Confederate Gold and Silver (67 page)

“Of course not! Your Honor, it is indeed a pleasure. I have heard your name mentioned many times by several friends of mine who are members of the South Carolina Bar. I can assure you that you are held in the highest regard by each of them. I have to assume many of them are mutual friends of ours, but that is for us to discuss another time perhaps. Judge Morgan, Steve, please, have seats at the table next to where I am sitting. My interest is piqued even more about this meeting now that both of you are here.”

As Paul pulled out chairs for Judge Morgan and Steve to sit in, he caught the mayor and Edwin Henion exchanging puzzled looks at each other. “Mr. Mayor, I apologize for not telling Edwin that Judge Morgan and Steve were going to be here, but I needed to keep that close to the vest until today. I assure you that no disrespect was intended.”

As he sat down, Paul could see the faint smiles which now crossed the faces of Chick and Jayne. They knew he had just shown the mayor two of his high cards. The mayor would soon have to abide by what Judge Morgan would tell him; if he didn’t his chances for the senate seat he coveted so badly were likely going to be doomed. Paul had realized by having Steve and Judge Morgan present for the meeting their presence would add some much needed credibility to the presentation he was about to make.

“Nice touch introducing Judge Morgan into the meeting,” Chick thought to himself, “now he has him.” He tried, but he could not make the faint smile disappear from his face.

Paul then got things moving by addressing Mayor Davis. “Mr. Mayor, thanks again for taking the time from your busy schedule to meet with us. I’m not sure if you have ever heard my name before, but recently my friends and I have received a fair amount of unwanted media attention from several news stories that talked about the remains of a Civil War soldier I recently found up in Murrells Inlet. I found the soldier’s remains inside a large oak tree alongside the Waccamaw River. A discovery my good friend here deserves some credit for, whether directly or indirectly I’m not sure yet, but that’s only part of the reason why we asked to meet with you here today.” Paul had given a nod of his head in Steve’s direction as he spoke with the mayor.

“Yes, yes, I knew I recognized your name from some place. A very fascinating story, I followed it very closely in the papers. Is this why we are meeting here today?”

“Yes, it is.”

Paul saw he also now had the close attention of Judge Morgan. The Judge had shifted slightly forward in his chair so he could hear every word from where he sat at the conference table. For the next several minutes, Paul painted a picture of what he had found on his trips to the site where he had found the soldier’s remains. He intentionally did not tell them all of the details, but he did tell them about the letters he had found from both President Davis and Secretary Memminger. He also told them about the letter Captain Francis had written to his father. He purposely did not tell them about the letter Francis had written to President Davis or of the clues the letter contained as he had yet to receive the commitment he was seeking from the mayor.

“Mr. Mayor, are you aware of the legend, or the myth, or perhaps even the story, it depends on how you want to describe it I guess, regarding the Confederate treasury which disappeared during the Civil War after it had been moved out of Richmond?”

“Of course I am! Every person, at least those my age, who has been born in the South has heard that story. No one knows for sure whatever happened to the money or if the story is even true, but it’s a well-known story that’s for sure.”

“It’s not a story, it really happened.”

Paul was looking directly at Mayor Davis as he answered him, but he quickly glanced back at Judge Morgan. The Judge now leaned back in his chair waiting for the discussion to continue. His years of courtroom experience had taught him when to interrupt a conversation and when to sit and listen. Now was a time to just listen.

Somewhat taken back by the confident tone Paul had given to his response about whether the Confederate treasury had actually existed; Mayor Davis was at a loss for words momentarily. “Well, Mr. Waring, maybe so, but I would need some sort of proof before I could say for sure the treasury disappeared like folks believe it did. Do you have such proof?”

Smiling, Paul nodded to Jayne. As she stood up to hand out the photographs they had blown up, he continued with his presentation.

“Mayor, to answer your question, yes we do. These photos are ones my friends and I have taken over the past few weeks. They are photos taken when we recovered approximately two thirds of the missing Confederate gold and silver, money which disappeared almost one hundred and fifty years ago. The two locations where we found the money will not be discussed here today, but they will be in the future. I will tell you that neither location was here in Charleston.” Standing up, Paul slid two identical pristine 1861 gold Liberty Head ten dollar coins across the table. They were for the mayor and Judge Morgan to first look at.

Looks of amazement were exchanged between Mayor Davis and Judge Morgan as they looked at the coins and the photographs for the first time. Those same looks were soon shared with Steve and the mayor’s aide. No one spoke for a few moments as they just alternated their stares between the coins and the photographs now spread out across the table. The photographs included pictures of Paul and the others digging up the gold and silver coins at Duke’s farm, of the recovered coins sitting in the plastic buckets, and photos of the coins they had recovered at the cemetery. “Mayor, this last photograph here, under the tarp you see are the remains of three Confederate soldiers we found. They had been buried with the gold and silver in North Carolina. It was quite the find.” Judge Morgan had already moved out of his seat to get a better look at the photographs that had been spread out. With his reading glasses perched low on his nose, he alternated looks of disbelief at Paul and at the photographs. Then he looked at Steve for some type of confirmation of the truth regarding what he had heard. The slight nod of the head Steve gave to the Judge told him what he was hearing and seeing was the truth.

Holding one of the gold coins in his right hand as he examined the photographs, Mayor Davis quietly spoke to his aide. “Edwin, I think you had better clear my schedule for the rest of the day. I believe we need to hear what Mr. Waring is going to tell us without rushing him. Please have someone arrange for some refreshments for our guests.” Hearing this, Paul could not help but to exchange smiles with Chick and Jayne. His smile told them they would soon be opening the cannons to recover the rest of the missing gold and silver.

“Mr. Waring, you and your friends have made an amazing discovery, simply amazing, but I have a feeling you have more to tell us. I don’t believe you got us here today to just tell us a great story. Am I correct?”

“Yes, Your Honor, you are. We mean . . . .”

“Paul, I am sorry for interrupting you, but what you’ve already found, well, where is it? And, if I might ask, how much did you already find?” Mayor Davis now sat on the edge of his seat, obviously intrigued by what he had already heard. It was not what he had expected to hear during this meeting.

“To answer your first question, what we have already found is safely tucked away. No disrespect, but that is not something my friends and I are going to discuss here today. To answer your second question, we don’t know. We have yet to count or itemize what we have found, but conservatively in today’s market we think a safe guess is at least twenty million dollars, give or take a million or two.”

Mayor Davis dropped the gold coin he had been holding when he heard what Paul had just told him. The coin rattled on the large conference table for a couple of seconds before it came to rest face up. It had been the only noise made in the room as it rattled on the table. “Twenty million dollars? Is that what you just said?” The dollar amount he heard caused the mayor to rise out of his chair in disbelief. Now he stood with his hands on the edge of the conference table waiting to hear more. Judge Morgan and Edwin Henion sat staring at Paul, hoping to hear him confirm what they had just heard him say.

“Yes, sir, and there’s more to find. That’s why we are here today.”

Steve sat in his chair smiling as the mayor’s question was answered. He knew Paul was about to tell all of them something even better than what he had already told them.

Shocked at the dollar amount Paul had already given them, Mayor Davis was now even more shocked to hear there was still more gold and silver waiting to be found. “Wait a minute, you mean you know where the rest of the money is? Is it here in Charleston?”

“Well, before I answer your question I need an answer from you, Mr. Mayor. It’s more of a promise, I guess. That’s why I have asked Judge Morgan to be here today. Mayor, plenty of folks, and I mean no disrespect, but politicians included, seem to do crazy things when money is involved, especially when big money is involved. I suspect many people, including several states, and perhaps even the federal government, will soon file claims against this money when we make it public what we have found. What we want from you today, Mr. Mayor, is for you, as the city’s chief executive officer, to raise your right hand and to solemnly swear in front of Judge Morgan that you will promise not to seize, or to interfere, or to attempt to hold in anyway, any of the remaining money we may find. We also want you to promise to abide by the court’s final say in how the money is to be disbursed. Mr. Mayor, to answer your question, yes, the rest of the money is hidden here in Charleston.”

It was Edwin Henion who was the first to speak. The others were still too taken back by what Paul had told them. “Mr. Waring, correct me if I am wrong. What you are saying is that you would expect Charleston to receive a portion of the found money, hopefully a generous portion, and this money would then enable the city to pay for the Civil War’s Anniversary Celebration. Your thinking is Charleston might receive enough to cover the cost of the celebration so it would not have an adverse impact upon the city budget. That’s what you were alluding to on the phone yesterday, correct?”

“Correct. I would suspect Charleston will likely be able to pay for the Anniversary Celebration and at least one other obligation the city currently has. We have found a lot of money already and we are going to find a lot more as well. It will be up to others to decide who gets what, but I would be shocked if Charleston did not receive a portion of the recovered money.”

Mayor Davis had not said a word. He had just sat there digesting what Paul had told them. He now wondered how Charleston, as well as his own political career, could benefit from this infusion of money. Now he looked to Judge Morgan for advice. It was just what Paul had hoped he would do. “Judge, what he is asking me to do here today, can he do that? Is it legal?”

“It is if I say it is and from what I know right now it’s legal. Mr. Mayor, I am not your attorney, but over thirty-five years of practicing law tells me you would be very foolish not to agree to what Mr. Waring is asking of you. Charleston is likely going to reap a huge financial benefit at little, if any, expense to the city. I would also offer to you that the positive media attention for the city and to your administration is another added bonus you cannot put a price tag on. You certainly do not have to agree to what Mr. Waring is requesting of you, but if you do not, he is also not obligated to tell you where the rest of the money is. I would think you would rather be a so-called partner with Mr. Waring and his associates rather than declining his offer.”

Mayor Davis looked at his aide who was seated next to him and saw he was nodding his head in agreement with what Judge Morgan had just said. “Mayor, this is a homerun in every way possible. I would strongly recommend you accept the conditions Mr. Waring has asked of you.”

Before the mayor could respond, Paul had Jayne slide a piece of paper across the table to Mayor Davis. “Mayor, besides your verbal promise, I’d appreciate you signing this agreement that we typed up last night. It’s just what we talked about, but it’s also now in writing. You sign it, I’ll sign it, and perhaps Judge Morgan will sign it as a witness. Then I’m sure Mr. Henion can find someone here in the building to notarize it for us, just to make it official and all. You can have a copy for your records and I’ll keep the original.”

As he took in all that was being said, Judge Morgan smiled to himself as he realized Paul had just told the mayor he did not trust his verbal promise to not try and seize the money they hoped to find later in the day. He then looked at Paul. “Mr. Waring, seems you have thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“I’ve tried to, Judge.”

After reading the one page document Jayne had slid across the table to him, Mayor Davis signed his name to it. He then passed it across the table to Judge Morgan to endorse as a witness to his promise. Then he raised his right hand for all to see, promising neither he nor the city would attempt to seize any of the money. It took several minutes to complete the notary process, but soon it was completed and copies of the document were given to the mayor and to Judge Morgan. “OK, what’s next, Mr. Waring?”

Paul suggested to Mayor Davis that he take Edwin Henion, Steve, and Judge Morgan out to lunch so he and the others could have time to get done what they needed to get done before he showed them where the gold and silver had been hidden. He then made a couple of requests of the mayor so the gold and silver could be taken out of the cannons. First he requested the mayor arrange to have the Charleston Public Works Department contacted so three of their heavy duty flat bed wreckers could be made available to him. “Please tell them we need them here as soon as possible and please tell them we are going to need a large part of their garage to work in later this afternoon. They will need to clear an area for us to use. Oh, and we are also going to need two police cars to escort us around the city for a few hours.”

Looking at his aide, Mayor Davis directed him to contact the Public Works superintendent and the police chief’s office. “Tell them they are to give Mr. Waring anything he needs today.” After giving Henion his marching orders, the mayor looked back at Paul. “Anything else?” Henion paused to hear the answer before leaving the conference room.