$163,000 Bank of Camden In Lanaster County SC Civil War Loot Found

[goldenrecoveries]

While Sherman's army was making it's march through South Carolina, the citizen's in the Lancaster county area took
all their valuables to the Bank Of Camden. This included gold, paper money, jewelry, and even a very heavy solid
gold pitcher that had been gifted to a mister John C. Calhoun by the Ladies of Charleston. The total value of
the cash and valuables was $163,000. (1860's value)

The bank officials then gathered it all up, and headed for Hanging Rock with a plan to bury it all so it would be safe from the
advancing Union army.

While in route to Hanging Rock they ran into a small detachment of Union soldiers. Of course the soldiers confiscated
everything, and for whatever reason, the soldiers decided to bury it all, and for some reason they selected a man from their
outfit named Rhodes, and only him, to do the burying. Maybe they buried it so they could
come back later and keep it all for themselves, or maybe they had already stolen more than they could carry
from other area's? If they already had as much treasure as they could carry, this might also explain why they didn't
worry about Rhodes being the only one who knew where it was? Maybe Rhodes was the "lowest man on the totem pole"
of the group and nobody else wanted to work that hard digging a hole if they all were already carring enough to make
them rich? Nobody really knows why except the soldiers themselves, and they can't talk anymore!

At any rate, going off to bury the plunder, Rhodes crossed Lynch's River near an old mill at the mouth of Hanging Rock
Creek, and buried it all.

The treasure was never recovered before Rhodes died a few years after the war. The fact that it was never recovered
MAY BE a clue that all the soldiers had already gotten rich in the war, and didn't bother trying to find it? Who Knows?

Before he died though, Rhodes provided a description of the place of burial to a Colonel William E Johnston
of Camden.

For twenty years after the war people had dug all over the area that they knew it was buried, but it was nowhere to be found.

Finally, a brother of Rhodes, a friend of his named swaggert, both from the north, along with a negro servant
started their own search. The dug all around the location for three weeks, and finally hit paydirt. Their picks
had uncovered an iron strongbox that held the entire fortune.

Rhodes and Swaggert soon disappeared with all the loot never to be heard from again. Did the servant get a cut?
Who knows, but one thing for sure, all the money and valuables of the citizens in the Lancaster county area were
"made off with".

1880 / Bank looked pretty much the same in Civil War


Unknown Date


Google Earth Bank Pics





Ooops, I had a typo, sorry. Title SHOULD have read, "$163,000 Bank of Camden Civil War Loot Found In Lancaster County SC".
The Bank Of Camden was in Kershaw County. The treasure was found at Hanging Rock Creek in Lancaster county.

Hanging Rock


Hanging Rock Creek Near Health Springs SC

 

[Honest Samuel]

Great pictures, great story. If I was living there back then, I would bury my own stuff. Good luck to those who are seeking this treasure.

 

[goldenrecoveries]

Great pictures, great story. If I was living there back then, I would bury my own stuff. Good luck to those who are seeking this treasure.

I wouldn't go looking for this one Samuel - it was found about 100 years ago

 

[Craigwac]

Where did you get this info? A newspaper article posted here claims the treasure was never found. It also answers the question of why Rhodes buried it alone (because he dug it up from the original hiding spot and buried it himself in the hopes of returning to steal it all). Not that being printed in a newspaper back in 1889 makes it absolute truth, of course. But curious to know where the discovery story came from.

And yes, Sherman's soldiers were rich. In a letter home, one lieutenant wrote that gold and silver were as common in camp as blackberries (which are absolutely everywhere down here), and that he had a quart jar full of gold and diamond jewelry alone. He had taken it from Southern plantation women, to bring home to his girls. It read as though that was a minor part of his personal loot:

...subordinate officers and privates keep back every thing that they can carry about their persons, such as rings, earrings, breast pins, &c., of which, if I ever get home, I have about a quart. I am not joking--I have at least a quart of jewelry for you and all the girls, and some No. 1 diamond rings and pins among them.

General Sherman has silver and gold enough to start a bank. His share in gold watches alone at Columbia was two hundred and seventy-five. But I said I could not go into particulars. All the general officers and many besides had valuables of every description, down to embroidered ladies' pocket handkerchiefs. I have my share of them, too. We took gold and silver enough from the damned rebels to have redeemed their infernal currency twice over.

A Yankee writes home.* - The Confederate Society of America

They likely did have more loot than they could carry home, and I'm sure there were some smaller caches buried that were never recovered along Sherman's route. I've spoken to families who retell old stories about burying the silver and jewels, etc. in advance of Sherman's troops. They knew about the looting and had to hide their valuables. But surely some of those people didn't live to recover it, so there are likely caches out there left buy wealthy Southerners as well.

 

[goldenrecoveries]

Where did you get this info? A newspaper article posted here claims the treasure was never found. It also answers the question of why Rhodes buried it alone (because he dug it up from the original hiding spot and buried it himself in the hopes of returning to steal it all). Not that being printed in a newspaper back in 1889 makes it absolute truth, of course. But curious to know where the discovery story came from.

And yes, Sherman's soldiers were rich. In a letter home, one lieutenant wrote that gold and silver were as common in camp as blackberries (which are absolutely everywhere down here), and that he had a quart jar full of gold and diamond jewelry alone. He had taken it from Southern plantation women, to bring home to his girls. It read as though that was a minor part of his personal loot:



A Yankee writes home.* - The Confederate Society of America

They likely did have more loot than they could carry home, and I'm sure there were some smaller caches buried that were never recovered along Sherman's route. I've spoken to families who retell old stories about burying the silver and jewels, etc. in advance of Sherman's troops. They knew about the looting and had to hide their valuables. But surely some of those people didn't live to recover it, so there are likely caches out there left buy wealthy Southerners as well.

The article that talks about the fact that the treasure was never found appears to me to be two different articles pasted together? At the very end the article talks about the gold pitcher. That's the part that looks like it's from a different newspaper article? Maybe not though?

The article that I have on file is from a couple years later than the one you referenced. That COULD explain why it was not yet found in the story that you referenced? Then again, Hanging Rock was a popular "hang out" place even then, so it's possible that there was more than one treasure buried here? Is it possible that not everyone made it to the bank in time to send their valuables to be buried with the bank's safes, so they made their OWN trip to Hanging Rock?

Here's the story
THEY FOUND LONG-BURIED GOLD. - A STORY OF A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR HIDDEN TREASURE. - View Article - NYTimes.com

But then here's another story. I think there was a strong possibility that there was more than one trip to Hanging Rock? Or ............. some reporter "embelished" the story and the newspapers "ran with it"?
Wilmington journal. (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, June 25, 1869, Image 1 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

 

[Craigwac]

The article that talks about the fact that the treasure was never found appears to me to be two different articles pasted together? At the very end the article talks about the gold pitcher. That's the part that looks like it's from a different newspaper article? Maybe not though?

The article that I have on file is from a couple years later than the one you referenced. That COULD explain why it was not yet found in the story that you referenced? Then again, Hanging Rock was a popular "hang out" place even then, so it's possible that there was more than one treasure buried here? Is it possible that not everyone made it to the bank in time to send their valuables to be buried with the bank's safes, so they made their OWN trip to Hanging Rock?

Here's the story
THEY FOUND LONG-BURIED GOLD. - A STORY OF A SUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR HIDDEN TREASURE. - View Article - NYTimes.com

But then here's another story. I think there was a strong possibility that there was more than one trip to Hanging Rock? Or ............. some reporter "embelished" the story and the newspapers "ran with it"?
Wilmington journal. (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, June 25, 1869, Image 1 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress

That's it. Your article says they found it "last friday night", which was a couple years after my article was written.

 

[Honest Samuel]

I wouldn't go looking for this one Samuel - it was found about 100 years ago

Thanks for not wasting my time. The story is great. Good hunting and good luck.