Franklin, I do not have photos of Kane "making off" with the silver. What I do have is proof that Kane was suddenly called south from Shenandoah Valley on an emergency basis (rode through the woods day and night until he was exhausted but in Danville) to meet the Davis train at Danville. His role as a Confederate Secret Service agent and former police marshal was to provide security for the train and its contents. When the train pulled out, both Kane and the silver were left behind. Davis' own papers show that Kane was sending telegrams providing intelligence on troop movements around Danville. He stayed in Danville.
When later interviewed about his activities during this period, Kane lied and said he rode south with the Davis train to Greensboro where he took sick and was in bed for several days. Someone brought him the newspaper while he was recovering, and the news was about Lincoln's assassination.
Kane stayed in Danville for approximately four years! Yet he called his tobacco business "Roanoke Tobacco." He lied about being in Danville and did not want his name associated with Danville. Kane had a wife, family, friends, and lucrative career waiting back in Baltimore. He would become sheriff and then Mayor upon his return. Why did Kane ride into Danville on a sudden, emergency basis and then not leave for over four years
Yes, there were 5,000 people in Danville. But only one was called there on short notice to guard the boxcar and then the silver, and did not leave for four years. Everything Kane did and said points to him as being the sentinel for the Danville silver. And he did not leave until the silver had been safely removed and his mission finished.
Not fiction, Franklin. This is a very good educated guess backed up by documentation, Davis' papers, and Kane's own words.
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