Mules, like this one photographed by cindy47452 on flickr, pulled the wagon that Carson and his crew loaded.
This entry continues the story begun in the previous blog post of how the gold from the bank of North Carolina was hidden for a time in the final days of the Civil War.
In the first installment, the president of the Charlotte branch of the Bank of North Carolina, James Carson, described how the gold had been moved to Charlotte during the war. The approach of Sherman from the South and Stoneman from the North alarmed him sufficiently that he, two bank employees, and a local wagoner made plans to remove it from the vault under cover of night.
It did not require much time in getting everything ready for the journey.
Cooking utensils consisting of a frying pan, a skillet, a coffee pot, a half dozen tin cups and set of knives and forks constituted our kitchen inventory.
Three or four hams, a sack of flour, sugar and coffee, salt and pepper, some butter and lard and a basket of eggs was about all we took along for a journey which might last, we could not tell how long. We supplied ourselves with blankets and comforts for bedding, and our driver supplied corn and oats for his team.
It was early in April 1865 when all things were in readiness for the move. Mr. Kennedy had his instructions to have his team in front of the bank about 7 o'clock P. M. The sky was overcast, and we had had a very wet spring, and, as I have before stated, the roads were in a a wretched condition, bur our driver was on time. As we had collected everything at the bank, it did not take over thirty minutes to load. The specie was first put in, then the bedding, cooking utensils, provisions, guns, etc.
There was but little light, if any, on the street and a candle set inside the vault was all the light that was in the bank; the wagon had its cover closely drawn so as to prevent anyone with prying eyes from seeing what was going on inside. So quickly was everything conducted that I do not believe there was a soul, outside of those who had the matter in charge, who knew or suspicioned what was going on.
The bank was where the Observer office is now located. [32 S. Tryon St.] The party who were in this expedition were Thomas W. Dewey, Cashier, S. L. Riddle, Teller, and the writer, President, John M. Springs and Mr. Kennedy, our driver.
We did not know where we were going to land when we left Charlotte, but late that afternoon Stoneman had set fire to the bridge on the Catawba at Rozzelles Ferry, twelve miles Northwest of Charlotte, and as the smoke from the burning bridge could be plainly seen, and it was known before we left that it was Stoneman's raiders at work, and that too at uncomfortably close quarters - it did not take us long to decide to go east.
It was about eight o'clock when we got everything aboard with fully four thousand pounds of freight and more than three fourths of it in gold and silver. Some of us went ahead to be picked up on the way, and the others concealed themselves in the well covered wagon, with the exception of the driver, who was of course exposed to view, but he soon got out of the main streets and was unobserved.
We took what was then called the Lawyers' Road, making slow but sure progress. After getting a few miles out of town, squads of two or three horsemen would frequently pass us, all going our way, and as it was not wise or prudent to interview them, it produced the belief strongly in our minds that they were stragglers flying from Stoneman, whom we supposed was making for Charlotte. The squads were a noisy set and some of them were disposed to be a little too inquisitive, so, having come to a place along the road covered with a dense growth of cedar and young pine, we thought best to take shelter among them until the main road was free from these men. We remained here until after midnight, when we again got back to the main road and resumed our flight. We found everything quiet, and seeing no signs of fire in the direction of Charlotte, concluded that Stoneman had not yet reached it. We jogged along as fast as the road and our heavy load would permit, and by seven o'clock next morning we found ourselves twelve miles on our way and the worst part of the road passed.
Here we made a halt, had the mules watered and fed, made some coffee and fried some ham, and enjoyed our breakfast. While at our repast Mr. John S. Means drove up with a four-horse team with a negro driver. Mr. Means expressed a desire to remain with us, but we were not looking for company, especially when there was a negro in the party, so we told him to go ahead and we would overtake him, but we never did. His load was light and ours heavy, so he outtravelled us.
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