This is in the nature of a sequel to the article “The Confederate States Naval Academy” published in the Naval Institute Proceedings for September, 1934. That article ended with the C.S.S. Patrick Henry—which was the Confederate Naval Academy—about to be burned. The Patrick Henry was burned, all right, but the end of their Academy was not the end of the Confederate midshipmen. Before them lay the melodramatic, at times almost comic opera episodes that occurred in connection with the world’s strangest treasure hunt. A treasure hunt that was not a hunt for a treasure, but a treasure hunt in which the hunters had the treasure and were hunting for a place of safety in which to leave it! Surely naval personnel never had a stranger mission than that given to the Confederate naval officers and midshipmen; and surely never was a mission performed with greater fidelity.
Our account opens on a wild Sunday in Richmond in 1865. The day was April 2, and the long expected evacuation of Richmond had definitely been ordered. With Richmond abandoned, naturally the near-by C.S. Naval Academy, too, had to go. The Superintendent, Captain William H. Parker, C.S.N., received a dispatch from the Secretary of the Navy which directed him as follows:
Have the corps of midshipmen, with proper officers, at the Danville depot today at 6:00 p.m. The commanding officer to report to the Quartermaster General of the Army.
It was then that a detail of bluejackets was left behind to burn the school—the C.S.S. Patrick Henry.
Unofficially, Captain Parker learned that he was to take charge of “some money” being sent to Danville.
Meanwhile, the Danville station presented a scene of wild confusion. There, packed in numerous kegs, was “some money.” It proved to be some $500,000, not in Confederate greenbacks, but in real coins of gold and silver. This half a million constituted all that remained of the never very rich Confederate Treasury. Some Treasury officers were in charge of it and they were having difficulties galore.
It seems that with the evacuation of Richmond about to be effected, the provost marshal had taken the precautionary measure of destroying all liquor in the stores. The idea was good, but the execution proved to be bad. Barrels and barrels of liquor—hundreds of them and mostly whiskey—were stove in and their contents emptied into the streets. The fault in the execution of the provost marshal’s idea was realized when it was discovered that men were lapping up the liquor running in the gutters! Something in the nature of a municipal drunk resulted. Then, about that time, the word got around that the residue from the vaults of the Confederate Treasury was aboard the train about to leave for Danville. At once, a number of the tipplers formed themselves into a mob and, fortified by their gutter guzzling, gathered at the Danville Station alongside the “bullion train.” They were bent on dividing among themselves the gold and silver and as the Treasury officials were too few to make any sort of effectual resistance, there seemed nothing in the way of the mob’s accomplishing its end. What would have gone down in history as the “Sack of the Confederate Treasury” was prevented only by the timely arrival of the corps of midshipmen under Captain Parker.
Amid the jeers and threats of the drunken mob, the midshipmen immediately took charge. The jeers, however, did not last long, for the mob was not too drunk to realize quickly that the gun-and-bayonet-equipped midshipmen were not to be fooled with. The mob was dispersed, and the first incident in connection with guarding the Confederate treasure was successfully past.
(Along with the Confederate money, ere was some money owned by Richmond banks. This was owned privately, of course, and Captain Parker was not directly in charge of it, but he allowed the bank officers who had it in charge to ravel with his command for safety.)
The scene at the depot was “hard to escribe,” says Captain Parker in his Recollections:
The President’s train was to precede mine, which was expected to be the last out of the city; both trains were packed—not only inside, but on top, on the platforms, on the engine, everywhere, in fact where standing room could be found and those who could not get that “hung on by their eyelids.” I placed sentinels at the doors of the depot finally, and would not let another soul enter.
While waiting at the depot I had an opportunity of seeing the President and his Cabinet as they went to the cars. Mr. Davis preserved his usual calm and dignified manner, and General Breckinridge (the Secretary of War), who had determined to go out on horseback, was as cool and gallant as ever—but the others, I thought, had the air . . . of wishing to be off. General Breckinridge stayed with me some time after the President’s train had gone, and I had occasion to admire his bearing under the circumstances.
The presidential train left for Danville at 8:00 p.m., but the “treasure train” did not start until after midnight. After numerous stops en route, it reached Danville the next afternoon, April 3. President Davis and his cabinet had already arrived, and Danville became for a short time the capital of the Confederacy.
The treasure had been left in the railroad station, with the midshipmen bivouacked near by and standing guard over it. This relatively easy life did not last long, however. After only two days, new orders were received and Captain Parker was directed to take the money kegs to Charlotte, N. C., there to deposit them in the mint, and await further orders. On April 6, the journey to Charlotte was started. Stops were made at Greensboro and Salisbury, and Charlotte was reached on the eighth. There the money kegs were placed in the mint in accordance with orders and Captain Parker thought that, with the orders carried out, he was through with the money. But, as we shall see, he was far from through with it.
After he had deposited the money in the mint, Captain Parker attempted to report to the Secretary of the Navy. He discovered that the telegraph wires had been cut by the Union General Stoneman, who had taken possession of Salisbury right after the midshipmen had passed through it. The probability of General Stoneman’s learning about the treasure and his proximity to its resting place led Captain Parker to decide to take up his burden again and to carry the treasure farther south.
Two additions to Captain Parker’s force were made in Charlotte. Staying in the city at that time was Mrs. Jefferson Davis. Fearing that Stoneman’s troops might capture the First Lady of the Confederacy, Captain Parker persuaded her to accompany his party. With her also went her sister and the two Davis children. The other addition was a company of bluejackets from the Charlotte “Navy Yard” under a Captain Tabb. They volunteered to accompany Captain Parker and remained with him until the last.
During the midshipmen’s stay in Charlotte, the eventful meeting of Lee and Grant took place at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9. The result, of course, was the surrender of Lee’s army in the field, and the end, in effect, of the Confederacy; though it was not until some six weeks later (May 26) that Kirby Smith’s trans-Mississippi army laid down its arms. Captain Parker, however, in his isolation did not learn of Lee’s surrender for several days. Meanwhile, he continued his journey in search of some responsible person to whom he could deliver the treasure.
The party left Charlotte on April 11 by train for Chester, S. C., where it arrived the next day. Chester was as far as the “Treasure Troops” could go by rail, so the journey was continued on to Newberry, S. C., on foot. Captain Parker commandeered an ambulance, a few wagons, and some “broken-down and leg-weary mules” and formed a wagon train. He placed the gold, silver, official papers, and supplies in the wagons, the women and children in the ambulance, and led his force to a country church a few miles from Chester for the first night’s stopping place.
At the church, Captain Parker published orders for the march, made provisions for guard duty, established advance and rear guards, made every man carry a gun, and declared martial law. Thus organized, the force prepared to pass its first night in camp. The troops not on guard slept outside the church, the women and children on the pews, and the “Skipper” slept in the pulpit!
Early the next morning Captain Parker’s “ducks out of water” got under way and started their tramp over the rough country roads. During the entire march the midshipmen and the Charlotte company alternated in acting as advance and rear guards.
Their line of march was close to the swath burned by General Sherman’s troops in his march northward from the sea, and there was constant danger of their meeting some detachment of Sherman’s forces. There was also the danger that some of Stoneman’s roving cavalry, coming up from behind, would attack them in the rear. Rear guards were left for a short time at every bridge crossed, with orders to bum it if necessary to stop or delay pursuit. In addition to the dangers from the Union forces, there was danger on all sides from that species of human jackal, the deserter, for “not far away, on each flank and in their rear, hovered deserters waiting either for an opportunity or the necessary courage to pounce upon the, to them, untold wealth which the wagon contained.”2 As Colonel Scharf describes the situation, Captain Parker’s force was
small in comparison with the number of marauders he might at any time chance to meet. The impoverished and ravaged country was swarming with them—bummers, looters, and deserters hanging on to the rear of Sherman’s army; half- starved Confederates rendered desperate by suffering; roving bands of negroes; and all the rabble that infested that war-swept region. They were to be feared; and moreover, great numbers of Federal cavalry were riding on Sherman’s flanks, and were on several occasions so near to the treasure train that they might have swooped down upon it. Its guards, as Parker knew and said, would have died fighting for it; but an attack by an overwhelming force upon such a tempting prize as millions in gold and silver was always possible; and he was strongly urged to divide the treasure among the men following him. But he and the corps of midshipmen were inviolate in their sense of duty.
The second day’s march ended at sunset, and Captain Parker was fortunate in finding nearby a house intact and unscathed. Sherman’s left wing had missed it, but one had to go only a few miles to see the ruins of many houses which had
to Washington and there information was received that the Federal Army under General Wilson had captured Macon. Macon was forthwith eliminated from the list of places in which the money might be kept safe for the Confederacy. The situation called for deliberation. Captain Parker went into a “huddle” with some of the citizens of Washington, and the result was the unpacking and repacking of the treasure again. It was transferred to a house and an extra strong guard was put over it. After further consultation Captain Parker decided to go to Augusta, Georgia, where he expected to find a naval officer senior to him and an army general whose advice he desired to obtain. This trip could be made by train, so back to the railroad cars went the money guards with their kegged money. They left Washington in the morning and arrived at Augusta in the afternoon of the same day.
On the way to Augusta the treasure train arrived at the main line track about the same time that been burned by his troops. The undamaged house belonged to an old shipmate of Captain Parker’s midshipman days, a then lieutenant Means, C.S. Navy, just from command of a James River gunboat. At his house the ladies of the party were given shelter.
Newberry was reached the next after-noon after a very early start and a march of twelve hours. At Newberry the Confederacy seemed still to be functioning, or the railroad train, requested from the quartermaster there by a special courier sent ahead, was in readiness for Parker’s force. The Confederate riches were transferred to the rails again, and the journey was continued by that more pleasant mode of travel to Abbeville, S. C. There, Mrs. Davis, her sister, and the children left their escort and went to the house of the Honorable Armisted Burt. This gentleman in reply to Mrs. Davis’ expressed fear at his house might be burned for his hospitality, gallantly said, “Madam, I know of no better use my house could be put to than to be burned for such a cause.”
Thus one trust was placed in safety, or as near safety as was possible in that troubled land. There still remained the gold and silver. The quest was continued or a place in which it would be secure and Macon, Georgia, was tentatively selected as a final goal. Again a wagon train as formed and again the midshipmen and sailors set out across the rough roads, headed for Washington, Georgia, the first stop on the way to Macon. The news of the Confederate armies received along the way was bad, very bad. Then, and not until then, was there any indication that the officers in charge felt that the days of the Naval Academy were over. Word was passed to “lighten ship,” and textbooks and official stationery brought from the Patrick Henry went by the board. Even Confederate paper money was thrown away as they heard the worst news.
Two days’ march brought Parker’s force another Augusta bound train, this one from Atlanta, came along. The day was April 18, and there, from the Atlanta train, for the first time Captain Parker learned of General Lee’s surrender nine days before. He did not really learn it then, since he would not believe it! Not realizing that the news had been telegraphed via Nashville and Atlanta, and believing himself to be the last to arrive from Danville, Parker thought that he had the latest news and believed that someone was just starting a wild rumor to serve his own purposes. Upon arrival at Augusta, however, the report could no longer be disbelieved.
As soon as he arrived at Augusta, Captain Parker called on General Fry and on Commodore William Hunter, the Senior Officers Present of the Army and Navy, respectively. The General and the Commodore were not able to help the Captain much. The General had very few troops and was waiting for some Federal general to come along to whom he could surrender. The Commodore had under him one or two gunboats which had come up the Savannah River after having managed to elude the Federal vessels at the fall of Savannah. He, however, was unwilling to take any responsibility in regard to the treasure. Captain Parker then made up his mind that he was going to hand the treasure over to Jefferson Davis, and nobody else. There were many who tried to dissuade Parker from this idea. He received much advice: “The war’s over”; “Divide the money”; “It might fall into the hands of Federal troops”; “You might be attacked by your own men.” To all of which Captain Parker had but one reply:
The treasure has been put in my keeping, and I will hold it until I meet President Davis. If necessary my command will be killed in defense of it.
The officers and men under Parker stood staunchly by him, and gave firm negatives to those who made advances trying to persuade them to do otherwise.
After a few days in Augusta, Captain Parker decided that he would find President Davis sooner if he tried to meet him. He decided to retrace his steps, and on April 23 the “Treasure Troops” left Augusta to return to Washington, Georgia. Thence, they departed as they arrived the first time, by wagon train. On April 28 they were back in Abbeville again. The treasure was stored in a warehouse on the public square and a strong guard was put over it. A strong “shore patrol” was kept in town because of the many threats to seize the money made by the numerous paroled soldiers who thronged through Abbeville on the way to their homes.
Another precaution taken by Captain Parker was to order an engine and sufficient cars for his command to be ready with steam at all hours, to be able to retrace his route still farther; to run by train to Newberry, thence to take the dirt road once more. On the night of May 1 it looked as if the eventuality against which Parker had planned had arrived.
It was reported to Parker that the paroled men intended to seize the treasure that evening. Parker immediately doubled the guard and patrol. The attack did not take place.
About “six bells o’ the midwatch,” May 2, Captain Parker was awakened by Lieutenant Peek, the “Officer of the Deck,” who reported that the “Yankees are coming.” Upon inquiry it was learned that a detachment of Union cavalry had been at Anderson, 30 miles away, and it was thought that this force would arrive at Abbeville about daylight.
All hands were called at once. They packed the money on the train again, embarked themselves, and daybreak found the treasure train ready to move at an instant’s notice. (It is not recorded that such was the case, but it would seem that by that time the midshipmen and the Charlotte company could pack or unpack the treasure in their sleep!) Shortly after “all ready” had been reported, cavalrymen were seen riding down the distant hills. Captain Parker sent out two scouts for information regarding the approaching horsemen. The scouts returned with the welcome information that the force seen was Confederate cavalry constituting the advance guard of the escort of President Jefferson Davis! What joy and gladness that news must have brought Captain Parker. At last he was confronted with the definite prospect of being able to hand over the Confederate treasure to the Confederate President. The prospect became a reality a few hours later when President Davis and his cabinet and some more cavalry rode into town.
Captain Parker reported at once to Mr. Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy, who directed him to turn the treasure over to the acting Secretary of the Treasury. That official in turn instructed Captain Parker to turn it over to General Basil Duke. This was done at the railroad station where it was already stored on the Parker “Emergency Special.” Exactly one month after it had been placed under his care, Captain Parker handed over the Confederate Treasury - for in reality it was just that – to properly designated authority. Better, as we shall see, that Captain Parker had been directed to continue in charge of the treasure. But that wasn’t the case, and the treasure hunt was over. As we said in the beginning, it was not an ordinary sort of treasure hunt were on hunts for a treasure, but a hunt in which one had the treasure and was seeking a responsible person to whom it might be delivered. It had taken a month of weary wandering to perform the duty properly. During all that time, traversing by train, wagon, and foot a region in which chaos ruled, a countryside overrun with victorious enemy, irregular guerrillas (better called bandits), and disorganized, leaderless, paroled Confederate soldiers of many whom felt that they had a moral right to share in the treasure, during all that time, not one piece of gold or silver was lost. Their act is recorded in the official history of the Confederacy:
When Richmond was evacuated, April 2, 1865, the corps of midshipmen, numbering at the time some 60, armed with rifles and well drilled as infantry, was selected by the authorities to take charge of the Confederate treasure. Suffice it to say, the duty was faithfully performed. After traversing the State of South Carolina and reaching Augusta, Ga., the corps retraced its steps to Abbeville, S.C., and on the 2d of May, 1865, delivered the treasure intact to President Davis and his cabinet at that place. It was the last act he Confederate States Navy, and was marked by unparalleled devotion to duty.
On the same page with the above quotation, Captain Parker is quoted:
Their [the midshipmen’s] training and discipline showed itself conspicuously during that time. The best sentinels in the world; cool and decided in their replies; prompt in action, and brave in danger—their conduct always merited my approbation and excited my admiration. During the march across South Carolina, footsore and ragged as they had become by that time, no murmur escaped them and they never faltered. . . . Their officers I cannot say too much for. From the time we left Richmond until we disbanded, they set the example to the corps to obey orders, with the watchword, “Guard the treasure.” I am sure that Mr. Davis and Mr. Mallory, if they were alive, would testify to the fact that when they saw the corps in Abbeville, worn and weary after its long march, it presented the same undaunted front as when it left Richmond; and that it handed over the treasure, which had been confided to it thirty days before, intact; and that, in my opinion, is what no other organization at that time could have done.
One might be inclined to disbelieve or to accept at a discount Captain Parker’s last statement, but facts array themselves very strongly on his side. The midshipmen, assisted by bluejackets, did accomplish the seemingly impossible task of preserving the treasure. On the other hand, there is this. After the treasure was turned over to the army, it was transferred from the train to wagons. The treasure-loaded wagons left Abbeville the same night, and that was the last time the Confederate treasure was ever seen or heard of!
There remains but little more to tell. When Captain Parker called on President Davis, the latter thanked him for his work, and inquired after his command. His command! It was no more. By order of Secretary Mallory it had been disbanded. The Charlotte company had already started the march home, and the midshipmen had left in detached groups. When President Davis was informed that Parker’s force had been disbanded, he said, “Captain, I am very sorry to hear it,” and repeated it several times. When Parker informed him that he had acted upon direct orders from the Secretary of the Navy, the President said, “Captain, I have no fault to find with you, but I am very sorry Mr. Mallory gave you that order.”
Jefferson Davis’ capture was less than ten days off, but at that time he was far from being ready to give up, and he needed tried-and-not-found-wanting troops like those under Parker. But though the midshipmen under Parker’s command were disbanded, they were never detached from the Confederate Navy. The following is a copy of the orders given each midshipman when they were disbanded:
Abbeville, S. C., May 2, 1865
Sir:
You are hereby detached from the naval school, and leave is granted you to visit your home. You will report by letter to the Hon. Secretary of the Navy as soon as practicable. Paymaster Wheliss will issue you ten days rations, and all quartermasters are requested to furnish you transportation.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
Wm. H. Parker, Commanding Midshipman John Gish, C. S. Navy
Thus, in effect, died the Confederate States Naval Academy, though it was never officially abolished. But the spirit born amidst the bursting shells and roaring guns around Drewry’s Bluff, that spirit of supreme fidelity to duty, did not die. The men who had formed a part of the Academy continued in the path of duty and in later years achieved success in serving well the Re-United States.