Customer Reviews

Rebel Gold: One Man's Quest to Crack the Code Behind the Secret Treasure of the Confederacy

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

REBEL GOLD is a better than average conspiracy book, if you're into that sort of thing. And it has the added allure of postulating the existence of a fabulous buried treasure.

Written by ex-Vietnam vet Bob Brewer and investigative journalist Warren Getler (Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune), REBEL GOLD describes the former's twenty-five year quest to establish the existence and location of Confederate gold and silver caches buried by the pro-secessionist Knights of the Golden Circle in the anticipation that they could one day be used to further a second Civil War. Along the way, Brewer associates the Knights with the Scottish Rite Freemasons, Scottish freedom fighters, the medieval Knights Templar, and the post-Civil War outlaw activities of cousins Jesse Woodson James and Jesse Robert James. (Gee, there was more than one?) Brewer concludes that Jesse and Jesse weren't robbing for personal gain, but to enlarge and help conceal the Confederacy's rainy-day stash.

Brewer's quarter-century involvement with rebel treasure depositories, which are ostensibly scattered over a wide swath of territory in the American Southwest and South, is incremental. Growing up in the Arkansas backwoods, Bob was first exposed to the existence of hidden swag by listening to the recollections, stories, and veiled references by resident old timers. It wasn't until he returned home from Vietnam that Brewer began to take these verbal clues seriously and undertook to systematically correlate and follow widely spread physical mapping clues, principally carvings in the trunks of trees and buried markers. To his credit and the overall story's credibility, Bob did manage to unearth several relatively small troves of buried coins in the area. Later, as his knowledge of the KGC increased and he came into possession of additional coded maps and information, he transferred his attention to a larger area across the state line in Oklahoma, and finally to Arizona's Superstition Mountains. In Oklahoma, he was thwarted by a fellow treasure hunter with whom he'd naively shared knowledge and who allegedly beat him to a significantly large stash of gold in a buried safe. In Arizona (and back in Arkansas), Brewer was, and still is, blocked from unearthing (presumably) major hordes by the fact that the sites are on federal land. And who, in their right mind, wants to share found riches with the dang guv'mint, eh?

Bob's ultimate triumph, if it can be called such, was in identifying the precise but presumed location of the Arizona treasure vault - underneath Picketpost Mountain - after interrelating a myriad of clues - including cliff carvings, buried markers, and coded stone tablets - with the help of a couple of local amateur treasure hunters and a topographical map of the region.

This yarn by Brewer and Getler is a good one, though to be completely believable the reader would, I suspect, had to have been there. Brewer's surmises and intuitive leaps are both numerous and mind-boggling. For instance, concerning an enigmatic stone tablet containing both text and the image of a horse, an image which Brewer had discerned amidst the contour lines and other features of his topo map:

"Bob surmised that the textual clue DON ... was intended to read in reverse, as NOD. If the giant horse's head were to nod ... it would be facing the zone of interest, directly south."

Further, from a newspaper obit about the death of the presumed KGC sentinel Elisha Reavis, Bob's mental contortions are revealed:

"The article reported that a 'Billy G. Knight' - an English 'cowboy' ... had cautioned Reavis a couple of weeks before his mysterious death to 'see a doctor'. Reading between the lines, the 'English cowboy' could easily pass for a medieval Knight Templar, Bob thought. The G could well be a nod toward the hallmark symbol for 'Geometry' (some say, 'God') in Freemasonry. And, he speculated, based on related clues uncovered in Arkansas and Oklahoma, 'William' could suggest William Wallace, the heralded Scottish freedom fighter ..." Yeah, well, like I said, I guess you had to be there.

The thing is, as even Brewer himself recognizes on page 197:

"(The mapmakers) had left behind their signature system of symbolism, too subtle for most to recognize and perhaps too clever for those in the know to be able to follow the encrypted signposts."

So, what was the point of creating maps and clues so arcane and obscure such that die-hard secessionists in future generations might not even be able to recover the treasure? Whatever happened to "keep it simple, stupid"? Indeed, I suspect you could give the same maps and clues to a hundred different cryptologists and come back with a hundred different conclusions. Why should the reader believe Brewer's interpretation, especially as he wasn't (and hasn't been) able to make the major find that would prove him correct?

I'm awarding REBEL GOLD four stars for its interesting premise. Otherwise, it's hard to care. Besides, the symbol "Au" and a figure of the Virgin Mary have just appeared on the trunk of a tree in my yard with her finger pointing down. Hey, Mother, get the shovel! We're gonna be rich, girl!

Well, well... hard core treasure buffs are the hardest lot to dissuade. These 4 and 5 star reviews are something else. I have never been a big believer in `lost mines/hoards' - gold of this magnitude won't stay hidden for long. And when it is recovered, the person or persons recovering the hoard won't advertise it.

(...)

While obvious that Brewer has a talent for deciphering obscure and confusing map codes, it is apparent that he has preconceived notions that lead him in the direction he wants to go. He is like a chemist or scientist that already 'knows' the results he wants to achieve, so he manipulates the experiment to get his desired result.

The Lost Dutchman mine legend is built upon historical fact. It is strains credibility for Brewer to come to Arizona and in a few days re-write the Spanish mining history of the southwest; suddenly it all becomes `Rebel Gold'.

Some of the mines attributed to the `Dutchman' have actually been located and documented - not the cache that Jocob Walzer hid and occasionally visited - but the actual mine workings of the area around Weaver's Needle. There is nothing particularly unusual about Spanish mine workings in the southwest, and how they were occasionally `high graded' by miners - that sustained them in style for a number of years, while the legend grew and grew. The Lost Dutchman mine has been romanticized to the point, that it has entered the public domain of movies, books and legend. What is galling is that Brewer and his partners never even entered the actual Superstition Mountains. Never more than a few minutes from the highway and the air conditioned SUV, they spend their time trespassing and digging on private land, drawing horse heads on topographic maps (get a fresh copy of the Wickenburg area topo maps - you won't find a horse head, a soldier monk anywhere, unless you WANT to see it - then get a black pen and draw it in - you can probably draw in a happy face if you want). Bob sees `heart shaped' images everywhere - he can hardly walk outside with spotting heart shaped boulders, mountains, rocks - he sees them on the landscape, he sees him in Ashcroft's gag photo, he inks them onto his topo maps. KGC sign all around - even on US topographic maps - which is so silly it needs no further comment.

They find shotgun shells arranged in a five pointed star and conclude that is KGC sign - are we to conclude that these shells have lain on this spot for decades or that the KGC is just hours ahead? He finds something that he decides is significant, announces it as a `clue'. Later he finds another random item he decides is a clue and points out that `it lines up precisely with the previous clue'. Well sure, Bob - two points make a straight line. Thanks for the basic geometry lesson.

What begins to push this entire book into the `conspiracy' section of the local library is the helicopter scenario right out of the X-Files. What is probably a realtor showing property (first helicopter flyby) or a federal officer (second one) is spun into such contrived weirdness that it demonstrates that Brewer and the boys are way out of their league in the Southwest. Southern Arizona isn't the wooded hills of Arkansas and Oklahoma - this is the hard Sonoran Desert - drugs, bounty hunters, smugglers, illegal aliens, etc. It is gradually becoming militarized and being confronted by feds exhibiting odd behavior is not unusual. These well fed treasure tourists with the metal detectors (mountain men as Getler continually reminds us) must have been quite a sight shaking at the site of the mysterious helicopter flying `sentinel'. Later they are unnerved by the sight of a `dead' rabbit, they conclude that it had been left as a `warning' and that they didn't want to wind up like `Adolf Ruth'. (Adolf Ruth was murdered, shot in the head by one of the itinerant cowboys that guided him into the Superstitions; animals most likely separated the head from the body during the months it was exposed.)

The idea that the KGC would have helicopter flying 'sentinels' that would go to the trouble to confront a couple of fat guys wandering around looking at rocks is ludicrous. But since they have this image of this vast treasure hoard buried somewhere round here, they have created aura of paranoia around them - everything has import. They ask us to believe that the Knights of the Golden Circle (disbanded 90 years ago) have a helicopter STANDING BY, to frighten off people with metal detectors.

Beech tree graffiti, helicopters (at least they weren't black), `eyes rolled back' gag photo, grandpa riding a horse ("on patrol" guarding the treasure - well, sure... of course - that's obvious), photo of Albert Pike (total nutcase), `coded' photograph of some winking dandy so full of self importance he loads up the photo with the most obvious of `codes' - his mysterious `all seeing eye' on the instep of his shoe. One thing that Brewer and Getler seem to not understand is that Freemasonry is NOT a secret society; it is - if anything - a society of secrets - and most of those are public knowledge.

In Arizona, using a backhoe and without the owner's permission, they dig up a trash midden. Each bit of random trash has deep significance, more `code' - you wonder if, for Brewer, a cigar is EVER just a cigar. Every single item has some hidden meaning - and when the bottom of the debris fails to deliver the expectant treasure - rather than admitting they were digging for nothing, the mystery deepens. This trash heap is suddenly placed there to `throw them off the trail'. Brewer states that it all confirms his research. The author actually includes a photo of these guys with all the junk they recovered laid out. Junk - all of it - a book on what they claim is the largest treasure hoard in North America and these guys are digging up pig iron and broken kitchenware. Two pieces of rusted steam pipe are the `cross' of the skull and crossbones, some scrap metal is shaped like a heart, a horse skull is an `ancient French Breed used by Crusader Knights', broken pottery has a circle design underneath. To them, all of this has coded significance. This reminds me of that 'Calvin and Hobbs' comic skit - where Calvin is 'excavating for dinosoars' and digs up all this junk - soda cans, bottles, pipes - what does this all mean? Calvin assembles his 'artifacts' into a dinosoar and announces his 'discovery'.

With a bit of training these `mountain men' could be shown how to tell the difference between `artificially disturbed soils' (deliberately buried) and random deposition by wind or water. These are standard archeological recognition skills and knowledge of geological deposition. Brewer shows no real knowledge of what is known as `site formation processes'. If `hunting for buried treasure' in the ground has been as important part of his life as this book claim it has, then he would understand these things. It confirms my idea that Brewer is the armchair sort - and comfortable with his ciphers and codes - most of which he made up.

The entire Arizona portion was just hilarious - like tourists on a Caribbean Island Club Med vacation walking around looking for signs of pirate treasure. Suddenly they are comfronted by a landowner who runs them off, and they decide that the man is a descendant of Captain Kidd guarding the buried treasure chest.

And then the final cop-out in the book - Brewer has this `immense calm' come over him and decided - or one isn't quite sure - to leave the treasure where it is - conveniently located on federal lands (Brewer and Getler - in true paranoid fashion decide that is part of the `conspiracy' as well). Ah! I can't recover the treasure, but could if I wanted to, but I don't' want to, since it was guarded by my family members and I have conflicting emotions, and it IS on government land so we can't dig it up. This of course, provides an excuse for the fact that Brewer never found much more than a jar full of coins after 40 years of searching. I am sure, however, that he will continue to be a big hit at the Treasure show circuits.

Sorry, I cannot buy into this one. I have seen other books claiming all these markings are for hidden Spanish gold of the Conquistadors, or the "Lost Dutchman" gold mine, or who knows what. Bottom line, a lot of smoke, very little fire. Finding a few old silver dollars does not mean much. Book contains much speculation and theory, very little proof. Finally, I submit Benjamin Franklin-"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead." Even if such a hoard was buried, I expect it was dug up many years ago.

I've read the book---TWICE ! And I'm preparing to read it for a THIRD time !
One word: WOW !
If you have an interest in the KGC ( Knights of the Golden Circle ), Jesse James, the Civil War, or American History---this book is a "must-read" book.
The KGC was a Civil War organization of Confederate sympathizers who collected and secreted millions ( and MAYBE it is BILLIONS ! ) of dollars in gold, silver, currency, weapons and supplies with the avowed objective of continuing the Civil War until the South was victorious. The South shall rise again !
If you will read this book with an open mind you will thoroughly enjoy the great story it tells, but: be prepared to learn that some things you learned in your history books were false !
The author tells of how he has deciphered many clues and maps to recover some KGC treasure caches.
You will learn how Jesse James was associated with the KGC, along with many government officials.
After reading this book ( and it could be a controversial book ! ) I now believe that there are still many KGC caches secreted throughout the U.S. for you and I to find.
For the dedicated treasure hunter, the adventurer and the historian ( and anyone else ! ) this book will definitely get some interesting conversations started !

Every couple of years a book like this will come along it usually centers on one of thre things.

A John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy
A Jesse James Conspiracy
A Masonic Conspiracy

This time it is a combination of all three and it is one of the better ones.

It tells the story of The Knights of the Golden Circle and their activities after the Civil War to raise the funds necessary to continue a second civil war.

Parts of the book are great, parts of it sound like it was written by a crank some of the instances in this book are just that unbelievable.

So if you are suspicious by nature and generally like books about conspiracies involving the civil war this is probably the book for you.
If you want a little proof to go with your history book this might not be your idea of a good time.

Overall-I liked it a lot but only because this is my sort of thing

This is a good book by a regional treasure hunter of HIS experiences in researching historical Civil War treasures, his sour grapes from a bad association with several treasure hunting companions, and his strokes of revenge, and a lot of rehashing of material from OTHER books with no conclusions deduced from this OTHER material. The "wagon wheel treasure grid" of the Knights has been published for the last 20 years, several reference books in libraries can be located on the KGC, the Jesse James info was interesting but, like he says, it's straight from OTHER books. Treasure hunters thrive on these books that supposedly lay out intricate research done on large dollar amount treasures -- but if anyone knew definitely of such treasures, they would not be writing a book about it. I find that the most money to be made in this field is writing a book about finding treasure, rather than actually going out finding it. I would have liked to have seen a map of the Knight's proposed new country rather than topo maps from fruitless treasure hunts. Several old "Castle" buildings have been located in other states that had gold bars hidden in them rather than the wheel design buried in the ground. He says he found some fruits jars with old coins and shows a pic of his grandfather riding a horse and says he was guarding a treasure in the forest, and reproduces a hand drawn diagram of a large multi level subterranean storage vault located in Texas, etc., et al., but the research is not tied together and jumps from one topic to another, and never makes a point or disproves certain accepted historical hypotheses, --- and the conspiracy of the sentinels guarding some of the treasure locations is still going on today, which he doesn't seem to quite recognize. I know in Tennessee the sites are still guarded by the families and probably elsewhere, too. But his grandfather's site he says is now on government land yet he fails to introduce a conpsiracy theory that this treasure site was made fed govt land because the feds knew of the Knight's treasure on it. There are more [KGC] in Washington DC than in Mongtomery, Alabama, even according to their membership records, but he doesn't assume that the feds knew Confederate treasure was there! The historical research is just rehashed from other books. I'm not disappointed because the subject matter is obscure and rarely discussed but any major library can provide you with "closed stack" reference books with this stuff in it. But overall the book is a nice journal of an individual treasure hunters experience as he sifted through a lot of details evidently without the aid of professionals and made some progress. In that regard it is inspiring. But I don't want to be over enthusiastic about the subject matter and credit the book with accomplishing anything other than heaping more coals on a somewhat smoldering fire of interest in legendary Civil War treasure that people have been looking for for the last 130 years! I also don't want to be critical at all, but when you write a hardcover book and market it to the public, you have to be ready for other people's opinions. I had expectations of some photographs of a large cave or tunnel, a photograph of a gold bar, BAR, belonging to the CSA, a copy of a bill of lading showing gold shipped to the Bahamas or London. oh, and by the way, I definitely disagree that Jefferson Davis had anything at all to do with leadership in the Knights. He spent too much time in Fort Monroe to want anything to do with anything that would get him in trouble again. He traveled for several years in Europe after the war and probably did know who was involved with the remnants of Confederate treasure, but he himself I cannot believe was involved in any type of leadership of this activity, or should I say, my research does not show any.

First you should know that this is the paperback version of "Shadow of the Sentinel" but you will want both-that for your permanent library and this one for your backpack. I can personally attenst to the signs and symbols referenced as I lived in NW Arkansas in the 1950's and was surrounded by searchers for 'lost Spanish gold'. A true book you will not be able to put down and a search that is far from finished. Well written and extensively researched.

I particularly liked the history that was included in this book. The author makes some claims that seem a bit 'odd' until you read his book and see how he has dotted the i's and crossed the t's with his research.

The one downfall of this book, in my opinion, was that Bob Brewer in this book always turns out to be a victim of unethical lying people and he is always the good guy. In my opinion, he came across as a bit of a martyr. That made reading this book somewhat difficult at times.

However, this was an interesting read. It makes you believe that if you just connect the clues you too can find gold. Of course, I'm sure it's not the simple. But this book makes it seem possible.

Again, the best part of the book was the history.

enjoy.

I have been involved with hunting KGC treasure for 20 years. I believe that The Shadow of the Sentinel will become the Bible for all serious treasure henters. If you do not have this book to take to the field, you might as well stay home and become an arm chair treasure hunter. Your sucess will be about the same. If you are good enough to get close to one of these treasures, then the system that Bob Brewer has developed in the book, will quickly lead you to the treasure. If I had had this book 20 years ago, things would have been very diferent. Remember that in almost all things "Truth is truly stranger than fiction".

After reading this book I find that the authenticity and research is unmatched by any book about our country's history. The reason I say this is once you have read a couple of other books dealing with European history; (The Da Vinci Code, Holy Blood, Holy Grail) you can clearly see where those two books leave off and this book picks up. It is truly amazing the amount of time and research that went into make this book.

I have seen the signs and carvings that this book talks about right here in Oklahoma. I have also seen them in Texas and in Arizona and pictures of the same ones in New Mexico. I really find it hard to believe that these signs can just find their own way across thousands of miles of ocean and settle down in obscure places upon our landscape without any rhyme or reason.

To read this book and get the most out of it one must keep an open mind. If you know a little about the Knights Templar and their history this will help you immensely in trying to unravel the hidden meanings that are out there just waiting to be found. There is definitely an intermingling of the European secret societies right here in our own country that will be brought forth in the time it takes you to read this book.

I hope everyone that reads this book will enjoy it as much as I have.