Confederate Gold and Silver (77 page)

Paul paused for a moment to reflect on the points he had just raised and to gather his thoughts on the points he still wanted to address.

“My friends and I are not proposing we give any money directly to the United States Treasury or to Pennsylvania. We are suggesting the court should consider allocating a portion of the funds directly to the National Park Service, with a mandate these funds are to be used exclusively for the upkeep of both Fort Sumter and Gettysburg. The mandate, in our opinion, should limit the use of these funds for three specific needs. The Park Service should be told these funds are only available for use to preserve these two locations, for use in funding continuing education programs at both locations, and for future property acquisitions which are adjacent to the Gettysburg battlefields.”

Seated as Paul had spoken, Attorney Nihill stood up from his chair to make a follow up response to Paul’s comments, but then quietly sat down. He passed on an opportunity to speak when Judge Morgan asked him if he had anything else to say.

Paul then continued with his presentation. “Your Honor, the court is in the unique position of not only being able to allocate a portion of the found money to the states which comprised the Confederacy and to the Park Service so they can care for the two national parks we have already mentioned, but the court also has the opportunity to make one more important allocation to the Park Service. This additional allocation is one which will benefit the public and not the Park Service per se. We strongly urge the court to do so. Doing so will also recognize another important anniversary in our nation’s history. As we hope Charleston will be awarded a portion of the money so the city can properly host the upcoming historic anniversary of the start of the Civil War, we also hope the court will award the Park Service a portion of the money so they can prepare our national parks for the upcoming one hundredth anniversary of our first national park. We would like to see our parks receive some much needed maintenance before this anniversary arrives. Currently the Park Service does not have the funding for completing this maintenance. We hope the court will honor our national parks with an additional allocation of money needed to restore some of them to the condition they should be in.”

Raising his right hand to indicate he had a comment to make, Virginia’s Attorney General, Robert Tolomeo, waited until Paul had finished with his comments. “Your Honor, the state of Virginia, the state where the capitol of the Confederacy was proudly located, and the home of Captain Judiah Francis, is proud to support the recommendation Mr. Waring has just made. He makes a very logical argument for a portion of the funds being granted to the federal government, specifically to the National Park Service.” In short order, the representatives of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina, joined Virginia in supporting Paul’s recommendation regarding the Park Service being granted a portion of the assets which once were part of the Confederate treasury. The comment made by Attorney Tolomeo gave Paul some hope that his points were being taken seriously.

“Your Honor, our friend Duke Johnson is with us today. I believe everyone here now knows about the rich history of the Johnson property in North Carolina. It is also now well-known that his granddaddy, as did Duke’s father, and as Duke himself has also done, cared for a grave on their property for many years. It was not the grave of family members they were caring for, but rather a grave which has turned out to be the resting place of three Confederate soldiers for so many years. They did so not because they knew they were tending the grave of Confederate soldiers, but rather they did so because they knew another human being had been buried there. They simply wanted the grave to be cared for. To my friends and me, as it hopefully does to all of you, the Johnson family epitomizes what Southern families, what all American families stand for, and that is caring about others. Recently his family has donated a part of their special tract of land to the state of North Carolina so it can be converted to a state park; it is being done so as we speak. It is the same land where those soldiers were buried. Your Honor, my friends and I, and without Duke knowing about this before now, believe the Johnson family should be compensated for their generous donation of that piece of land which North Carolinians and others will soon enjoy for many years to come.”

Without a moment of hesitation, North Carolina’s Attorney General, Anthony Cummings, rose to address those who were present. “I would like to thank Mr. Waring and his friends for recognizing the Johnson family and for recognizing the generous donation of some of their land so another beautiful North Carolina state park can be built. Your Honor, as Virginia has done before us on a previous recommendation of Mr. Waring’s, the state of North Carolina, in grateful appreciation to the Johnson family, who are long and proud members of our fine state since before the Civil War, recommends that this suggestion of Mr. Waring’s also be given serious consideration and approval. North Carolina believes the Johnson family should be compensated for their donation of not only the land they have given to our great state, but also for the time their family has spent caring for the grave of three brave Confederate soldiers. Thank you.”

Judge Morgan paused momentarily to reflect on the comments Mr. Cummings had made. “Mr. Cummings, the point raised by Mr. Waring regarding the Johnson family, and your subsequent support of his recommendation, will be so noted. The previous comments made by Mr. Tolomeo, which received support from you and from two other states, have already been so noted. Thank you for your comments.”

After being sure Judge Morgan had finished speaking, Paul then continued with his presentation. “Your Honor, as I have mentioned my friends and I are not filing any claims against this money despite the fact we were directly responsible for finding nearly thirty-two million dollars in gold and silver. As you all are aware, this money had been lost for years and was money no one else could find. However, I do have two requests for a small portion of this money.” Nervously, Paul paused for a brief moment before continuing. “We are requesting the court allocate one hundred thousand dollars to my friends and me for a project we are undertaking. Chick Mann and Jayne Ewald, both of whom are educators here in South Carolina, and Pete Cater, a professional videographer who has been working with us, along with our other colleagues and me, are planning on making a documentary film on what we have found during our hunt for the missing Confederate treasury. We believe this video will help preserve our nation’s history. We also believe it is simply a great story which needs telling.”

Absorbing what he had just heard, Judge Morgan asked Paul a follow-up question. “Mr. Waring, say your documentary becomes a profitable venture for your group of friends and you, have you discussed what you would do with any profits that are generated by this film?”

“Yes, we have, Your Honor. After all expenses are paid, any profits will be distributed to various veterans’ hospitals across the states, both in the North and in the South, who had soldiers participate in the Civil War. We would like to think the soldiers of the Civil War, who were often treated so poorly for their wounds due to the medical practices of that time, would be proud to know the story we want to tell about them might make some money to help care for our soldiers who have been injured while defending our country today. My friends and I are willing to operate under any financial guidelines set by the court to monitor the use of such funds. When the documentary starts to show any form of a profit we will be happy to demonstrate to the court and to others, anytime the court requests, how any profits have been allocated. Judge, this is a self-serving statement, but we promise we will not embarrass the court in any way if this request is approved.”

Judge Morgan, as did several others in the room, nodded their heads in silent approval at the project Paul and his friends planned to undertake. It was obvious to Paul they were pleased how profits from the film project would benefit today’s wounded soldiers.

“Your Honor, I am somewhat embarrassed to ask the court for this last request I have, but seeing what the final sum was of the gold and silver we found, well, um . . . . I . . . . Your Honor, what I am trying to say is our search took us to three different locations to find the money. To get the search moving we had to host a press conference and um . . . I . . . Your Honor, what I am still trying to say is I personally spent slightly over twenty-five hundred dollars during the course of the search for the money. I have some receipts and some I don’t have, but . . . .”

“Excuse me, Mr. Waring, but are you asking the court to consider reimbursing you for the expenses you incurred during your searches?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Twenty-five hundred dollars would cover just about most of it. I hope the court would trust me on the amount. It’s not a lot of money to most people, but to a retired state trooper it’s a fair piece of change. Again, I am embarrassed to ask this of the court.”

“Mr. Waring, the court will consider this request. For the record, the court has complete trust in you. You have nothing to be embarrassed about by asking the court to consider this request of yours.”

Still somewhat embarrassed by the personal request he had made, Paul acknowledged Judge Morgan’s comments. “Thank you, sir.”

Raising his hand, North Carolina’s Attorney General Anthony Cummings again rose from his chair. He waited for the court to recognize him before speaking.

“Mr. Cummings?”

“Your Honor, seeing Mr. Waring and his associates have likely generated a few million dollars of unexpected income for us, the state of North Carolina would be pleased to pick up the check for his expenses. Seeing what he has done for all of us, it seems like the least we could do for him.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cummings. The court will take notice of your generosity on Mr. Waring’s behalf. Seems to me all of the states should make some kind of an effort to reimburse him for this rather paltry sum of money, but we will figure it out.” Paul nodded his head in appreciation to Cummings.

“Your Honor, as I mentioned, my friends and I are aware of what the three independent auditors have been put the value of our find at. It’s a staggering amount of money, at least to us it is. We understand the gold and silver will likely be sold in one way or another to reach that estimated dollar value. We have no concerns with that process. However, my friends and I are also aware that included in those thirty-two million dollars was an estimated value of the saber which once belonged to Captain Francis. My understanding is the estimate also included the historical value of his uniform and of a few other items as well. We would hope the court would order that those items are not to be auctioned off to raise any money. We are of the opinion that these items are irreplaceable and they belong in a museum for the public to see. They should not simply be auctioned off so they can be put on display in someone’s private collection. Your Honor, as we feel about those items, we also feel the same about these items.”

Paul then bent over and picked up the small moving box he had stored some of the items in that he had found. Walking over to where Judge Morgan sat, he set the box down on a small table next to him. “Your Honor, and with the court’s permission, I would like to show all of you a couple of items I have found.”

“We are all eager to see what you have in the box, Mr. Waring.”

As he donned a pair of white cloth gloves, Paul explained the historical importance of the items stored within the simple cardboard box to everyone present.

“Your Honor, with the remains of Captain Francis, I also found two letters he had written. These same letters helped us find the gold and silver we are discussing here today.” Reaching into the box, Paul handed Judge Morgan a pair of white cloth gloves to put on. Allowing him time to put the gloves on, he then handed him the original letter Francis had written to President Davis. Next, he placed down on the table the original letter Francis had written to his father. “Your Honor, these two original letters are irreplaceable. They are important parts of our nation’s history. You can see the one you are holding was written by Captain Francis and was addressed to President Jefferson Davis. That letter contains the hidden clues which we were able to decipher. It was those very same clues which led us to the gold and silver Francis had taken great pains to protect and to hide. The second letter was also written by Captain Francis. It was addressed to his father and was one which was likely written when he was near death. Neither of them should be any place but in a museum for the public to enjoy. We believe everyone here today, after they have had a chance to read them, will agree with our recommendations regarding the two letters.” Then Paul showed those present the two bottles he had found the letters in, describing to them how Donna and he had removed the letters from the bottles.

Chick and Jayne began passing out copies of both letters to everyone in the room as the presentation regarding the two bottles was taking place. As those present soon finished reading the letter a dying Judiah Francis had written to his father, Paul could see the emotions of sorrow which appeared in the faces of the state representatives. The same emotions appeared in the face of Mayor Davis.

Paul glanced at Judge Morgan as he finished reading the letter Francis had written to his father. Putting the letter down on his desk, he swiveled his chair so the back of it now faced the others in the room. Somewhat shielded by the back of his chair, Judge Morgan wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. Several others in the room had the same reaction after reading the letter. It was just as powerful a letter to them as it had been to he and Donna when they had first read it. The reactions Paul saw in the room made him smile as he now knew Francis would be remembered by all of them as well.

Then Paul reached into the cardboard box one more time. “Your Honor, the same applies to this gold watch and to the collection of jewelry we found when we opened the cannons in Charleston. I found this gold watch with the remains of Captain Francis. Like his remains, this watch also survived being hidden within a tree for almost one hundred and fifty years. Sir, if you look closely you will see it still has his initials engraved in it. The watch and the jewelry, as are the other items, are all irreplaceable. They deserve to be seen by the generations which follow ours. Your Honor, we hope the court will come to the same conclusion we have come to, one which mandates all of these items are to permanently stay together. They tell a story about Captain Francis and the ordeal he went through to protect the treasury of the Confederate States of America. Your Honor, not to be repetitive, but these items deserve to stay together forever. Sir, if we may be so bold to make this next suggestion to the court. Seeing these items were recovered here in South Carolina, we would like to suggest that a good place to display these items from the start would be the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. We believe this museum would be a great place to first display these priceless artifacts, especially now as we celebrate a significant anniversary of the Civil War. After the items are displayed there, we believe it would be most fitting if they were then placed on display in a museum in Virginia, the state which Captain Francis called home.”