Swamp Gold

[Bigcypresshunter]

As I have stated many times I don't think you will ever find anything in writing that will tell you exactly where to dig for treasure. .

Thats not what I mean. Im searching for documention from the old historical society mentioned in the 1949 newsclipping. Im searching for any documentation to show that the Confederate Swamp Gold legend has any basis of fact. Im searching for documentation outside of treasure books. We are trying to piece it together but I never expected to find a map.

 

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[nickmarch]

I don't have the time to read this whole thread but can help. What County is this supposed to be in? Hendry or Collier?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I don't have the time to read this whole thread but can help. What County is this supposed to be in? Hendry or Collier?

The Miccosuki land is in far western Broward County. If the legend is true, the gold could be in Hendry or Collier County.

If you dont have time to read it all, go back a few pages to the 1940s newsclips and read that. According to the newsclipping, the "ghost village", believed to be the Confederate's last encampment, was found in far western Broward County most likely Horseshoe Head. It was never proven if the encampment was Confederate, deserters, Indians, escaped slaves or moonshiners. Human bones were found scattered about. Nobody knows why the camp was abandoned but it appears all inhabitants died a mysterious death.

 

[cactusjumper]

Florida,during the War of Northern Agression,has been neglected in many Civil War history books except for a few battles that are mentioned as an afterthought.Florida was a supplier of beef,salt,whiskey,etc to the Confederacy,and payment was made in gold or silver specie,be it US, British,French,Mexican,Cuban,or Spanish.Florida was also the escape route for Jefferson Davis and members of the CSA Cabinet.
I believe,the Union fort at FORT MEYERS and the Confederate fort at FORT MEADE are critical elements to the swamp gold legend,as well as the "Cow Calvary',the blockade runners,and the cattlemen "crackers" of south Florida.
I do have my doubts about the 1/2 ton of gold,50lbs is closer to a beef payment,and deep in the Everglades is also in question.
I also doubt that men,under pursuit and heavy fire,would have time to bury treasure,or that the Union soldiers that pursued with a firefight would not have found freshly dug ground.
Many parts of the legend do not hold up to logical analysis.
...but,...

Big Cyp and ECS,

I know that the Confederate Army was living on the hope of a meal towards the end of the war. They did mount a raid on Union cattle just across the lines. 3,000 soldiers successfully fought off the Union guards and brought back just under 300 head of cattle, as I remember the story.
There is no mention of "cattle gold" in listing the funds available for the last days of the Confederacy in, "Flight Into Oblivion". As a side note, the cattle that Florida sold were, somewhat, emaciated. To say they were taking advantage of the situation, might be an understatement.

Take care,

Joe

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Big Cyp and ECS,

There is no mention of "cattle gold" in listing the funds available for the last days of the Confederacy in, "Flight Into Oblivion". As a side note, the cattle that Florida sold were, somewhat, emaciated. To say they were taking advantage of the situation, might be an understatement.

Take care,

Joe

OK thanks. Florida today still has great grazing land where cattle bred down from Spanish lines feed alongside alligators and Desoto's hogs run wild. Its truly a land of bounty and cattle have plenty to eat.. They may have taken advantage of the situation but its a known fact they were paid in gold. They continued to sell cattle to Cuba after the war.


My pictures of the beautiful Florida Everglades. Doubleclick to enlarge. This is not Texas.

 

[nickmarch]

Finding creeks from the past will be almost impossible. Everything was altered by the government! Pretty much everything was altered by man. There are actually very few natural creeks. Camel mounds are everywhere.

Go here: http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ Find the area and click on hydrography (NHD) to show waterways and their direction of flow.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Wild hogs

 

[cactusjumper]

Big Cyp,

It's true they were paid in gold. I have read that in a numbe of accounts. Is there some kind of documentation where the buyers lost the gold in some way? I haven't read this entire thread, so that information may be in previous posts.

As I understand it, we are not discussing the "treasure" that Davis fled with. My mistake.

Take care,

Joe

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Big Cyp,

It's true they were paid in gold. I have read that in a numbe of accounts. Is there some kind of documentation where the buyers lost the gold in some way? I haven't read this entire thread, so that information may be in previous posts.

As I understand it, we are not discussing the "treasure" that Davis fled with. My mistake.

Take care,

Joe

We cannot find any documentation yet and its possible that the Jefferson Davis gold has morphed into this legend. We just dont know.

Im working backwards from when it first appeared in treasure books in 1964. The earliest reference we found was sometime in the late 1940's. Supposedly it came from a local Broward County historical society but I havent traced it down yet. ECS found that Capt. Riley was a blockade runner operating in the Gulf in and around Florida and out of Punta Gorda. So Im going with cattle gold..

 

[nickmarch]

Near the end of the Civil War, a Confederate Army paymaster hid $200,000 in gold coins in the Everglades near present Hendry County. The location is said to be at the junction of two creeks where the land rises "like a camel's back." The gold is buried in the west hump. The location is supposedly between Alligator Alley and State Road 41, and near a present day Seminole Indian Reservation in Hendry County.

I think "like a camels back" refers to alligator nests. There are not many natural creeks in the described area. If this story is true it really should not be to hard to find with a metal detector. The biggest problem I see is that there is a barb wire fence along alligator alley.

 

[vor]

Nick
Think this thread has covered that story several times in the past.

BCH
There are some books referenced at the end of this article that may have something.
Historic Peace River Valley, Florida: Battle of Bowlegs Creek: Fort Meade, Florida, April 7, 1864

 

[nickmarch]

Has anyone looked into historic trails/roads going east/west? The oldest I could find is US41/tamiami trail is about 75 years old.

 

[Jon Phillips]

Nick
Think this thread has covered that story several times in the past.

BCH
There are some books referenced at the end of this article that may have something.
Historic Peace River Valley, Florida: Battle of Bowlegs Creek: Fort Meade, Florida, April 7, 1864

The two Canter Brown Jr. books are the ones that I read that reference in great detail about the cattle shipments, Punta Rassa, payments by spanish gold, and the carelessness that they seemed to have in handling the money.....plus the skirmishes back and forth between Fort Meade and Fort Myers.

 

[nickmarch]

I found a map that shows the forts. Maybe it will help? When the map loads click it a few times to make if full size & see the details.

 

[nickmarch]

Some more detailed maps

Broward: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/surveyingandmapping/geomap/broward.pdf

Hendry South: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/surveyingandmapping/geomap/hendry_1.pdf

Collier E: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/surveyingandmapping/geomap/collier2.pdf

Collier W: http://www.dot.state.fl.us/surveyingandmapping/geomap/collier.pdf

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

The camels back quote is from 196os treasure books. It could be Indian mounds or it could be an embellishment. I have looked over a lot of maps from 1850-1890 of Seminole War trails but what we really need is documentation that proves the legend has any basis of fact. It all fits together nicely but I dont know if its factual or an embellished rumor.

The BCNP is strictly off limits to metal detecting, fence or no fence, and so is the Miccosuki Reservation without permission . Im trying to find out where the rumor/legend originated before I attempt to ask permission.

 

[nickmarch]

You can search Civil War News at

Welcome to ActivePaper

 

[ECS]

CHARLES GREENLEIGH McKINNEY-b 08.08,1847 Danville ,Ga /d 10.16,1926 Everglades City,Fl
Served at CSA Fort Meade under CSA Capt Hendry and CSA Major Mornelin as a soldier,blacksmith & shoe maker.In later life,wrote a weekly south Florida history column for a Collier county newspaper.Could the original swamp gold story come from one of his articles?
Now for an interesting connection:
McKinney's daughter,Lilly Lee,married CHARLES CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON b2.21,1874,on 06.30,1904.
Johnson was an avid treasure hunter,claimed to know the locations of many buried treasures and shipwrecks in south Florida.Mel Fisher consulted him many times on locations.
One interesting scam Johnson was involved in,was coating silver dollars with GOLD,and passing them off at the local RR station.

Reposted for those who have recently joined in on the discussion.
As Jon has pointed out,there were many raids from Fort Meyers.
On an earlier post,I mentioned US LT James D Green(Fort Meyers),lead many raiding parties against the homesteaders,looting and in some cases,burned down homesteads(Willoghby Tillis & Thomas Underhills).A good reason for locals to bury to bury their valuables to keep it from the yankees,and the cracker cattle did bring a lot of coin currency into that area.
Cows were sold at $30.00 a head,400 head would amount to $12,000,or 50lbs of gold coin,or the 600oz of the Punta Gorda version of the legend.
Another area to search would be the corduroy roads built over "bogs" by cattleman,Moses Barber,that led to Summerlin's docks at Punta Rassa.(A 'bog" is also mentioned in the Punta Gorda version)

 

[ECS]

I don't have the time to read this whole thread but can help. What County is this supposed to be in? Hendry or Collier?

Nick,there is a lot of solid research on this thread,including all the versions of the Confederate swamp gold legend.
Start at page 27.As for the Confederate paymaster version,the only CSA "paymaster in south Florida was Capt James McKay Sr,CSA COMMISSARY AGENT at Fort Meade.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

CHARLES GREENLEIGH McKINNEY-b 08.08,1847 Danville ,Ga /d 10.16,1926 Everglades City,Fl
Served at CSA Fort Meade under CSA Capt Hendry and CSA Major Mornelin as a soldier,blacksmith & shoe maker.In later life,wrote a weekly south Florida history column for a Collier county newspaper.Could the original swamp gold story come from one of his articles?

Thats a very good possibility and it would be older than what I have. I wonder if he wrote the truth. Think about it. Years from now treasure hunters will be reading this or reading BDDs thread trying to decipher the truth.

There is so much information and clues on this thread. Im sure its the best anywhere on the subject and it could take someone with a lot of time to sort it out and find the answers we need.

I would love to read the Collier county newspapers but Google stopped putting papers online and I dont think they go back that far but I could try or I could ask Bramblefind to try.

..if I were to drop my email or my membership , it would all disappear. For some odd reason TN doesnt backup this stuff.