Buried Treasure: Old Map Reveals Lost Confederate Gold in Alabama

The original newspaper clippings featured in this article spelled the name of Gaius Whitfield incorrectly as "Gayus" Whitfield. Gaius is the correct spelling.

It had been a long trip and a tiring stay for Gaius Whitfield. He had traveled from his home in Middleboro, Kentucky, to pay his last respects and arrange his father's burial in Alabama. Being the eldest son in the family, he was responsible for handling his father's affairs and settling his estate, per the old southern family tradition. As he finished up the last of his father's business, he decided to carry home an old trunk that he had found in the attic of his father's home. It was filled with dusty family photos and old yellowed letters and documents. Nothing that he thought would be of much importance or value. Little did Gaius Whitfield know, that inside that trunk was an old map. A map that would lead him back to Alabama and a fortune in buried gold.

Fantasy image (AI) - not actual treasure in storyPhoto byBing image created by April Killian

Gaius was a descendent of the Whitfield family of Marengo County, Alabama. Newspaper articles referred to the Whitfields as "one of the oldest and most aristocratic families in Alabama." One of the most well known members of the family was General Nathan Bryan Whitfield. In 1843, he built Gaineswood Mansion, the crown jewel of his sprawling plantation in Demopolis. The home stands to this day as one of the finest examples of Greek revival architecture in Alabama.

Gaineswood Mansion, Demopolis, AlabamaPhoto byAltairisfar (wiki commons)

During the Civil War, it wasn't unusual for wealthy plantation owners to bury large caches of silver or gold coins. As Union troops overtook the south, they plundered the homes of the wealthy. Then, during the reconstruction era following the war, there were roving bands of outlaws who robbed and pillaged homes throughout the south. For this reason, many of the wealthy left their gold and silver safely buried. Often they died without passing along the location of the buried treasure to their heirs. Luckily, for Gaius Whitfield, his family left a map.

There were other Whitfields who established large plantations in Marengo County. One of those was C. Boaz Whitfield, father of Gaius Whitfield. C. Boaz Whitfield is believed to be the one who buried the treasure, possibly alone or with his three brothers, also wealthy plantation owners. It was in his father's papers that Gaius found the map to the treasure, and the coins were buried on his father's farm that had been a plantation prior to the civil war. Newspaper accounts referred to the property as "Shady Grove" and described it as being "18 miles from Demopolis, near Jefferson."

Newspaper clippingPhoto byThe Sacramento Union, June 1, 1926 (via Newspapers.com)

Gaius Whitfield returned to Alabama in 1926 to reclaim his father's buried treasure. Newspapers reported that he hired a crew of "35 negroe men" to dig it up. Whitfielfd hired the men under the guise of finding an old buried property stake. The newspaper also said,

"The map gave directions to dig in a swampy section of the farm, so many yards from a large tree, and a certain distance from a branch. Other landmarks were cited and by late Saturday the shovel of one of the negroes struck a hollow can which crumbled as it was unearthed."

Headline in News-Democrat, Paducah, KyPhoto byNews-Democrat, June 1, 1926 (via newspapers.com)

The can that held the treasure was described as an "old powder can." Inside the fragile, rusty can was a significant hoard of $20 gold pieces minted prior to 1850. Most newspaper accounts at the time valued the treasure at over $200,000. That amount would be equivalent to over $3.5 million today!

Some people think that there may be additional caches of gold buried in Marengo County that remain undiscovered to this day. What do you think? Are there still hoardes of silver and gold left buried in Alabama from the Civil War days? Leave a note in the comments!

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