Excellent KGC source !

[Texas Jay]

While investigating the Knights of the Golden Circle for nearly 4 years now, I have found one source that is extremely valuable because it gives Official Civil War Reports. You can do a "simple search" on the War of the Rebellion Records website for any keywords you want to find reports containing them. Of course, my favorite keywords are [Knights of the Golden Circle]. Get ready to do a lot of reading but, believe me, you will be hooked. Most of these are reports from Federal officers and include testimonies from Yankees who were able to infiltrate this huge secretive Confederate organization. These reports give estimates of the number of KGC members in many states, give the number of weapons that the KGC stockpiled, tell of the KGC's involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln, give the oaths, passwords and grips of the KGC and much much more.
~Texas Jay
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html - War of the Rebellion Records

 

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[Texas_Meteorite_Hunter]

Right there busts much of the possiblity the KGC ever had access to large amounts of cash. The feds had successfully infiltrated the KGC. If any part of the KGC tried to bury currency, the castles infiltrated would have that information documented by court cases from the prosecution. So there was no conspiracy to bury money.

Further, the Confederacy central government was bankrupt. For a synopsis, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America
I recognize that wiki is not considered a primary source, but it will save people a great deal of time.

I'd recommend giving up on KGC, as it doesn't pass KVM basic test #2 "Did the treasure exist?" The answer is NO, and KGC fails other tests. On the flipside, Yes, it existed as a 5th columnist organization, no doubt there. And yes, it makes for a good tale of a book. However....

There are many other rich targets to research which did exist. Move on.

While investigating the Knights of the Golden Circle for nearly 4 years now, I have found one source that is extremely valuable because it gives Official Civil War Reports. You can do a "simple search" on the War of the Rebellion Records website for any keywords you want to find reports containing them. Of course, my favorite keywords are [Knights of the Golden Circle]. Get ready to do a lot of reading but, believe me, you will be hooked. Most of these are reports from Federal officers and include testimonies from Yankees who were able to infiltrate this huge secretive Confederate organization. These reports give estimates of the number of KGC members in many states, give the number of weapons that the KGC stockpiled, tell of the KGC's involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln, give the oaths, passwords and grips of the KGC and much much more.
~Texas Jay
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bloodybillandersonmystery

http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html - War of the Rebellion Records

 

[Shortstack]

I'd recommend giving up on KGC, as it doesn't pass KVM basic test #2 "Did the treasure exist?" The answer is NO, and KGC fails other tests. On the flipside, Yes, it existed as a 5th columnist organization, no doubt there. And yes, it makes for a good tale of a book. However....

Texas_Meteorite_Hunter, you have a big problem here. KVM did believe there was "something" to the KGC caches because he traced one to the L.A. area. He wrote about how he believed one was very close to, or under the roadbed of one of the freeways there. He told about how he'd parked his car, on the shoulder of one of the frontage roads in order to walk out into the grassy right-of-ways for a little recon, but a Chippy stopped and told him he couldn't park there. His wife was riding with him and thought it was funny. He wrote that he'd have to come up with a good storyline for stopping there again. Something like, "my wife got mad at me and threw her wedding rings out the window of our car as we were going down the road." But, according to him, he had to put that project on the back burner for something else more pressing at the time.

So, KVM certainly thought there was "something" to the KGC cache stories. I could be wrong, but I think he mentioned in one of his writings that the LUE might have been tied into the whole thing.

 

[Texas Jay]

Dr. Roy William Roush, PhD tells of KVM's interest in the KGC treasure depositories in one of his KGC books. I've just finished reading two and am finishing the third tonight. Add to that, probably the most successful treasure hunter in American history Mel Fisher, with his company, searched for KGC treasure in Arkansas. That story is told in "Rebel Gold". One will be hard-pressed to find a single reputable, renowned American treasure hunter who does not believe that the KGC hoarded huge amounts of treasure. I don't know of any of these treasure hunters who think that most of the treasure was buried DURING the War. These large depositories were mostly constructed and filled many years after the War's end. Wikipedia, in most cases, is the worst "source" of all because anyone, with any agenda, can "edit" any Wiki page, remove information and replace it with their own opinions which are usually just that...opinions.
~Texas Jay

 

[Shortstack]

Texas Jay:

I believe the KGC's story of wanting another CW was just a cover story. Too, I believe the real "movers and shakers" behind that organization used a lot of folks as shields for their more long termed agenda. The CW stuff was, in my never humble opinion, a very convenient cover for an organization that was already in place. An organization with ties going much farther back into history than most folks would believe. I think Swiftsearcher is on a more logical path of investigation.

 

[Texas Jay]

Hi Shortstack. Based on my research, here is the line of descent of the Knights of the Golden Circle, however, this is just my preliminary beliefs. Knights Templar ---> Freemasons ---> Sons of Liberty (Revolutionary Period) ---> Southern Rights Clubs ---> Order of the Lone Star ---> Knights of the Golden Circle (also known under many other aliases). I reserve the right to amend this order as new evidence becomes available and the contents of some of the depositories become known. I believe that the second Civil War was just one of a few options available to this old organization (KGC) as the War was ending and for some years after it ended. When they saw the Cause was Lost, by early 1864, they re-set their objectives. One of these was establishing "Safe" communities and towns and installing their members in powerful local governmental offices and funding their members in starting businesses to help all Southerners. These businesses included banks, livery stables, railroads, stores, and nearly anything else that could make a profit. The KGC owners of these businesses then contributed "up to 50% of their profits" back into the KGC treasury. This is where I believe the bulk of the gold and silver in the KGC caches and depositories, in addition to whatever ancient treasures and relics put there for safe-keeping, came from.
~Texas Jay

 

[Shortstack]

Sure sounds reasonable to me. I get a kick out of those posters who say, repeatedly, that the South was broke and didn't have the kind of gold reserves involved with KGC caches. They don't stop to THINK. Most of the gold was NOT in the hands of the CSA government, but was still in private hands, where it SHOULD be. Even the present US government does not have all of the money; even if the present government THINKS it should have it all.

There was a lot of "old" money in places like Charlotte, St. Petersburg, St. Augustine, Mobile, New Orleans, Natchez, etc. And I'm sure none of these folks were about to let the government have all or most of their monies.

 

[cccalco]

Based on my research, here is the line of descent of the Knights of the Golden Circle, however, this is just my preliminary beliefs. Knights Templar ---> Freemasons ---> Sons of Liberty (Revolutionary Period) ---> Southern Rights Clubs ---> Order of the Lone Star ---> Knights of the Golden Circle (also known under many other aliases). I reserve the right to amend this order as new evidence becomes available and the contents of some of the depositories become known.
~Texas Jay

I don't think that your on the wrong track here brother jay, but this looks more like so and so begat so and so and I don't think it is that kind of family tree. I can only suggest another but it goes something like this: The Knights Templar , the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, the Illuminati (end of that branch) then the Freemasons again, the Sons of Liberty et al. Inconclusive I know but we should be looking for a family tree that has interbred among themselves, keeping the secrets in the family.

 

[Texas Jay]

For those who want reliable sources that said the KGC lived on after the end of the Civil War, you will find a few of the many here.
~Texas Jay
http://knightsofthegoldencircle.webs.com