third casket was closed and was being carried to where the first two caskets were waiting to be placed into the hearses, the ceremony paused as a single bugler from the North Carolina National Guard played Taps. As the bugler finished, a command was given to Present Arms. The military and law enforcement personnel present, including those veterans from several generations of our nation’s wars, came to attention and held their salute until the caskets had been placed in the two hearses. When the doors to the hearses were finally closed, the command was given to Order Arms. Overhead three National Guard Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flew by in formation as a tribute to the fallen Confederate soldiers.

  The ceremony soon over, the hearses carried the soldiers to be reunited with their leader, Captain Judiah Francis.

  ******

  Three days later, in the shadows of the Confederate Monument and just outside of Jackson Circle, in a ceremony which would have awed them, the remains of Captain Judiah Francis, Sgt. Mark Foster, Sgt. Daniel Sturges, and Sgt. Gerald Rickert were laid to rest on the property once owned by General Robert E. Lee’s wife’s family, now the hallowed ground known as Arlington National Cemetery. It was a ceremony which was carried as the lead story on most local and national news networks across much of the country later that evening. After almost one hundred and fifty years they were now back together, their mission now finished. Now they could rest in peace.

  ******

  A few days arriving back home, with the attention and focus of the media now on someone else, Paul went to have breakfast at the Waccamaw Diner for the first time in several weeks. Betty saw him as soon as he walked though the door and she ran up to him giving him a big hug. “I cannot believe what I have read about you recently. You have done something so special. Your wonderful story has touched so many lives just here in the Inlet. So many of the Inlet’s families, families who first settled this area and who still have kin living around here, had relatives that served in the Confederate army. Everyone is talking about what you have found.” As Betty let go of him, he could see the tears in her eyes.

  She smiled back at him, wiping her tears away with her apron. “Y’all having breakfast with us this morning?”

  “Sure am. How about some blueberry pancakes, a side of sausage, a glass of OJ and some coffee.”

  As Paul walked to his favorite booth, Betty yelled to him. “You made me a promise, remember?”

  “I remember. Bring me my breakfast and I’ll tell you all you want to know!” Paul smiled as he slid into the booth with the day’s edition of USA Today.

  As he ate his breakfast, Betty asked him every question she could think of. Patiently he answered every one of them for her. He had taken a liking to her since the first time they had met. She was a hard working country girl who had always made him feel welcome at the diner.

  After his third cup of coffee, with
his breakfast long since finished, Paul could not wait to get it over with. “OK, I’m done, Betty. I’ve got to go.” As he picked up the bill from the table, she thanked him for taking the time to tell her all about what he had found. After hugging him one more time, he handed her eight dollars to cover the cost of his breakfast. Finally saying goodbye to her, he started to leave, but then stopped and walked back to the booth where he had eaten his breakfast. Betty had just begun to clear away his dirty plates. “Hey, I’m not sure I left you enough for a tip. Here take this.” He placed the additional tip into her right hand. Then he turned and left.

  Betty’s hands had been full of dirty dishes when he had given her the extra tip. Placing the dishes down on a nearby table, she looked to see what he had given her. It took a moment for her to realize what he had given her, but as he walked across the diner’s parking lot to his truck, Paul could hear the scream she let out. It was the first 1861 three dollar gold coin she had ever received as a waitress.

  After eating breakfast, Paul went to the Socastee Public Library to bring back some long overdue books he had signed out. Walking into the library, he looked over at the Reference Desk and saw Caren was busy working with someone. He had been to the library on several occasions seeking answers to the clues Francis had left in his letter. On several of those occasions she had assisted him with his research needs.

  As she finished with her customer, Caren looked up and saw Paul walking over to her desk.

  “Remember me?”