Search for buried treasure: The mystery of millions in lost Confederate gold

Search for buried treasure: The mystery of millions in lost Confederate gold
SEPTEMBER 18, 2012
BY: BARBARA SCHNEIDER

In April 1865, the Civil War ended for most Americans; however, the War and its various aspects continue to capture the interest and imagination of many Americans, who are fascinated by the conflict.

One of the big mysteries remaining is "what happened to the Confederate treasury" or "Confederate gold" that went missing during and after the American Civil War. For years, treasure hunters and historians have tried to solve this mystery, without too much luck.

Millions in gold said to have been lost during and after the Civil War – buried by individual plantation owners and even by the Confederate government to keep it out of the hands of the Union. $30 million dollars may have been buried
Photo credit:  Various sources 
One version of the story tells how Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, was attending church in Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday, April 2, 1865, when he learned that Lee’s defensive line at Petersburg had been broken and the evacuation of Richmond was imminent. President Davis pleaded with General Lee to form defense lines for just one more day. He then informed his cabinet that Richmond was to be evacuated and they would take the Confederate treasury with them. Lee advised Davis that he had until 8 p.m. to load the gold, valuables, and cabinet members onto two trains that would travel south on the only line still open. Confederate officials boarded the first train, while the second train carried a “special cargo” comprised of gold ingots, gold double eagle coins, silver coins, silver bricks and Mexican silver dollars.

When the train tracks ended, Davis and his staff traveled south on horseback. The treasure, placed into containers once used for sugar, coffee, flour, and ammunition, was loaded into in wagons for the trip to the old US Mint in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, somewhere in Wilkes County, Georgia, the wagon train was bushwhacked by stragglers from the Federal and Confederate armies, who had heard of the treasure. Residents of Wilkes County who witnessed the event said that the bushwhackers waded knee-deep in gold and silver coinage before loading it in all kinds of bags and sacks and riding away.

The belief that Confederate gold is buried in Wilkes County has persisted since the end of the war. However, searches conducted throughout the years have found nothing of value there.
Some of the Confederate treasures reportedly buried in light of Union take over were:

$30 Million in gold buried outside of Savannah, Georgia, a hub of minting, trading, and gold mining before it fell to Union forces. The rumor is that the gold was buried under the name of a confederate general between two false generals in a cemetery.
$500,000 in Confederate Gold bullion is said to be located in West Central Broward County, allegedly buried by Captain John Riley, who planned to have it shipped to Cuba but was being pursued by Union soldiers, and so he buried it.
$100,000 in Confederate gold went missing in Georgia in 1865, when two wagon trains filled with gold were robbed at Chennault Crossroads in Lincoln County. There are different theories about what happened to the gold. Apparently, it never left the county, and after heavy rains, many gold coins have been found along the road to Chennault Plantation.
Another treasure tale about hidden Confederate gold has the Confederacy moving money to Columbia, Tennessee. By all accounts, $100,000 in gold and silver coins was being transported by wagon in two wooden crates. As the men transporting the money neared Athens, Alabama, the wagon became stuck in a muddy “bog hole.” As they tried to free the wagon, they were warned that Union soldiers were on the way. Afraid that the money would fall into Union hands, the men buried the crates of gold and silver about a half mile west of an old stream crossing, about four miles north of Athens, Alabama in Limestone County. And as the story goes, the coins have never been recovered.
Canada may also hold millions in Confederate gold. Southern spies preparing for a Confederate resurgence after the Civil War are said to have buried millions of dollars in gold at sites across Canada in the 1860s. Canada was an important haven for Confederate operatives during the Civil War, who went on to form the nucleus of a secret society -- the Knights of the Golden Circle -- that kept the South's dream of independence alive for decades after the Union army's victory.

By war's end, exiled Confederates and Knights of the Golden Circle operating out of Canada had amassed a treasury estimated to be more than $2 million in gold and silver coins. Because of the strict secrecy surrounding the cash reserves and the generations that have passed since the money was buried, no one can for say for sure where the treasure is.

So whether the treasure was squirreled away for the day when the “South would rise again,” or simply hidden or lost, the fact remains there may be a fortune in Confederate gold buried across not only a dozen states in the South, but in Canada as well.

Happy treasure hunting!
BARBARA SCHNEIDER
http://www.examiner.com/article/search-for-buried-treasure-the-mystery-of-millions-lost-confederate-gold

The Knights of the Golden Circle and their importance to Arkansas History

FEBRUARY 22, 2011
BY: TOMMY TABLER

The Knights of the Golden Circle over the past few years have become an explored topic of military history that people are curious about. For most people when the the KGC is brought up the idea of treasure is not far behind. The K.G.C 's defintion is not as cut and dry as what encyclopedia's have made them sound. Encyclopedia.com refers to the K.G.C as being a "secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War." No doubt exist that their were men tht were operatng in the North to do to harm to the Union.

The next few articles this week will examine the K.G.C. The articles this week will also attempt to answer the question as to whether or not the K.G.C. were using the Fort Smith, Arkansas and surronding areas to the South as places to leave money for what was the eventual plan of starting another Civil War. Recently, the History Channel performed a look over the K.G.C. that studied the question as to whether or not their is buried treasure throughout the former Confederacy. Names that have been linked to the K.G.C. will also have their own articles and it will be examined whether those men had key roles in attempting to store money so that the South could rise again. The names such as Albert Pike, Jesse James, and Frank James are worthy of study because their is simply too much smoke for their not to be a fire and evidence of those men having taken part in some K.G.C. activity.

The Knights of the Golden Circle are a group that did their best to not be found and remain hidden but over time evidence of their existence has come out. A large number of people think that their code has been cracked in how and where they hid their money for starting a new military and government to go against the Federal system that was put into place. The question as to whether or not John Wilkes Booth was a member will also be studied and examined this week. The articles that are written over the next few days are not just going to apply on a local Fort Smith front but will also expand a bit to both theaters of the Civil War in the West and the East. The people that love conspiracy and military history should enjoy the next week or so greatly. To the folks that are skeptical of the K.G.C we will both go on an interesting ride.

For more information on the Knights of the Golden Circle:
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-knights-of-the-golden-circle-and-their-importance-to-arkansas-history
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle.aspx

Knights of the Golden Circle. Possible Names

The Knights of the Golden Circle while being active in both the North and the South had some major names that are connected with the organization. The rumors and conspiracy that swarm around some of the men that will be named in this article are just that rumors fo.r the time being. Why is this important to the Fort Smith, Arkansas area? The answer to that question is very simple. Men like Albert Pike, Jesse James,Frank James, and General Ben McCulloch were known to be in the area during the Civil War.

Albert Pike was a Confederate officer and served at the Battle of Pea Ridge. In Bob Brewer’s work Rebel Gold Pike is sighted as being the brains behind the Knights of the Golden Circle instead of George Bickley who is thought to have founded the group. An open mind is key to the study of Pike because the K.G.C. was heavy into the use of Masonic symbols. Pike was a Master Mason and the possiblity looms that he at least wrote some of the codes for the K.G.C. Pike may have been against slavery but the possiblity looms that he may have been more heavily involved in the K.G.C. than what most historians are willing to give him credit for.

With Jesse and Frank James it is no mystery why their names are linked with the K.G.C.. Jesse and Frank were both in favor of taking the fight to the Federal forces and both served in guerrila forces. Jesse and Frank are known to have robbed several stagecoaches here in Arkansas and the idea was to use and bury as much money as they could so the South could rise again. K.G.C. leadership knew that starting another war was simply not possible after the Civil War so most were going to take their time and wait to strike when the time was right. Their is simply not enough none right now as to what the James boys were up to but again Bob Brewer has cracked the code of the K.G.C. and has identified James symbols in the treasure sites he has discovered.

General Ben McCulloch was another K.G.C. leader and in Texas was in charge of the surrender General Twigg’s U.S. forces. McCulloch. At the outbreak of the war the K.G.C. leadership clamied to have numbers near the 65,000 mark. McCulloch met his end at Pea Ridge but he was another member of the K.G.C. The number of members that were known and thought to be members are secondary when it is possible that the clear numbers of people in the organzation are simply not know. Anger was still deep in the South and anyone could have been a part the K.G.C..

For more information read:

http://www.examiner.com/article/knights-of-the-golden-circle-possible-names

Keehn, David Strong Arm of Secession The Knights of the Golden Circle in tthe Crisis of 1861North and South Vol 10 Num 6

Brewer, Bob Rebel Gold 2003 Simon & Schuster New York, New York

Grand Jury Indicts Knights of the Golden Circle

The United States Grand Jury of the Indiana District Present the Orsanization as Treasonable.

 

 August 7, 1862

 

The Grand Jury of the Circuit and District Court of the United States for the District of Indiana has just made the following presentment:

 

In the District Court of the United States, for the District of Indiana, May Term, 1862.

 

The Grand Jurors of the United States of America, within and for the District of Indiana, impanneled, sworn and charged in said District at said May Term thereof, having about completed their labors, (and being now ready to adjourn,) feel it their imperative dutyto announce, in a respectful manner, to this Honorable Court, the general features of some startling developments made during their investigations. These developments, when considered in connection with the disturbed condition of the country, by reason of the causeless and atrocious rebellion against the Constitution and laws of the land, are deemed of the gravest importance, and should be made known, that prompt and efficient measures may be taken by the civil and military authorities to meet and ward off the effect of the wicked and treasonable designs of those connected with such developments.

 

A recent act of Congress made it the duty of the Grand Jury to inquire into any combinations or conspiracies formed by individuals within the jurisdiction of the Court to prevent the execution of any law of the United States. Having heard that organizations with this object in view existed in certain localities, witnesses were sent for, and brought before the Grand Jury. These witnesses came from many counties, and lived in various parts of the State. After a careful and diligent examination of the testimony from witnesses well acquainted with the facts deposed, and having a personal knowledge of the matters, said Grand Jury are constrained to say that a secret and oath-bound organization exists, numbering some fifteen thousand in Indiana, as estimated by the members of their Order, commonly known as Knights of the Golden Circle, and even in the same localities by different names. Their lodges, or "Castles," as they denominate them, are located in various parts of the State, yet they have common signs, grips, and words whereby the members are able to distinguish each other, and passwords to enable the member to enter the castle in which he was initiated, or any other which such member may choose to visit. They have signals by which they can communicate with each other in the day, or the night time; and, above all, they have a signal or sign which may be recognized at a great distance from the person giving it. This last signal, we regret to say, was invented for the use of such members as should, by means of the draft or otherwise, be compelled to serve in the ranks of the army. In such case, members of the Order serving in opposing armies receiving the sign are reminded of their obligation not to injure the member giving it. This signal is given in every instance upon the initiation of a new member, and its observance is strictly enjoined upon every individual belonging to the Order. By the teachings of the organization, it is the duty of its members engaged in the present war, although arrayed on opposite sides, upon the signal being given, if they shoot at all, "to shoot over each other." Many members of the Order, examined before us, admit the binding force of the obligation, and pretend to justify it as correct in principle.

 

Said Grand Jury would respectfully submit that the effect of such obligation is to set aside the oath taken by every soldier when he enters the service of the United States. The obligation imposed by the organization alluded to is inconsistent with the duties of a soldier who in battle dare not spare the person of his enemy. We must either disarm or destroy him, and especially so long as the rebel may be seeking to take the life of the loyal soldier. To do otherwise would be grosly treacherous, and justly subject the guilty party to a traitor's doom.

 

From the evidence introduced before said Grand Jury, it would seem that the Order called the Knights of the Golden Circle had their origin in some of the Southern States, and was introduced into this State from Kentucky. Its primary object, when it [???] was to organize the [???] of the institution of African Slavery in the United States, for the purpose of [???] more territory in Mexico and the Central American States, and also the acquisition of Cuba, thereby to extend and [???] a great slave empire, even thought it should dye those countries in human blood. Hence the various raids made upon those countries which have called forth from time to time the proclamations of our former Presidents, denouncing such attempts and threatening the exercise of the power of the Government to put them down. Wicked as these hellish schemes were, said Grand Jury would not have troubled this Honorable Court with this [???] had the [???] of the Knights of the Golden Circle been confined solely to their original designs. Finding how useful such an organization was for the purposes originally intended, said Grand Jury believe that it not only extends at present through every part of the South, and every department of the rebel army, but during the last Winter and Spring was introduced into the State of Indiana and other Northern States. Since that time it has made alarming progress in our midst, when entirely new features attached to it in view of the unnatural conflict now desolating our country. Not only are the loyal soldiers in the army to be treacherously betrayed in the bloody hour of battle, by the signals before referred to, but said Grand Jury have abundant evidence of the membership binding themselves to resist the payment of the Federal tax and prevent enlistments in the armies of the United States.

 

It is a fact worthy of note, and conclusively shown, that in localities where this organization extensively prevails there has been a failure to furnish a fair proportion of volunteers. Said Grand Jury, after a thorough examination on that point, have been unable to find any instance where a member of said organization had volunteered to fight for the Union under the late requisition for volunteers. Said Grand Jury were informed that an individual of the Order had proposed to make up a company to be called "Jay Hawkers." composed exclusively of "Knights of the Golden Circle." But said Grand Jury believe that at no time was the proposition seriously entertained, but in fact only intended as a cover to hide their treasonable purposes when they found they were about to be discovered.

 

The meetings of the Order referred to are hold on in by-places, sometimes in the woods, and at other times in deserted houses. Its members frequently attend with arms in their hands, and in almost every instance armed sentinels are posted to keep off intruders. Youths not more than sixteen years of age are in many cases introduced and initiated into its mysteries. The credulous and unwary are often allured into the fold of the Order, upon the pretext that it was instituted for no other purpose than the better organization of their party. Its real character and teachings are sedulously concealed until the oath of secrecy has been in due form administered. Having taken the first degree, the initiate is familiarized with the obligations and opinions of his associates, and is gradually prepared for the second degree. When he is further taught, and found apt to learn, and ready to adopt its principles and teachings, he is obligated in the highest degree, and is turned out upon the country a thorough traitor, with the wicked purposes already specified. Said Grand Jury are happy to know that in many cases individuals, after their first introduction into the Order, seeing its evil tendencies,have abandoned it, although unwilling, on account of their obligations of secrecy, and for fear of personal violence, are reluctant to fully expose its treacherous principles.

 

Since said Grand Jury began said investigation, it has been discovered that the Order exists among the prisoners of war now in Camp Morton, who refuse to testify, upon the ground that it may implicate the members of their Order in Indiana, and thereby injure the cause of the Southern Confederacy.

 

For the purpose of evading any legal liability, in case of judicial investigation, it appears that their signs are to be used to enable them to get members of their Order on the jury, in case of criminal charges being preferred against them, and by changes of venue, and appeals from a Judge who does not belong to the Order, to create judicial delays, until they can find a Judge or juror belonging to this Order, and thus escape all legal liability.

 

Said Grand Jury have no doubt that the Order of the "Knights of the Golden Circle" exists in many localitics in Indiana where their vigilance has not been able to penetrate. They have labored under many difficulties in their researches, and have drawn evidence in most of the cases from unwilling witnesses. Judicial oaths have but little binding force where individuals once consent to abandon the allegiance they owe their country. The general facts, however, so far as they have come to the knowledge of the said Grand Jury, have been submitted to this honorable Court. They feel it their duty to do so. The safety of the country in this hour of peril and civil strife demands it at their hands. The power of such an organization to do harm, acting as one man, with one purpose in view, with their influence, may be appreciated by the honorable Court. It is the place where treason is concocted -- the nest where traitors are hatched.

 

The Grand Jury, therefore, respectfully ask this Court that this their presentment may be spread upon the records.

 

WILLIAM P. [???], Foreman; Charles H. Test, George Moon, Wm. A. Montgomery, James Blake, T.B. McCarty, Daniel Sigler, Leonidas Sexton, Ben. G. Stout, James Hill, Daniel Sagre, H.D.Scott, Robt. Parrett, Fred. S. Brown.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1862/08/07/news/important-developments-knights-golden-circle-again-united-states-grand-jury.html

 

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightofthegoldencircle.wordpress.com

San Antonio Castle

Treasure or not the KGC did have a Castle in San Antonio and a recent survey of the Alamo uncovered .."a number of ink and paint markings from the mid-1850s are “eerily reminiscent” of symbols used by the Knights of the Golden Circle, a pro-slavery secret society with a chapter in San Antonio that may have met at the Alamo complex, Caridi said."
http://www.history.com/news/cleaning-of-alamo-reveals-historic-graffiti


And the following excerpts from an article reveal the strength of the KGC in San Antonio

"Texas, in the early years of the Civil War, found itself controlled by a secret society of expansion-embracing secessionists who at times employed terrorist tactics. This society, the Knights of the Golden Circle, or KGC, played a instrumental role in Texas politics during the months preceding secession in February, 1861. Members of the assemblage from all over Texas participated in significant Civil War events through use of secret vigilante tactics as well as fighting alongside the Confederate Army in battle. Many Union sympathizers remained quiet for fear of the KGC. The San Antonio Castle of the Knights kept order in the town by means of the Mitchell-Childress committee—the self-proclaimed law enforcement of Civil War times. Any support for the North voiced in those times put the speaker at great risk for consequences from the mobocracy (Sturmberg 121)."

"On May 9, 1861, Col. Reeve and his Union troops were stopped 15 miles west of San Antonio at Adams Hill by the commander of Confederate Troops in Texas (Young Battle). No shots were fired in this confrontation, but it did result in the unconditional surrender of Reeve's 320 Union men to Colonel Earl Van Dorn's large force consisting of Confederate soldiers, Texas Rangers, and Knights of the Golden Circle."

James P. Newcomb: a Newsman’s Challenge to San Antonio Confederates
By Andrea Kurth
http://www.uiw.edu/sanantonio/JamesP.Newcomb.html

The Knights of the Golden Circle Research and Historical Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle
http://knights-of-the-golden-circle.blogspot.com
http://knightofthegoldencircle.wordpress.com

Jesse James Poisoned Lincoln's Assassin

After he was poisoned for breaking his Masonic oath of silence, John Wilkes Booth's corpse was rented out to carnivals and sideshows.

(Brothers Jesse,left, and Frank James strike a Masonic pose) 


Let's rewind.
Booth's heavy drinking combined with his continual boasting of exploits within the KGC eventually brought him to the attention of Jesse James. It was also reported that Booth regularly partook of laudanum, an opium derivative. This is when he would become particularly verbose.

Again we have to rewind...
The outlaw Jesse James was not killed by Bob Ford in 1882. Jesse faked his death as an expedient way to throw off Pinkerton agents, assorted railroad barons, gun fighters and the bounty hunters scouring the country for him.
He and Ford would become partners in many business ventures spanning decades. James operated under more than 50 aliases in his long life before dying at the advanced age of 107 under the alias J. Frank Dalton in 1951 in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Jesse was a 33rd degree Freemason and a high-ranking Knight of the Golden Circle.
The KGC evolved from a Scottish secret group known as The Society of the Horseman's Word, otherwise known as the Horse Whisperers. This fraternity recited passages from the Bible backwards and practiced folk magic as part of their rituals, in addition to having Masonic-style oaths.
Headquarters for the Knights of the Golden Circle was 814 Fatherland Dr. in Nashville. This was the home of KGC operative Frank James, elder brother of Jesse James. Years later it became the Dixie Tabernacle, original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
The KGC claimed 200,000 members all over America during the war. All of the men in Lincoln's cabinet were Knights, save for Lincoln. The KGC was heavily financed by the London and Paris Rothschild brothers. Their goal was to foment as much chaos and discord as possible in order to keep the country divided and to usher in a Rothschild-owned central bank.
But Lincoln had his own plans. During his presidency, his 50% tariff jump-started the American steel industry, while his railroads, subsidies for mining, free land for farmers and free state colleges transformed a bankrupt cotton-exporting country into the world's greatest industrial power within 25 years.
Lincoln knew that he was waging a separate but equally brutal war against Rothschild-dominated Wall St. firms with his attempt to reassert government control of its credit. He put through anti-usury and other strict banking laws, sold bonds directly to the people and issued hundreds of millions of national currency.
With these reforms "The Great Emancipator" had signed his own death warrant.
Lincoln knew that his time was short. He confided to his bodyguard Ward Lamont a week before he was killed that he had a vision of his own death.
But there were powerful people that believed in him.
During the Civil War Lincoln negotiated a pact with Czar Alexander of Russia whereby the Russian Navy was sent into the ports of San Francisco and New York to help block the Rothschild ships that were running armaments to the South.
After the appearance of the Russian ships in American waters, the Rothschilds canceled contracts to build more blockade running boats. The Czar won the day for the North as Russia promised to go to war with any nation that attacked America.
In 1867 when the war ended and Lincoln was dead, President Andrew Johnson received a bill in the amount of $7.2 million for the rental of the Russian fleet. The Constitution forbids giving tax dollars to any foreign nation for any reason whatever except for the purchase of land. Johnson directed Secretary of State William Seward to purchase Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million.
These details of 'Seward's Folly' have been excised from the historical record. This is because Imperial Russia was the only European country without a central bank. They were the greatest foes of the Rothschild Syndicate.
Also, since the time of the Empress Elizabeth, Russian Jews had been confined to an area known as the Pale of Settlement. Jews could not live beyond the Pale. Long ago attempts were made to remove all Jews from Russia entirely unless they converted to the Orthodox Church. The Pale of Settlement was the next best solution.
The Rothshchilds underwrote the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The murder of Czar Nicholas and his family was their revenge for the treatment of their co-"religionists" in times past and for daring to stand against the inauguration of a Rothschild dominated central bank.
And the Rothschilds also underwrote the financing of the Knights of the Golden Circle.
Their gold and dollars were laundered through a Montreal bank by  Confederate Secretary of State, Judah Benjamin, 'the brains of the revolt.' Benjamin was running so many Confederate spies out of Montreal that it was known as 'the second Richmond.'
Benjamin was very wealthy and owned a sugar plantation manned by 140 slaves. After the war, he fled Richmond and eventually wound up in London where he made a very comfortable living as a Queen's Counsel. It is difficult to get data on Benjamin as he burned his personal notes so frequently that one historian referred to him as a 'virtual incendiary.'
After the Lincoln assassination police found decoding sheets in Booth's Washington hotel room. A matching coding device was found in Benjamin's Richmond office.
Returning to John St. Helen/David George/John Wilkes Booth
Jesse James was the treasurer and comptroller in sole possession of all gold & silver bullion and money of the Knights of the Golden Circle. In this capacity he paid Booth an annual pension of $3600 with the proviso that Booth honor his KGC oath of secrecy and never talk about their activities or the Lincoln assassination. He and other Knights repeatedly warned Booth to curb his loose tongue, but to no avail....
Jesse had no choice but to silence his Lodge Brother.
Jesse tracked Booth to the Grand Hotel in Enid one winter evening in 1903. Jesse made Booth drink a large glass of lemonade laced with a copious quantity of arsenic. Booth drank the lemonade and quickly expired. Jesse scattered many of Booth's papers around the corpse for easy identification. He then went down to the hotel lobby and gave the manager a gold coin and asked him to look in on his friend David George in the morning, as George was feeling ill.
The next day the press had a field day. The story exploded. Thousands of reporters came to Enid from all over the country to report the death of John Wilkes Booth.
Booth's body was taken to a mortuary across the street from the hotel that was owned by W.B. Penniman. Many people identified the corpse as Booth including a retired couple named Harper whom Booth had confided in.
Penniman embalmed the body and coated it with Vaseline. The arsenic went a long way to preserving the skin. Booth's attorney Finis Bates read the press reports in Memphis and hastened to Enid where he identified the body. A funeral trade journal in 1909 stated that within a few weeks the corpse had 'the drawn and tanned look of an old mummy.'
Penniman laid Booth out in his mortuary and charged curiosity-seekers 10 cents a peek. Tourists viewing the corpse would steal the collar buttons and sometimes remove locks of hair for souvenirs. One intrepid visitor tried to sever one of the mummy's ears with a pocket knife.
But when the drawing power of the Booth mummy waned, Penniman handed over the body to Finis Bates. Later on, Bates rented out the body to carnivals and sideshows.
The corpse traveled for years as part of a show featuring freaks and strange animals. It even emerged unscathed from a circus train wreck that killed eight people.
At one point the mummy was even kidnapped and ransomed. In 1931 it turned up in Chicago where a group of doctors performed an autopsy and took an x-ray and pronounced its Booth-like injuries authentic.
In 1932 a couple named Harkin bought the mummy and displayed it from the back of their truck. Hecklers would sometimes claim that the mummy was made out of wax, but Mrs. Harkin silenced them by rolling the mummy over and opening a flap on its back that had been cut away during the original autopsy. The mummy wore nothing but khaki shorts and between shows Mrs. Harkin would lacquer the skin with Vaseline and comb its hair.
Some wag declared that John Wilkes Booth was back in show business.....
The mummy vanished from the public eye in the 1950s.
--------------------------------------------
Mark Owen is a researcher living in Toronto. He can be reached at markowen10@hotmail.com
Part One- Lincoln Assassin Escaped
Some articles consulted:
Why the British Kill American Presidents by Anton Chaitkin, The New Federalist 1995
The Rothschild's International Plot to Kill Lincoln by Paul Goldstein, New Solidarity 1976
Why the Rothschilds Murdered Lincoln by Barbara Dreyfuss, New Solidarity 1976
The Mummy Mystery by Michael Finger, Memphis Flyer 2007
Some books consulted:
Escape and Suicide of John Wilkes Booth by Finis Bates 1908
Escape and Wanderings of John Wilkes Booth by WP Campbell 1922
Return of Assassin John Wilkes Booth by WC Jameson 1999
Lincoln Money Martyred by Fabius Melton Butler 1935
This One Mad Act by Izola Forrester 1937
Murdering Mr. Lincoln by Charles Higham 2004
The Lincoln Conspiracy by David Balsiger 1977
Jesse James United States Senator by Ralph Epperson 2005
Jesse James and the Lost Cause by Jesse Lee James 1961
Jesse James Was One Of His Names by Del Shrader 1975

http://www.henrymakow.com/john_wilkes_booth_killed_by_je.html

Who Were The Knights of the Golden Circle

The KGC members were a feared people. They were organized in 1854, with their headquarters in Cincinnati. They had secret symbols, passwords and other conspiratorial paraphernalia. They created real violence for many years. The management of the Knights, spread like wildfire all through the South. Their many rituals turned quickly to violence and conquest as they attempted to establish a slave empire encompassing Florida in the Southern United States, the West Indies, Mexico and parts of Central America.

This was an area comprised of nearly 2400 square miles, -hence the name Golden Circle.
The Knights had hoped to control the commerce of the area and have a virtual monopoly on the worlds supply of tobacco, sugar in the hopes of the South’s rising to power again in the future. To accomplish this mission, meant finding the ability to accumulate millions of dollars, to include gold coins, goods and weaponry, and have it set aside for later use.

The Knights buried their accumulated possessions in elaborate man-made mine shafts, in many of the Southern States, and also included several hidden caches in the Western United States. South Dakota is one of those states. It is estimated that 4 million dollars in gold, weapons and the like was hidden in the western part of South Dakota. Several of these caches have been located, but many still remain as an unfound secret. There have been lives lost in the attempt of recovering these caches. The majority of these caches employ unique death traps to keep them out of the hands of treasure hunters.

There are several words and statements that have been used in reference the KGC. They were known to be the wealthiest and the deadliest, most secretive underground organization in the history of the world. They were closely associated with the Ku Klux Klan. So you wonder, why haven’t I read about them in my history books, or for that matter even heard about them. That’s a hard question to answer. The stories may have been purposely omitted, but why? It is known that the vast amount of money and valuables these die hard southern rebels were accumulating was for the purpose of restarting the Civil War, but it never happened. Instead, most all the wealth that they had accumulated, still lies buried in many different spots throughout the United States.

Some of these caches have been located, but many more are still secreted away. Jesse James, a devoted train robber, was a full fledged member of the KGC. They used many signs, clues, carvings and even Latin phrases, Code words and even buried gun barrels(pointing a certain direction). Animals carved in stone(especially Turtles), and tree trunks forced to point to a certain direction.

should you stumble upon one of these caches. They were placed so as to cause the death of an unsuspecting treasure hunter. Along with Jesse James other members included Jefferson Davis, Bedford Forrest, and William Quantrill (leader of the Confederate guerilla outfit Quantrill's Raiders, with whom James rode). Some believe the society was created by the notorious Albert Pike, the subject of many a Masonic conspiracy theory.

The South did in fact have an extensive intelligence infrastructure and Albert Pike was a key figure in that intelligence network. The only real news here is the claim that Jesse James was a key figure within that intelligence community as well and of course, the business about The Knights of the Golden Circle.

The James Gang's train and bank robberies, it is claimed, were fundraising operations to finance the activities of the Knights of the Golden Circle, as well as to wreak general havoc with the plans of the Northern reconstructionists. James is also said to have been involved in supplying weapons and training to the Plains Indians, as a means of waging proxy war against the Union Army.

The Knights of the Golden Circle was "the most powerful subversive organization ever to operate within the United States." (Getler & Brewer, op. cit.) First, they schemed to have Abraham Lincoln elected president, so as to inflame the South and cause secession. Later, their subordinate, John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Abraham Lincoln and with KGC assistance, Booth escaped. (what was behind that?) The KGC did not officially disband until 1908.

According to novelist Norma Cox, in her book, The New Spoilers, she has the 12 charter members of the Golden Circle as including Jefferson Davis, Bedford Forrest, Jesse James, and William Quantrill. Some say Albert Pike was the creator of the Knights of the Golden Circle, but Cox doubts it.

*"It is Important to remember about such secret organisations is the fact that only the men at the top know the truth..."*

So the KGC have dispanded but what happend to their treasure and the maps leading to it?



*What to do if you find a Treasure Map*

Knights of the Golden Circle Treasure Maps of the KGC and the on-sight signs include many objects other than animals. If it is an object, consider what the object does. What is the item used for? Is it the item a tool? What does that tool do? This could give you a clue for what they are saying but you must consider the context. Always take a series of photographs of each item and place in the picture an indicator for direction and an indicator for size. That way you can sit next to the fire on a cold winter night and examine the object and understand the direction it points and the size it is. Many times there is much information in the measurements of each part of the object.

Now examine the item (non-animal) for its use. It if were say a knife, look to see where it is pointing but watch carefully for any reversal signs. The hilt might even divide the treasure and the point show the direction. The lengths may indicate how far to the two treasures. You see, a knife is designed to cut or divide. And although that may not be the use of your knife, it could be. You must read it all within the context. Spanish signs were usually incorporated into a KGC site. Many times the signs were merged to confuse a Spanish sign interpreter. .

Source - Treasure Maps of the Knights of the Golden Circle, Article 15, Map Signs
©2010, Dr. John Melancon

*Potential Burial Locations*
*Old Mill Sites*: It's said that KGC members were fond of burying treasure caches in and near sites that could be easily remembered and sought out again later. These locations included old grain or grist mill sites (and adjoining terrain), which were often used as cache burial locations.

*Smelters or Furnaces*: In days past, smelters and furnaces were commonly known and easily recognized focal points for folks living within a specific geographical area. These included not only furnaces or smelters for precious metals like gold and silver, but also included coal or coke ovens as well as charcoal ovens. According to a number of KGC researchers, KGC members or "Sentinels" buried treasure around or near sites such as these.

*Cattle Trails: *Cattle trails can be found throughout the Plains states, and the West and Southwest in general. The KGC buried caches along cattle trails, especially those that were well known at the time or were the most prominent or frequently used. Here's a tip for you, however: Don't get sidetracked by focusing on your average, cattle-going-to-water type of trail....place your focus instead on those trails where large numbers of cattle were driven, regardless of direction (for example, the old Chisholm Trail).

*Livery Stables and Blacksmith Shops: *Sites such as these were very prominent in the day-to-day life and society of the 1800s. Often, these two types of sites were combined in many rural communities of the day. If you're able to pinpoint the location of one of these as a potential KGC cache location focus your search efforts on the area immediately adjacent to or near the old livery or smithy, not inside the perimeter of the old structures themselves.

*Railroads:* Old railroad lines covered very large expanses of territory. When you're pursuing a KGC cache lead along railways consider the following points: Rights-of-way, water towers, switches or switch stations, and so on. Remember, something on or along that old railroad line was a key visual clue for the burial (and recovery) of KGC treasure caches.

*Coach Stations or Traveler's Inns/Taverns:* These sorts of early "motels" or lay-over locations were often used by KGC members because of their "strategic" locations along roads, trails, or rail lines. Again, your search efforts should be focused on the immediate vicinity and not the inside or atop the old structure sites themselves.

The Knights of the Golden Circle was a secret order, comprised of Southern Sympathizers during the Civil War. Their members were known as Copperheads. During that time of the War between the States, the word Copperhead, was considered a sinister word. It was a word used to cover all groups of Peace Societies and even militant groups that were working to overthrow the government. At one time they had been called traitors to the Union. Innocent bystanders thought they were simply people fighting for freedom of action and the pursuit of their own convictions.