Confederate Gold and Silver

Read Confederate Gold and Silver Online

Authors: Peter F. Warren

BOOK: Confederate Gold and Silver
13.85Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confederate Gold and Silver

 

 

 

“War
at
the
best,
is
terrible,
and
this
war
of
ours,
in
its
magnitude
and
in
its
duration,
is
one
of
the
most
terrible.”

President Abraham Lincoln

 

 

 

“What
a
cruel
thing
is
war
 . . . .”

General Robert E. Lee

 

 

 

“Let
us
have
peace.”

General Ulysses S. Grant

 

 

 

CONFEDERATE
GOLD
and
SILVER

 

A story of the lost Confederate Treasury and
its missing gold and silvera

 

 

 

Peter F. Warren

(A fictional piece of work)

 

 

 

 

Copyright
© 2012 by Peter F. Warren.

 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

 

h
ttp://www.readpete.com

[email protected]

See the author’s Facebook page for additional information.

 

Author’s photo—Peter Warren’s photo was taken at the Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, where he works. In the photo is one of the many Southern Live Oak trees which grace the property. (Photo by Marc Guertin)

 

This fictional story, while including some accurate historical facts, also includes conversations, writings (in the form of letters), and dialogues which take place between characters in this book; they are not intended to be real or historically accurate. They are a product of the author’s imagination and are intended solely to enhance the story line. Some scenes, events, and locations within this book have also been created for the same reason.

 

 

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

 

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

 

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

 

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

 

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

 

 

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4278-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4279-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4277-5 (e)

 

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905738

 

 

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/16/2012

 

 

 

 

 

To My Father

Frank G. Warren

We Miss You.

Contents

Acknowledgements
 

1 The Move.
 

2 War Begins.
 

3 A New Friend.
 

4 Gold On The Move.
 

5 A Tree Reveals Her Secret.
 

6 Instructions.
 

7 Clues Uncovered.
 

8 The Mission Begins.
 

9 The Discoveries Continue.
 

10 Troubles Continue.
 

11 Filling In The Pieces.
 

12 Tough Decisions.
 

13 The Investigation Starts.
 

14 The Race to Charleston.
 

15 Whom To Tell.
 

16 Ambushed.
 

17 Looking For Gold.
 

18 The Cemetery.
 

19 One Down—Two To Go.
 

20 Georgetown to Charleston.
 

21 Gold in North Carolina.
 

22 Charleston.
 

23 A Cemetery’s Treasures.
 

24 No Way Out.
 

25 Strong Black Friends.
 

26 The Yankees Are Coming.
 

27 The Cannons Reveal Their Secrets.
 

28 The Mission Dies.
 

29 The Southern States Fight Again.
 

30 A Final Tribute.
 

Acknowledgements
 

Like all of you, the successes I have had in life, if any, are ones which have been influenced by the support I have received from family and friends. Fulfilling my dream of writing this book was one of my successes, and it was accomplished, in part, by the support I have received along the way.

After developing the storyline for this book, I first proposed my thoughts to perhaps one of the least interested persons in American History that I know. From that first conversation, and through the many early mornings and late nights I have spent writing, typing, and finally editing this book, the support I received from my wife, Debbie, has been amazing. ‘
Debra
Lynn,
I
could
not
have
done
this
without
your
help,
without
your
support,
and
without
your
understanding!
Thank
you
so
much!’

During the time it took to write this book I lost my father to Huntington’s disease; a terrible disease he fought and struggled with for several years. My mother, a hero in my eyes, gave up so much of her life to support and care for my father in his final years. A retired Irish Catholic nurse, my mother was unwavering in her dedication and determination to properly care for my father. Despite the round-the-clock care she gave to him, she always found the time to call me and to support my efforts in completing this book. She, along with Debbie, served as my first two “editors”. ‘
Mom,
Thank
you
for
the
love
you
have
shown
to
dad
and
me,
and
to
all
of
your
family.
Thank
you
so
much!’

Many of the characters in this book I have named after family and friends. I have done so both out of my respect and fondness for each of them. To our special group of Southbury friends (some who now live in Florida and one who sadly now lives in heaven), friends like Jane and Steve White, Pete and Kathy Francis, Chuck and Karen Mann, and JD and Sue McAulay, and with a special thanks to one of my closest friends, Stephen T. Cochran, Debbie and I extend our sincere thanks for the friendship and support we have shared with each of you over the years. We have shared so many Friday night dinners together, shared so many vacations and holidays together, shared so many family moments together, and now we share a book together. ‘
To
my
friend
Pete
Francis,
who
we
all
miss
terribly,
I
know
somewhere
in
heaven
you
are
enjoying
this
book.’

To my many other personal and professional friends, especially those from the CT State Police Department, and those from NASDEA, I thank you for being part of this book. I also want to express my thanks to Marc Guertin for his assistance with my website.

And, finally, to the two people who mean the most in life to my wife and I, our sons Brian and Sean. I thank you both for being such a big part of my life. You both will always hold special places in my life. I am so proud of both of you.

I hope all of you who read this book have children, parents, family, and friends in your lives who mean as much to you as they do to Debbie and me.

Enjoy your reading!

Summer,
2011

1
The
Move.
 

“I
am
a
Connecticut
State
Trooper,
a
soldier
of
the
law,
to
me
is
entrusted
the
honor
of
the
Department
 . . .”
Connecticut
State
Police
Department’s
Code
of
Honor

Many people spend their entire adult life working in careers they do not enjoy. Having such a job has to make your outlook on life not quite as rosy as it should be. Life is tough enough; not being excited about your job as you climb out of bed and put your feet on the floor each morning has to make facing the world much more difficult. For Paul Waring that was never the case. Paul loved his job and for most of his career as a Connecticut state trooper he enjoyed the various challenges a trooper faced each and every day. It seemed to him the public, in their good moments, but especially in their bad ones, had always made his job interesting. He never could have survived a career hiding behind a desk.

Paul did well in his career and had been promoted several times, the last being to the rank of Major. During his career he had the opportunity to command several different investigative units and had earned a reputation as an excellent investigator. His reputation was also that of being a fair, but a demanding boss. He was someone who had proved he could be trusted to do the right thing for those who worked for him as long as they did what was expected of them. For those who did not perform up to the standards he had set for himself, or to the standards he had set for his subordinates, he was known as someone who quietly could put a boot in someone’s rear end to motivate them. But his staff also knew when they walked away, not only were they just more motivated, they often times walked away looking forward to the next time he gave them the boot. He had that way with people as he always left them with the feeling he was looking out for them. As cops held the public accountable when they broke the law, Paul held his detectives accountable when they were not performing well. On most occasions he looked at it as something that just had to be done. One of his favorite sayings described his feelings about having to address problems at work. “It’s just business, it’s not personal.” The troopers and detectives who worked for him knew he had their backs and this was just one of his ways of looking out for them. They knew a boot in the ass from him sometimes kept the rats from Internal Affairs off their backs.

Other books

Saul and Patsy by Charles Baxter
Kith and Kill by Rodney Hobson
Blitzed by Lauren Landish
The Hounds and the Fury by Rita Mae Brown
Under Attack by Hannah Jayne
A Secret Life by Benjamin Weiser