Amidst the chaos of the Civil War, a shipment of gold bars, a treasure valued at over $36 million in today’s currency, vanished in the dense forests of Elk County. This was no ordinary loss but a significant event that would leave a lasting mark on the history of the war.
The story goes that in 1863, a young Union Army lieutenant was ordered to transport a false-bottom wagon containing 26 gold bars, each weighing 50 pounds, from Wheeling, West Virginia, to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. His escort included a civilian guide named Connors and eight cavalrymen.
The plan was to avoid Confederate forces by heading northeast to Driftwood, PA., building a raft, and floating down the Susquehanna River to Harrisburg, then traveling overland to Philadelphia.
Throughout the journey, the lieutenant suffered from recurring fevers. While camped at St. Marys, his condition worsened, and in a delirious state, he accidentally revealed the secret of the gold cargo, shocking the other soldiers.
While the soldiers waited for the lieutenant’s fever to break, 125 miles to the south, a pivotal battle raged—the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point in the war.
Early one morning in July 1863, the gold-laden expedition left St. Marys heading for Driftwood, never to be seen again.
Two months later, a hysterical Mr. Connors, the civilian guide for the expedition, staggered into Lock Haven, about 50 miles east of St. Marys, where the convoy was last seen.
Immediately, the Army sent investigators to interrogate Connors.
Pinkerton Detectives were hired to search the area, but all they found were some dead mules near Dents Run, just off today’s State Route 555 in Elk County.
Connors claimed the expedition was ambushed by bandits who killed all the soldiers, stole the gold, and left him for dead. The Army did not believe him.
In the early 1870s, human skeletons, believed to be those of the soldiers, were found in the same area.
Connors was “drafted” into the Army and sent to a remote fort out west. The Army refused to discharge him. He became an alcoholic and often claimed he knew where the gold was hidden, but when sober, he couldn’t remember anything.
Allegedly, the Army continued to search the Dents Run area, but none of the gold was ever found.
More recently, the FBI conducted a 2018 dig for Civil War-era gold at a remote site in Dents Run after sophisticated testing suggested large quantities of gold might be buried there. While the FBI insists they found nothing, locals aren’t convinced.
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