Confederate Gold and Silver (56 page)

Leaving the telegraph office, Francis started walking back in the direction of the warehouse. He was disappointed he had failed to find another means to move the gold and silver by. Now he walked slowly, upset that his hopes of getting the money to Atlanta by either boat or rail had been dashed. He had done what he could to find an alternate means of travel, but now he was resigned to the fact he would be forced to once again travel with the money hidden in the slow moving wagons. “I will need fresh supplies and some new men, but this is the safest way to move the money. I cannot risk losing the money, just as I cannot fail those men who have put their trust in me. I will have to tell my men the news I had hoped not to have to tell them.” Before returning to the warehouse Francis sought out Colonel Hodges. He wanted to thank him for his hospitality and to verify one piece of information Hodges had already told him.

As he looked for Hodges, Francis learned he was expected to be on South Battery Road later in the afternoon before making his daily rounds of the facilities within his command. Hodges was going to be evaluating the Charleston shore batteries, specifically the Fort Johnson Battery, the Oblique Battery, and Battery Number One, as they practiced firing at an old ship the Confederacy had moored in the harbor. By three in the afternoon, he finally located Hodges as he rode up to watch the firing accuracy of the shore batteries. Francis waited until Hodges had dismounted and then walked over to him, saluting him as his rank deserved. “Colonel, good afternoon! My men and I are most grateful for the fine meal you sent over to us last evening. The warehouse is also working out for us very well. Again, you have my thanks for that as well. Sir, my men and I are in your debt.”

“Captain, it was my pleasure, no problem at all. Will you and your men require a similar meal tonight as well?”

“Sir, I hate to impose further upon you, but if you could possibly arrange another meal for us, well . . . . well, we certainly would not refuse your gracious hospitality.”

Hodges could not help but to laugh at how Francis had phrased his request for dinner for his men. “Consider it done, Judiah, no problem at all. I will have your meal delivered to you around six this evening. Now, captain, you must excuse me, I have to make sure these three batteries are ready for the Union navy when they arrive. We want to give them that special welcome I told you about.”

“Colonel, I beg your time for just another moment or two. Sir, if I may ask, the damaged cannons in the warehouse we are using, how likely is it they to be moved in the near future?”

“Captain, I’m not sure why you ask that question, but I’m sure you have your reason. However, the answer to your question is not likely at all. They have already been there for several months and I do not see them being moved very soon because of that damn Union naval blockade. Our resources are too thin right now to spend time and money on fixing damaged cannons, especially when we can simply get other ones from the Yankees when we keep beating them on the battlefields. I’m afraid the damaged cannons will likely remain in the warehouse until the end of the war. Are they in your way? Do I need to move them to another location?”

“No, no sir, they are fine where they are. Colonel, my men and I are leaving in the morning for the Georgetown area. With your permission I would like to have the warehouse locked when we leave as I need to leave a few things behind. I expect to be back in five or six days. Do I have your permission to place locks on the warehouse doors?”

“Captain, the letters you showed me yesterday proved to me you are completing an assignment for men far more important than I am. I trust you have your reasons for wanting locks on the doors. You may use the warehouse for as long as you need it as I do not have an immediate need for it. If I should need it, I promise you and I will talk first before I take it back. I will have locks and keys delivered to you this evening with your meal. Anything else?”

Francis stepped back and saluted Hodges again. They then exchanged handshakes as if they were old friends saying goodbye to each other. “Colonel, as I mentioned to you yesterday, you have my word President Davis and General Lee will both be told of your significant support and hospitality. I will be honored to personally tell them of your assistance. Again, my personal thanks to you for your kindness and for the support you have shown to my men and me.”

“Captain, I wish you the best of luck with whatever it is you are doing. Someday, perhaps when this terrible insanity is finally over with, you will tell me what it was you were doing here in Charleston. Regardless, good luck to you and your men!” With that, and with his horse already being attended to by one of his aides, Hodges walked away to start his evaluation of the nearby shore batteries.

As Francis walked back towards the warehouse, his horse in tow, he stopped again to look out over Charleston Harbor and at Fort Sumter. It was hot for a November afternoon, but one being cooled by a breeze blowing in off of the harbor. As he enjoyed a rare tranquil late afternoon, he knew in other places across the South that men, both young and old, blue and grey, were dying for their respective causes, causes wiser old men should never have allowed to escalate this far. As he started walking back to his men, he shuddered at the thought of so many men who had already died in the war. “What a terrible waste of so many lives.”

As he walked along, Francis momentarily stopped again to look out over the harbor. Doing so, he felt for the pocket watch he carried in his blouse. His fingers instinctively felt for the engraved initials on the cover before withdrawing it from his pocket. It was nearly four pm. After spending a few more moments enjoying the view, he headed back to the warehouse where he knew his men were waiting for his word on how they would continue with their mission.

******

Back at the warehouse, with his men gathered around him by the fenced in corral, Francis told them of his failed efforts in trying to arrange transportation by both ship and rail. “We would have to make our way all the way back to Wilmington, North Carolina, where I have learned some of the boat captains there are risking running the blockade because of the profits they can make if they successfully slip through it. I am afraid that is not feasible at this point in time as it would mean risking the gold and silver far too much. We will have to move it south in the wagons as I cannot justify moving it any other way at this time.” The disappointment in their faces was obvious to Francis after he delivered the news to them, but like most soldiers he could tell they were still committed to finishing their mission.

Francis then cheered them up with two more pieces of information. First he told them he had arranged for another hot meal to be delivered that evening and then he told them they had to be ready to move out early in the morning. His plan was to retrieve the money they had buried in the cemetery and then return back to Charleston. “Hopefully it will be an easy trip to make. Then we will come back to rest here for another day or two.”

“How are we going to get the wagons up there, captain? Seems we got too many wagons and not enough of us to drive them all.”

“We are only going to bring one of the wagons with us, the rest are staying here.”

The men exchanged confused looks with each other. Then Sgt. Stine asked the question that was on each of their minds. “Begging your pardon, sir, but whose gonna stay and look after our gold and silver?”

Pointing to the cannons on the other side of the warehouse, Francis offered a simple reply. “They are.”

The men again exchanged confused looks with each other, wondering if Francis had lost his mind that afternoon or whether he had been drinking.

“Did the mortar get delivered?”

Again it was Stine who spoke up. “Yes, sir. We got it piled up inside by the side door over yonder.” Francis looked to where Stine was pointing and saw the small pile of mortar mix sitting there. Motioning for his men to follow him inside, he led them over to where the damaged cannons sat on the far side of the warehouse.

“Tomorrow we will head back north, past Georgetown, to retrieve what we buried there and then we will bring it back here. After we get here, I will seek some additional help and we will then travel back to North Carolina to retrieve what we have buried there. Before we finally leave this place I want to try and contact Richmond to see how they want us to proceed, but first I want all of the money to be here. The battles currently being fought in Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the Union naval blockade, will influence to some degree our ability to get safely back to where we first buried the money. I will make the decision on how we are going to get back there after we retrieve the money from the cemetery.”

“Captain, you know we is with you and all, but if we ain’t bringing these here wagons with us, ain’t you afraid someone is gonna find the gold and silver that’s hidden in them?” Sgt. Davis had asked Francis this question. Like his fellow soldiers, he had grown to feel personally responsible for the safety of the Confederacy’s treasury. It was now their personal responsibility to protect the money they had been entrusted with.

“No, I’m not, because the gold and silver won’t be in the wagons, it will be hidden in these cannons.”

Still confused the men again stared at each other, not comprehending what Francis had already carefully planned out in his mind.

“Men, the damaged cannons here in the warehouse are more than likely ones which will never be repaired or even be moved to another location for many reasons. To take all of the wagons back with us to the cemetery would slow us up and cost us precious time, time we do not have. I want to move quickly and return back here even quicker. To do so, we are going to leave the rest of the wagons and the gold and silver here in the warehouse. No one will even know what is in here. When our dinner is delivered here tonight, locks and keys will also be delivered for the warehouse doors. We will lock the warehouse when we are gone and take the keys with us. Colonel Hodges is also going to have two guards placed on duty here until we return.”

Francis could sense his men did not like the idea of leaving the gold and silver behind. They had fought hard to protect it ever since they had left Richmond with it and they had seen their fellow soldiers die protecting it. They had also seen several others die over it as well. They now considered it their duty to protect it. “We are going to leave the gold and silver behind, but we are not going to leave it in the wagons for someone to find. We are going to hide it and those cannons are going to defend it for us.”

The only one to catch on to what Francis was trying to tell them was Sgt. Banks. He saw the smile that slowly crossed Banks’ face as he finally figured out what Francis had planned. “Captain, with no disrespect intended, but I thought you, well ya know, had gone plumb crazy and all. But now I got it, at least I think I does.” The others still had not figured it out.

“Men, we are going to take the gold and silver coins, as well as the bars of gold and silver, and the bag of jewelry, and we are going to place all of those items in the barrels of some of those cannons. Then we are going to seal the ends of the cannons with the mortar I had delivered here today. I ask each of you, would you think to look in the barrels of damaged cannons for gold and silver? Would you?”

Chewing on a piece of straw as he listened to Francis tell them his plan, Sgt. Davis had taken off his hat and was now scratching his head as he visualized what had been planned for the gold and silver. He stared blankly at the cannons for a couple of minutes. “I got to give ya that one, captain. Ya done got me. I knowed I’d never be looking there for it.” Francis smiled as he had gotten the response he had been hoping for.

“Alright, I want to move the cannons away from the wall and then we will start to mix the mortar. Stine, you and Odom start unloading the wagons of all the gold and silver. Banks and Davis will help me move the wagons away from the walls. Once we are done with all of that we will load the barrels with the gold and silver. Let’s get this done before they deliver our dinner as I don’t want anyone seeing what we are doing.”

Working with a team of horses they had moved into the warehouse, Banks and Davis moved all of the cannons out into the center of the large warehouse. From the collection of cannons, Francis selected a few Napoleons, two Sea Coast guns, a mortar, two Griffin guns, and two older Dahlgren cannons as the ones he wanted the gold and silver to be hidden in. His plan was to hide the gold and silver in these cannons, cap the end of the barrels with a few inches of mortar, and then place the cannons against the back wall of the warehouse. He then planned on placing several of the other damaged cannons containing none of the gold and silver directly in front of them.

As they filled the barrels with the gold and silver coins, some of the smaller bags of coins went in as full bags, while the bigger bags had to be split open and dumped in as those bags would not fit. At first, Francis did not like the thought of having to split the bags open, but then realized by doing so they could hide more coins in the barrels when they were loose and not in bags. Within the cannon containing the gold and silver bars, Francis placed the cloth bag of valuable jewelry that so many Southern ladies had contributed their prized earrings, rings, and necklaces to. When they were finished filling the eight cannon barrels with the coins, the bars, and the jewelry, they were left with only a few hundred coins they could not fit into any of the cannon barrels. Francis had the remaining coins placed inside his saddlebags. Filling one of the cannons with so few coins, compared to what the rest of the cannons now held, made little sense to him. As the men loaded his saddlebags with the remaining coins, he told them his next plan. “We will keep these coins with us. When we return here with the money we retrieve from the cemetery, we will place all of it in other cannons just like we have already done with this money.”

Francis then selected four other cannons from the ones they had not filled with any of the gold and silver. “Men, these four cannons, fill them with whatever you can find. Use empty coin bags, rags, sticks of wood, or whatever you have, just leave enough room so we can fill the ends of the barrels with mortar.”