-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.kamellia.com/KGC.htm The Knights of the Golden Circle It was on the eve of the Civil War. Washington was rampant with war hysteria as the nation tottered on the abyss of the approaching conflict. To add to the increasing tension, the Capitol had been infiltrated by a wave of Confederate spies. Indeed, the Confederacy began the war with an espionage system already organized and highly efficient, with tentacles reaching into secret areas of the Federal Department. Often the Rebels knew what the Yankees were going to do almost as soon as the decision was reached -- and long before Union troops began to move. One of the most energetic and efficient of these espionage rings was a well organized secret society, the KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, (KGC), which had both Northern and Southern Branches, closely cooperating with each other. During the Civil War the KGC not only acted as the secret agents and fomenters of civil disorder in the North, but it's members were smugglers of medical supplies, recruits, arms, uniforms and ammunition. After Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, the organization went underground and assumed a completely new mission -- the raising of funds to start a new Civil War, promoting the idea of "The South Will Rise Again!" The Knights went about their new mission with little regard for the legal principles. There were many stories that the KGC amassed millions of dollars worth of gold, silver, and currency which is allegedly stashed in numerous caches around the United States. In 1984 document were found in a Antebellum home in Savannah Georgia, pertaining to a gold shipment buried by the KGC just before the city was invaded by Union troops. This was said to be gold transported from Texas. Perhaps you are wondering just how the Knights of the Golden Circle came into being and what happened to this organization in later years. The middle of the last century was a spawning ground for numerous secret societies of every description, with many persons holding simultaneous memberships in several organizations. Entering the scene in 1859, with his founding of the Knights of the Golden Circle, was George W.L. Bickley. His intentional aims for the secret society were to Americanize and ultimately annex Mexico, to settle the slavery question in favor of the South, and to promote his own fame and fortune. Bickley at various ties had been a physician, author and editor -- and, as head of the KGC, he styled himself 'General', without a shadow of authority, save that of his own will, he created colonels, majors, and captains in the most absolute and Napoleonic manner. Local lodges of the organization were called 'castles,' and fees were naturally required of the members. These fees were one dollar for the first degree of membership, five dollars for the second, and ten for the third. Weekly dues in all degrees were fixed by the colonels of the regiments in their respective jurisdictions. In a short while Gen. Bickley began to realize one of his main objectives -- a substantial income. Ollinger Crenshaw, writing in the American Historical Review, stated, "An eloquent orator and filled with the spirit of modern 'chivalry', Bickley engaged for months during 1860, a vigorous stump speaking campaign in the Southern states, which he hoped would enlist wide-spread support for his project. It is indeed remarkable with what facility this plausible man ingratiated himself with the Southern editors, who frequently accepted Gen. Bickley at his own estimate. He also drew to his support, as active organizers, a considerable number of men throughout the South, who were, however, not politically prominent." Sometime later Bickley extended his membership drive into the border states, where he was not always greeted with enthusiasm. Indeed the Unionist Louisville Journal, assailed Bickley's "incendiary doctrines and hellish machinations," and later characterized the KGC as the "heart the brain, the breath, the soul of the secession party in Kentucky." In a lighter vein the same paper lampooned "King Bickley, Monarch of the KGC," and humorously observed, "Many a man puts his foot in a golden circle may get his neck in a hempen one." Eventually, the secret society spread across the Ohio River into Indiana and the other states of the Old Northwest, where it won an unsavory reputation during the course of the Civil War. Gradually, Bickley lost control of the KGC, and for a brief period in 1863, he turned up as a surgeon in Gen. Bragg's army, attached to the 29th North Carolina Regiment. For reasons not apparent, Bickley later applied for and received a pass through Union lines with the understanding that he would proceed directly to his home in Cincinnati. Instead he journeyed to New Albany Indiana, to link up with a KGC castle. This deviation in his promise caused him to be imprisoned as a spy on August 18, 1863, and he was not released until the fall of 1865. Deeply discredited everywhere and odious because of his KGC activities, Bickley died on August 10, 1867. The Cincinnati Daily Commercial barely mentioned his demise. What of the widespread secret society which Bickley had founded? It continued to live on in several forms. Toward the end of the Civil War, many of its members transferred their allegiance to another organization, the Order of American Knights, which in turn evolved into the Sons of Liberty -- both of the latter dying from acute inertia at the end of the war. However, a hard-core group of die-hard Confederates preserved what remained of the Knights of the Golden Circle when the shooting stopped. During the great conflict, the society raised funds for the Confederate cause by both legal and illegal means -- considering Yankee banks, businesses and stagecoaches to be fair game for robbery. These men rationalized that their cause was only temporarily lost. As a consequence, they were determined to continue raising funds, by any and all means. This Inner Circle claimed such stalwarts as Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, Jesse James, Gen. Bud Dalton, Prof. B.E. Bedeczek, Gen. J.O. Shelby and others. Reports have it that following Lee's surrender, the KGC amassed millions of dollars in gold, silver, and currency, awaiting the call to again bear arms -- a call which never came. As a result, these caches which reportedly remained unfound and untouched. Supposedly, many of these caches were booby trapped and could still be lethal for the unwary. Sometime after the war the secret KGC established headquarters in an old building on Fatherland Street in Nashville Tennessee. Reportedly, the old building stood where the "Grand Ole Opry" got its start. About 1884 the headquarters were moved to Colorado Springs. Verifying the old Confederates' tales of clandestine treasure hoards becomes very difficult when one realizes the KGC officially closed its books and disbanded in 1916. In addition, through deaths and failing memories of the elderly Knights caused the locations of many caches to be lost in the maze of history, for the relied upon memory rather than written records for identifying their stashes. Speaking of Nashville, a rich KGC trove was supposedly hidden under an "ordinary looking mountain" somewhere off the old Nashville Pike. Allegedly, $600 million was stored there in a vault, in 1870. Later, more gold was said to have been added to this hoard. We have also heard tales of a KGC treasure having been secreted about 11 miles from Nashville. These two reports, however, may pertain to the same cache. L. Frank Hudson, an expert researcher from St. Petersburg Florida, is the source of KGC treasure tale originating in Texas. Sometime in 1863 a shipment of gold coins in wooden kegs left Galveston aboard a Confederate vessel. The gold came from the western mines operated by the KGC. At some point, before shipment, it was minted into coins, struck by dies captured or stolen from the Federal government. In addition, each coin bore "C.S.A." stamped on its face. When the Confederate ship left Galveston, all went well until it was opposite the mouth of the Mississippi River. At that point a Union gunboat gave chase, and hung astern the Confederate all the way into Florida waters. Here the gunboat's prey attempted to evade capture by entering the Suwannee River. The gunboat hung on tenaciously, so at the second bend in the river, the rebels began throwing the coin kegs overboard to thwart their capture. The Union vessel was still gaining, causing the Rebels to ground their craft on the left bank of the river and flee into the woods to avoid capture. Since that day, there have been rumors of some kegs having been found. In fact, two lucky finders were able to find enough coins to establish a fine restaurant in Maderia Beach as the story goes. During the Civil War the Northern element of the KGC perpetrated several acts of sabotage, particularly in Midwestern states. One of these schemes of skullduggery was an elaborate plan to free and arm thousands of Confederate prisoners being held at Camp Douglas, near Chicago. A Harpers Weekly reporter of that day described the prisoners thusly: "A more woebegone appearing set of men it would be difficult to imagine. It may have been from exposure and low diet, but they were all sallow-faced, sunken eyed and apparently famishing. The uniforms of the Confederates prisoners are just no uniforms at all, being wholly ununiform in color, cut, fashion, and manufacture. The majority stood gazing about the place, perfectly willing to be conversed with, and as willing to answer all questions." It was the assignment of the Confederate master spy, Captain Thomas H. Hines, to coordinate this operation with the KGC. The Knights had secretly gathered a large quantity of rifles, pistols and ammunition to arm the prisoners. In addition, they had pledged a considerable force of members for this raid. However, the KGC backed out at the last moment, wisely considering the plan too dangerous. Although much was written about the Knights during the war, very little has been printed about their post-war activities. Reporter Del Schrader has written some newspaper articles about the secret organization, plus a book titled, Jesse James Was One of His Names. The book is about a character who at one time called himself Col. J. Frank Dalton. However on May 19, 1948, this elderly gentleman announced to the world that he was none other than the notorious outlaw, Jesse Woodson James, denying that he was killed in 1882 as the history books relate. He also claimed to have headed the underground KGC following the Civil War and to have knowledge of the locations of its various hidden troves. Once of his claims was not uncommon, though, for over the decades several phony characters have appeared to announce that they were Jesse James. On April 22, 1973, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner published a report by Del Schrader under the headline "$100 billion in Treasure, the search for Rebel Gold." The story covered his interviews with several sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons of long-dead members of the KGC. Schrader, now deceased, said he was shown several maps of KGC caches. However, one of the decendents stated, "They won't do anybody much good. The maps are accurate as far as they go, but you'd need the two or three transparent overlays, which each fill in a landmark, for the specifics. In most cases, a vital point of reference is carved on a nearby rock." Another old-timer offered, "Quantrill and Jesse James (both notorious guerillas), along with 10 other members of the Inner Circle, vowed they would beg, borrow, or steal gold so that Civil War II, if it ever came, could be fought on a cash and carry basis... many former Confederate officers headed west, profited and tithed up to 50% of their annual incomes." The original Knights of the Golden Circle formally disbanded the organization and closed its books in 1916, but their descendants still maintain the vows of secrecy and silence taken by the old Confederate veterans. This new generation, however, has vouched that the old veterans stashed away money and other treasure in many states in the Union, and even in some Canadian provinces. They claim too, that most of these caches are booby trapped. One of these alleged caches is said to be located near Cat Den Butte in western Texas. Supposedly holding some $30 million in gold, plus a quantity of silver. The treasure vault lies deep in the side of a hill near a river, according to one authority. A series of transparent overlays are required to obtain detailed information leading to the vault. One clue, "Look for a slate-covered tombstone in the southeast corner of the old Mexican cemetery," was offered by an informant. He added, "It bears coded directions." If the locations of these caches are known to the sons and grandsons of members of the KGC's Inner Circle, why haven't they been opened? "The old conspirators swore themselves and their descendants to secrecy," according to Schrader. "It was almost a religious thing with them. Anyone who revealed the secrets of the Circle would have ended up dead." Another thing, the caches were not to be disturbed until the last Confederate passed to his reward. Of course that day has long gone, so now the heirs are left with the problems of what to do about their great secrets. Some have proposed using the treasure for educational purposes, but they are divided as to how they should proceed in that direction. On the other hand, they also fear, if the caches are revealed, the Federal government may claim all of it. What a quandry! The heirs may be partially relieved of some of this dilemma for several knowledgeable professional hunters have been quietly searching for these troves in recent years. For instance, a group of Eau Claire Wisconsin, researchers have discovered coded markings in sandstone in the Park Falls area, coupled with similar markings near Mellen. After 15 years of research these people are convinced these signs, along with others in western and southern states, are clues to KGC troves. Reported Sites of the Secret Caches Arizona- $175 Million Arkansas- Unknown amount at Wild Cat Bluff, near Centerpoint California- Sacramento $41 Million; San Gabriel Canyon, $1.6 Million; El Monte $250,000; Nevada City $16 Million similar amounts in the area of Grass Valley and Placerville; Porterville $3.3 Million. Other caches are rumored in, or near San Diego, San Jose, San Pedro, and San Franscisco. Carolinas- $500 Million Colorado- Underwater treasure of the Curious Mule, site unknown, also,the Vanishing Wagon Treasure near Fairplay Park Colorado. Georgia- $413 Million, which includes Confederate caches near Savannah, Sparta, Allentown, Bolton & Kingsland - all possible KGC troves. Nevada and Utah- $300 Million New England- $333 Million New Mexico- $630 Million in various caches. Plus an unknown amount buried by Confederates east of Tolar, near Santa Fe Railroad. Oregon- $333 Million Tennessee- A vault in mountain off the Old Nashville Pike about 11 miles from Nashville. Texas- Three Rivers treasure of $30 Million in gold in central part of the state. Also, a steel safe under water about a mile east of Brazos River bridge in Waco. Cat Den Butte cache in west Texas. Washington- $175 Million. Back to Main Page: THE KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE KAMELLIA (KWK) http://www.kamellia.com/natpag.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ unrelated to the above web site: Confederate History Books Sold Here: http://www.mawnpaws-general-store.com/confederatebooks.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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