bigscoop said:I'm guessing, because of some obvious obstacles, there were only a few routes that could be taken unless prior arrangements had been made? (i.e., big river crossings and such.) But this would also depend largely on exactly where the wagons were starting from?
From Montvale Valley in VIRGINIA... up the old Fincastle, Va. Turnpike (now a US Forest Service "fire road"); ANOTHER route was the GREAT WESTERN ROAD through the Buford Gap "area" of Bedford/Roanoke Counties, a OLD "Indian" road/path, following ROUGHLY Rt. 460 WEST; linking up with the GREAT WAGON ROAD (ROUGHLY Rt. 11 NORTH) though the GREAT Valley of Virginia (Shenandoah Valley)... thence WEST from Arlington, Va. area. Gotta love that old History stuff... 
Peter Viemeister, in his book, THE BEALE TREASURE: A HISTORY OF A MYSTERY, has a map on p. 69; it appears that they went on the GREAT WESTERN ROAD down to SW Va. into North Carolina, THENCE to north central Tenn., THENCE to WESTERN Kentucky... up the Missouri River to St. Louis. Santa Fe Trail was ALREADY established; just reverse "trail" to get back home. 
Rebel - KGC said:
"Google" THE BEALE TREASURE: A HISTORY OF A MYSTERY by Peter Viemeister; Amazon.com MAY have USED copies for sale; look at page 69. AND! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1845_trailmap.gif MAY be of interest. Rebel - KGC said:
bigscoop said:Can you imagine what your lower back and rearend would have felt like after riding one of those wagons a long distance for several days/weeks! No road crews to fill all those nasty holes and ruts.
HA! I DID read where it was a FOUR MONTH journey by horse & wagon, back then... ONE WAY! 
"Fast-forward" to the CONFEDERATE WAR... the 1845 map "above" indicates POSSIBLE "passage" down to New Orleans where the CSA Mint was; in the era of the Beale story... it was the FIRST US Mint; now a museum "flooded" by Katrina & the NSA is waiting for the water to recede & "recover". The FIRST US Mint PROBABLY had a vault DEEP underground, with the Lafitte's $$$$$$$$$ cached away + whatever else. In the CSA "era", it would PROBABLY "hold" the MAJORITY of BRITISH & FRENCH $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ loan to the CSA Gov't with SOME of it stored in Richmond, Va. I suspect "old Muddy" was utilized for FAST "passage", and since the Yanks had a BLOCKADE "fronting" New Orleans; $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ was brought "up-land", and buried in the MOUNTAINS of Bedford County, Va.; PROBABLY on the BRP. If ya got a NATIONAL FOREST... it is PROBABLY "hiding something"; SAME thing for a STATE PARK in VIRGINIA for CSA "assets". Coffee? MORE I & R... this is FUN! Going back to the "Beale Expedition" ("BE") era: PV wrote about the GREAT WESTERN ROAD because it followed an OLD "Indian" Path (Rt. 460 WEST) through Buford's Gap, intersecting with the GREAT WARRIOR PATH aka; it became the Lynchburg-Salem Turnpike through Bedford County, Va. Settlers knew these roads as TRADING PATHS, especially as you go DEEPER into the "interior" of OLD America. Instead of going NORTH into Kentucky on the Wilderness Road or Trail, it appears the the "BE" Coffee? Coming back on the GREAT WESTERN ROAD, the "BE" PROBABLY took a right onto the OLD Fincastle Turnpike which took you right in front of Buford's; it is part of Camp JayCee Road, and I HAVE seen that old road, and the "bend" became a tree-lined road down to the Tavern; the Buford Cemetery (with Paschal's gravesite) is behind the current house (Locust Level Antiques) at the "base" of the mountain... ACROSS the ridge, from PORTER Mountain. Porter Mountain is rumored to be a site for the "BT". MORE I & R ... In GOLD IN THE BLUE RIDGE by Innis, on p. 36 is a map of the "THE Beale ROUTE to Santa Fe"; p. 64 is "From Santa Fe to the GOLD FIND"; p. 72 has "The area around Buford's, about 1819", with the Fincastle Turnpike/Stagecoach Road; p. 250 has map - Bishop James Madison's... 1807. "Buford's Inn is shown, also the north and south forks of Goose Creek, as well as the EARLY roads which went west and through the Blue Ridge." If you want a copy, got to Amazon.com, look for USED copies (CHEAP!); get the GOLD-COVER PAPERBACK, ONLY! It is a "UPDATE", with MORE (additional) info! Coffee?
Kentucky Kache said:
