A FLORIDA KGC LEGEND

[ECS]

Did the James Burt make it to silver springs and was there too much gold to carry or was it possibly buried?

This site mentions Fort Brook and Hart's JAMES BURT service for the Confederacy as a river blockade runner-but claims the JAMES BURT disappeared from service in 1863,contrary to the accounts of May 1865.
Steamboats wrote colorful history
The JAMES BURT was unloaded at Silver Springs of some crates and several kegs of gold and silver coins,not heavy of a load.What wasn't carried by Benjamin,Wood,and Breckinridge on their escape from Florida,was possibly,according to local old timers, distributed among those who aided them in Ocala.

 

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[L.C. BAKER]

You haven't said much about Lewis Powell on here ECS. What do you have on his connections to Florida?

Great stuff! I Enjoy reading your posts, Thanks, L.C.

 

[ECS]

CSA Pvt Lewis Thorton Powell(1844-1865)spent most of his childhood in Alabama and Georgia.In 1861,joined the CSA 2nd Florida Infantry,Co l,in Jasper,Florida,and was wounded and captured July 2,1863 at Gettysburg.Powell serverd as a POW nurse at Gettsburg Hospital,then sent in September to the West Building Hospital in Baltimore where he escaped one week later,but while there he was recruited to the Confederate Secret Service(run by CSA Sec of State Judah P Benjamin) by Balitmore fine chinaware shopowner and CSS agent David Preston Parr.Powell joined up with Mosby's Rangers until he was captured again,forced to take a US allegence oath.Once again in Baltimore,Parr introduced Powell to John Surratt,who inturn introduced Powell to John Wilkes Booth,who was developing a plan to kidnap Lincoln.
After his execution for his part in the assassination of Lincoln and stabbing of US Sec of State William Seward,Powell's decapitated was sent for burial to Geneva Cemetary in Seminole county Florida.
In 1992,his skull was discovered at the Smithsonian,and was shipped to Geneva to be intered with his body,next to his mother's grave.
The U S government were convinced that Davis and especialy Benjamin were behind the Lincoln assassination.The code used by Benjamin in his secret service activities was the VIGENERE TABLEAU,and among the items found in the trunk Booth left behind in his Washington hotel was a printed copy of the Vigenere Tableau with an extra alphabet beginning ZABC.
The last official message from Jefferson Davis was written in the Vigenere,dated April 24,1865,at Charlotte,NC,and to his personal secretary and member of the SKULL & BONES,Burton Norvell Harrison,who was in Chester,SC:
"The hostile government reject the proposed settlement,and order active operations to be resumed in fortyeight hours from noon today".The key words needed to decipher this message were-"COME RETRIBUTION".
Then the flight to Florida began,as related in this thread.

 

[ECS]

Often overlooked are the machinations of Judah P Benjamin's Florida cousin,David Levy Yulee,aiding the goal of creating a "golden circle",with Florida at its center.Yulee had himself appointed as US Senator from Florida,which furthered the connections of the KGC in the federal government-remember all the other KGC members and secessionist also in Congress and the US Cabinet at that time.His extremist white racism and radical pro-slavery stance was well known among his Senate peers,,and with funds from the public purse,allowed Yulee to dominate Florida politics and her cash reserves during the crucial years before the Civil War.
In preparation for secession,Yulee built the first tranpeninsula railroad from Fernandina on the Atlantic to his warehouses and docks at Cedar Key on the Gulf.With John W Pearson,bought the land around Orange Springs-Pearson built a grist mill and a machine shop that supplied cannons to the Florida CSA,and also formed the Oklawaha Rangers.
Yulee also owned a St Augustine registered slaveship,and plantation at Archer(Cottonwood where the Davis baggage train was sent),and Margarite at Homosassa,which supplied sugar to the Confederacy.
David Levy Yulee was very vocal about secession,and with his political power and connections,convinced the state government to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy.
While cousin Judah P Benjamin escaped the Union,Yulee was imprisoned in a cell at Fort Pulaski,Savannah,for treason against the United States of America( his Orange Springs partner,CSA Lt Col John W Pearson, is buried in Savannah's Laurel Grove Cemetary).
After his release,Yulee attempted many ventures,including another railroad,but he never regained his political power or wealth.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Shoulda joined OAK...

 

[L.C. BAKER]

The fact that he founded the Florida Railroad Company and served as president of several other companies, earning the nickname of "Father of Florida Railroads". is good enough for me E.C.S.

L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Shoulda joined OAK...

After the war the noose was dangling for traitors....perhaps the O.A.K. distanced themselves from him Rebel. The inner circle was scared but brave at the same time....and they knew what a hot potato was.

Just my two bits L.C.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

After the war the noose was dangling for traitors....perhaps the O.A.K. distanced themselves from him Rebel. The inner circle was scared but brave at the same time....and they knew what a hot potato was.

Just my two bits L.C.

Could be...

 

[ECS]

After the war the noose was dangling for traitors....perhaps the O.A.K. distanced themselves from him Rebel. The inner circle was scared but brave at the same time....and they knew what a hot potato was.

Yulee's relation to cousin Benjamin and other KGC members involved with the prepartions of Florida's role in the "golden circle",did indeed make him a hot potato.
Before the KGC strategical meetings of Pike,Benjamin,and Slidell in 1857 at New Orlean's Pickwick Club,August Belmont,the Rothchild Bank's agent in New Orleans,financed the 1852 campaign of Franklin Pierce.Belmont was married to the neice of John Slidell,a connection which Slidell would use to secure a loan from France for the Confederacy.
There were many plans and plots in the plots and plans of the KGC.If one studies US Cabinet members of Pierce and the following administrations before Lincoln,it becomes evident that various KGC supporters were in key federal positions.
It interesting to note that when Benjamin and Jefferson Davis were US Senators,they did not agree,Benjamin challenged Davis to a duel over an insult-Davis apologized,and joined the KGC fold.
Benjamin and Slidell wre both wanted for treason,and both escaped to Paris,were both had connections.Slidell died in 1872,and is buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetary.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

"If one studies US Cabinet members of Pierce and the following administrations before Lincoln,it becomes evident that various KGC supporters were in key federal positions."

I have pointed this very thing out on several of my threads. It is nice to have the confirmation E.C.S. The clincher is to finally have proof that Franklin Pierce was indeed a Knight of the Golden Circle!

L.C.great stuff!

 

[senior deacon]

L.C. and ECS Think that the reason that the infamous Pickwick Club was so secret is that it was the front for the K.G.C. Only Wealth southern Gentleman and High ranking Freemasons were members. The reason I say this is even after the war it was a very secret society By that time it was O.A.K. and not even wives and female companions could enter. Why would they let a lowly country lawyer from Little Rock Ark to be a member and attend it functions. The more one read the more dots to connect. This may well be a very significant dot in the chain. Think about it.

Senior Deacon

 

[ECS]

PIRATE TREASURE OR KGC CACHE? A TRUE TREASURE STORY

There have been many legends concerning lost Confederate gold in Florida,including the tale of a US gunboat chasing a Confederate blockade runner up the Suwannee River-this may be the source :
In 1897,Georgia sawmill owner,Emmett Baird,took into his care an old man,who was in the final days of his life.On his deathbed,the old man,as told by Baird,gave him a map to buried "pirate" treasure at Flowler's Bluff on the Suwannee,near Chiefland,Florida.Baird closed down his sawmill and went on the hunt.
He hired laborers and dug for three months,constructing coffer dams to keep water intrusion from his hole.When a shovel hit a solid object,Baird dismissed his workers.A day later,the workers returned a found a broken padlock at the site,and rocks which bore hinge impressions.
Baird claims he took the chest and deposited it in a Gainesville,Florida bank.No one ever saw the actual "pirate" treasure,but Emmett Baird had an abundance of gold US Liberty Head DOUBLE EAGLES,that were dated no later than 1860.
With this wealth,he opened Baird Hardware,began a basket & crate business,and a sawmill in Gainesville,while building a two story house-the house is now The Magnolia Plantation Bed & Breakfast.
Rumours spread that Baird hid some of the treasure in his house,and over the years,various owners have torn open walls and destroyed fireplace mantles-to no avail.
The same with Fowler's Bluff,there have been several digs in the hunt for "pirate" treasure,but nothing else was ever found there.
Several questions remain-if it was "pirate" treasure,where and whom did he deal to convert the cache to Double Eagles,and in 1897,it does seem curious that oldest date on thes coin was 1860.
Could the Fowler's Bluff site be a red herring,to send other seekers of treasure in the wrong direction?
In addition to Yulee's Cottonwood Plantation where some of the Confederate treasury was buried,Davis's baggage train stopped at IRVIN PLANTATION in Suwannee county and HAILE and CHESTNUT PLANTATIONS in Alachua county.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

There have been many legends concerning lost Confederate gold in Florida,including the tale of a US gunboat chasing a Confederate blockade runner up the Suwannee River-this may be the source :
In 1897,Georgia sawmill owner,Emmett Baird,took into his care an old man,who was in the final days of his life.On his deathbed,the old man,as told by Baird,gave him a map to buried "pirate" treasure at Flowler's Bluff on the Suwannee,near Chiefland,Florida.Baird closed down his sawmill and went on the hunt.
He hired laborers and dug for three months,constructing coffer dams to keep water intrusion from his hole.When a shovel hit a solid object,Baird dismissed his workers.A day later,the workers returned a found a broken padlock at the site,and rocks which bore hinge impressions.
Baird claims he took the chest and deposited it in a Gainesville,Florida bank.No one ever saw the actual "pirate" treasure,but Emmett Baird had an abundance of gold US Liberty Head DOUBLE EAGLES,that were dated no later than 1860.
With this wealth,he opened Baird Hardware,began a basket & crate business,and a sawmill in Gainesville,while building a two story house-the house is now The Magnolia Plantation Bed & Breakfast.
Rumours spread that Baird hid some of the treasure in his house,and over the years,various owners have torn open walls and destroyed fireplace mantles-to no avail.
The same with Fowler's Bluff,there have been several digs in the hunt for "pirate" treasure,but nothing else was ever found there.
Several questions remain-if it was "pirate" treasure,where and whom did he deal to convert the cache to Double Eagles,and in 1897,it does seem curious that oldest date on thes coin was 1860.
Could the Fowler's Bluff site be a red herring,to send other seekers of treasure in the wrong direction?
In addition to Yulee's Cottonwood Plantation where some of the Confederate treasury was buried,Davis's baggage train stopped at IRVIN PLANTATION in Suwannee county and HAILE and CHESTNUT PLANTATIONS in Alachua county.

Ask Benjamin...

 

[ECS]

This story has appeared in many treasure books and mags since the 1960's.
In 1862,Capt John Riley departed Galveston,Texas,with a shipment of gold coins in wooden kegs that were claimed to have been minted from KGC western gold mines.Also included in the shipment were the dies stolen from the federal mint at New Orleans,that were overstamped with "CSA".
As Capt Riley approached the bend in the Florida panhandle,he was spotted by a US gunboat,and the chase was on.
Riley sailed his ship up the Suwannee River,and after reaching the 2nd bend in the river,had his crew jetison the kegs of gold coins and dies into the river.
For the historical record:
Capt Riley,born John Riley Bless McIntosh,April 5,1819-died May 10,1901,was a successful CSA blockade runner,who dealt with the CSA Cow Calvary in Punta Rassa,Florida,and currency to the cow crackers was gold Spanish and Cuban coins.(Detailed on the "SWAMP GOLD" thread)Riley's blockade activity took him from Texas to Florida to Cuba and,France where he transported munitions back to the CSA.
Capt John Riley,as he was known to his crew and associates,did business with THE SOUTHERN MERCHANTS,said to be KGC,and was NEVER caught,captured,or lost a ship during his CSA blockade runniing during the WAR of NORTHERN AGGRESSION.
Which brings forth the question: This tale have validity?

Could this legend be the source of Emmett Baird's "pirate treasure" find of 1897?

 

[ECS]

"If one studies US Cabinet members of Pierce and the following administrations before Lincoln,it becomes evident that various KGC supporters were in key federal positions."

I have pointed this very thing out on several of my threads. It is nice to have the confirmation E.C.S. The clincher is to finally have proof that Franklin Pierce was indeed a Knight of the Golden Circle!

L.C.great stuff!

James Buchanan had Lewis Cass as Sec of State,and John Cabel Breckinridge as Vice-President is another example.
Breckinridge campaigned for Pierce during his Presidential run,and in 1860 ran against Lincoln,coming in 3rd of the popu;ar vote and 2nd in Electorial votes.Breckinridge carried all the Southern states.Lincoln won the election,and Breckinridge's cousin,Mary Todd,became First Lady.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Don't forget about Mr. Jacob Thompson as Secretary of the interior for President Buchanan as well as John B. Floyd his Sec. of war! It was a cabinet full of K.G.C. Throw in Lewis Cass and young J. Sterling Morton whom Cass groomed at Michigan to meet up with the first Governor of Nebraska Francis Burt and Andrew Horatio Reeder. They were hand picked by Jefferson Davis and Franklin Pierce and THE K.G.C. to take over the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and make them slave states forcing out the abolitionist who had already staked claims at Lecompton and Civil Bend Iowa where the Underground railroad was already in place in 1854. NOW we have the frame of the big picture!!

Great Post, L.C.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

THEN, there was a US Senator from Nebraska in the "days of OAK" (GROWTH of AMERICA, going WEST), who made rival WEALTHY, OLD men nervous, that they joined "forces" against him (US Gov't) into early 1900's... INTERESTING story, it is.

 

[Salvor6]

ECS I have read about Emmett Baird and his treasure in many different publications. No where did it mention the date of the coins he found. Where did you hear of the dates and that they were "Double Eagles"?

 

[ECS]

ECS I have read about Emmett Baird and his treasure in many different publications. No where did it mention the date of the coins he found. Where did you hear of the dates and that they were "Double Eagles"?

No where is there a mention of the inventory content of Baird's found "pirate" treasure.
If it were indeed pirate treasure,it would have been specie from various countries,jewels,gold chains,etc,and even in 1897,Baird would need to liquiefy these assets start his several businesses and build a house.
Remember,no one saw the contents of the alleged chest,and the old Scandanavian pirate on his deathbed giving Baird the map,and Baird digging up the treasure chest version,all come from Baird.
The US Liberty head $20 double eagles,which was legal US currency in 1897,was what Baird had deposited in a Gainesville bank,and used for his businesses and construction of his house.

 

[Salvor6]

If Baird did find a pirate treasure chest it most likely would be filled with Spanish real's and escudo's. Those were legal tender in the U.S. until 1850. It would be very easy to liquidate those coins in 1897. I talked with the last person to conduct an excavation there last summer. Don Patterson believes it is pirate treasure.