The Silver Madonna and Other Tales of America's Greatest Lost Treasures (18 page)

20

Gasparilla’s Lost Treasure

Don Jose Gaspar, better known as the pirate Gasparilla, was responsible for the sinking of a ship carrying millions of dollars’ worth of gold and silver coins and ingots, as well as other treasures. The event took place in the shallow waters of Boca Grande Pass, an entrance to Charlotte Harbor in Charlotte County on the southwestern side of Florida. It is believed that Gasparilla was transporting well over a million dollars’ worth of booty at the time, a value that translates into an unimaginable fortune today.

Unlike many of the sunken treasure ships associated with the state of Florida, Gasparilla’s vessel, also named
Gasparilla
, has received comparatively little attention. Some have suggested that this is because Gasparilla was not as well known or as colorful as other pirates who frequented the Atlantic and Gulf waters, brigands such as Blackbeard and Lafitte. Regardless, Gasparilla was just as successful as the others, if not more, and the treasure he left behind is no less impressive and continues to tempt fortune hunters.

Born Don Jose Gaspar in Spain in 1756, he made the decision as a young boy that he was made for a life on the sea. At fifteen, he joined the king’s navy. Because he was from a poor family, he was ineligible for the position of officer and served as an enlisted man for seven years. In that capacity, however, Gaspar proved to be a competent seaman and fearless in battle. While only a midshipman, he was awarded knighthood by the king of Spain. When he turned twenty-two years of age he was given captaincy of a warship and ordered to the Caribbean. Within five years he distinguished himself so well that he was returned to Spain to serve as an advisor to the king. By this time he was married and had a child.

While he was serving as a court advisor, the queen attempted to seduce him. When he refused her advances, she was insulted. The vindictive queen vowed revenge for the offense to her pride and ordered Gaspar’s wife and child, along with his mother, killed. On receiving the news of the brutal murders, Gaspar swore revenge and thereafter became a bitter enemy of Spain and its rulers.

One night, after enlisting help from a few close friends, Gaspar stormed a prison, killed the guards, and released all of the prisoners. From the newly freed men he organized a ship’s crew. The following week, Gaspar, along with his crewmen, stole one of the king’s warships. He set sail immediately for the West Indies, where he recruited more men, good seaman and fighters all, and then headed for Florida to establish a headquarters.

When Gasparilla was plying his trade as pirate during the late 1700s, life for such adventurers on the high seas was considerably more difficult that it was for those who came before him decades earlier. Now, pirate vessels were regularly hunted down by ships flying the flags of England, the United States, France, and Spain. A number of pirate strongholds along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as in the Caribbean Islands, were attacked and cleaned out one by one, with the brigands fleeing from the invaders, never to return. These bases of operations were important to the pirates. From there they obtained supplies and often disposed of much of the loot and merchandise they had captured. Furthermore, they were locations where the pirates could rest and relax after months at sea and conduct repairs and maintenance on the ships.

Gasparilla chose to operate one such base on the west coast of the Florida mainland, at the time a Spanish territory. This location, now known as Charlotte Harbor near Port Charlotte and Fort Myers, was seldom visited by warships of other countries, and it afforded a sheltered location with a deep-water harbor. The entrance was hidden from all but the most experienced sailors. It was also easy to defend should the need arise.

At this location, Gasparilla founded a town called Alta Puebla. It was located at the end of a long, narrow peninsula and at the entrance to the harbor. Today, it is known as Boca Grande. Here Gasparilla made his headquarters, often shared with other sea-going cutthroats including Caesar LeGrande (known as Black Caesar) and Brewster Baker (known as Brubaker), as well as others. This loosely organized band of pirates referred to themselves as “The Brotherhood of the Seas,” and often conducted raids together, always with Gasparilla in command.

For years, Gasparilla and his companions ranged out from the stronghold to raid and plunder, attacking ships, sacking and looting coastal towns, and occasionally taking prisoners they held for ransom. While any and all merchant vessels were considered fair game for the pirate, Gasparilla took great pleasure in seizing ships belonging to Spain.

In time, Gasparilla and his gang established trading centers along the coast and on a few islands where they dealt goods to mainland merchants. They even carried merchandise and contraband to larger cities such as New Orleans.

In 1819, the United States acquired Florida from Spain. One of the first major decisions made regarding this new territory was to rid the region of pirates once and for all. The federal government established the U.S. Revenue Service, a forerunner to the Coast Guard. The U.S.R.S. operated in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, and armed ships were occasionally sent out to eliminate the pirate menace from the Gulf of Mexico. A fleet under the command of Commodore David Porter was ordered to capture or kill all pirate crews they encountered.

Gasparilla learned of the approaching Revenue Service warships and realized he was about to be outnumbered and outgunned. He decided he did not want to tangle with them. Instead, he decided it was time to depart Charlotte Harbor and find a better location from which to conduct his piratical operations. He considered Central or South America. During the time he had before sailing away, the pirate leader converted all of his wealth into gold coins and jewels and had them loaded aboard his ship, the
Gasparilla
. His treasure was estimated to be worth well over one million dollars at the time, an immense fortune.

As he was preparing the flagship for departure, one of his crewmembers informed him that a ship was positioned just outside the entrance to the harbor at Boca Grande Pass. After examining the vessel through his telescope, Gasparilla decided it was a trading vessel and that he would seize it, along with whatever goods and treasure it carried, before leaving the area.

Unknown to the pirate leader, the ship was the U.S.S.
Enterprise,
camouflaged to look like a merchant ship. As the
Gasparilla
closed in on the stationary vessel, Commodore Porter brought his cannons to the fore and ordered a bombardment. Too late, the pirate leader realized his mistake. In less than five minutes, the
Gasparilla
was riddled with cannon shot and sinking. A few minutes later it settled onto the bottom sands in the mouth of Boca Grande Pass.

Today there remains some small amount of controversy regarding the sinking of the
Gasparilla.
While most researchers maintain that the vessel was destroyed from cannon fire, others suggest that Gasparilla himself ordered the ship scuttled so that his treasure could not be seized.

In addition, there exists controversy over the manner in which Gasparilla died. Many researchers claim he simply went down with his ship. Another source, however, claims the pirate wrapped a length of anchor chain around his waist and jumped overboard to his death.

The ship’s crew that did not drown managed to swim to nearby La Costa Island on the south side of the pass. They were immediately captured or killed by troopers from the U.S.S.
Enterprise.

Although the location of the long-sunken
Gasparilla
is known, aside from a handful of unsuccessful freelance recovery efforts, not a single organized attempt has been made to retrieve the treasure that went down with it. Other sunken treasures up and down the east and west coasts of Florida have attracted a number of professional treasure hunters, but the
Gasparilla
remains relatively untouched. In the years that have passed since the sinking, coins from its cargo have been found washed up on nearby beaches following storms.

In addition to Gasparilla’s gold and silver, there is even more reason for treasure hunters to reach the cargo transported by the
Gasparilla.
Research has revealed that among the treasure being transported by Gasparilla was a quantity of U.S. silver dollars minted between 1799 and 1804. These coins were in favor with the pirates when conducting business on the mainland. They are extremely rare and the collector value is immense.

21

Colonel Dunham’s Lost Payroll

During the Civil War, both Yankee and Confederate forces remained constantly on the move throughout selected portions of the American South. The state of Tennessee saw as much traffic as any other. Along with men, horses, mules, artillery, wagons, supplies, and more, the armies of the North and South carried payrolls. Payment, both in currency and coin, was passed out at the end of the month to the soldiers while on the march. It is estimated that at any given time during the war, payrolls amounting to millions of dollars were in transit from one skirmish to another, from one campsite to another.

In December of 1862, Union Colonel C. L. Dunham, commander of the 39th Iowa Division, led mounted troops and foot soldiers into western Tennessee with the intention of engaging Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his Seventh Tennessee Cavalry. On December 29th, Dunham’s division, heading south, passed through the small Carroll County town of Huntington in the western part of the state.

Dunham was a newcomer in the territory with which Forrest was highly experienced. The Confederate general had considerable success in battles and skirmishes throughout that part of Tennessee. Dunham’s most recent intelligence had Forrest’s army camped at a location called Parker’s Crossroads, located fifteen miles south of Huntington. Dunham received specific orders from General Ulysses S. Grant to proceed to Forrest’s location, engage, and defeat the enemy. Forrest and his army had created a great deal of trouble and embarrassment for the Union forces in West Tennessee, and Grant wanted to put an end to it.

By the time Dunham’s command reached Clarksburg, ten miles south of Huntington, the sun had set. A few hundred yards out of town, one of the scouts found a freshwater spring and a suitable place to establish a camp for the night. Dunham directed his troopers toward the location, known locally as Dollar Hill, and within minutes tents were set up, horses and mules were unsaddled and hobbled, cooking fires were started, and guards were posted around the perimeter.

During the night, Dunham’s scouts were sent forward to ascertain Forrest’s exact location and the number of Rebel troops under his command. Reporting back just before dawn of the following day, the scouts informed the colonel that the Confederate command was, indeed, camped at Parker’s Crossroads five miles away and due south. The Rebels were apparently aware of Dunham’s approaching Union force, for they were spotted digging trenches and making other battle preparations.

Without taking time for breakfast, Dunham ordered his soldiers to ready their weapons and mounts for the march to Forrest’s camp. As the troopers busied themselves with preparations for the coming battle, Dunham addressed the disposition of the payroll chest. Not wishing to risk its capture by the Confederate forces, Parker decided to bury it. The chest contained fifteen thousand dollars in coins. When the battle was over and the Union forces victorious, Dunham intended to return to the campsite and retrieve the payroll. With the aid of two trusted lieutenants and one sergeant, Dunham and his men alternately carried and dragged the heavy chest to a location two hundred feet east of the spring. Here a shallow hole was excavated, the chest lowered into it, and then covered over.

Unseen by the four men, a Union scout named Allen Chambliss was squatted on a low knoll overlooking the excavation site. As he smoked a cigarette and cleaned his rifle, Chambliss observed the caching of the payroll chest. Chambliss sat quietly throughout the process, not wishing to be seen. This made a total of five men who had knowledge of the location of the buried coins.

For most of the day, Dunham’s command advanced slowly and cautiously toward the Confederate encampment, taking extreme care to keep silent and unseen. By nightfall, the Yankees, hiding in the woods, could see the campfires in the distance. Men in Confederate uniforms were spotted moving about a few hundred yards away. Not wishing to engage the well-entrenched enemy in the dark, the members of the 39th Iowa Division fought for whatever sleep they could get, readying themselves for a strike on the Rebel camp at dawn.

Moments before sunrise on the morning of December 31, the first shots were fired from the Yankees in hiding and the fight was on. For nearly a full day, the two sides exchanged gunfire with both incurring heavy casualties. Dunham’s command outnumbered the Confederates by a significant margin, but the canny Forrest managed to create mass confusion and heavy damage. Late in the day, and having accomplished all he believed was possible against Dunham’s superior numbers, Forrest ordered his soldiers to retreat southeastward from the battle site. A short time later, they crossed the Tennessee River near the town of Clifton and proceeded on toward Lawrenceburg a few miles north of the Alabama border.

At the Parker’s Crossroads battle site, nearly one hundred men, both Union and Confederate, lay dead. Hundreds more had suffered serious wounds, and during the next several days and nights, military surgeons treated the injured while squads of enlisted men buried the dead. Dunham looked on as the two lieutenants and the sergeant who helped him bury the payroll chest were lowered into the ground.

The tasks of treating the injured and burying the dead were not made any easier by the heavy rains that began to fall on the morning after the battle. The downpour lasted for seven days. Between the cold and the rain, conditions became intolerable for the troopers. Because it was impossible to maintain cooking fires, the soldiers were forced to eat cold rations or none at all.

Among the Union soldiers recovering from wounds in one of the army tents was Allen Chambliss. He had been struck by a Rebel bullet during the first few minutes of the action, lost a great deal of blood, and was initially pronounced dead. On the third day after the battle he regained consciousness, and the doctors believed his chances for a full recovery were good.

As Chambliss lay on his cot being tended to by medical aides, the battlefield had turned into a quagmire and movement was restricted. On the morning of the sixth day, Colonel Dunham assembled a contingent of six well-armed men, appropriated a stout wagon, and rode back toward Clarksburg with the intention of retrieving the payroll chest.

On two occasions Dunham and his soldiers were forced to abandon the trail and take to the deep woods in order to hide from Rebel patrols. When they had finally reached a point two miles from their goal, they were fired upon by a third enemy patrol and two of the Union soldiers were killed. Finally, frustrated by the weather and the threat of Confederates in the area, Dunham decided to abandon the chest for the time being.

When the rain finally let up, Dunham led his command back toward the north where he hoped to find a suitable place to rest men and horses and replenish supplies. Several of the most seriously wounded soldiers, including Chambliss, were taken to a makeshift hospital in Huntington to recover. While waiting in the town, Dunham received orders to assemble all of his able-bodied soldiers and head an expedition into another region in Tennessee. With the formidable task of leading men into battle and securing victory for the North, Dunham eventually forgot about the buried payroll chest located near the spring outside the town of Clarksburg. While recovering in the hospital, Chambliss could think of nothing but the buried treasure, and he made plans to retrieve it as soon as he was released.

Three months passed before Chambliss recovered sufficiently from his wound to leave the hospital. Deciding not to rejoin his unit, the scout obtained a mount and rode south toward Clarksburg. His intention was to retrieve the payroll chest and return to his farm a much richer man than when he left.

On arriving, Chambliss was surprised to discover that the landscape surrounding the spring had changed dramatically. Heavy runoff from the torrential rains that had plagued Dunham’s command for a full week had filled the nearby streams, creating flash floods and severe erosion. The increased overland runoff had carried away tons of topsoil in some areas and deposited it in others. It was with difficulty that Chambliss finally found what he believed was the actual location of the spring near where the Union soldiers had camped before engaging Forrest. He tied his horse to a bush and walked over to the spot where he was convinced the chest had been buried. Employing a long, thin metal stick known as a punch rod, Chambliss plunged it into the soft ground here and there in hope of locating the cache. Having no success with this procedure, he excavated a wide hole at a site he was certain was the correct one, but nothing was found. Chambliss dug in another location with the same result. By the end of the day, at least a dozen holes had been dug but the payroll chest remained elusive.

For several months, Chambliss camped near the spring and searched the area over and over for the buried chest, but with no success. On several occasions he would walk to the low hill from which he had observed the burial of the chest, but from his vantage point nothing looked the same as it did before the heavy rains.

Over the years, Chambliss related the story of his search for the buried payroll chest, and in time the tale entered the annals of Tennessee folklore. One of the men who heard of Chambliss’s experience was the late Gray Roark, a resident of Huntington. On at least a couple of occasions, Roark attempted to locate the buried payroll but had no more success than Chambliss. Years passed, and Roark related the story of Chambliss’s search for the gold to his step-grandson, J. E. Bates, who has kept the story of the lost payroll alive.

A search of government records revealed that Dunham did, in fact, transport a payroll chest during his mission to engage General Forrest. What became of it was not recorded. When Dunham’s personal journal was located, it was searched for information pertaining to the burying of the payroll chest, but no mention of the event was ever found. Because the busy commander had little time for making notations in his journal, he likewise made no mention of the routes he traveled or the locations of campsites.

In spite of the fact that the Union payroll chest was buried a century and a half ago, people continue to search for it. To compound the difficulty in finding the chest, researchers have discovered there is not just one spring located in this area, but as many as five. Which of the springs was the one near where Dunham buried the payroll chest remains a mystery, one that has attracted the analysis of many, including Civil War enthusiasts, treasure hunters, historians, archeologists, and others, all of whom have expressed different reasons for wanting to locate and recover the lost Yankee payroll.