Lost Civil War Gold In The Pennsylvania Mountains

A tremendous treasure is lost somewhere in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Elk-Cameron County.
During the Civil War, a shipment of gold bars worth today over $3 million dollars or more!
It has never been found...

At the start of the Civil War, northern Pennsylvania was extremely remote.

Known as the Wildcat Region, this area led the entire world in lumber production.

Immense rafts were floated down the narrow valleys to great sawmills.

There were few roads and only a handful of tiny villages.

Howling wolves were heard at night and panthers and bears were common.

This was no place for the faint at heart.

During the Civil War, the Wildcat Region, was the birthplace of the famous Bucktail Regiment, those hardy men were the scourge of the Confederacy.

Following the defeat of the Union Army at Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee pointed his conquering gray legions toward Pennsylvania’s lush farmlands..

The North was in chaos as Philadelphia and Harrisburg prepared feverishly to resist the invasion. 

Pennsylvania’s Governor Curtin felt the situation was so dire, that he asked the Union commander Gen. Meade, to send Gen. Couch to defend the capital at Harrisburg.

Meanwhile, a young blue-coated lieutenant headed northward from Wheeling, West Virginia, with a wagon, civilian guide and a guard of eight cavalrymen.

The young officer was stunned when his orders revealed that his cargo was gold bullion stored beneath the false bottom of the wagon.

He shook his head in disbelief, he was to proceed as far north as necessary to avoid any possibility of bumping into Rebel patrols, then turn southward and head for Washington.

His orders clearly stated, avoid contact with the enemy at all cost!

His superiors cautioned the young officer that Pennsylvania was infested with southern sympathizers. 

His was an important mission and he must never relinquish his vigilance.

The army was certain they had selected the right man for the task along with a fine squad of riders and a superb civilian guide.

So the expedition headed northward.

It is believed they stopped first at the town of Butler, then a thriving lumbering community north of Pittsburgh.

Almost from the start, the young lieutenant was seized with one fever after another and had to ride in the wagon.

While the officer was ill, the civilian guide took command.

The caravan continued northward through Clarion Valley.

When the expedition reached the town of Clarion, the young officer resumed command.

Feeling they were far enough north to avoid contact with Rebel cavalry, he decided to head northwestward to Ridgway, then eastward to the Sinnemahoning River near the town of Driftwood. 

There, they could easily construct a raft and float down to the Susquehanna River, then on to Harrisburg, putting them much nearer to Washington.

So far the journey had been uneventful, though the soldiers were puzzled by being so far away from the scene of action.

They wondered what exactly was in the wagon?

Oh, well—the army was known for doing strange things.

How about that ‘Mud March’ last winter, when 70,000 troops were stuck in the mud?

On a Saturday night in late June, the expedition pulled into Ridgway in Elk County.

The little band of soldiers were as welcome as tax collectors and the populace swarmed all over the troopers.

Several times the lieutenant had to order the jeering crowd to disperse.

The puzzled officer asked the civilian guide if Ridgway hadn’t produced the Elk County Rifles, one of the best companies in the Bucktail Regiment.

When informed that indeed it had, the young officer was stunned by the hostility of the crowd.

That night the caravan headed off through the darkness toward the little Dutch community of St. Marys, 11 miles to the east.

During the night the lieutenant had another severe seizure.

In his delirium he divulged the seriousness and purpose of their mission.

The escorting soldiers were stunned ..

Meanwhile Connors the civilian guide, once more assumed command.

After an evening in St. Marys, where the patrol was reportedly treated like conquering heroes, Connors announced that the expedition would head over the mountains toward Driftwood and the headwaters of the Susquehanna.

They were just 20 miles from their goal, but it would be rugged going.

The group left St. Marys—and that was the last time anyone would ever hear or see of the ill-fated expedition again ..

In August, a wild-eyed hysterical Connors staggered into the village of Lock Haven about 40 miles east of Driftwood.

He told a horrific story of the death of every member of the expedition and the loss of the entire golden cargo, but offered no believable explanation...

The kind citizens were overwhelmed with sympathy for the emaciated Irishman.

The Wildcat Region was no place to be lost in, they agreed.

 Rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, wolves, panthers and bear—all were hazards, and besides, they were guarding a wagon filled with gold.

Who could have ordered such a crazy move, wondered the people of Lock Haven.

While the local residents believed Connors, the army did not.

They put him through a relentless series of questionings. First Connors told of the officer dying and being buried, and then he told of a terrific fight.

After that, he claimed that he had no further recollection of the event, as he had lost his memory.

The army brass turned the case over to the Pinkerton's.

For a time the forest wilderness swarmed with agents, who hired lumberjacks, teamsters or whoever else was available.

They searched the area for almost a year, but with no success.

During the summer some dead mules were found—perhaps the ones that pulled the wagon.

From somewhere, an old hermit had managed to get hold of horse trappings marked with the U.S. Army insignia, but he wasn’t telling anything to anyone.

Two or three years later, several human skeletons, believed to be those of the ill fated expedition, were found in the Dent’s Run area of Elk County not far from Driftwood.

Connors was given one choice, he was inducted into the army and transferred to a western outpost.
He was never permitted to be discharged.

When drunk he would often rant and rave that he knew the whole story about the gold and offer to lead someone to it.

But when sober, he couldn’t even find Elk County on the map.

Maybe he was just smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut?

There are stories that the government reopened the case within the last thirty years and sent agents to the area, but very little information on this was disclosed.

In fact, very little information exists on the puzzling expedition itself.  (Until just recently )

Articles about the gold appeared occasionally.

A short time ago, a St. Marys man produced some pieces of cherry wood taken from a big square antique bedpost.

The bed was found in a home in Caledonia, a small town about thirteen miles southeast of St. Marys. 

Many believed the treasure was lost near Caledonia.

The finder thinks the message written on the pieces wood and then nailed to the top of the bed had something to do with the treasure?

The message is written in the type of penmanship used in the 1860’s, and it mentions the year 1863.

It also mentions a two-hour battle near a "big rock," and the mysterious letter also stated that "they see me."

There has always been a theory that the little band was ambushed and massacred by Copperheads or a Gang of robbers.

Many feel that Connors may have planned the ambush himself?

Perhaps the mysterious message about a battle is factual?

Meanwhile, $3 million in gold remains lost somewhere in the Pennsylvania mountains.

From what I understand, hundreds of people have looked for the treasure and found nothing.

But it is believed to be there, somewhere- still undiscovered .....